I'm not sure why you think the thread is "in the ditch", which I take to mean that the discussion has somehow gone downhill or turned negative. A free and open debate necessarily requires viewing all perspectives, including those that might, from one point of view, be from another deemed to be negative.
Just as one poster states that a fisherman rarely carries but one lure in his tackle box, as a group we will approach similar tasks differently and with different equipment in hand. If all of us saw off road travel in exactly the same light, we would all be driving identical vehicles with identical equipment on board.
There is nothing wrong that I can see with the execution of the inflatable waffle board. It may, in fact, have application strengths that make it superior under some circumstances to a static device. Whether those strengths are sufficient, and whether the circumstances arise often enough to warrant owning the product would be a personal decision, I would think. Not everyone is going to want this product anymore than everyone carries ladders or mounts a winch.
Nor does driving a standard SUV (versus a built up rig one supposes) have all that much to do with the question. Any vehicle can get stuck or face an obstacle that is more technical than the vehicle can master. More likely, any given vehicle will face an obstacle that is more technical than the driver is prepared to master at the moment. This happens to everyone. Knowing your own limits and those of your particular vehicle are key to safe off road travel.
I personally don't like using ladders as a travel crutch. That is just me. That I have never needed one is not based on my superior driving style, but rather on my unwillingness to put myself and my vehicle into a situation that we can't, together, get in and out of unaided, and for those times when I misjudge myself and my vehicle, experience has taught me that I will be at that moment a bit deeper in trouble than a ladder will correct. Again, that's just me. I rarely if ever travel alone, and again, experience has taught me that it is safer, faster, and easier to take aid from travel companions than try to get into or out of a pickle with tools and traction devices.
Not everyone is going to agree with this perspective, and I don't expect it. My driving style is not for everyone, and there are quite a few persons on this forum who use and prefer ladders of one style or another. For those persons, an inflatable device could present a flexible (no pun intended) alternative to a static board. As such, it might warrant a look.
I would agree, though, that at the price, it would help the decision making process and mitigate the apparent cost to know that they had been tested under real world circumstances by some independent means. We have already learned from the discussion that they don't necessarily work well on slick surfaces. Are there other limitations and caveats that a potential buyer should be aware of? Do we need to watch closely for sharp rocks or cactus spines? Can a spinning tire defeat the material? If a spinning tire makes more traction against the pillow than the pillow makes against the substrate, will it shoot out from under the tire, and if so, what are the risks? If the pillow shifts during use and needs to be deflated, can the valving always be reached safely, or can it become hidden from use? If the vehicle shifts and a hot exhaust tube falls on the pillow, will the pillow melt? At what temperature does the material begin to deform permanently, and can that temperature be achieved in real world use absent inadvertent exhaust contact, i.e., through friction? Should we all rely on our own imaginations to supply answers, or should the purveyor offer test results?
Not everyone is equipped to do testing. The staff at Overland Journal are, and perhaps they could do a bit of testing on this interesting and innovative device, so that those forum members who favor using bridging devices would have a better idea of how the inflatable one works, and whether it will work for them.
Bottom line is that there is no reason to be defensive over "negative" commentary. We don't all see the world the same, and it would be a boring place if we did. If fact, I would posit that it is through open debate that we best gain an overall perspective on any given topic. Far from being harmful or destructive, it is a most constructive process.
