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Hot Damn

Just picked these up

I hit the ice tonight after a little over six weeks after a facial fracture. With getting surgery to put plates in to hold my fracture back together it seemed like it would take forever to get back. Very happy to get back tonight.

Custom wheels and knock off twigs, come on.... 😁 You don't need to pay full retail for sticks and you don't need to go to a smaller company to save money. The resale market and pro-stock markets are decent enough. Right now there are 16 listings on sideline that meet my exact specs. All are under $300US, that's $415 for you north of the boarder folks. In a pinch I'll grab a pro-stock off HSM for $210US. The question is, if you can afford custom skates why are you nickel and diming sticks...

I've been hunting a VGK CCM V08 size small for 6 years!

I'm currently in Cat Pros and am happy with them, but really wanted to try the new FT6 Pros. Met up with Flooded Customs from IG who designed a wrap inspired by the black option CCM offers through their custom program, but with the last gen logo. I think they turned out awesome and I look forward to testing the skates out! Wish more skates were made to look as subtle as this off the shelf

Pickups from some recent travels. Franklin Vipers pants Easton Pro pants navy 6K Pro M/L shoulders and a full family photo

Because a lot of people can find comfortable fits for stock skates. Especially off the shelf Trues mold and fit so well the non-custom are fine for a lot of people. I suspect a lot of people need to actually just take time fitting their skates and trying things on. There’s a huge gap between ordering Vapors online because “Bauer is the best” without ever trying anything on, and going full custom. A pair of off the shelf $500 Trues would probably be the best option for a huge number of people. But the world too easily pushes the narrative of you need the most expensive things all the time no matter what.

When I had the store in Vegas, I would charge customers the same price for a total custom skate as I would for a top tier retail model. I made a little less on the sale, but then I didn't have to carry as many items in stock for inventory, and the customer got custom skates for the same cost. IMO, everyone wins in situations like this.

That Hockey Tutorial guy will endorse anything for the right price, he has no shame lol, I stopped watching his stuff after the whole charity scandal and just getting tired of biased reviews. He doesn't hold a candle to Hills' "Hockey Reviews" page in terms of reviews. With that off my chest, I did enjoy the Graf video, my 705's I got in the mid 90's were my favorite skates I ever owned, partially because the brand had so much history and just stood out over Bauer/CCM at the time (it was like going for a Porsche over a Ford), and partially because they just felt so good on my feet. I haven't seen or tried any of their new offerings but they'll always have a place in my heart.

especially after the fabled Iron Lotus incident.

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In my experience, TRUE sticks break about as often as CCM, Bauer, and Sherwood. There are a lot of variables that account for stick breakage. Its not just the level of play, but the position, size of the player, etc. For example, it is not uncommon for Centers in the NHL to use a beefier and heavier stick as compared to someone who plays Wing. As for the Catalyst skate issues, I think TRUE went too thin on the shell in an attempt to play the "weight savings game" and it blew up in their face. The 2024 Catalyst skates are very impressive, and I don't think you are going to see any of the same issues. I have been testing a pair for a while now, and the durability is very good.

It might not be suitable for full-time use, but a couple of times, I've had teammates coming back from broken or badly bruised ribs. I gave them some thigh inserts salvaged from old pants that they held in place with compression shirts. Those contoured thigh pads actually conform perfectly to your ribs and don't get in the way of anything. They're also much more protective than any padded shirt.

You just need to have some friends that work or own a hockey store 😉

I wish that we had something like Sideline swap here in Europe. Pro stock is hard to find and get.

BOOM! Playing 2-3 nights a week year round I could easily justify the expense. It's about value. The retail offering fit me really well. The question becomes, why pay extra for something I don't need...

Being able to afford it doesn't necessarily mean being willing to spend it.

Funny how people are using a dremel to widen the channel on the Powerfly holder, but the Edge holder channels widened just by skating on them for a year. 😬

It does make it whippier. People that want to argue just because it doesn't technically change "flex" is bc flex ratings are tested at the exact same points on a stick so it doesn't change the "flex rating" at for example, 50 inches from the heel. But when you and I talk about how a extending or shortening stick changes the flex, we obviously mean the perceived flex at the very butt end of the stick and our bottom hand.

Stick update... Totally love it!!! The blade feel is awesome and I get great pop on my wrist shots. The more I play it the better it gets. Huge fan!!!!

Damn that thing is ugly.

You'd have to re-palm the gloves and use a dyed material and yes it is very difficult to do, you have to remove the bindings and cut all the threading, then clone the shape and re-sew everything back together. There are a few places that do this still, some are not so great at it and some are pretty good. CPR (custom pre repair) is the pro level for this but impossible to get stuff done if you're not a pro since they're so backed up with work for NHL clubs, or you can check out ITR on instagram/facebook, he does some great work and has about a 2ish month turn around and some fair pricing (just a heads up, this sort of work is not cheap, we're talking prob $80-100 for a simple re-palm, much more if you also want fancy new gussets or some other custom overlays). https://www.instagram.com/itr_hockey/

Howdy, I really need to show my wife that sticks picture. Mark

They had this on display at Bauer World and it had a catastrophic failure on the first day and became inoperable. Lol I think it's overpriced and the fact that Bauer is wanting retailers to sell the machine and accessories doesn't make sense. Personally, if I was to use a machine at home and wanted something easy to operate, I would buy a used Sparx.

With protective especially, there is no “best.” At some point you are trading degrees of breathability and movement and weight for protection. So, you gotta figure out how to configure those different things that work for you. Think of it like creating a character in a video game. You have an allotted number of points, so you can’t just put every category at 100. If you want lighter, they’ll be slightly less protective, etc It’s been a while since I wore CLs, and everyone liked them, but it’s not like you’re gonna put them on and be like “oh, these are clearly noticeably better than everything else and it was worth paying $200 for a used pair of 10+ year old shoulder pads, plus all the time I spent looking for them.” Rather than thinking about “THE BEST,” the about “these are fine.” Get something that does its job and you don’t notice them much, and spend the money on sticks or drugs or something fun. Protective stuff generally won’t improve your game like sticks or skates might*. Just find something you can be content with and don’t overthink it. *these really don’t either, but let’s pretend.

Glad you're back out there, man! Please tell me you put a cage on? :)

Why do you need to change the steel? Is it broken, or you want to upgrade it? To put new holders and steel on, your cost would probably be around $100+ if you could find used stuff that works, much more for new. For those skates, you’re better off just putting that money towards new skates.

What you say is quite...true.

I like the 2024 Catalyst skate design. Best looking retail skate they have ever made. https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:968e037d-fb71-4110-ba3d-4778ab89e1d1

The Canucks matte black helmets remind me of that one guy in every beer league with the old matte black Easton bucket that never looked good, usually paired with roller hockey pants and some skates from 20 years ago... it's a hard no from me.

Ok, so the 2 cotton socks was an experiment. In my mind, being able to even fit in there with 2 thick socks on points towards needing a more tapered and/or smaller fit. I can feel the difference between a super thin and slightly thicker skate sock in my True TF9s. Best fitting skates I've ever had, but they are pretty wide, so doesn't sound like it would be a good match for your foot shape. Getting my skates on with 2 thick socks would be impossible.

Pretty sure at this point they have zero interest in making the study better or relevant or useful. They’re just doing it and churning out results that people then haphazardly use.

Ok all. Getting a little off topic here. I wasn't asking whether people should wear neck protection or not. I have made a conscious choice to wear it (I owe it to my family), and I was asking what was the most comfortable. Happy to have a debate on products. Thanks all.

Well, if you start to get higher levels mandating it they will be more demanding and you might see better designs end up on the market.

I don’t care what anyone says. Tan mitts/pants for outdoor games are always a chef’s kiss

I have hit that point in my life that I will gladly pay the extra money for items if it makes me comfortable. 😉

I think if you can't find anything at retail that fits well and doesn't cause you pain, then the only natural decision would be to go full custom. I skate with a lot of people who buy $1100+ skates, complain about the pain they have, yet refuse to pay the small fee to upgrade to a custom skate... It's not logical.

People also enjoy the instant gratification of taking new skates home the same day.

There’s a difference in dimensions between a junior and int stick. If you are comfortable with the way the junior feels in your hand, give it a try. A higher flex doesn’t automatically mean more power. It means the stick will rebound more when flexed, IF you can flex it correctly. If it’s too stiff you’re actually gonna lose power on your shot.

I remember reading about the different Profile cages in various topics but couldn't find where it discussed the differences in profile II cages so here goes: I've used Profile II cages for a long time, have had probably 6 or 7 over the years, also tried various CCM cages, an FV1 bubble, a Profile III, and a Reakt Ti cage (not to mention the old Jofa bubble cages and Itechs I had in the 90's), but the Profile II has always been my favorite since the large size fits my face the best and I like the shape and how it looks. In one thread discussing cages someone mentioned they changed the shape somewhere along the line, well I just learned whoever said that was 100% correct. My guess is somewhere between 2017 and 2022 is when the change occurred (my newest cage had a 2017 sticker and the brand new one I just got has a 2022 sticker and is very different). The "new" Profile II cage is a little shorter and extends away from the face much more, it's more similar to the Profile III shape, and is more pronounced when the helmet and cage are on, I personally hate it. The "new" Profile II also has flatter bars similar to the Profile III, the old round ones never bothered me so I don't see any benefit in this. Compared to the Reakt, the Profile III is a similar shape but a little boxier, the Reakt curves closest to the face but is shorter/smaller than the OG Profile II which has the best combination of curve and size imo. Not sure if anyone else cares but I'm a little razy when it comes to some stuff lol, I tried to get some side by side shots for comparison... left to right is OG Profile II, "new" Profile II, Profile III, Reakt Ti: Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr OG vs New Profile II: Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr New one on red 910, OG one on white 910: Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr So that's all I have, not much of a question other than observations. So if anyone has a hook uo on OG Profile II's send them my way lol, I have a new one and a Profile II I'm never going to use (currently going to give the Reakt another try).

The metal screws they put in the Mach elbow pads is a poor judgement call IMO. Using steel in an item that will be constantly exposed to sweat is a horrible idea. They did this with the Mach shins too. I also didn't like the way they fit me, too bulky and didn't stay locked in place. The last Bauer elbow that I liked was the 2S Pro.

They all react to one another. When true Tim Ivey vh and started to offer custom skates at the retail stores, ccm and Bauer coincidentally started to advertise and push custom skates as well. Ya they were always available but they were never marketed to the mass. True and ccm obviously created their quick release holders to compete with the edge holders. Ccm one piece boot I'd argue was to separate themselves from Bauer. This along with their 90 day guarantee helped them push their skates a lot. At the end of the day it's good competition and forces each company to innovate better and provide better customer service as there are now more options out there.

Howdy, Do you have a little brother? Tie a rope around him. Mark

Decided to order a new RX3 stick after I couldn't find the extensions for it, and realized I shouldn't be cutting my sticks. Looks like Sherwood took @Hills advice from his pro stock Code V video as I picked up team stock (large selection) VGK gloves at Rousseau.

They are significantly stiffer than the LS Edge holder.

They designed a hockey helmet specifically to perform well on a laboratory test that doesn’t actually test very well for real world hockey events. Uh, congrats? edit: being saucey towards the company, not anyone here.