Chara the consumer

[hockeymass 11]

Fair enough guys, I just find it incredible that with all todays modern materials and building techniques that no one can build a pair of skates that withstand more than a few weeks of abuse. Also, the amount charged for a top end pair of skates now is just ridiculous if you factor in the poor durability. It's okay for pro's who I appreciate will use their skates much harder than the average player, and also probably look to replace them much sooner, but I doubt they're paying top dollar every time they change skates, and lets face it could probably afford to do so anyway if it means that much to them. For someone like me I have no interest in dropping £600 bucks if all I'm going to get is 6-12 months use and then be left with a pair of gubbed skates that need replacing, at the same price. I'd end up with more skates than my wife has shoes!

Let me know when you pay 1200 bucks for a pair of skates and only get 6 months of use out of them, broseph.

[jbss71 1]

Let me know when you pay 1200 bucks for a pair of skates and only get 6 months of use out of them, broseph.

that would be awesome, that would mean I don't suck and skating everyday.

[Hoopster 0]

Let me know when you pay 1200 bucks for a pair of skates and only get 6 months of use out of them, broseph.

You'll be the first to know

[shooter27 116]

Fair enough guys, I just find it incredible that with all todays modern materials and building techniques that no one can build a pair of skates that withstand more than a few weeks of abuse. Also, the amount charged for a top end pair of skates now is just ridiculous if you factor in the poor durability. It's okay for pro's who I appreciate will use their skates much harder than the average player, and also probably look to replace them much sooner, but I doubt they're paying top dollar every time they change skates, and lets face it could probably afford to do so anyway if it means that much to them. For someone like me I have no interest in dropping £600 bucks if all I'm going to get is 6-12 months use and then be left with a pair of gubbed skates that need replacing, at the same price. I'd end up with more skates than my wife has shoes!

NCAA division 1 players will generally go through max 2 pairs of skates a year, and many only use 1. Unless you're skating at a high level day after day, new skates won't be shot in 6-12 months. Heck, my senior year was the first year of the Vapor XX, which weren't exactly known for durability and I wore those skates for all of my senior year plus two years of men's league and could have kept wearing them if I wanted. And for frame of reference, I'm 6'3" and weighed around 230 at the time.

There's no tax, and most teams would have a ups account. Then the cool part, skates are a tax write off for teams or player depending on who paid.

Don't confuse a business expense with a tax write off. Equipment is a business expense for pro teams. It does have the effect of lowering their taxes because it lowers the profits of the company (just like player salaries) and taxes are calculated as a percentage of profits. Teams don't get to calculate their profits and tax bill at the end of the year and then take their equipment expense and decrease their tax bill by the amount of the equipment expense like you or I would with an unreimbursed business expense. Now, if a player paid for his own gear, then he technically could take it as a write off as an unreimbursed business expense, but for teams its simply a cost of doing business.

[Quintin 16]

One of my teammates' got a One95 stick for free from his friend who played in the NCAA. The reason was "I've got around 20 of these left and I can't use them because the guys will tear me apart for using outdated sticks so have one".

Don't worry, it's okay to feel the anger and jealousy. I know I do.

[tareatingrat 4]

What blows my mind is how much, well, waste there is.

I suppose it's because we all want to see them perform to the best of their ability.

But, jesus, what a waste.

[DarkStar50 679]

Trying to equate a pro going through skates to any of us is like trying to equate how we drive a car compared to any F1 or NASCAR driver. Sorry guys, it is not a level playing field to even begin to think about. They operate in another universe.

[shooter27 116]

One of my teammates' got a One95 stick for free from his friend who played in the NCAA. The reason was "I've got around 20 of these left and I can't use them because the guys will tear me apart for using outdated sticks so have one".

Don't worry, it's okay to feel the anger and jealousy. I know I do.

I wasnt talking about sticks, I was talking about skates. I played d3 and even we got plenty of sticks (it was 3 dozen before ops existed, when the synergy came out they cut us down to 12 in two batches of 6) I used old stock from college for a good 4 years after graduation.

[Hoopster 0]

Trying to equate a pro going through skates to any of us is like trying to equate how we drive a car compared to any F1 or NASCAR driver. Sorry guys, it is not a level playing field to even begin to think about. They operate in another universe.

That's what I'm beginning to understand about this, had even though of the same analogy. Would be nice to try a pair of skates custom built for me to feel the benefits, however I can't imagine changing them so often as I'm a sentimental soul and get attached to my gear, especially my skates. I wear them until they're completely shot.

[DarkStar50 679]

Properly fitted custom skates with the right options will last you a long time.

[johnnyvegas 0]

For the pros I think it's more a case of "they can" instead of "make do". They can use as many skates in a year as they please so they do. It's probably sour grapes on my part because I have to make do with what I have or get my grubby hands on.

Btw, how many skates did Brian Leetch go through in his career? He probably spent more money on needle and thread than he did on skates.

[Monty22 821]

^^^Gloves too...^^

[EBondo 232]

What blows my mind is how much, well, waste there is.

I suppose it's because we all want to see them perform to the best of their ability.

But, jesus, what a waste.

This reminds me of my gloves I got from a flyers sale. Just browsing around I came across a pair of X:60 Pros made for Darroll Powe. One glove had a slit in my palm about the width of a quarter. Other than that slit I don't think they were ever worn, and I was able to score them for 60 bucks, about half of what they would have cost me retail. I put a piece of tape on the glove, sand over a few uses the tape just bonded to the glove and now they're perfect. Yet Powe probably rejected them because of that tiny slit.

[golee334 1]

Pure Hockey has been doing a lot of work with the Bruins with their youtube channel and interviewing guys about their gear. Chris Kelly told them he runs trough laces every few skates because he likes the feeling of a fresh pair of wax laces. Also Steven Kampfer states that he uses close to 50-60 sticks in a season. They have some great stuff on the channel. Yes i know laces and tape is a minuscule thing but im sure if guys had acess to the unlimited supplies they would use it to preform to the best of their abilities.

[Joker518 0]

why the extra cost, I remember talking to a Junior EQM he said they paid dealer cost so at the time when the new XXXX cost about $700+ in the store he said their cost was somewhere around $460 which is what the stores paid to get it from Bauer.

Cheers

$460 for retail skates... The teams are buying full customs.

[shotty 7]

Let me know when you pay 1200 bucks for a pair of skates and only get 6 months of use out of them, broseph.

lol, £600 is BARELY $950 USD.

[hockeymass 11]

lol, £600 is BARELY $950 USD.

Thanks for that extremely important correction, I'll sleep better tonight. Let me know when you spend $950 on a pair of skates and only get 6 months to a year out of them.

[shooter27 116]

But that’s bad business practice, I understand if junior guys took in a larger order so based on larger volume Bauer would discount the price, but to charge both customers different price for the same product based on the same volume is not very logical. So the question is, does Bauer upcharge the NHL guys or does it discount the Junior guys simply for additional exposure?

Generally Junior players aren't getting full custom sticks like the pros. They get an extensive list of already on file custom patterns to choose from, much more than you'd ever see at retail, but since the company doesn't have to recoup the cost of a custom mold, the price of the stick comes down relative to what it is in the NHL. I don't know for sure on skates, but depending on the league players may or may not be getting custom.

[Gummer12 134]

Actually Jr players usually just get retail patterns, perhaps a couple other bonus ones... but the only 'custom' options would possibly be colors, team logos, and nameplates... Think Bauer I.D. Nothing More

NCAA is mostly the same... at least it used to be. Only a few players got true custom curves... but things have changed a lot since I was last around the NCAA locker room, so that might ring true for the whole team now. But again, most of these players grew up using a stock retail curve, so that's what they'll most likely stick with anyway.

[JR Boucicaut 3759]

Same with skates.

I had Steven Stamkos' Vapor XXXX skates from his last season in OHL Sarnia; they were thrown into one of the Lightning skate piles that year. Retail size badges, tongues and liners, although the skate had the drilled star pattern in the middle of the outsole that commonly is on custom skates.

[chippa13 1844]

Actually Jr players usually just get retail patterns, perhaps a couple other bonus ones... but the only 'custom' options would possibly be colors, team logos, and nameplates... Think Bauer I.D. Nothing More

NCAA is mostly the same... at least it used to be. Only a few players got true custom curves... but things have changed a lot since I was last around the NCAA locker room, so that might ring true for the whole team now. But again, most of these players grew up using a stock retail curve, so that's what they'll most likely stick with anyway.

NCAA guys don't get custom but they do get a wider selection of patterns and/or options to choose from than just the straight retail that the majority of us shmoes get.

[shooter27 116]

Actually Jr players usually just get retail patterns, perhaps a couple other bonus ones... but the only 'custom' options would possibly be colors, team logos, and nameplates... Think Bauer I.D. Nothing More

NCAA is mostly the same... at least it used to be. Only a few players got true custom curves... but things have changed a lot since I was last around the NCAA locker room, so that might ring true for the whole team now. But again, most of these players grew up using a stock retail curve, so that's what they'll most likely stick with anyway.

With Juniors it depends on the league. In the USHL, with their deal with RBK/CCM, they have a very wide catalog to choose from with those manufacturers, much wider than Bauer iD. I don't know as much about the other leagues.

NCAA guys also get a very wide selection, not full custom, but still much wider than the 12 or so patterns available in the retail customizer programs. Even back when I was playing and the Synergy first came out and Easton was having such problems keeping them in stock that pros were going out and buying retail patterns, we still had the choice of about 5 additional "custom" patterns that were popular. The Yzerman Pro and Styles were two of them and I can't remember the rest.

[ibeck 38]

In the QMJHL, it depends what team you play on, different teams have different budgets. Quebec for example, everyone gets their name, and the option of choosing a retail pattern or a curve already on file from an NHL player. On the Blainville-Broisbriand team, the players get the exact retail stick that appears in stores;Their sticks have "crosby 85 flex" for example. Examples from both ends of the spectrum.