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Hot Damn

Wild...

Just picked these up

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

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

People would be surprised how identical "what the pros use," and "what's easiest for the equipment guy" are

Funny as I'm looking at this thread and came to the realization that I got exactly one skate in on the steel, in 2021 - last time I skated. Two total hip replacements later (had the last one in March), may get back on the ice maybe next year? I actually took the LSE set up to SkateScribe when we were up there for SummerJam last year, and so they're profiled. Will let y'all know when it happens. Sorry that I haven't been involved much lately - that's a story for another day - but I do appreciate the ones holding down the fort while I wasn't. Not sure how much I contribute going forward, but we'll see how it goes.

Got home today from my surgery and related issues. On the mend. Thanks for everyone who reached out. I got a ways to go but it’s not like I haven’t dealt with other significant health issues before.

Round 2.

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.

Chiming in here as I’ve had some experiences with ordering custom Bauers recently that might shed some light into what’s possible. Customer was in a car wreck that caused his one leg to be almost permanently swollen. Knew this was going to be a tough fitting, so right off the bat I told the customer I’d like to get some additional eyes on his scan/foot. Sent the photos to Bauer and got the feedback I was looking for. Went ahead and ordered the skates and quicker than some other customs we’ve done, they arrived. Fit was absolutely perfect. Turns out they were able to almost retrofit a size 10 Fit 3 onto the midsole/outsole of a size 8 boot to give the customer the volume he needs, especially around the ankle. The results were incredible. So as far as getting a “Fit 0,” it does seem like something that could be possible however you definitely need to have an experienced fitter who can ask questions like this. Pic below for reference of the skates. His customs are next to a retail size 8 boot.

Coming from a 100k Pro the stiffness was a concern. It was noticeable, though I didn't feel like the skate was restricting me. I had to work them a little harder to get them to do what I wanted at times so my legs felt it. Oddly, my chronic hip flexor and lower back issues seemed to disappear. Overall, super impressed.

Just in... STFU with these things 🔥🔥

Getting back on the ice tonight!!! A little over six weeks from my thyroid removal surgery. A few complications that delayed my recovery, but looking forward to playing tonight!!

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.

Ice warehouse just released videos on the stick. They're just re-skins.

been skating on fbv for a decade now and couldn’t imagine ever going back to a regular hollow. who cares what NHLers use. i’m a 40 year old beer league player

I have a pretty extensive shell collection at this point but this is one of my new favs

Document

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.

To add. Of you read thru the site. I think you'll find that no one has ever said a Sparx sharpening is better than a really really good hand sharpening. It is however far more consistent and convenient. I was a Blackstone customer for years and currently own a Sparx. I have never once had a bad sharpening on my Sparx, never. I have however received uneven edges, incorrect hollows, burnt edges and ruined profiles from some very highly regarded hand sharpeners. TBH, I think the market has spoken.

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.

I'm all for it, if anything we need more variety in the mid to high performance levels, not saying they need to build a pro level skate but something most beer leaguers could really enjoy. The 701 looks interesting and the 501 in white looks gorgeous. Now will they do a blue holder like the old ICM's Gretzky rocked? Maybe this opens the door for some other classic brands to come back... looking at you Micron, I would so rock some new modern Mega Air 90's.

Sounds like you have at least two stores near you. The store with the Bauer scanner and the one without. Go and try on a ton of skates. Seems like you need to figure out what size skate you wear and what boot shape best fits your foot. You’re all over the place with sizing. Do you have access to a store with staff who are skilled at fitting skates? Go and have them help you get your size and shape dialed in. You’ve already made a 1k+ mistake. If you don’t have a local store you trust, spend some time and money driving to one you do trust. Buying skates blind off of the internet, especially customs that may have some weird stuff going on, is just throwing more money around that may or may not work.

While having a larger sample size is always good, I don’t know if MSH has enough technically sound skaters that would be able to give you an accurate assessment lol It would be like asking the hockeyplayers subreddit their thoughts about the on-ice Marsblade. Based on the initial impressions of those who got the holder, you’d think it was the best technological advancement in skate technology since boots went from leather to composite, and now look how many people are actually using it.

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.

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

Nothing screams hardo like a hacked up cage. Sorry. Any perceived benefit will be trumped by the fact that it's beer league.

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.