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No way, keep them like that!!!! Nothing says "I've been playing since before you were born...and stay off my lawn!" like those!!!! 😄

Just a warning for everyone, The Finn will be in again...

So this is True's non-custom retail model? I wonder how well they fit. I'd likely be happy with non-custom on something with the mold-ability of the Mako.

Update - I skated last night with the new Vapors to try them out. They felt solid trying them on but it became obvious pretty quickly that I'm not getting a proper heel lock. After the first period I actually went to the locker room and switched back into my original Bauer Supreme Skates.... @innotastic @Vet88 I decided to try skipping the top lace and WOW why the hell didn't I try this sooner. It made a very noticeable difference, even with NO Forsberg pads (I did have my bunga pads on). I always assumed skipping the top lace was going to put MORE pressure on the lace bite spot - quite the opposite. I play again tonight, so I'll try my 6.5 Supremes with the top lace undone again. Of course my lace extenders come tomorrow, so I won't get to try them until next week. Side note - the first game back after the Flu last week SUCKED! I'm definitely still recuperating, hopefully better tonight.

We won our last game. I scored on a sweet pass. One of our defensemen was farting up a storm afterwards in the locker room. Fortunately, I was on the opposite side of the locker room.

Okay, I've been playing this game for 37 years or so, and I must say this is a first. The girdle I'd been using for the last few years was finally laid to rest recently. Before dumping cash on a replacement, I decided to dig up my trusty old CCM 520's that had been relegated to the shed for the last decade or so (they held their form a lot better than my waistline did lol). Since I dropped a couple lbs recently, I figured it was worth a shot, right?? So the good news is they do fit - albeit a little more snug than I remember hehehe... The odd thing is that they have completely CHANGED COLOR! I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it myself, but the once black pants are now a very uniform reddish-brown (think Hershey Bears, maybe a shade or two lighter)! Now as I said, these guys were in my shed - along with cans of gasoline, chlorine, etc. It wouldn't necessarily surprise me to find SOME discoloration, but for the entire surface to have changed, it definitely had me scratching my head. Note that these were tucked away in a hockey bag, so they were not directly exposed to the elements. At any rate, beyond the mere curiosity, it did get me thinking if there was any precedent for actually dyeing this kind of material, and wondering how hard/risky it would be to try to dye them back to their original black. To be perfectly honest, I can't say hate the new color (and it surely doesn't matter for my beer league!), but I just thought I'd throw it out there to see if anyone else has seen any similar transformation. If nothing else, they're a conversation starter 😃

Pretty much. Good thing i was proactive. they tell me i can return to hockey.

Followed up with a cardiologist due to family history. Two bad tests led to an angiogram that picked up blocked arteries. I am now the proud owner of three stents and a Lipitor prescription. Oh joy.

Elbows are tricky because height and arm size don’t always line up. If you have longer, thinner arms, you may need a medium circumference but large length, depending on where you like things to sit. Or large circumference and medium length. I’m 6’2”, and historically wear a medium, because it’s what best fist the circumference of my forearm. Currently in a medium original Reebok 10k. The past few years, when I try things on, I’ve felt better in a large (for Tacks, Vapors, Supremes, and Warriors), as I feel like I need the extra volume around my elbow. Even though my pads are old and I’m 8-10 years older than when I bought them, I don’t think my arms have really changed. To me, it feels like the space your elbow sits into is shallower on recent elbow. —- Total aside.... I feel like elbow pads are the most annoying, least sexy thing to buy. They are hard to size and boring to try on, and if you do it right, don’t notice them at all when you get new ones. You can visually see new pants and gloves and helmet, and they let other players know you are awesome. New sticks allow you to rip shots and make buttery toedrags. New skates change your whole game up and down the ice. New elbow pads...immediately go in the background.

Have you considered that you can address the lace bite in the Vapors with eyelet extenders or option B skate straps? I use the latter, and they're great. Ugly as heck, but my feet thank me for them. If you don't want to try and work with the Vapors and would rather get new skates, IMHO, right now, I'd stop and think about what you're doing. You've got into two new pairs skates so far in the hopes they work, but they didn't. You're about to get into a third skate, without any guarantees that they'll work either, because you're having trouble finding stock to try on, which sucks. I'd start doing the math on how much you've spent. How much you're about to spend, and compare that to what it would cost to get custom skates, and think about if that might be a better to save up and go with that option.

I don’t know how people play without chest protection or a full cage. I’m not a pro. No one is paying me if I get injured and can’t work.

Great news! When I went 6 or so months after surgery to skate it was so awesome just to be on the ice again and then absolutely humbling realizing how out of shape you are, ha!

With approval of the physical therapist, I got back to the ice today for about a half hour and took a few shots. Felt surprisingly good for not having skated in 4 months, though my stamina is absolute pants.