Leaderboard

Got a haircut and I actually like it.

They were uncomfortably tight before baking both lenght and width wise, my toes were pretty cramped. Tightest spots were in the the forefoot. After baking they fit very well without pressure points nor negative space and my toes now only lightly touch the cap.

I have to admit I gave in and got myself a pair too. First of all, everything people have said about the excellent heat moldability is true. I was very sceptical at first - especially when I tried them on unbaked - but after baking they opened up a lot and fit my feet like nothing else. I went with size 7D, the same size I wear on NXG's and I'm happy I didn't size up even when they initially felt really tight. After first skate I had no discomfort whatsoever, they really feel like you're wearing comfortable shoes. Actually, the feeling reminds me of wearing a pair of high end snowboard boots. My arches are very high but I didn't get the feeling I needed my custom footbeds at least for now, so I'm not surprised flat footed people have had problems with the arches. Skating with them was extremely easy and natural for me, even with the lower quarters there was no feeling of any support missing and they were very, very agile. It also felt like I could skate faster than with the NXG's. With that said, I still think you need to have some skating technique to get the most out of them; beginner skaters will likely not benefit that much from the features. The forward pitch on these skates is very noticeable, and I would guess people with straight posture and very little knee bend might have trouble adjusting to these. I heartily suggest you let someone who really knows their thing contour these. I didn't get them sharpened at the shop I bought them from, but instead took them to a shop which offers FBV and the guy pointed out that with the pitched runner he's afraid a lot of shops with uneducated sharpeners will ruin the shape when people ask for different radiuses. The only thing that can ruin them for me now is the durability. Time will tell how they hold up, and if Easton has defeated the durability issues I can imagine these skates will be a hugely important product for them.

My dad is awake and was taken off vent tube last night about 11. He ate a little breakfast this morning, and looks really good. Doctors ended up doing a quadruple bypass, and everything went great, no complications with previous spinal injuries. Long recovery ahead, but very happy today.