Leaderboard

Everything Chadd said is exactly correct. Easton does not copy Bauer, and the Mako is unlike any other skate. The reason it sells so well is that it fits so well. It is by no means stiff, it may appear that way because it fits so conformed with the foot. It molds like no other skate and this is why it fits so well. Simply the best skate I have ever owned. Easton has recently offered a 30-day trial, if you don't like it you can return it to your store for credit toward a different skate. It's a no brainer to try one, plus they know once you do, you'll be hooked.

I had an icetime with VH skates inserted medial shims. It's so better feeling than normal setting. I have bow-legs. It makes rolling out force naturally. So I put shims into the medial side between holder and outsole. It makes a torque roll down to inside. I got a balance of the forces. I will have to change the holder because already it was cracked. Also the steel will be changed to Step's Velocity and re-contoure with 13' radius and +2mm forward of balance point. Perhaps I will buy felt toungue from Scott. I feel that the end of adjustment is near...!

Bauer makes good skates, but they are not for everyone (nobody makes the right skate for everyone). In fact, most amateurs don't need anything close to the stiffness of an APX or MX3. As for the copying, that's absurd. The concept is so different that anyone saying that is not someone that I would listen to. I never tell anyone what to buy, I only suggest that they try things out and then make their own decision.

For me: more thermo-forming than the Bauer skates, so if you can't get any Bauers to fit really right but don't want to spend the cash on custom skates, these are your best option. Or some Mako I's on discount, if you know how to avoid the "Mako bumps". Wouldn't take the stiff-ness as "copying", every top-end skate is very stiff by now. I feel great in Bauer Vapors, but it takes multiple bakings and punches to get them "just right", so I will give the Makos a try asap.