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Not to be Danny Downer here but I think we all would agree that its not the stick scoring the goals, it's the player.

It’s in the PRO Hockey Sticks thread. I think it’s awesome and quietly kinda huge. When that guy started his company, the logo was a silhouette of Overchkin. Now they guy is breaking what was thought to be an unbreakable record using that brand. It’s kinda touching, honestly. And, it’s awesome that someone is producing good sticks at accessible price. It started as a passion project and the guy who runs PRO seems to genuinely enjoy it and want to do a good job, and not just cash in first chance he gets. (Cue immediately selling his company to Halliburton or something haha)

Thanks to this tutorial I decided to refresh my TF9 inline skates in hopes it'll get me to play more roller this spring/summer. New Marsblade O2 insert, new 3D printed True tongues, and carbon-look kydex 'shot blockers' around the backs to protect the heel. The Kydex and 3M tape cost a whopping $20 total so this was a cheap project to try. I even have enough material left over to make another pair. Using a jigsaw would have allowed more precision and cleaner lines, but a Dremel is what I had on hand and it worked easily enough. After cutting I sanded/beveled the edges, then used a heat gun to shape the material. Once each heel was roughly curved, I put on the 3M tape, applied more heat so the kydex was soft like play-doh, and with an oven mitt on my free hand, was able to press/conform the material to fit the odd shape of True heels pretty much perfect. If I were to do it again, I'd create a cleaner template so each piece would be identical, but whatever. Thanks again for the tips in this thread!

I've sent steel to Jason for profiling and was happy with the results. Binnies

I'm quite critical of his sticks as well but for the value & custom options sure they'll do the job. I know Ovi is not using a stick he currently offers to the general public. If you look at some Getty images of him using the PRO's recently you'll see the carbon weave is just like CCM FT Ghost or similar CCM sticks currently out Edit: I can't even find the picture I'm looking for looks it like it is the standard 18k weave recently

Good news is the box has been found. It was delivered to the wrong suite.

First roll with them was honestly shocking! Granted, I haven't skated O1s in close to 4 years, but the new inserts definitely remind me of using the O1 with the center bolt tightened as little as possible to get the most amount of rocker. When I first stood up with the R1/O2 insert, I almost lost balance which was odd because I was on the ice playing just a few hours before. Checked my skates as I thought I didn't tighten something! I've been so accustomed to the H5-T8 I forgot what more rocker felt like. It'll likely take some time to get used to, but first impressions are very positive and I would recommend anyone that wants more rocker or is an ice player to pick up the new inserts.

Was able to pick up a pair of the O2 inserts and install them on my R1s. Hope to give them a spin this weekend and see how they feel compared to the standard H5-T8 insert I’ve always used

And those Vapor XX’s only had a little red dot in the flex notch on the facing. It wasn’t till the XXX that red became prevalent.

True of the early days. My referencing is regard to the evolution of the Vapor name.

Different models and generations all fit slightly different. I couldn't put my feet into a fit 1 ultrasonic and a fit 2 squished my forefoot still, but I wear a fit 1 Mach. You really just have to try them on.

Strange to see Vapor gradually losing its L-cut. Looks like a one90ish tendon guard. The graphics aren’t doing it for me. My favorite post-rib Vapor for looks is still Hyperlite.

The first version was an awesome skate. It’s clear Bauer’s been giving nods to their Mission IP lately: the Amp Fly Weight stripe on Vapor X1’s (first gen.), the Drive Shaft bar on the Power Fly holder, and the flex notch (though not a Mission invention) in the Supreme Mach facing.

Ah, yes! Forgot the name but remember it had "Fly" in it. They had the crossbar in the holder for torsional rigidity.

I've tried almost every ProSharp profile there is and recently skated on out-of-the-box Bauer Fly-X. Best skate I've ever had. Used to be a big believer in these other profiles but not anymore. I feel stupid for having skated on the quads the last several years.

I used Elite EL 4-2 quad for about 2 years with 11/16 ROH (sometimes 3/4) overall I like the profile. Super fast, stable but felt it lacked of acceleration and agility sometimes. I had my skates profiled with their newer POLARIS quad this week. 11/16. Supposed to be similar in speed and balance but with little extra acceleration and agility. Tried it once at free skate session yesterday and immediately felt better bite and explosion from a stop. Maybe a little less stability but more agile. Can't wait to try it at tonite's game.

To be clear, I was not connecting ice "hardness" (hard vs. soft) to quality. I'd say there is a range and sweet-spot, with the extremes in both directions being poor quality. I was only stating that due to the noticeable difference I run a larger hollow in Europe. Figure skating demands softer ice, speed skating harder/faster ice. My home rink here is mixed use (mostly figure skating, public skating, and hockey) but dedicated indoor arena. The DEL pro practice rink (dedicated hockey year round) is actually bit softer imo. The building and ambient temp. is warmish and humid. Tap water here is very hard (full of "kalk"). Both facilities are top quality. I would never comment they have "bad ice", it's only relatively softer than the Alberta sheets I'm skating on. I come from north of Red Deer, slightly colder and dryer. There I also skate outdoor pretty regularly. As recently as this January still skating down to -18, although more like -8C to -3C is ideal. Overnight drops -10 degrees colder or more.

This year’s line is called the Flylite. They’re coming in various colorways (like their sticks now) such as all black, red, blue, orange, and green

Indeed. Elite actually has their "Polaris" profile which is the Quad 0.5 with sections 3 and 4 switched with each other.

Ewww. Can you edit the post to reflect that? One thing I love about Modsquad is the objectivity from a diverse population. People can have big feelings about who does their sharpening and what process is better, but that feels gross when he says “no subjective feelings” and he’s shilling for his own work.

I'm thinking it might have to do with the transitions between the various radii on the Quad. It doesn't feel as natural for me as say a 10'/11' combo. I have since switched to at the 9/10/11' triple that comes standard on Bladetech. I quite like it. Might be my favorite so far.

Those look really terrible. Like an aliexpress skate trying to mimic something from like 2003.

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

Discounts for MSH'ers? :)

Just a thought: By returning to a single profile, you might be rediscovering skating moves you've performed for decades off the heel of your skates. These same moves likely don't work as well with the larger heels found on some of the newer profiles.

The stick blade compression is really good. You can point a a ton of NHL players who have elite skill sets and use fairly different blades. It’s more about picking a steel profile and radius that works for you and sticking with it,and learning to maximize that, rather than constantly tinkering and fantasizing that changing the shape of your runner is gonna give you better hockey sense and make you noticeably faster.

Everyone over 40 thinks these look amazing, everyone under 30 is like “where are the racing stripes, grandpa?”

Just in... STFU with these things 🔥🔥

Hi all! Got back into roller after stepping away from the game for the last 10 years or so (I just checked my last post way back in January 2014...time flies 😅). Moved to SoCal where the roller hockey scene is still thriving with NARCh, TORHS, and Legends draft tournaments are still regularly booking rinks between Irvine, Corona, and Escondido. After watching roller hockey slowly die where I grew up in North Carolina, it was a breath of fresh air to see people committed to roller hockey's growth and viability in Southern California. In an effort to continue fostering interest in roller hockey and take a trip down memory lane on some of the gear that defined roller hockey's golden era, I just started a new channel called "Retro Roller". We'll be taking a look at throwback gear from the 90's and early 00's and interviewing key people in the industry today that either pioneered their design or used them during their heyday. As a sneak peek- our first product we're diving into are the old V-Form skates and we're chatting with Peter Dale on when he used those skates back in the Pro Beach Hockey days. Please give us a follow on Instagram and we'd love pictures of your throwback gear you'd like us to highlight in our stories! Glad MSH is still around after all these years and look forward to engaging with the community again. Cheers!

What's the continued point? I thought the general consensus was that 1) hand sharpening by a skilled sharpener will be a better quality sharpening than a Sparx, and 2) the Sparx advantage is the convenience, speed, and consistency at the sacrifice of quality. These two things can coexist...and one is not better than the other depending on your circumstances and needs.

I don't wanna hear another word about people in Pittsburgh talking funny.

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.