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I was contacted by Filmsticks to check out their products and do reviews on them. So I figured why not? Plus I was in the market for a new clapper anyway. I purchased the slate and the sticks because you have the option to buy them separately which is nice because your slate might be damaged but the sticks are still good. Therefore instead of buying a whole kit you just get a new slate board and connect it with your sticks. I also ordered a dry erase marker with cartridges because the reloadable cartridges caught my attention. Full disclosure everything that I will mention are my honest thoughts on the product.

My package finally arrived and the presentation was very nice, I honestly did not expect this. Everything came in a nice black box neatly packaged, it almost makes you feel bad throwing it away. My kit that I purchased came with the protective cover for the board but it doesnt cover the whole slate completely nor does it have a zipper. At the time when I received this they didnt offer a zip bag but now they do, so I’ll be purchasing one soon and make a review on that. Anyway I assembled the slate with the sticks and instantly fell in love with the quality. Its very durable and feels robust, I confidently knew that I can take this on set and it will endure some beatings. 

THE ASSEMBLING

The kit came with a tape that you use to tape the very top of the board. This is used to add thickness so that you can slide on the sticks so that it holds. Please do not think that this is a cheap way of taping the two pieces together. You dont tape them to stick you simply tape it around the top by either doing two full laps or just go around once and place two pieces of tape one on each side after doing one lap around so that the edges are thick. Then you slide the sticks on it but because of the thickness of the tape it will take some elbow grease to squeeze it in. This is what you want because one lap of tape around the edge will make the sticks fall off easily. Try to get it as evenly as possible nestled in there. Once you have it in you will use a sharp knife like a box cutter and carefully cut along the sticks right underneath it so that you are cutting off the excess tape. You dont want your sticks appearing silly on set. Now that you have this part done you are ready to slate. 

THE FUNCTIONING DETAILS

The sticks have a magnet on it so that it claps together even when doing soft sticks. I know some slates have that but not all of them do so its a nice feature. Another nice feature it has is that you can adjust the tension of the sticks to make it tighter so that when you slate for soft sticks it doesnt slam and cause a loud clap for the actor. The sticks are not made of wood they are resin. This makes it weather proof, no need to worry about keeping it covered or away from water. You can rest assured that when it gets wet it will not bubble or warp like most sticks do. The face of the board has Roll, Scene, Take, Dir, DOP, and Date on it. The marker that I purchased came with four replaceable cartridges and it writes very well. You can angle the point of it so that you can write with thick or thin markings. As long as you dont lose it you can replace the cartridge when you run out and dont have to purchase another for a while which is such a nice feature. I personally like slates that have more info such as Sync/Mos, Date, Production, FPS, Cam, and Int/Ext because as an editor it comes in handy knowing this info. However those slates dont have this quality and at the end of the day I prefer to have a robust slate that doesnt feel like its falling apart. 

OVERALL

When I was on a shoot I brought my new slate with me even though I wasnt clapping I was a 1st AC and told them to give me their honest feedback. I was told good things and that it felt sturdy with great quality. It wasnt flimsy especially when clapping it they were able to clap with one hand easily. Im very happy with my purchase and highly encourage my readers to purchase this product. I will be upfront I became an affiliate with the company so I will receive a percentage which will greatly help me out, but even if I wasn’t an affiliate I would still recommend this. Me being an affiliate will not give anyone a discount. Not only do they sell slates but other much needed accessories for 1st and 2nd AC’s such as T-marker kits, tape, allen keys etc. I hope you guys found this review helpful and if you are in the market for a new slate you should definitely check out filmsticks, the link will be below.

http://www.filmsticks.co?afmc=1f