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If you take the "-E" to mean Westings rather than a hyphenated Eastings (which is not how I've ever seen it done, but from UK, MMV), you end up in Blainville, Quebec, at the location of the BAUER HOCKEY Corporate office.

I did go out and buy the Bauer mask and I like it more than the CCM. It Is lighter and easier to breathe. Certainly worth a look.

I was only selecting gear that would be readily available, hence why I excluded some items. You can actually mold the 1X lite shins to make them conform better to your body. Since the shin was primarily based on CURV composite you could apply heat to the facing and mold them better to your ergonomics. I didn't know this was possible until one of my buddies who is an equipment manager showed me such. The biggest issue I have had with most any Bauer shin is the knee cap tends to crack or separate from the rest of the shinguard over time. I had this happen on every pair of Bauer shins I have owned since the first generation 1X protective.

Is RBZ stuff even remotely available? And it seemed like people were generally disappointed with the updates to the QLT versus the RBZ.

My 10 yr old has been back on the ice for a week now that we moved out of lock down. That would be about 5 hours of ice, skating pretty hard. He has tried the ccm game on mask, a normal surgical mask, a level 3 mask for more water resistance, and the Bauer rtp mask with filter. He loves the Bauer one- doesn’t complain at all. Got some Filti n95 material and have cut some better fitting filters now. I start back Wednesday and I have one too...can’t wait to try it.

Ridiculous name, but goes hand in hand with the looks.

I agree that this site is the best resource. Chassis: Hi Lo, Flat, Marsblade O1 (more for ice training) and R1 (designed for playing inline) and the Sprung chassis are the main playing options. I have tried Hi Lo, Flat, the old Tuuk Rocker and Sprungs and definitely prefer Sprungs, but you do have to maintain them (and if you want them to last, it's better to use them indoors then outdoors). I haven't tried the Marsblade R1, but would if my Sprungs were shot and I couldn't buy another set of those. The Sprung creator is working on a more durable version called the Fizix, but there's no definitive information on if or when those will be released (just prototypes on FB that have been posted for 2-3 years now). There are more detailed threads here with detailed discussions on the Marsblade O1, R1 and Sprungs. Wheels: This depends on your weight and the surface you're playing on. For outdoors on Asphalt, the Labeda and Revison Asphalts are two that are regularly recommended. For smooth cement, Labeda Gripper yellows are wheels many players I know use for that surface. The best wheel I've used for Sport Court is the Konixx Pure (I use them in +2); the newer version of that is the Konixx Pure X (haven't tried that yet, but they're discussed in a wheel discussion thread). Personally, I spend the money on the good wheels for Sport Court, but just get the cheapest, hardest wheels I can find for outdoor use and if I'm ever on cement indoors I either use cheap wheels or very well used wheels that I've retired for Sport Court use. Bearings: Personally, I don't notice a huge difference in bearings as long as they're clean and spin. I've tried Swiss, Ceramic, Helo Quark, Abec 7, Abec 5 ect. In my opinion, either buy good bearings that have removable dust shields so you can clean and lube them on a regular basis or just buy the cheapest bearings you can find and replace them when they stop spinning smoothly. I notice a huge difference with high end vs. cheap wheels on Sport Court, but really don't notice a big difference with bearings. Some people swear by high end bearings though.