IPv6Freely

If you really want a backpack, I'd recommend this: http://www.gritinc.net/us/hockey/hockeypod.html It's what I use now for my player gear. It's fantastic, very comfortable, and like the other Grit models it has separate compartments for everything, if you're into that.

Yea it was really more about having something convenient than anything else.

I'm kicking myself for selling my Mammoth. Best bag on the market, period. (Though you certainly pay for it!) Was also looking at the sher-wood vintage pro bags, though I really dislike pro style bags. The more pockets the better.

Maybe, but it's far enough away that I've never been there, so quite irrelevant.

We have a guy who wears one of those player cateye cages, but otherwise I don't see much vintage gear.

Well, one of you can feel free to move to north county San Diego so I don't need the Sparx ;) That said, there's nothing "going on" here.

We definitely should not be discouraging manufacturers from replying to questions/comments/concerns. We should be embracing that, as most other consumers don't get that opportunity. If this thread was full of spam, it would be a different story.

IW's new bag actually looks really good: http://www.icewarehouse.com/IW_Hockey_Pro_Team_Carry_Bag_36/descpage-IWBAG36.html I think I've found my new bag :)

I'm envious of your situation.

Yea, those things are horrible. They work in a pinch but definitely zero reason to use them after a fresh cut. Only thing I can think of is the guy is on the wrong hollow for him and is trying to compensate, like the guys who rub their blades on the bench door threshold after a fresh skate. We had a guy on a previous team that swore up and down that the sweetstick was as good as a sharpening. Heh.

You're STILL dealing with that? Holy crap. Sorry to hear :( Funny you mentioned snap and pop... my ankle was popping almost CONSTANTLY when I was first able to put full weight on it without the cane. But not at all now. I kinda miss it, it felt good! lol

This is why I got a Sparx (photo of my old runners courtesy of JR):

Interesting. Mine works pretty well.

Whatever. He was a person you may have heard about but probably didn't. I guess this thread is fair game for being a douche.

Oh, you've already had it all out? this is just scar tissue irritation, then?

After not getting a chance to use my Sparx since May due to my injury, I finally used it again last night. Man, this thing is a dream. It's like using a toaster... skate in, press play, done! I've started again using it before every skate, doing just two passes unless I have visible damage (goalie skate... so I hit the posts fairly often). To me, that makes more sense than 4 passes every other skate. Consistency is the name of the game with this machine. Is it as good as somebody who has been sharpening for 40 years? Absolutely 100% not. Is it as good or better than the kid who butchers my blades every time at the LHS? Absolutely 100% yes. Does it mean I don't put off getting them sharpened for two months or more because I have to drive to another town to get them done, making the first skate really difficult? Again, a resounding yes. It doesn't replace pro shops with skilled sharpeners. Those skilled sharpeners should also not feel threatened by the Sparx, either. It fits a space where it makes sense for some people and not so much for others. There's nothing wrong with that.

That's what I heard, too. And I'm sure it's true... I probably took quite a bit longer because I didn't have surgery. Doctor basically gave me the option. Said it WOULD heal on its own, but would heal quicker with surgery. I had already read this thread by then and decided to skip the plate. Was 100% willing to do it if he'd said I needed to though. You'll get there, it just may take time. Others in this thread have also mentioned having their plate removed if that's an issue...

From the stories I've read in this thread, I have to say I feel VERY lucky to have not needed surgery.

Might as well give this one (hopefully final) update. I played my 3rd game (and 6th ice time including games and pickups) last night. For the first time, there was no pain at all. It was actually kind of an odd feeling. Despite losing, I was ecstatic after the game. The leg strength is coming back as well, which was evident in how little fatigue I had in general. The last few weeks I've been dying by the end of the game. Last night though, my water bottle was still 1/3 full when the game was over. That's usually a big indicator. The last time I was at PT, which was about 3-4 weeks ago now (I don't remember, I stopped going...) the goal was to get me doing calf raises (up and down standing on my toes) on my bad foot. At the time, I couldn't do it at all. Now, no problem. No pain while walking, even on unstable surfaces. We were in the mountains last week and while it was sore at the end of the day, I'm pretty sure my feet would have been sore after that much walking on unpaved trails no matter what, especially in the shoes I was in. So, I guess we'll call this horrible, horrible chapter of my life closed.

No video of last nights game. Three reasons: First, I decided there's no point in making a video of a game or pickup when I'm just focused on making it through, rather than trying to improve. Eventually I'll hit that point again. The second reason is because I hadn't charged my GoPro since Tuesday, so it probably would have crapped out half way through anyway. And finally because @psulion22 doesn't seem to like my videos ;) Anyway, it was a good game. We dominated pretty much the entire thing as far as possession, but they had a D3/D4 goalie who was VERY good and almost unbeatable. Combine that with the breakdowns in our own end that more than once left their guy wide open with a ton of time to get a shot away, and it wasn't pretty. The final score was 6-2, though they scored two in the last 2 minutes. One on a breakaway, the other with less than 2 seconds left. Our D was skating with the puck in front of the net and their guy just skated in and chopped at his stick and the damn thing went top shelf. I should have been more ready but it was kind of a fluke play that it just went straight up like that. I was just about to head to the bench down 4-2 when they got that breakaway. Talk about deflating, especially with how much time we'd spent buzzing their net for the last 10 minutes. So, the game was way WAY closer than the score showed. However, I was in a great mood when the game ended. Because... well... I had no pain in my foot or ankle. Absolutely none. It was actually kind of a weird feeling. So, that's pretty awesome! Now I can't wait to get back out there next weekend! I'm skipping pickup this week though. I don't want to push it and the week I tried to both play in a game and in pickup it didn't go well. I'll wait a while before playing twice in a week.

Roddy Hollywood

Hey now! I already knew I was crap... I didn't need your opinion :P

I guess I'm lucky that that has never been an issue. I've always been the crappy one on the ice ;)

Not a great pickup, but better than last week. I threw away the footage from a couple weeks ago and didn't play last week. Normally no matter how bad of a night I have, I still edit the video to learn from. But last time was 95% the injured ankle so there was no real point. Anyway, an okay night. Ankle was mostly okay, but legs are still very weak which equals quick fatigue. First time playing against an ex-pro. You can see what he managed to do a couple times. The shot from center actually went UP! But he kept trying to go bar-down, which is kind of annoying in pickup, and I let him know it.

I'm with you 100%.