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Plastic or Wooden Cornhole Boards?
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There have been some questions
recently as to which cornhole boards are superior, wood or plastic
boards. I have been getting the question so frequently that I
felt the need to address it and try to go through some of the pros and
cons.
Wooden Cornhole
Boards have always been the material of choice for most
cornhole enthusiasts. Some companies use MDF, but most will
go with a plywood board. I too have found that 3/4" plywood
boards are superior to the MDF, but I won't stray too far off
topic. The benefits of the wood cornhole
boards is simple...they just make for a better game. If you
buy an unfinished board from a vendor then you can dress it up anyway
you like. You can paint it white, you can put your alma
maters logo on it, or you can keep it how it is. If the
cornhole board is too slick, then you can sandpaper against the grain
in order to make the bags stick when thrown.
That being said they do have a couple drawbacks. For one,
wood is heavy. So if you are taking them along for a trip to
the beach or to a family party they can be tough to lug around with
you. Plus, wood warps so it won't withstand the weather if
you were to leave it out...but then again, why are you leaving your
boards out anyways!?
Plastic, on the other hand, can be quite a bit lighter and easier to
tote around. They also will not warp and most likely will
last longer than the wooden boards. But, having said that,
are plastic worth the money? More importantly, how is it to
play on plastic boards? Well, for someone used to playing
with wooden boards, I would say the plastic products have a long way to
go. When you throw your bags on a plastic board you have to
get used to the slide...the slide is actually terrible. For
anyone used to playing on wooden boards it can be extremely
frustrating. Matter of fact, the one time I had a tournament
at my house, nobody would play on the plastic boards because the
results were too inconsistent. I had to put the plastic
boards to the side so there wouldn't be a fight in my
backyard! I was determined to give them a fair shake so I
played around with them for a few weeks to see if it just takes getting
some used to. Like anything, once you learn how the boards
play then its gets a littler easier, but I still was unhappy with the
product (and my game!)
Most manufacturers of plastic cornhole boards will say that there is a
technique, but I can tell you that the only technique is to make sure
you are throwing the bag in the hole or else you risk your bag sliding
right off the platform! After a few weeks of playing with the
plastic boards I had made my decision. I'll take my old
rugged wooden boards, warped and all, over plastic anyday. If
you want to keep your guests happy and your tournaments under control,
I suggest you do the same.
As a sidenote, many cornhole companies view plastic boards as the wave
of the future. You can do all the fabricating right on a CNC
machine and pump out a bunch of boards in no time. Plus,
shipping is expensive when you are sending out heavy wooden boards and
if you can lower the weight and the shipping costs then all the
better. Many feel that plastic boards will also be the ones
to show up in the big boxes because of these reasons.
However, plastic is made from petroleum so its usually more expensive
to buy a plastic set...so you are saving money on shipping, but not on
the product. Although plastic cornhole boards might be better
suited for production and shipment, are they best for the consumer? I
think not!!!
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