Graf Canada out of business

[chippa13 1844]

To steal a Herbieism, Graf didn't have enough skate to win by skate alone. Had they put some effort in, in the form or LHS signage and store demo days, then they might have received two very important things, exposure and consumer feedback.

[flip12 699]

They still had some significant pro exposure before the one90 hit. After that they lost all of the All-Stars that were wearing their skates, leaving grinders and fighters. VH has further cut into what little they still had.

[ahbroody 1]

On Thursday, September 08, 2016 at 5:16 AM, JR Boucicaut said:

NorCal is also a strong figure market, no? 

Yes there are a lot of figure skaters here. Large Asian population with lots of figure skaters. That said Cathy Andrade who runs a skating clinic and has skating coaches under her wears Grafs as do some of her coaches. So you see them / the yellow G on the ice a fair amount.   My kid wore them until the last line. 

Does anyone know how the peek speeds fit? I see Monkey has them.  We just switched over to the new 2016 Tacks. They fit the boy well similar to the old Reebok's but better build quality.

[Kgbeast 195]

3 minutes ago, ahbroody said:

Yes there are a lot of figure skaters here. Large Asian population with lots of figure skaters. That said Cathy Andrade who runs a skating clinic and has skating coaches under her wears Grafs as do some of her coaches. So you see them / the yellow G on the ice a fair amount.   My kid wore them until the last line. 

Does anyone know how the peek speeds fit? I see Monkey has them.  We just switched over to the new 2016 Tacks. They fit the boy well similar to the old Reebok's but better build quality.

I am expecting to receive PK3300 tomorrow or Tuesday. Will come back here with my observations and comments.

[ahbroody 1]

Raganblink I don't know about adult markets but here in norcal with the youth market CCM is very popular. On most of the youth travel teams its close to 50 /50 lately. 

 

Thanks KG. Kind of want to order a pair. They look pretty nice

[Kgbeast 195]

Got one more update from Swiss. They are gearing up to resume production of PeakSpeed line. Not only in USA, but they also plan to introduce it in European market as soon as October.  It can be just PK7700 at first. Not sure about sticks and stuff. NA market should see a bit more of PeakSpeed I am expecting. Just want to clarify, I do understand that most of the board has turned away from  this brand, I am posting for a couple of people who is still open to the idea of giving Graf another stab. 

[Kgbeast 195]

Got a little word from Vaughn. Expect an influx of Graf skates to some of the retailers within next few days. Focus is on PeakSpeed line, but also old favorites 705, 709, and 735 models. Vaughn is diving in this venture not only with distribution agreements, but also production and R&D plans. We might not see sticks and gloves, but we should see competitive quality made skates, exceptional customer service, and a pro shop. Only time will tell how good and successful the above will be, but both Graf and Vaughn appear to be pretty excited and optimistic.

[jgold47 12]

5 minutes ago, Kgbeast said:

Got a little word from Vaughn. Expect an influx of Graf skates to some of the retailers within next few days. Focus is on PeakSpeed line, but also old favorites 705, 709, and 735 models. Vaughn is diving in this venture not only with distribution agreements, but also production and R&D plans. We might not see sticks and gloves, but we should see competitive quality made skates, exceptional customer service, and a pro shop. Only time will tell how good and successful the above will be, but both Graf and Vaughn appear to be pretty excited and optimistic.

Did you say 709?

[Kgbeast 195]

19 minutes ago, jgold47 said:

Did you say 709?

Not me, Vaughn did... I am myself is not sure about these heavy ass skates, but they are Cadillacs, I am sure there are some fans.

[jgold47 12]

19 minutes ago, Kgbeast said:

Not me, Vaughn did... I am myself is not sure about these heavy ass skates, but they are Cadillacs, I am sure there are some fans.

Just the shape. 

[flip12 699]

I'd love to see Graf come out with an integrated outsole and quarter panel. Maybe more like Viking speed skates than the full composite shells of VH and others. That would be an insane ride. They have the fit and flex down to perfection...

Just, their efforts at modernizing with the Joneses have been subpar, to say the least.

[JR Boucicaut 3759]

11 hours ago, jgold47 said:

Just the shape. 

Graf had always been offering their classic skates as an orderable option.  Just because they weren't in the lineup didn't mean they weren't available.

[DEATHTRON 19]

Anyone know pk7700 bake times and temp? Box didn't have any info.

 

Thanks,

Zach

[ahbroody 1]

Zach what is the boot fit like? Looking for something closer to new tacks fit. Narrow heal, wider forefoot, low arch, medium to medium + volume

[DEATHTRON 19]

Don't know anything about how the tacks fit.

That said: I was a perfect fit in the 8.5w 705. I find in the 8.5r PK7700 the forfoot and length is the same, the heel feels a little wider. Volume seems about the same. Less volume than the 9035, narrower heel.

I came from an 8.25d mako2, the heel is wider on the pk7700. Nice and light though, which I feel too many people overlook in a skate.

That's what I have,

Zach

[Kgbeast 195]

...moved

Edited September 14, 2016 by Kgbeast

[Kgbeast 195]

On 9/11/2016 at 10:35 PM, ahbroody said:

Yes there are a lot of figure skaters here. Large Asian population with lots of figure skaters. That said Cathy Andrade who runs a skating clinic and has skating coaches under her wears Grafs as do some of her coaches. So you see them / the yellow G on the ice a fair amount.   My kid wore them until the last line. 

Does anyone know how the peek speeds fit? I see Monkey has them.  We just switched over to the new 2016 Tacks. They fit the boy well similar to the old Reebok's but better build quality.

I have put some feedback above

[Kgbeast 195]

Moved....

Edited September 14, 2016 by Kgbeast

[Kgbeast 195]

18 hours ago, DEATHTRON said:

Anyone know pk7700 bake times and temp? Box didn't have any info.

 

Thanks,

Zach

I have posted the answer in "Bake Times" thread. Good luck.

Edited September 14, 2016 by Kgbeast

[DEATHTRON 19]

Thanks Kgbeast.

With that said on baking times, I can confidently say these skates do not appear to be very thermoformable (trust me, I baked mine hotter and longer). Still a nice skate, though.

Zach

 

[Kgbeast 195]

45 minutes ago, DEATHTRON said:

Thanks Kgbeast.

With that said on baking times, I can confidently say these skates do not appear to be very thermoformable (trust me, I baked mine hotter and longer). Still a nice skate, though.

Zach

 

I have not attempted to bake mine. I did skate in them unbaked and they are prefect fit for me. I might just leave them as is.  That said however, we have a somewhat mixed experience with baking Mako M8 (or M7 ) as well. It is known to be a very thermoformable skate, yet we have some posts here that it was not the experience of some. That guy too baked them longer and hotter and still have not gotten any good softness. So I am not sure still.  That said, PKs do not appear to be any more thermoformable than techlite mesh skates such as Supra 535 or 735 so I would not expect playdough consistency from them.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

19 minutes ago, Kgbeast said:

I have not attempted to bake mine. I did skate in them unbaked and they are prefect fit for me. I might just leave them as is.  That said however, we have a somewhat mixed experience with baking Mako M8 (or M7 ) as well. It is known to be a very thermoformable skate, yet we have some posts here that it was not the experience of some. That guy too baked them longer and hotter and still have not gotten any good softness. So I am not sure still.  That said, PKs do not appear to be any more thermoformable than techlite mesh skates such as Supra 535 or 735 so I would not expect playdough consistency from them.

The Mako is an extremely thermomoldable skate. More so than just about everything except maybe VH. I may not have gotten as soft as some people expected but it was definitely extremely soft and pliable. "play-doh" isn't too far off a description of how the Makos get when heated correctly. 

[Kgbeast 195]

2 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

The Mako is an extremely thermomoldable skate. More so than just about everything except maybe VH. I may not have gotten as soft as some people expected but it was definitely extremely soft and pliable. "play-doh" isn't too far off a description of how the Makos get when heated correctly. 

Yes, this what I was implying, that if skates are not heated correctly, they might not become as pliable as they supposed to be. 

[IPv6Freely 2082]

15 hours ago, Kgbeast said:

Yes, this what I was implying, that if skates are not heated correctly, they might not become as pliable as they supposed to be. 

Sorry, your post just made it sound like they might not be as moldable as people say.

[nystromshairstylist 14]

On September 7, 2016 at 9:51 AM, JR Boucicaut said:

You make this seem as if retail customers in North America still want Graf.

They don't.  For quite some time now.

Not sure what city you live in, but there is a HUGE number of people in NY wearing grafs, and have a deep affection for the brand.