Customer Reviews

Redoctane Ignition Dance Pad Dual Platform Edition

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This pad can be used with various dancing games, though I personally use this specifically with the DDR Max 2: Dance Dance Revolution game. There are plans to release a sequel titled Dance Dance Revolution Extreme that will incorporate both the dance pad and the patented EyeToy, either in late 2004 or by early 2005.
That being said, the RedOctane Ignition Dance Pad is terrific! I've been using it consistently for over half a year, and it's held up great. Some dance pads are far cheaper, but are lousy, either wrinkling up like a bath-mat, sliding around like a banana peel, or breaking after only a month. Thankfully, this one is the exception. You can stomp down very hard without it breaking, or you can step very lightly and still have it register, the choice is yours. The buttons are so easy to feel, I never have to look down to make sure of where I'm stepping, which really comes in handy for both the faster songs and the levels with more advanced dance moves. It stays in place very well, only slightly moving after jumping around on the frenetic songs, but you don't even notice. I've had friends and family try it out, and they enjoy it very much, saying it's nice to be able to feel the buttons with your feet. I make sure everyone wears socks when playing, and I truly believe that's helped to make it last so long, because I play on it a LOT.
The bottom-line is that this toy is the best piece of cardio-exercise equipment you will ever buy, making it easy to get a good workout, and it can bring people together for a make-shift party atmosphere. There are dance pads out there (and online) that are made of sturdy metal you can dance on while wearing your shoes, but those usually run for a few hundred dollars, and I'm not made of money. Considering only two video-games can cost as much as a REDOCTANE Ignition, it's totally worth buying this. I'm very happy with mine, and I'm glad I got it.

First off, I noticed alot of the reviews give the full five stars and if you would have asked me when I first received ours, I would have agreed. The pads were responsive (My five year old gets "AA" on Light on DDR Ultramix2 for XBox and DDR Extreme for PS2. My 10 year old and I get the occasional "AAA") and unlike the thin sheet style pads, there's far less sliding on the floor.

BUT

After having it for a little over a month, I noticed a hairline crack appearing on the left arrow. Didn't think much of it but now just a month later, there's four parallel cracks on both the right and left arrows where the foam core joints meet inside and because of the cracks, the left arrow is intermittently unresponsive. I suspect the right one is not far behind.

When I called Red Octane, I was told the warranty was already up (60 day warranty. I'm at day 82.) but they'd be willing to give me 20% off the purchase of a new one. Normally, I'd say great but if the pad is going to wear out after only a couple of months, that's 4 pads in a year I'm going to have to buy. At $100 a pad, I'd likely have been better off buying their metal pad (at $200) or Cobalt Flux' metal pad (at $300. They don't have a cash refund warranty but they do offer to service their pad for 6 months after purchase for free) in the first place if that's going to be the replacement rate. I'd be money ahead.

Personally, I'd like to see a little bit better of a product before I spring for a new one.

Update 4/7/2005: After doing some more research before I bought a new dance pad, the general consensus from the DDR community is that the original Ignition Pad (v1.0) that Red Octane offered was very good. People who owned that pad likely are still using it 1-2 years after purchasing it. Much like most of the positive 5 star reviews.

However, since then RO had a different company making v2.0 (The pad being sold now) and the quality decreased with failure rates (ie: the arrows that stop working making AA and AAA's nearly impossible) relatively quickly. Sometimes as little as a couple of days after first use.

Whether the latest version that's upcoming with In The Groove in mind is any better than what's currently being sold remains to be seen but here's hoping for those making the decision to buy one.

After doing the research, I have to say I'll be skipping the purchase of another Red Octane Ignition Pad and will be investing in a Cobalt Flux metal pad.

For those who still want to take their chances with the Ignition Pad, it absolutely should not be used on carpeting. If you do, I cannot stress this enough, it simply WILL NOT last at all. A couple of weeks if you're lucky.

Only use on a hard, flat surface. If you don't have any place in your home other than carpeting where you'll use it, I highly recommend also investing in a piece of plywood or something similar to lay under the pad.

This is bar none the best soft dance pad you will ever play on. Imagine a product with the ability to fold and store like a soft pad yet play and feel similar to a hard pad. It has an insert which goesin the middle of the pad and keeps it from sliding around. It has a sticky bottom which also helps keep it in place. The buttons are raised so you can feel where they are without having to look down and they are the most accurate of all soft pads I've ever played on, which says a lot because I've played on about 10 different types/brands of pads. I've had my red octane for over a year and it's still working great. I recommend it to all of my friends and many of them have purchased and love this pad.

We have three "AAA"-level DDR players in who generally play in standard and heavy mode. We've had two of these pads. When the pad works, it works great. However, as mentioned in other reviews here, one or more arrows stop working. This pad lasted exactly two months. It comes with a only 60-day warrantee for a reason. We found that that at 65 days, the warranteee is *not honored*. Opening the pad, I was shocked at the poor choice of materials used. There are two thin layers of cellophane with "wiring" stamped on them between a thin foam-rubber sheet laced with small holes. When you step on an arrow, the wiring on the two cellophane sheets makes contact. However, after only two months, the cellophane sheets had turned brittle and had cracked in several places, making switch contact impossible. It was clear to see that other arrows were ready to quit as well. Very, very shoddy manufacturing, and a vendor who won't back up its products. Don't throw away your money. Avoid these pads like the plague.

Pros:
-much better than the flimsy standard pad
-more stable and solid base
-still portable

Cons:
-from personal experience this pad will eventually start to misfire. The button(s) that misfire(s) varies, and so does the behavior (the button may not respond or it may just repeatedly act like it's being stepped on). Regardless of whether it's being used for xbox or ps2, this happens to most people. Just search the internet for gripes
-based on the above, this pad should not cost more than $60.00 based on its life expectancy. $100.00 is too much money for something that breaks down within a few months.

Bottomline:
If you really like DDR and you're using it to workout, I recommend that you just buy a metal dance pad for $200. Yes, it is twice the price, but it's better than wasting $100 for something that only partially works after a relatively short amount of time.

I purchased one of these pads a month and a half before christmas as a gift. Everyone loved it at first and we purchased a second pad so two people could play at once. Within 20 days after christmas, the first pad started demonstating operation problems: buttons not functioning when pressed and buttons sticking. About a month and a half after we purchased the second one, it too started showing the same problems. We purchased these pads in large part to the excellent reviews here. Apparently, these reviews were in reaction to the version 1 pad which appears to have a much longer life. At $100 a pad, having them die within a month or two seems like a huge rip-off. 100% failure rate within a few months is way too high. I'd suggest looking for another pad rather than purchasing this one.

I have been using the Ignition Dance Pad for about a month now, and I, too ran into the problem of arrows that quit working. My back arrow, in particular, quit registering at Standard play levels. After getting thoroughly frustrated, I pulled the foam padding out of the mat and notcied that it was sort of "warping" upwards in the bottom corners. So I turned the foam pad upside down and put it back inside the mat. This was last week and I dance about 5-6 hours a week. It has been fine since. I think I will probably have to turn the padding over again in a few more days, just to avoid having problems again. This may be a solution to some of the other reviewers problems--turn your padding over after every 6-10 hours of play. Personally, I love the Ignition dance pad and would recommend it to anyone who is serious about the game.

I bought this pad for my birthday after reading some favorable reviews. It has performed as expected, quality is good and it has provided a lot of fun for friends, sisters and mom. Defintely a great way to work out and have fun. Sure $99 isn't cheap but once you see how often this product gets used it won't seem so steep.

I just got into DDR over the last couple of months and decided to get this pad from Toys R Us since it seemed like it was getting good reviews. Well, it works great for a few weeks, but if you're playing the game on Standard or Heavy, don't expect it to last long. In two months, I went through three of these pads and I am now on my forth one. It makes me really angry because they work so good before they break. I mean, it doesn't slide and it doesn't hurt your feet at all. My advice, if you get this, get an extended warrenty with it if it's offered, you'll need it.

After buying a cheapo twenty dollar dance pad the day I bought my DDR Max 2 I quickly realised it wouldnt last very long. After a few months I got a soft dense foam pad that lasted quite awhile. It worked for the most part, and then several months it began to malfunction. "Ghosting" when no one would be on it, or when people were just standing in the middle of it.

For my birthday my boyfriend bought me this dance pad, and I must say it is the best dance pad I have ever had. I have had mine for quite a few months now, and it is still functioning like when I took it out of the box. I play DDR everyday for atleast 2 hours, and I play on heavy. I have a light touch, but even having a light touch playing heavy songs means you are kind of stomping on it. And it has lasted through about ten DDR parties my friends and I have, so it is very durable.