Vet88

Have you looked into ESWT? There are a number of studies out over the last couple of years that show it's effectiveness in the right circumstances. Whether or not it is suitable for you I don't know but ESWT versus cortisone studies in hip injuries such as gluteal or hamstring tendinopathy have shown ESWT to be more effective.

For those that use aftermarket steels, do you want to comment on their durability? I've had 3 sets of step blacksteel crack on me after playing a puck off the steel, I can't say if it was the temperature (eg middle of winter) or the force of the puck (nothing comes to mind for this other than it was a solid pass) or I was just sol but it was disappointing. For those that have used Tydan, Massive etc had anything similar happen?

I have tried them all (Bauer and CCM best across all lines) and I always end up back with Rbk 10k's, 11k's, 8k pro etc. I made a decision a few years ago to not change what I thought was a near on perfect guard so I purchased spares and with an understanding tailor I hopefully will never have to change. They still appear now and again for sale eg if you wore a 15" I'd buy these in a heartbeat https://www.ebay.com/itm/Reebok-11K-NHL-Jofa-15-shin-guards-Sr-senior-ice-hockey/274226538385?hash=item3fd92ce791:g:wpAAAOSwafJeLGRr.

If it fits well everywhere else then a Supreme EE isn't going to help, you will be getting a wider heel and forefoot for the skate of a little bit of volume. Your issues are not uncommon, it's a foot shape that retail boots don't cover, extra volume in the skate. If you want to stay in these then make your own eyelet extenders, then you can lace the boots up as tight as you like without any pain. It's not hard, have a look at these https://i.imgur.com/vzYCq5L.jpg as to what individual extenders look like, or you can make them as a 2 or 3 eyelet or however many you like. Message me if you want more info and what you need to do this. Or buy Reebok lacelocks, they can still be found on eBay and in shops.

Ask if they have a Brannock or some other foot measuring device. This should give them the width of your foot and therefore the appropriate width boot you should go in. Another more simplistic way is to take out the footbed and put your foot on it, if your foot spills out over the sides then the boot is most likely to narrow. However this isn't a great measure as often the footbeds aren't exactly to the shape of the boot. Another simple test I use is after you have laced them up and worn them around the shop for a few minutes to see how they feel, undo them and pull the laces right out. You should be able to lift your foot and move it around and the boot shouldn't fall off your foot. If you trying the Bauer range, the Vapour is the narrowest fit, then Supreme and then Nexus with the biggest all round fit. Don't buy a bigger boot to solve one tight fitting area, if the heel fits good but the forefoot is tight then get the boot stretched (see following). If the boot is bakeable and you find you have sore spots when you skate, the boot can be punched or stretched. Ask them that if the boot is too narrow or has hot spots after you skate in them that they will punch / stretch the boot for you for free. Do some research as to how a boot should fit you, there is lots of info here and on the web. For example look at this for an understanding of the different boot shapes and models and cost https://beerleaguetips.com/article/hockey-skate-lineup-comparison/

The pain on the side is caused by the top of the boot digging into your leg. Based on the following, I don't think the pain in the front is lace bite but is caused by your foot leveraging against the tongue as it flops up and down in the boot. You wear size 45eur and the boot is size 45.5eur. Hockey boots are not sized the same as street shoes, they are sized differently. A 45.5 eur sized hockey boot is equivalent to a 47eur sized shoe (rough estimate). So these boots are too big for you by approximately 1.5 to 2 sizes (depending on how you wear your street shoes). Here is a simple test: take the laces out of the boot, pull the tongue right out, slide your foot into the boot and push it forward until the toes just brush the toe cap. Now bend forward slightly in the boot and see if you can fit a pencil down between the back of your heel and the boot. If you can fit a pencil down there then the boots are at least a size to big, the ideal gap is 1mm - 2mm.. You can't fix this, sell the boots and buy some that fit you correctly for length. This doesn't mean the fit is going to be correct as you also need to think about width, volume and overall fit but getting the right length is at least a start. You either need to really understand what you are trying to buy if buying online or you need to get to a shop to try boots on.

The looser the boots are tied the less pain the skater will have, it's the constriction / pressure points that cause the pain. But most skaters can't handle the instability and do not have the desire to train hard enough to learn to skate with loose laces therefore remedial work is needed on skates to get them to fit the shape of the foot.

Pain where? Can you post a picture of your foot showing where the pain is? It's either poor fitting skates, wrong foot shape for the skate you are in or poor bio mechanics (or a combination of any of these). and doing them up tight so they are like a ski boot isn't the answer.

Didn't Graf do this with their latest line, eg 9035, and the flex zone which you could get in different flexes?

If anyone is interested, 2 indepth break downs on cost and break evens based on the NA market (the OP provides a link to the 2nd break down at the bottom of his post).

Where in the front of the foot is it too tight? On the big toe? On the little toe? Across the forefoot? You can get the skate punched to alleviate most issues, especially since you indicated the boot fits you well everywhere else. You can wear any sock you want but if the skate is a tight fit I'd want to wear thin socks.

It depends on waist and build and how you like the fit. I was a slim build, 34" waist and the 9k medium was snug on me, I like the snug fit. If I was a solid build, ie fat assed, I'd have really struggled. However over the years middle aged spread has crept up on me and the girdle has stretched to accommodate it. If you are a solid medium and like a looser fit I'd go with a large. If you are a slim to normal medium and like a snug fit I'd go with a medium.

This is like trying to compare apples and oranges, a sparx unit versus a traditional sharpening unit both have strengths and weaknesses. Your running costs with a traditional unit will always be cheaper but it requires a lot more skill to get a good sharpening. A sparx is plug and push, no skill needed as long as the alignment is correct. You got 25 sharpenings, let's say you charged 10 euro a sharpening, if I was running a shop I would not be comfortable with that return. However as a home user at 3.2 euro per sharpening versus a LHS charge??? What is there to not like about that cost other than we always want it cheaper? If you are unhappy then maybe charge a per pass cost? Then if they turn up with massively damaged blades you get a higher return for your sharpening (if a financial return is a key driver of what you are trying to do).

If the boot fits you well every else get it punched / stretched in that area. Any half decent pro shop should be able to do it or you can stretch it yourself at home for about $20 of parts you can find at your local home depot etc.

I wouldn't hack the unit, I'd focus on the ring. Lots of different ways to do this and it's easy once you have the gear (a read / write unit).

And there is your answer, the toe and heels are completely different. You either stick with the 2s pro (LS5?) and adapt or find someone who can reprofile it to the MX3 shape. But as this is most probably a ground down wrecked profile you will always have to get your blades reprofiled to get the same feel.

😲😲😲 the price of a sparx unit from ms europe, wtf.....

Have you considered using a reshipper like myus? For example it's around $15 for 2kgs to Europe and with a US drop box you can now shop at US local prices.

Whereas I have a totally opposite view. Beginners skating in a stiff boot is the worst thing they can do. Yes, it provides more stability but at a long term serious cost. That stability reinforces bad habits and poor skating technique, the brain doesn't know any different, you are still standing upright so everything must be working ok. But take a look at the way you skate from a bio mechanical perspective and it's just a mess (yes, there those who are naturally gifted with perfect alignment from day one but around 85% of the population aren't). Whereas skate in a boot that offers no support, or with laces really loose / untied, and now the body has to use the feet / ankles to balance itself correctly over the skate blades. The brain now has feedback coming from the feet and everything starts to come into alignment as the body strives to find the most energy efficient way to skate. This is what builds the foundation for a player to be able to skate to the best of their abilities. Correct alignment leads to correct technique and maximum power. Now add a stiff boot and you get even more power but only because the body knows how to use it properly. BUT..... Ice rinks operators aren't interested in this philosophy. If ice skating is too hard (skates with no support) the general public won't participate as much. Their goal is to make it as easy as possible to skate ergo a stiff supported boot so the public find the experience as easy as possible. So my comments aren't really aimed at the mass market, more specifically those who are driven and focused to improve their skating ability be it speed, figure or hockey.

It could be unused muscles getting used to skating again but if its in the forefoot area I'd suspect forefoot skate width / fit. Standing in them versus skating in them are 2 very different things. Couple of things to try, as difficult as it may be try tying the skates really really loose, or even not at all. Go for a gentle skate and see how your feet feel after 20 minutes. Yes, you will wobble all over the place until you start to get the hang of it but the loose fit will give your forefoot some room and help to orientate your balance over the top of the skate blade (better body alignment, less stress on the feet). If your feet dont hurt in the forefoot (your ankle and calf may get tired because they are working harder) doing this I'd question the forefoot width of the skate. Then you have 2 options, get the boot stretched or get wider skates. If you go for another pair of skates don't get a wider model just for the forefoot width. If your current skates fit you ok everywhere else then getting a wider, bigger fit just makes everywhere else a marginal or sloppy fit for the sake of the forefoot. Stretching the boot isn't hard to do, any half decent shop should have the tools so always buy for the best fit all over then fix the individual problems with stretching and punching. However it may mean that you can't buy a bottom end model, you will need to buy a boot that can be baked and will tolerate stretching. Customs are another option but I won't cover this here. For your arch pain try a foot bed like superfeet or Bauer speedplates. They will help to keep the shape of your instep whilst in the boot. And if you try this option first, you can still try the above if the pain persists.

It can still be found on current top of the line sticks (was phased out from all other lower lines) but whatever is out there now is it. The rep told me it will be phased out from all future lines. Player I coach uses a 2S pro 77 flex lefty and he brought the last 5 Bauer had in their warehouse in Europe. He was told they will have no more.

Disappearing now PM9, Bauer rep told me the other day that there were only a few left in stock in their stock center in Europe. After that, gone for good...

I agree. Whilst 25 could have made a different decision at the offensive blue line and not started to skate backwards so much to cover, the break out D could have made a different pass and then 25 is screwed, stuck in no mans land going nowhere covering no one. So he skates backward not sure where the break pass is going to but covering all 3 forwards. The pass comes up the middle, now he has to stop, accelerate forward and make ABSOLUTELY sure he gets that puck because if he doesn't he is royally screwed. If the forward receiving the pass continues to skate backwards then it's an easy pick but if the forward also steps up then tips the puck past 25 for the other 2 forwards to skate onto it turns into a 2 on 0 (as the weak side D is still just a pylon). At this point I wouldn't have done anything different to what 25 did but I am a stay at home D.

25 cant step up in the neutral zone because the break out D would have hit the winger instead of the center forward, then 25 is still facing a 3 on 1 (weak side D is providing no support at all!) but is now shallow, nearly stationary and can be easily burnt either side thru the neutral zone. So he has to drop deeper to protect against the 3, the issue is his defence on the puck carrier into the D zone, just watch his feet, they stop moving (before the half way line!) whilst the puck carrier gets his crossovers going and accelerates. 25 gets burnt on the outside instead of sticking with the player and forcing him wide / button hook / drop pass. However even if 25 had held the puck carrier out, the rest of his team didn't help. The weak side D just puck watches and doesn't close the gap on the forward driving the middle and no one back checks hard enough to take out the drop pass so even if 25 did his job properly the puck carrier still had 2 open options.

That sucks. Do hold off because hopefully there are some material changes coming down the road which means you get a replacement hip for life, have a read about it here https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36855705 and my surgeon tells me nearly every company making implants is trialling this stuff. For me if I had to go thru it again I'd ask for an anterior approach, much less disruptive to the muscles and it doesn't screw up your gait because the surgeon didn't stitch the muscles back together correctly. Whatever you choose in the future, make sure you pick a surgeon who does this every day, experience is key to getting the alignment right so you aren't up for a revision a year or 2 after the surgery.