Brett:
The greatest resistance I have seen to new weapon tech in general is that players of NERO tend to prefer the impact have as little perceived damage (ie: pain) as possible. As well, NERO Alliance is designed to provide as few possible litigious points as possible. (This may or may not be a direct result of being owned by a lawyer. Not knocking Mike in any way, but the general policies, ie required insurance and the various weapon-design specs, seem designed around the idea of "Don't sue me!!!")
On the first point, for example, when we first tested flatblades, the primary complaint was that the impact was being spread out over less area, causing more perceived pain. Despite the fact that this also provides 1-1.5" of padding between the core and the struck surface, the perception was that flat blades were "unsafe". At one point, flat blade users were encouraged to swing "against the wing", which is to say, along the plane of greatest wind resistance.
Thrusting points, within NERO, traditionally require at least 3.125 sq. inches of striking surface.
IME, latex weapons suffer from these same concerns.