Leif

I had exactly the same issue with Step Steel. I don’t have problems with my new Bauer LS5. What you have is tapered blades, I don’t see how an edge checker could otherwise be out on one side. Step Steel gets rave reviews, but this suggests poor QC, and even though everyone says Step Black beats LS5, I might stick with LS5 when time to get new blades. I wonder if tapered blades would be sufficient cause to demand a refund or replacement? Pity as I prefer the less curved heel of Step.

For public skating I wear pads with d3o inserts. These absorb shock much more effectively than traditional foam of the same thickness. There are similar foams such as POC and G-Form though I think the latter is not so good. For elbows and knees G-Form is ideal, being light and cheap and good enough to soften impacts. I wear Xion d3o boxer shorts which are superb, but Demon d3o shorts offer as good protection for less money. Falls still hurt, but you are likely to be injured.

Mine arrived at work today, sent Monday evening from Sweden via Denmark, Germany and Belgium to England. What struck me is the sheer weight and size of the box. It’s very heavy. Back home it took me 30 minutes to unpack it, align the wheel, and sharpen my skates. A slight adjustment was needed, and my BAT gauge shows the edges are near perfect. I skated on them this evening, no complaints at all. They are good. I am impressed with the weight of the unit, and the quality feel. Yes it’s partly made out of plastic, but the quality is very high. Alignment is easy. Sharpening is very easy. I left it to take three cuts and prepared dinner. They appear to have ‘ripped off’the ProSharp unit, but in so doing they’ve made huge improvements to the ease of use. And massively reduced the price. The official travel case is a Pelican 1510. Does anyone know if the foam in the packing box can be used in a stock 1510 case?

Ah, I guess you have to be up to date with modern communications methods then. I hate Fakebook, loathe it even though I have to use it for my hockey team and other hockey doo dahs. Fortunately I found their page: https://m.facebook.com/GrupoSparx/

I’m rather surprised Sparx haven’t mentioned this given that I’ve been gnawing at their ankles over the last year, but the Sparx machines and accessories are now available in Europe from Monkey Sports in Sweden, about £1200 including shipping and VAT. The price is not unreasonable. Mine is in transit as I write. Last time I checked they still had stock.

I have pads with d3o for public skating, and I wear Xion d3o boxer shorts beneath my hockey shorts. It’s fantastic stuff. There are other similar products, though I think d3o was the first to use a non Newtonian fluid. POC is similar, as good I think, and G-Form is an American copy, but my G-form elbow pads are not as good as d3o. Bauer use G-form in their ‘flex-orb’ padding. Where would you place it in skates and why? It is too thick for the toes and forefoot. So that really leaves the ankle region, and I guess it would provide protection from side impact and cushion the ankle. When I’ve taken shots to the boot, it’s been the toe and side of the forefoot that took the shock. I guess you could line the tongue, though it might be too soft, and create lace pressure so you’d need a hard over layer. I often wonder why felt is so widely used since it wears, but it is cheap and easy to work, so maybe that is the answer.

Thanks both. I already have an edge checker, one of the cheap Canadian eBay ones, it works well. I had a ProSharp one but it was out by two thou.

Does the consumer grade machine come with the optical alignment tool, or do you need to buy that as well? Aha, just checked the manual, and it does.

Yes but he is the President of the country, and quite old, so what did you expect?

I somehow doubt anyone would dare fire a slap shot at lovable old Vlad ...

Sniper9: I'm discovering with my Bauer customs that I shouldn't tighten the laces as much as I used to. Maybe this is a feature of high end skates. Interesting about your Trues, a friend tightens his as much as he can and gets numb feet. Says he lacks control if he does not do that.l

When you go for customs and stock boots, they should get you to try on a range of boots just to confirm the scan. That way you know for sure. It might be an idea to create a thread with links to these scans, with a heading giving the recommended boot model and size. It's interesting to see the different shaped feet!

You could try baking them again, I would have thought the shop would do it for free given the circumstances.

It just occurred to me that a better option is for smu to start a new thread, using his second from last post, and people can comment if they wish, rather than use this thread for one issue. That way everyone is happy. Just a suggestion folks.

I know smu has been annoying in the past by repeating himself in numerous long winded posts, but this time I think he has given a very succinct summary of his issues, with an update on the third pair - 😲 - , and the fact that he still does not have a skate that fits - the heel is far too wide - is shocking. Perhaps people here who fit skates can comment. In his position I would be looking for a full refund and moving to a custom skate from Bauer or CCM. Assuming they can fit skates to his feet. I suppose it is possible that he had such strange feet that they are unfittable. Or perhaps only True can not accommodate him.

I’m not really the person to give advice, as I am only on my 4th pair of skates: a crap beginners pair for 15 years, Bauer x500 that we’re too big for two months, Bauer S160 for two years, and now Bauer S2 Pro customs. However, I’ve never had pain, and certainly not excruciating pain. I did get a few times some lace bite from the s160, and I have had a little soreness from the customs where they rub against a big toe, but it seems to have gone. I baked them three times in total to get a better fit in the toes. I wore them today and they were amazing, like gloves. In my inexpert opinion there is something very wrong with your skates. Perhaps someone else more knowledgeable can chip in. Where do you get pain? Do you have insoles, if so, which? Did you bake the skates?

Not really, customs are formed to your foot, rather than being a generic pattern as per stock boots, so there is not the same break in period. As I said, I was scanned with Bauer socks on, and not barefoot, which might be why the right boot feels a little tight at the toes. I’ve learnt not to tighten the laces as much as previously as they don’t need it. I know several other people with Bauer customs and they say they are very comfy. I assume CCM and True customs would be similar.

I stay away from expensive/performance cars, the depreciation is silly. And the price of new tyres and servicing is enough to give me nightmares. I have top end gear and custom skates, for protection and comfort. I recently took a slap shot to the head and felt nothing, not because I’m thick, but due to the helmet design. I can’t see any reason to get new gear. In future my money is going on hockey training at a local sports centre.

Just to add to the other comments: 1. I wear UK size 9 (Euro 43) shoes, my skates are size 6.5 and 6.75 customs 2S Pro, and 7EE stock Supremes. 2. I have the lock fit pro liner with wear pads at the top of the facing. It's good. 3. I have the reflex pro tongue. I was concerned that it is huge, in practice it's brilliant, it really protects and wraps the top of my foot. 4. I have the injected facing, and it's brilliant. It makes it easier to tighten the laces and keep them tight as the eyelets stop the laces from slipping. I think some issues in the past might have been due to people pulling on them too much after the baking. The way Bauer work it is that you get a scan, and then you try out various stock skates. I scanned to a Vapor but my toes felt cramped in the stock skates, and I preferred the Supreme which I went for in the end. No regrets. Just make sure you are scanned barefoot, I was scanned in Bauer socks which might be why the toes of the skates are a little narrower than I would like, but still okay. Why go custom over stock? Well my feet scan to 6.5D and 6.75 EE so custom gets a better fit. But I think stock would be okay. That said I've never worn top end stock skates. The way I looked at it is that custom does not cost much more, so why not?

I don’t have Tacks, but I did move up from Bauer S160 with a thin tongue to a Custom 2S Pro with a humongous tongue. I sometimes got lace bite from the S160, due to pressure hot spots on the top of the foot. The 2S is a slightly smaller size (left foot half size down, right quarter size down), but the giant thick tongue wraps the foot much better, and distributes the pressure much more evenly, so the result is absolutely no discomfort. The Custom tongue is made from fairly thick plastic backed with thick felt, I suspect felt on its own would be nowhere near so good. The only concern I had was that the thick tongue might slow me down, since I am not exactly fast anyway, but it seems not.

I heated my oven to 80 Celcius. Don't use a gas oven, someone I know did, and the flame melted the tendon guards. You really need a convection oven, and some say to turn off the heat then place the items inside. I simply placed some foil on the top shelf, and placed the plates on a shelf just below, just in case there was some direct heat from above which could cause over heating. I've heated mine several times, not sure how often you can do it and if they return to the original shape when warm. They do fit me nicely now. Might be worth pointing out that the above temperature is 170 Fahrenheit. For those of use who use new money.

I noticed that the base of each of my Custom Bauer skates is molded to my instep, so I don't really need the speed plates. However the standard insole they also supply is so thin that I get pain from the rivet heads if I skate with them in. Are there some thin alternatives to the speed plates that protect my feet from the rivet heads, and provide slight cushioning?

I’m 5’11” 32” waist and I wear medium. Small fitted my waist but they were too short exposing legs to pucks etc. . You really need to try them on IMO.

I suffered severe pain on falling when I had entry level shorts. I then upgraded to Bauer 1s and they are excellent, probably as good as any. However, as I’m 55, I don’t take any chances so I also wear Xion d30 boxer shorts which have a coccyx pad. D3o is exceptionally good at absorbing shock, and there are equivalents from other companies. G-form is an alternative, not as good but cheaper. Demon d3o shorts work well too, I have a pair. It’s worth mentioning that different makes and models of sorts have different cuts so some might not suit you.

Perhaps they need it clearly explaining to them (in big letters) that the skates require adjustments, they might be used to skates that either fit out of the box, or do so after a simple bake. People sometimes don't hear something they are told, I've done it myself. However, my comment was in response to this: That just seems odd, if that really is your impression then fair enough. I can't imagine ordering a custom product in the hope that it does not fit.