New 2025 Top End Vapor Skates

[New 2025 Top End Vapor Skates]

On 4/2/2025 at 4:06 AM, flip12 said:

Amp Fly Weight?

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

[New 2025 Top End Vapor Skates]

15 hours ago, JGraz15 said:

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 

Pretty sure I had Flylites back in the early 2000's, but they were made by Mission lol

[2024-2025 Gear Sightings]

On 3/24/2025 at 9:56 PM, IPv6Freely said:

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

Looks like a rebadged Bauer Vapor APX.

[Newer Pant Models with Wider Legs]

I'm a Tackla guy.  If my current pair ever falls apart (It took the last ones 20 years,) maybe I'll look into these.

[Bauer $old, $ticks & Gear $$$]

I think Bauer, CCM, and True are all on the block right now. right?

[Best Gear Deodorizer Spray]

Clear Gear and I put my equipment in a Rocket Dryer when I get home.

[Show It Off]

On 4/14/2024 at 2:56 PM, IPv6Freely said:

That is an insane number of sticks. 

I have a teammate who has a basement wall lined with them and a storage unit as well.

[Graf video with Mr. Graf]

On 2/21/2024 at 3:19 PM, flip12 said:

They really ought to find a way to channel the success of the 703 into modern tech. They don't need to radically alter any of the major function points, just upgrade the construction. That's proven tricky over the last few decades, however.

Yeah, every once in a while I'll pick them up and they feel like bricks.  But I did my best skating and the best years of playing were spent in them.  If anything, I have weak ankles now because the support of composite boots.

[Graf video with Mr. Graf]

Loved the video.  And I loved my 703's.  Held on to them for 13 years, unfortunately at the time they gave out, composite boots were on the market and I made the switch.  Maybe someday I'll find myself back in them.

[Goaltending basics resources]

Through graduation and losing players to travel, our team manager is now our backup goalie. He's learning to skate and goalie on the fly.  Does anyone know what the best resources are for goaltending basics so I can either help him out or he can absorb the material on his own?  Youtube, websites, social media?

[Neck protection]

Food for thought, though the test is 6 years old and there may be new contenders on the market for Skate Armor.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5637734/

[If you can afford something like True SVH skates why would you bother getting off the shelf skates?]

Maybe I'm a mutant.  13 years in Graf 703's.  10 years in my current custom APX.  But I'm also not a large guy, or heavy.

[If you can afford something like True SVH skates why would you bother getting off the shelf skates?]

I have weird feet and I'm not growing anymore.  After a pair or two of skates that never fit correctly, I went to @DarkStar50for custom Bauer APX's back in the day and it was sooooooooooo worth the custom fee.  No break-in, no pain, still rocking them 12 years later.

[What is the oddest hockey equipment ever?]

I've got a pair of the Red Black and White ones, so the marketing worked on me lol.

[Aline vs. currex vs. Superfeet]

On 8/21/2023 at 4:54 AM, sweed said:

I love these and suggest you try them. Soft but supportive and lightweight. Easy to mold yourself.

https://retail.formthotics.com/products/ski-tour-dual/

Are these available in the U.S.?  There's no option to buy on their site and any searches usual pull up sites in Australia or New Zealand.

[What is the oddest hockey equipment ever?]

Oakley Mace gloves were a weird one.  Just because the Brand and the aesthetic design.

[Curve in between p88 and p92]

P14 if they still make it or you can still find it.

[Anyone try the Powerfly holders yet?]

On 6/7/2023 at 8:21 AM, mcne0101 said:

These look like an updated version of the old Mission holders from the early 2000's.

The Flyweights...Powerfly--Flyweight--Powerfly.  Could be on to something here.

[Coaches: Family/Spouse Conflicts?]

Has anyone been forced by their partner or spouse to quit coaching?  I could understand if you just had a kid/young family, but just because?

[Leg exercises while recovering from shoulder surgery]

Lunges (front, back, side), bulgarian split squats.  Some simple hip mobility, strength exercises like these:

 

[Best skate sock?]

On 5/28/2015 at 9:54 PM, methosb said:

A problem I always have is my leg hair just above my ankles seem to find their way through holes in the material and get pulled up and down as I play causing some irritation.

lol I've been buzzing my leg hairs for decades just for this reason.

[DriBlades]

@BenBreeg I don't know if I'd call it a derailment hehe.  It's diving deeper into what methods can work better for athletes.  I may have seen the doc, but I'll double check.  Sometimes it takes an injury to find a better way to do things, which I think was a pretty large motivator for DeFranco.  My friend had Hischier and Siegenthaler for a little bit when they came back to the U.S. pre-season last year.  They did a podcast with Nico during that time.  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mike-and-brooker-show/id1510678873?i=1000533850720  It's interesting.   The listens are sadly much higher on the athletes, than on the top-end trainers and innovators that train the athletes themselves. DeFranco was episode 57.  If you want a laugh, check out Chris Hogan #40

[Ovechkin breaking records this season]

I don't think Ovechkin has ever really needed an enforcer, the guy's a bull.  He still has 4 years to put up 114 goals.  So he'll have to essentially put up 29 goals a season.  He may get close, it'd be awesome to see.  It depends on whether Washington can continue to retool around him as well.  The roster's been aging.

[DriBlades]

On 8/23/2022 at 12:04 PM, BenBreeg said:

Think about it, it may not seem obvious but the S&C coach's #1 priority has to be keeping guys on the field/ice.  If you are explaining to coaches why guys are hurt or banged up from the weight room, you aren't going to be working for long.  

Check out The Hockey Strength podcast, tons of NHL and NCAA S&C coaches on there talking about their experiences and approaches.  Yeah, they are 100% always open to learning and trying new things, but managing workload, stress, etc. is always in the equation.  Guys like Joe DeFranco and Jim Wendler hardly ever squat or do straight bar deadlifts with their guys, either because they are training vets who are so beat up from years of playing and training, or because they learned new things.  Wendler coaches HS kids now.  He said he switched them to TB deadlifts, and when they would periodically test their squats, they were going up.  So he is increasing whole body strength in a way that doesn't have the risk of a traditional back squat.  This is coming from a guy who was an adherent to Westside, so that tells you how open minded you need to be.

Correct, the name of the game is usually long-term health and pre-hab to avoid injury.  Funny you mentioned Joe DeFranco, I used to go to his gym to train with my friend who maintained a large portion of the clients when Joe relocated.  And yes, never bench pressed anything, a lot of functional strength work, weighted body work.  Seen lots of NFL, NBA, MLB with successful and long careers come through that gym.  The occasional NHLer.  Always have to be learning and evolving.

[Bauer vs CCM vs True Custom skates]

My Bauer customs I got to go custom width on the boot, custom stretch on the toecap, and a couple other small tweaks.  I could have done different stiffness, etc.  But this was also maybe 10 years ago at this point.