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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!

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.

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

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.

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

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/

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.

‘Best’ is all relative, right? Do you want protection, breathability, etc. I went through this journey years back. At the time I ended up with CCM QLT shoulders. I liked the breathability and profile. They had enough protection for beer league and wouldn’t have prevented the shoulder tear I got wearing them. I wore them for 4-5 years before moving into CLs. Preferred the CLs for moisture wicking and felt the breath ability was about the same, if not slightly better, than the QLT. When the FT4 line came out they were pitched as true replacements for the CL line. Unfortunately I tried the FT4 Pros and got rid of them almost immediately going back to CLs. For me, the FT4s simply did not breathe nearly as well as the other pads and that’s my primary concern. When the FT6 line launched and I found a pair of FT6 Pros for half price I figured why not. IMO CCM improved ventilation significantly compared to the FT4 line and that’s not accounting for the aer-tec part. I sold the CLs and these are now my primary shoulder pads. So for me and my ‘best’, the FT6 Pros and CLs fit the bill. I wouldn’t pay retail price for them, but if you can get them at a discount, they’re well worth 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.

I know plenty of players that use their products and have had no issues, from recreational to professional levels. Historically, TRUE has had some bumps in the road, as all companies do when they are growing, and I understand that you and others have likely experienced some product defects. However, the vast majority of players have not had that same experience. I don't think its fair to use such a small sample size to determine if a product is or is not durable. An interesting story. I have some TRUE prototype sticks that have no logos on them. One person I skate with who played NCAA D1 dislikes TRUE as a company. There was no specific reason; he just said he had tried their sticks before and didn't care for them. In a recent game, he broke his primary and backup sticks and asked to use one of my extras. After the game was done, he told me that the stick was one of the best he had ever used and asked me if I could order him a few. You should have seen his face when I told him it was TRUE. It was TRUEly priceless 😜

It's definitely very difficult to thread the top two eyelets over the tongue with the skates on. What is much easier is threading the eyelets behind the tongue and then pulling the laces over.

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

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.

Literally everyone who is mildly selective about sticks says these are always somewhere between low end mediocre to trash. The people who hype them up are either the people selling them, or people who love a “good deal” above all else. Whats more likely - a factory in China is gonna sell unbranded Bauers/CCMs out the back door to some random suburban dad in the USA, or that those sticks are actually just off brand sticks that play poorly and weigh around 400 grams? People delude themselves it’s actually a $400 stick with no graphics but the scenario is so full of holes. If all you care about is weight, go for these. But if you care about feel, balance, performance, etc, spend $30 more and buy a prostock stick from somewhere.

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.

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.

Wowzers… even more incredible that they’re zarley Zalapski’s (RIP)

maybe he didn't like that horrendous new CCM logo? 🤣

Personally I think pointing out the differences between the two are kind of moot. I would think 95+ of Sparx users go that route for convenience and cost savings, and until manual sharpening provides a much greater than tangible benefit, there’s no need to switch. The average youth and adult player is likely not to notice a discernible difference between the two. I prefer a manual sharpening because I own my own machine and have been doing it for just under 25 years. But the Sparx owners I know have 3-5 players in the house skating in some fashion 7 days a week. Convenience is king.

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.

As some said, the benefit of the Sparx is consistency and convenience. I used to sharpen FBV on a Blackstone prior to owning a Sparx, and I loved it. Nothing bad to say about it and it definitely produced better/cleaner edges. Blackstone makes a great machine. BUT, you have to know what you're doing, it takes more time, and yet there were occasions where I would still mess up and have to re-do everything. Eventually, loading a skate, hitting a button, and walking away and getting a 9 out of 10 was much more worth it to me than spending more time fidgeting with settings, checking marks, etc for a 10 out of 10 sharpen. Not surprisingly, pro EQMs use both. Sparx to establish the hollow and then a conventional sharpener to get a final finish.

I've been following True skates and the threads here on MSH for a while now and finally picked up a pair of Catalyst 7s from my local Hockey Monkey store yesterday. I finally found a store close to me that had them in stock to try and I'm glad I did. These fit amazingly well on my feel and feel almost exactly like my Makos, the best skates I have ever worn. These were so comfortable right out of the box, I could have skated in them without baking. This has been a long journey for me... I have a weird ankle with pronounced inner ankle bones that sit pretty far forward and on most stock skates, it touches or comes close to the end of the padding and some even touch the eyelets. Even then, I almost always have to have them punched out as well. This has always made it extremely difficult to find skates that didn't kill my ankles but still give me proper support. When the Makos came out I finally found the Holy Grail of skates for my feet. I have a pair of the original Makos and also picked up the Mako 2s when they came out as well... I was in heaven. And then Bauer bought them and we all know what happened after that. I kept skating on my Makos for a few years and then actually stopped playing hockey for the past several years and just played lacrosse all year round. During that time I sold off all of my old skates except the original Makos but now that I'm back into playing again, I had made up my mind that it was time for new ones. I started looking into the Catalyst last summer and figured that I'd try them on in one of my local stores when I had the chance. Well, the Makos started giving me trouble as my ankle bone finally worked its way through the padding and was causing sharp pain. Pain I'm all too familiar with from prior skates. I went to try some on and couldn't find any in my size anywhere. Ultimately, I had a local shop repair my Makos with new ankle padding and bought me more time with them. Then yesterday I walked into Monkey Sports and they had them in my size... tried on a couple pairs of Catalyst 7s and a couple HZRDUS 7s. The Cats fit me absolutely perfect... I couldn't believe how well they fit. The toe box, width, ankle...all of it fit my foot perfectly. My ankle bones lined up nicely on the size 9 but were a little too close to the edge on the 8.5s. My toes touched the toe caps, just resting against them. They offered to bake them to make sure and the 9s still fit perfectly and after baking the toes now feather the cap. I was kind of surprised my foot didn't slide back even further. I kicked my heel in pretty good and they did the shrink wrap method to bake them. Regardless, I'm totally psyched to have a pair of skates that fit my feet so amazingly well... I had to come here and make this post. JP

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

They are significantly stiffer than the LS Edge holder.

There is a solution to your request... put your money towards someone like Gepetto (prostockhockeysticks) instead of the retail giants. Hit them in the pocket.