jimmy

The quality of the Elite steel is pretty good. I wouldn't say Step is better quality, but Steps are solid and 10% more height. Some people like that, others prefer the lighter Elite runners. If you rotate two different brands of steel, if the radius is the same and you rotate often (not stay on one pair too long), you won't really notice a difference. If you stay on one pair a long time, your body mechanics will adjust to that set, so rotating to a different set could feel different. Best to rotate between the 2 every 6 outings or so.

Your post is funny, there is no "Mako Bump". If in fact it was a design problem, virtually everyone with these skates would have it. I don't and have had my Mako's since March. I pretty much sold out of the Mako's in my store and not one customer had the "bump". How come? The skate may not fit perfect on everyone, but it does fit perfect on most. Perhaps it's just a few people who post on boards. I wouldn't worry about it. And no, Easton is not taking trade-ins on the MakoII.

That's odd, how did he fit them in his Eholder? CCM only made/makes one size hardware for that holder. Still, take them to someone with a drill press and slightly enlarge the holes in the steel.

The 2's have a thick felt tounge. I'm not sure how you could put in a different tounge since it's not sewn in like conventional tounges.

Calm down. The real is not that you made it up, rather that one can't take everything they read on boards and assume it's a widespread issue. It's common that more negatives are posted on boards and that skews the truth about the product. Not just on hockey boards, but this trend is virtually on every board out there. Every product will have issues, but boards tend to amplify them. That was and is my point.

One store had so-called returns, others none. You can't assume what you read on a board is a widespread issue. There are so many variables, were the skates heat molded correctly, correctly sized, amoung others. From what I've seen this skate is pretty durable and has very few issues if any. Perfect, nope, just like all othe brands, every once in a while a bad one is out there.

I disagree, the cool-aid drinkers want the popular brand whether it fits or not. We often tell them that the model they want won't fit their foot, but they buy it anyway. Sad state of hockey when popularity and fitting in with the crowd is more important than proper fit and function.

I see it totally opposite. The MLX looked like it was made in a garage, heavy, no clean lines and ugly. The Mako is well made and looks good. I agree not eveyone likes orange, future models will no be the same for sure.

You are correct 3 degrees total.

You are out of luck my friend, the Makos must be tried on, they fit so different than you'd expect. Mine were a 1/2 size off than what i expected based on conventional fitting. You could get them from one of the online stores that offers free return shipping if they don't fit.

Not fiberglass, carbon fibre. This is used to make skates light, unfortunately a tradoff is when hit, it can crack.

There is not just one profile, every skater get a customized profile for them. But it doesn't matter because pitch is a separate adjustment so it doesn't matter what the profile is.

I beg to differ. Plenty of steel to remove the pitch on the steel, no difference than say to add pitch to a Bauer. I've done this to quite a few Mako's. When I spoke with the Mako designer, I questioned him on the pitch on the steel and commented that it should be neutral and then let the player decide if more is needed, especially there is pitch built into the holder. He was a firm believer that aggressive pitch would make a better skater. Skate manufacturers cannot even get their radius, pitch and pivot points to match on 9 out of 10 out of the box skate pairs. Steel is mass produced by subcontractors, and is all over the place in regards to matching the so-called factory radius. If they labeled them, the labeling would be incorrect. Fine tuning and balancing is best left to a radius professional who can match it to the skaters style and needs. I suggest you visit your shop and simply have them put the radius you want on them and reverse the pitch. Even if you put LS2 holders on them, there is no guaranty what pitch you will end up with and then they may not feel forward enough. Either way you are likely going to need a profile, it's short money so why not.

People spend more money to get their $900 Bauers to work properly as well. Nothing new, especially for balance issues which are pretty common. They chose the aggressive pitch for the Mako because they believe it works well for a majority of the skaters. For those who it doesn't, a simple profile can correct that. No prob. I don't think this is common but some skaters may get it, especially if they were coming from taller skates. We went through this same conversation years ago with the Kor's and likely will with VH as well. This happens when going to shorter skates. The skin is just not tough in the lower area yet. The key is to limit further rubbing until the bruise heals (silicon or neoprene works well for that). I don't think the tendon guard has anything to do with it, and rolling the top is not a better choice than neoprene.

Oh, you implied a bump similar to the famous Bauer Bump which is not at top of the boot. Can you post a pic of your problem area?

Sounds like the skate is too big.

Sounds like you are in the wrong size.

I realize they had to make them orange to make them stand out at the rink and on TV so the little minds full of mush can distinguish them from all the other cookie cutter skates, but honestly it is hurting sales as a certain percentage of people will not be seen in orange even if the skate was the most comfortable thing ever (which it is BTW). They should have offered replacement tendon guards in all black.

There have been many products that were superior to others but lacking brand name, never made it or became popular. Unfortunately in the hockey market today, popularity and wearing popular brand equipment is much more important thant fit, form and function. The Mako's may have the Easton name on them, but they are far from a Easton product, essentially a rebranded MLX designed by the same MLX team. Funny, when MLX's were out people were drooling over them, but put a Easton name on a MLX and somehow they no longer have appeal. Yes, Easton's poor history with the S series skates are partially to blame.. The reverse of this is the Itech Concept II Visor. Was a very poor seller as a Iteck, but slap a Bauer name on it and they now fly off the shelf. Personally, I think the big mistake for the Mako is the overdoing of the orange color. Too many sales are lost for this reason alone.

At 9yo, assuming he's not too heavy the 100/75 would should be fine. While the chart says 95/1 is equiv to 7/16 hollow, it's not really exact and in real life use it is is not too far off from the 100/75, so similar.

So, how did it happen?

I've been doing it since it first came out in Europe. Got one of the prototype dressers and bits early on and had a chance to test it, both with volunteers, and those who just wanted to try it. As with all sharpening methods, some like it some don't. I have quite a few who were on FBV, who switched to it permanently, and also some who went back to FBV. There is nothing wrong with this method, it has great grip and good speed, just like FBV, just achieves it in a different way. All I can say is you just won't know unless you try it.

As with all steel, all manufacturers, there is no difference between left and right runners other than the labeling and writing on the sides. They are identical. Sounds like they just pulled 2 lefts out of the box, no big deal. For years CCM/RBK sold their steel by right and left. When I went to order them, they would have 500 rights in stock, but no lefts, backordered for months. No big deal, we just ordered all rights so at least we'd have enough to cover our customer's needs. Enjoy your steel, it is likely better than your stock steel.

A 30/50 is comparable to about 1/32" of pitch. If changing steel is your reason to want the LS Edge holders, you do know it only takes 2 mins to change the mako steel out, the screws are external not a pain the the a$$ like LS2 or Tuuk holders. Really won't take much longer that the edge's. Get a set of ES4 steel to have in your bag and that way you can have the extra set without having to buy and have new installed.

Very soft/watery ice = more bite.