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After about 100 minutes of hockey tonight, 3 periods and 6 over times, my son buried a slap shot to win the Championship for his beer league team. Fun stuff!

For those that are interested... an honest comparison between custom VH vs. Mako skates (I tried not turning this into a skate review, but more of a "Which is better when compared to each other" spiel) Fit: VH over Mako mainly due to the simple fact that it's custom to the foot. I found that the VH boot fits like a sock, while the Mako kind of feels like a soft pillow stuffed in a hard shell (basically eliminating negative spaces with extra padded material). Out of the box, the Mako felt really nice, but I'm having some issues with my right inside ankle bone. It seems like the interior padding has some wavy type pattern that creates an odd rubbing underneath the lateral malleolus. I'm going to try to roll/punch it out and hopefully that'll alleviate the rubbing. Meanwhile, left boot feels great... no problems. I have to admit, the Mako has a pretty damn good fit for a non-custom, retail skate. Construction & Appearance: Mako over the VH. The Mako feels stiffer than VH skates. The Mako looks very clean and sleek--clean sewing lines and very little if any sign of glued down parts--with some nice touches, like the fact that they covered the toe with some plastic, versus my bare VH carbon toeboxes. It also has a really, really, nice felt tongue that has some good lace-bite protection and I like that Easton offered coated eyelets to prevent rusting. The biggest downside to the Mako skate is the insole, which I felt lacked basic comfort, support, and insulation (the breathability was great, but perhaps too good... my feet froze!). When I first got my VHs, I was admittedly bummed out that it looked a little sloppy. From glue streaks across the boot, to unglued down clarino bits, to some shaky sewing lines... I think it just lacked the finesse for a final product. The biggest downside to the VH skate is the Velcro'd tongue. While it's a great idea from VH that offers tons of adjustability and customization (if you don't like the tongue, then you can swap it out, or if you want to dry the boot, take the tongues out...etc), I don't think it was the best design choice for long term usage -- once the Velcro on the tongue is shot, it won't stick nor stay in position. Also, similar the Mako, the VH insole lacks support and comfort. It seems like both boots would benefit from custom insoles. Feel/Weight: VH over Easton. Even though the Mako weighs 890 grams versus VH's 930 grams, I think it all comes down to the feel of the holder. The CXN holder feels like a brick underneath my boot: heavy and very sluggish. I think if I swapped out the CXN for the TUUK LS2/Edge holder, the Mako would win hands down. Pitch: Equal. Neither VH nor the Mako offered a more aggressive pitch out of the box. In fact, in both skates, I had to skip the top eyelet to achieve a maximum forward stride. When I switched from my VH's to Mako's, they pretty much felt similar, so I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to switch between the two. Mobility: Mako over the VH by a slim margin. The way the boot has the asymmetrical design really does allow you to take tight turns without feeling the boot edge digging into your ankle. Also, the super flexible tendon guard allows a much fuller range of motion by not hindering anterior to posterior movement. Intangibles: VH over Mako. What it all comes down is... how does it feel on your feet for hours. I could wear my VH's for hours before I'd feel some pain. Whereas after an hour in Makos, my feet froze, the bottom of my feet felt sore, I got some rubbing on my right big toe and left pinky toe, and my right ankle really, really hurt after about 2 hours! The Makos need more fine tuning, but unfortunately, no matter how many tweaks... I think they just won't fit/feel quite as good as a pair custom VH's . Either way, the Mako is a great boot that I'd highly recommend to those who want a non-custom, form-fitting boot that, in my opinion, beats anything put out by Bauer, CCM/RBK, and Graf.

If what I have heard is correct, the P29 is a Bauer P92 clone.

Latest additions to the glove stable:

Last game of the travel season for the boys, everyone had a 'stache to put on, if they wanted. Sort of a tradition(did it last year as well). My daughter had one on for a few minutes, but said it distracted her and pulled it. All three coaches had them on as well....

I don't even know where to begin with your post...it's so ridiculous; your anger (why are you even mad?) is so misplaced it's mind-boggling.

BACK & CRUSHING!

I didn't know you were able to get yourself so close to an NHL bench....