Leaderboard

I found these used for $15 + $10 shipping, and I tried them out yesterday. They are in pretty good condition, and there is plenty of steel left (they don't look like they've been sharpened more than a few times): I believe that these are the original version (first-generation) of the Micron Mega 10-90. The holders are standard Tuuk (pre Tuuk Plus), and the blades are some sort of stainless steel alloy. The felt on the tongue is surprisingly thin, only about 3/16" thick. That's in contrast to the 3/8" thick felt on my first-generation Bauer Supreme Composite from 1995, and the 1/2" thick felt on my CCM 652 Tacks from 1992. However, Micron took an unusual approach with the tongue, i.e., there is very thick internal padding sandwiched between the leather and the felt, which gives the tongue its characteristic bulged-out appearance. There is also a strip of something relatively rigid in there, which I assume is some form of lace-bite protection. This results in a tongue that has an overall thickness that's greater than either my Bauers or CCMs. The quarter package isn't very rigid; my Bauers and CCMs are like rocks in comparison. The rigidity is comparable to CCM 251 Sport Tacks from the late '80s / early '90s. The outer side panels aren't even reinforced with anything (what I mean by "outer" is: the left side panel on the left skate, and the right side panel on the right skate); the only structure there comes from the ballistic nylon combined with the interior lining; nothing sandwiched between for rigidity like most high end skates have there. When I tried them on at home, the fit was very good and they seemed comfortable. When skating on them, there was no adjustment period needed, i.e., they felt pretty much the same as my Bauer Supreme Comps, which have been my regular skates since I bought them new in the winter of '95/'96. However, after 15 or 20 minutes, I noticed minor pain in one of my ankle bones, which never happens in my Bauers, which suggests to me that the ankle padding isn't as good, or is not in the right places for my ankles. This may be due to them being used, so the ankle padding formed to someone else's ankles. Also, I couldn't skate hard in them because they came to me dull as dishwater, so once I get them sharpened and skate hard in them, I may discover additional issues. These won't replace my Bauers as my regular skates, but they were dirt cheap and will make good backup skates, especially since there is no adjustment period when going from my Bauers to them (which surprises me).

Don't worry, NASA's made worse mistakes. It seems like you're implying that custom skates won't work for you, no matter who's doing the customizing. It's unfortunate you had that bad previous experience, but just because you had bad spaghetti at one place doesn't mean spaghetti's bad all across the universe.

Guys, everyone has their opinions, and this is a venting thread. Speak your mind, and I dont really worry about the criticism, unless it becomes racist then thats a different matter altogether. And just to clarify that the sun in Australia is very harsh. My family is asian, so we dont really sunburn easily, but when you I've known so many who have had melanoma it gets you thinking. - he didnt pack the sunscreen because he's a procrastinator. He keeps saying that he'll do it, but forgot to do it even with constant and numerous reminders - he knew it was going to be a really hot day, and he was going to be playing 3 games in a venue we've never been to before. It wasnt blazing hot, but hot enough for every other family to be in the shade - we explained to the coach who was fully supportive. He said he would have done the same to his own son, otherwise discipline just goes out the window. Fast forward to this week, sunscreen is perpetually in the bag. He knows that if he forgets it again he will have to bear the consequences.

Made me a battery powered, radio controlled scoreboard for pickup hockey. I can hang it outside the glass at center ice across from the benches. I can change the score from a fob I have at the bench. Yes I realize there is already a scoreboard at the rink. But in our 18 to 17 defensive battles in 1.5 hours of pickup, everyone is too lazy to keep going to the scorer's box to change the score. Now I won't have to hear the constant "what's the score" question 50 times a game.