AIREAYE

I believe there are still quite a few Sportcheks out there with old stock CNTs...they're not that rare over here.

That's not making it right. Making it right would be a sincere and honest apology. That post was simply a half-assed attempt at pushing more product, nothing apologetic about it. No idea if it really is HT or not, but assuming it was, this was just my opinion.

Optimus, if you were a new member, I would probably think that this was some sort of defamation scheme. That being said, I still find this very hard to believe. Not saying that you're lying, but from what I've read here... that's pretty crazy. JW, do you have a link to the facebook exchange? I can't seem to find it on their page.

I have no idea how they do it, but definitely something interesting to think about. Let's get back on topic.

But the cost of getting them to Australia would also be high too so the profit margins still wouldn't be that much. Just guessing though, I have no numbers. Yet I very much doubt that it costs the LHS $105 per unit of the S17 stick. Again, no numbers, just an educated guess.

That would never exist ... ever lol

The Lobster Claw!

The tension of waiting for your top choice is proportionally worse good luck!

JA, are the fingers tapered like on the S19s? As in, does it get 'thinner' thickness-wise?

Wow, absolutely great gloves it seems, thanks for the pics! Loving the index finger segmentation, the little blue segments on the outside of the index is placed smartly so that it prevents torquing of the finger roll...excellent!

5’10” 140 lbs Tackla Size 48 Background : I picked these pants up as part of an overall gear upgrade I had in August of 2011 and I now feel that I have enough experience in them (4.5 months, 1-3 times a week) for a review. I bought these guys as a replacement for my old Bauer Supreme One35s (review a few links down) which I felt was both a little short in length and lacking rear end protection. Another reason for choosing Tackla was that they definitely appear to have an excellent long-standing reputation to be perhaps the best pant manufacturer on the market; and the Made In Canada labelling was definitely a bonus. Fit/Comfort : 10/10 Tackla pants feature a ‘European’ or ‘Euro’ style fit, which is characterized by a tight waist and a wide or roomy leg/thigh. A personal preference for sure, but one that I enjoy. The size 48 was perfect length-wise for me, as the pant leg approached or sits on the upper ½ of the kneecap, eliminating any gap issues I had with the One35s. The tight waist is perhaps the greatest positive here, as the pant wraps very snugly and extremely comfortably around the body; perhaps the most comfortable pair of pants I have ever had on. It was heavenly! The low-density foams around the inner waist (kidney) of the pant are soft enough to give you that comfort level and beefy enough to be protective as well. Although the pant features both the traditional lacing system and belt system for tightness, I felt that just the lacing was enough to achieve that level of fit/tightness, rendering the belt unnecessary. This could be that it wraps around the outside of the pant rather than on the inside. The wider legs are also well fitted as they provide excellent, almost unnoticeable mobility without interfering with the top of the shin pad. The leg zipper with stretch liner backing (so while it does expand, there is no gap where your leg is exposed) was a nice feature as well. Protection : 10/10 Being a high-end (over $200 price-point iirc) pant, the 5500s feature amazing protection to be expected at that price namely multi-density layered foams with high quality moulded plastic inserts. The type and method that Tackla uses with their foam placement overlaps with the high comfort level as well. Everything from the tailbone piece to the kidney areas and hips pads contain a surface layer of soft foams that provide a nice base for the other inserts. Definitely an excellent consideration if you were to play high level hockey. Durability : 8/10 There are various places on the pant where the stitching has come loose, especially on the bottom rim of each leg. Although this is not an issue at the moment, there could come a point where it will be. The liner of the left side of the pant has also frazzled slightly. Slightly disappointing, given that domestically made gear is supposed to be ‘superior’ to Asian-made. This just goes to show that QC trumps that mindset. Weight : 8.5/10 This is definitely a pant on the bulkier side, although the level of mobility offsets that in my opinion and is a non-issue. However it is also important to consider that pants sit near your centre of gravity or your core, so a difference in weight conceivably wouldn’t be as noticeable as if it was further away, such as a stick. Intangibles : Absolutely no issues with odour or with moisture retaining. The liner on these guys appear to wick away moisture very well and the pant dry quickly as a result. One aspect however that I personally would like to see on these guys is a raised spinal guard, similar to the Tackla 951 and on countless other non-Tackla models. Another qualm that I have on these pants is the single segment on the tailbone pad inside the pant. The tailbone pad features thick low-density foams with a sturdy insert, but has a single segment on the lower third of the pad. This is supposed to offer better mobility but I’ve found that it can get stuck poking into your backside, especially if you hop over the boards and definitely not what you want if you fall directly on it (ouch!). Perhaps this would not be an issue with larger set people, but sometimes is a minor annoyance to me. Overall : 9/10 An excellent product which should be on clearance at most retailers (if they have any stock left that is). Definitely something to consider if one plays high level hockey or would simply like to give Tackla a try as I have. Quite impressed.

http://www.thesportsofa.com/?p=3411 that looks like an S17 to me

Very cool story I've been told coming in to work today; apparently Mike Cammalleri bought our last 2 S17 helmets in white M and had them shipped to Calgary! The Flames' EQM apparently is friends with Forzani's head tech and the tech found out that we were the only place in the entire country to still have the S17s in white M. I find it really neat that the next time Cammy wears the Calgary whites, the helmet would've been from our floor!

Winning the first game of the new intramural season, I played pretty bad though, gotta react better when that puck comes up the boards!

Plant traps, Home Alone-esque? Hope you get better dude.

This, thank you. I thought it was obvious. edit : to be clearer, this wasn't my customer, this was a former teammate who bought skates from a Sportchek. That explains the attitude haha

When people don't believe me when I tell them that Vapor products aren't for forwards and Supreme products aren't for defencemen....and they proceed to think they know more about everything than I do and go out to play shinny with a new pair of skates that don't fit and weren't even sharpened. there comes a point where you just pity the person.

We missed you dude, keep going!

Well kids, you unwrap the package and roll it down your... Haha, another point I noticed was that (obviously) we all tape our sticks differently. The way I do my toe wrap is a time/tape consuming process and I like it that way because taping is my mini-ritual. Is it practical to teach? Probably not. As an aside, we had a guy come in here and complain that his skates were sharpened poorly. Fair enough, no one is perfect and our tech was going to make sure that it was fixed. It happens. Then he goes on to say that he went to Play It Again (the story should end here lol jk) and he was told that the steel was warped. He takes our metal bar/ruler thing (dunno the name, I'm not a tech) to show us what he means. He takes it, holds it in place at ONE END of the steel and shows us how there's a small gap supposedly indicating warp. He then tells us that the steel should be flat (true) and compares it (with the device) against the counter. We spent the next 5 minutes trying to tell the man that the steel is perfectly fine, the problem being that he held the bar at one end of the steel, creating a lever, thus the gap. I think he was exaggerating, threatening to tell all his friends never to come here again. What do you techs think?

haha this is so true. I love small chitchat like this. From a business perspective as well, it's important. This stuff leads to human connections being made, leading to stuff like "Hey! I used to play for that team too! It was great, is so-and-so still around?" or "yeah, I remember you on the bench the other night!" I don't think that's what he's inferring. He's saying that basic hockey 'maintenance' skills should be learned by all at a certain age (tying skates, taping sticks). It's like that 'teach a man to fish vs giving him a fish' anecdote.

Apparently we had a customer in this one day perusing through our small bin of used junior skates ($30/pair) and intended to buy a pair. He asks my manager if we could give him a free pair of laces (~$4) and when my manager explained to him that the skates were as-is, he threw a hissy-fit, claiming that he came in here all the time for sharpenings. My manager explains to him then that we don't make any money if at all on those skates and he couldn't afford to throw in a pair of laces and that he came in here for our excellent service, selection and quality of sharpenings. The customer proceeds to demand the free pair of laces and threatens that he'll never shop here again if we didn't. Naturally, my manager doesn't budge but expresses his regrets haha. We never saw the guy again. The nerve of some people...it's like pushing us to give them a discount on an already heavily marked down item and taking it to the next level of 'are you serious??'

Oh yeah you're both absolutely right. Often times people don't know the differences and nuances which is to be expected. And Stryker's 90%/most of the time is true too. I just don't want to say that we can automatically give them the perfect product because no one can in any industry; it's all recommendation. As an example I had a guy in between SR and INT in terms of length and he elected to try an INT stick (Vapor XXV), and two SR sticks (77 flex X4.0 for $80 and an 85 flex S17 for slightly more); all were in his price range. After some explanation and shots, we went with the S17.

What's not to get? Maybe they're in between flexes/lengths, maybe they want to try different kickpoints/curves. You can't tell a customer what's best for them, you can only recommend based on some guidelines. IMO the only time I know that people are there to fool around is if there's a bunch of kids all with any combo of top-end stick and all talking excitedly with each other lol

That's beautiful lol, a few Gretzky and Ovechkin figurine ornaments (they actually sell those at Hallmark here) would complete it!

I guess they got sucked into the marketing...hopefully the M11 fits everyone because that's the #1 thing I don't understand about team orders; how a single helmet can fit every kid.