Leaderboard

Indeed. But the messaging around the top eyelet controversy I think is doing a disservice to others. Nobody will argue that ankle mobility is paramount. However, skipping the top or second eyelet is a solution to a problem created by the trend towards ultra stiff skates. Versus some sort of new paradigm in skating technique, which it most certainly is not.

I was asked to complete a survey for CCM several months ago regarding their logo. The one seen in the pic was one of the options in the survey, so I suspect they are actually changing the logo.

Think you meant to post this:

I’ve held it. It’s neat, but a gimmick, IMO (especially at that price point). Let’s hope it stays in one piece. Bauer is trying to become the “Apple” of the hockey industry. The “Bauer Tax” is quickly becoming a real thing.

At the end of the day, just like almost all hockey gear related questions, it all comes down to personal preference.

Well...always gonna be exposed somewhere. I played D3 defense in Cooper SB-94 shoulder pads with the caps cut off...I'm no stranger to danger...and yeah...it's stoopid...my choice.

Completed that survey too. And I'm p.sure I had this one ranked last.

Bring back the classic “squares” logo or gtfo.

Newish CCM logo https://www.instagram.com/p/CNdjOuHB_VV/

Absolutely - just saw where you're located and there a few people in that area who should be driving in for this.

I had roller blades like this.

Lange was ahead of its time. Using ski boot technology for stiffness, but incorporating a hinge to allow for some forward flex.

I don’t see anyone claiming it is a new paradigm, I think you are tilting at windmills. As long as I can remember people have viewed one of the purposes of skates to do the work of supporting the ankle. Tendon guards used to have eyelets, guys used to tape tendon guards to their shinguards, lace tighteners, etc. The stance of the desireability of greater degrees of ankle mobility is not a widely held view for the general population. Stiffer skates do make the problem worse. How messaging around lacing solutions is doing a disservice is a mystery. You going to convince them to make softer skates?

But he skips the second eyelet and wears a flexible skate. It is data, a study which references other studies and adds to the body of knowledge.

I see an article like this, and then I think of Sidney Crosby cranking down on his top eyelet. Believe it or not, it is actually possible to have the top eyelet tight and still have ankle flexion.

Good article, although the paragraph about motivation to leave the eyelet undone seems out of place in an academic paper. The rationale behind it has zero impact on the data and all of those guys tuck their tongues now anyway. Using vertical displacement as a positive data point at first seemed odd but it makes sense as you can’t push horizontal and there will be a vertical element to the vector which should correlate to acceleration and speed.

I do this with my 11k, since it just has the wheel in the back to tighten. With my e700s they just have the elastic inside so I never have to adjust them

Less production costs as well.

It will be attractive to a small subset of skaters. IMO Pulse TI is the way to go....

It definitely is all personal preference. But, if you recall, this thread was literally for the express purpose of hearing the arguments against cutting loops. So it's not like people in here who explain why not to cut loops are trying to inhibit anyone's personal choice. They are just responding to the thread and staying on topic.

Exactly. It’s your choice really and comfort. Just because it’s not as protective or something doesn’t really matter. Lots of pros cut the loops. I do on some gloves if they are super stiff. It’s all personal preference.

@ivani Ok, that's what I thought. Although you get better maneuverability than with a straight setup, the downside of rockering the wheels with smaller front and rear wheels is of course that you get less stability and grip to the surface. It also gets a bit "choppy" since the rocker is more "on and off" between the different positions. With our Flow Motion Technology you get a much smoother rocker movement and weight transfer for better feel, power transfer and roll on the wheels. If you use our Standard (straight) wheel setup and want more maneuverability we suggest our Advanced setup with a smaller front wheel in addition to our technology. You could of course also put a smaller rear wheel also (as in the banana setup) but my personal opinion is that you get too much movement and lack of stability. //Per

What am I supposed to be seeing? I'm doing great with them cut.

I have but the performance hit for me is too great at this stage, I'm slowly closing the gap (versus laced up) but it's a long term learning process. I train with no laces and currently play with the bottom 4 eyelets laced up only (I move between 3 to 5 eyelets laced up depending on the boot I'm in). As to playing in games, this guy (Daryl Evans) played a chunk of his NHL career with just the bottom 5 eyelets done up and there are pics of him playing in all star games with no laces.

The “tennis shoe” comparison was a bit over the top. My apologies. I don’t recall the tongue containing memory foam. The tongue is however, less “rigid” and a bit more “plush” than the previous Vapor tongues. It still has lace bite protection. I usually hate Bauer tongues (I use the CCM XS Slim and love it), but this tongue was one I could see myself skating with. Not allowed to say anymore about the boot, sorry....or the new LS steel .

Eek, that's a tough question because I have different preferences. For retail skates I like the one piece construction because I find it has much more lateral support at the sole level. For me this is one of the key areas if you skate lace free. The Jetspeeds are nice but too soft when unlaced (but this was 2 years ago and my mechanics have changed a lot and I need to give them another go). The AS1 and AS3 are fine but my current skate is a custom extra stiff apx2 I picked up off eBay. If you want something close to the one100 when laced up then I'd go with a Jetspeed, the AS1 / 3 are in a completely different realm when it comes to stiffness.

Depends on the flow. Seriously, I never touched the adjustment after the initial fit until my hair got a little long.

I still have my One100's (last skated in them in Jan) - my Jetspeeds would be on par, my AS1's and AS3's are much much stiffer (all are retail skates).

Does anyone but a bunch of equipment nerds care what type of steel skates sell with at retail? Most people can’t be bothered to figure out what hollow they skate on.

Found this in my basement storage room. Maybe I’ll wear it next week

Easton Mako skates, hands down.

What I meant was a different player. I saw a photo of Oshie sitting in his spot in a locker room where there was a similar pair of Bauer shoulder pads behind him, but I think that was for a player who sat next to him in the locker room.

Sorry, I just think it's funny that you refer to arguably the 2nd best defenceman all time as "another player".

Paradigm or evolution? If you told any coach 10 years ago that one of the fastest ways to skate up the rink was lateral cross overs you would have been laughed off the rink. Even with his near perfect bio mechanics, could McDavid use his lateral cross overs as effectively in boots from 20 years ago? And traditional power skating techniques, aka Laura Stamm, long considered a gold standard are now been rethought with different techniques and approaches been developed. All of this because of changes in boot technology, design and analytics. Ever since boots have been made, manufacturers have been trying to make them stiffer with the belief that reduced ankle articulation would lead to better and faster skating. Reduced ankle articulation would shift the control of the skate to the biggest and strongest muscles in the legs - glutes, quads etc - and this would enable more stability and control. Lace up as tight as you can was part of this paradigm (originally they had to because the boot really offered no other support). Then over the last 10 years or so new materials in boot design created ultra stiff boots but the lacing message remained the same, generally coming from established people in the sport like players and coaches who have been around for years - that's what I was taught so that is what I will teach. My belief is that the data and research coming out now and over the next few years will alter boot design away from the quasi ultra stiff ski boot, for a technique and health perspective. The boot will evolve into a design that has different flex zones incorporated into it. From under the ankles upwards you will be able to get different, custom flex zones, the boot will still wrap around the foot but the ankle will be able to articulate within a form fitting boot. We have never had this mix of design before (stiff lower / flexible upper), graf was starting down this path with its flex zone but the rest of the boot technology was behind what other manufacturers were producing. How such a design might change or create a new paradigm for skating we can only speculate at this point but I would suggest that the changes in boot design over the last 10 years or so has led to different approaches in skating techniques and that we will continue to see this in the future as technology in boots continues to evolve and skaters learn to take advantage of this.

Duclair had these on last night