Davetronz

Background: 31 years old / 5’11 / 215lbs / left-handed Men's div B/C and shinny hockey (former minor league rep team player) On ice ~5 hours a week Previous sticks (2yrs): True Hockey A6.0 (TC2, 85 flex)Bauer Vapor x6.0 (P14, 87 flex)Sherwood T90 (Ryan, 85 flex)Bauer Vapor APX2 (P14, 95 flex)Bauer Nexus 600 (P14, 102 flex) *current*Easton RS (E7, 85 flex) *current*Stick being reviewed: Bauer Vapor APX2 (P14, 95 flex)Blade 9/10 I'm a huge fan of the P14 (Toews) curve, and I actually had a bit of difficulty finding this stick in the P14 in my area. The blade has a slight tactile coating on it. I found that it was super easy to tape, held the tape and that the tape job seemed more durable. The blade itself has pretty good puck feel. When I first started using the stick, it was a bit "pingy" and a bit too reactive for my liking, but I got used to it over time. The entire length of the blade seems fairly responsive. Shots come off any part of the blade with not much issue. The blade itself held up well, and I didn't have any problems. Shaft/Flex 7/10 I went with a 95-flex in this stick, mainly because I wasn't able to find an 87-flex. I found the stick to be a bit stiffer than I'd expect a 95-flex, but not to detriment. The stick kept this flex/stiffness until it snapped, on the shaft. The grip was a bit "grippy" for my liking, but decreased over usage. Stickhandling/receiving passes 9/10 As mentioned in the blade category, the stick felt a bit "pingy" when stickhandling and passing. It was something I had to get used to. The stick is definitely "lively" in your hands. Overall, I felt that my passes were on the money, and my stickhandling was no better nor worse than when using other sticks. Shooting 9/10 When I first got the stick, I struggled a bit with the 95-flex. I found wrist shots a bit hard to get high and on-target. This quickly faded as I got a feel for the stick and the flex-point. The slapshots were great right out of the gate. Shooting remained crisp and lively right until the end. There was no degredation in performance (which may not be fair to say in context of this review as this stick snapped quite fast for me). Weight and balance 10/10 A light and well-balanced stick. Nothing to fault here, only praise. This stick feels amazing in your hands. You can tell they put some extra thought and design into ensuring it was a performer in this category. I don't think I've used a stick that's felt quite this light. Durability 2/10 In my opinion, this is where this stick fell completely flat. I received my True A6.0 for a LTR shortly after getting this stick, so my APX2 was used only as a back-up for the 2-3 months while I used my LTR stick exclusively. I'd say that I maybe used the APX2 for a maximum of 10 hours on ice, it was only taped once, and it showed no signs of abuse, damage, or war-wounds. The stick broke/exploded on the lower shaft during a shot. There was no incident, slash or event leading up to the explosion, it just went. Disappointing indeed when considered with the intangibles below. Intangibles N/A I struggled with where to put this information, because while it doesn't really affect the performance of the stick, people buy grip sticks for a reason. The red graphics (and grip coating over these areas) all over the shaft of this stick started peeling off immediately and continued until every bit of red (and grip over these areas) was gone from the stick, which I found weird. The rep said that there were some production issues with the paint that led to this problem, but that it wasn't a warranty issue because it wasn't structural. I found this fairly unacceptable for a $300 top-of-the-line stick. Conclusion (46/60 = 77%) Maybe I got a defective twig, but the rep didn't agree, and in the end I think there's far better sticks in this price-range. A $300 stick that loses all of its red graphics and blows up after less than 10 hours on the ice is not acceptable, especially from Bauer. In all other areas I felt this stick was a major competitor, but durability is a big factor. This stick fell flat here. Had the stick lasted more than a handful of games, perhaps I would have rated it much better. In the end, this one didn't sit well with me and has led me to explore other brands.

I've worn nearly every brand, and like i said, VH is by far the most protective in regards to blocking shots and passes. With that said, you aren't wearing a steel bucket on your foot, and you're gonna feel some of the shot/pass. That's just hockey. Do I jump in front of shots in adult rec hockey or shinny? No. But when I'm hit by one while playing, the VH has been much better than the alternatives.

Level of protection is unreal. They're like little light-weight tanks on your feet. I haven't felt a SINGLE thing since wearing them. Overall, they've been the most comfortable and responsive skate for my odd foot shape. For me, nothing else seems to work.

I guess I should have stated that I don't think that VH's design has any "weakness" in the tendon guard area compared to other brands of similar quality. I've seen broken tendon guards in in all of the manufacturers. There's obviously a seam where the tendon guard meets the boot, and the tendon guard itself is affixed using a copper rivet which should stand up to a fair bit of abuse... As with any tendon guard, if it is hit, over-flexed (such as pulled on when the skate is put on or removed), or is overheated during baking, this can reduce the durability of the guard or break it off completely.

In most cases, I don't think it's an issue of the copper popping out, rather the material around the copper breaking. The copper should stay in place unless it wasn't crimped properly.

Pretty much as described on the vhfootwear website. You perform the measurements and tracings and send the files to them. If you have any special requests or need to accomodate an injury, bone spur, etc, you mark these items on your sheet or discuss them with Scott. He's good at working with you to get the right solution. You can specify any blade or holder. Once he reviews your order, he'll send you an online invoice that you can pay with paypal or whatnot. Then you wait for the skates to arrive. Pretty easy and straightforward.

Scott isn't the only person who works at VH... Others are seen working on skates in his videos, for example. Chances are there's just some backlog/or his vacation at the moment. Scott is the only one who answers the scott@ email address though. If you can't get a hold of Scott, perhaps try Shawn shawn@vhspeedskating.com He's only on the speed-skating side though (in Calgary) and won't be able to help you with your skates, but maybe he knows if Scott is on vacation, sick, or can provide some more information to put your mind at ease.

You get a t-shirt? Lucky! We get nothing and people still behave like this.

As stated earlier, tendon guard issue here too. (cant remember if the site ate that post when it went down). Fixed once on my own (the copper came loose and was angled into back of my ankle), now the other guard is broken but otherwise still affixed to the skate.

Chris, not sure why some teams think it's necessary to run 10 F and 4 D when they've got 14 skaters. The team I play goal for sounds similar. They run 10 or 11 up front and 4-6 back. I don't think anyone gets any ice time. Such a waste. Drop the extra guy back and run 9F 5D. The max I ever run on teams that I captain is 9 up front, usually 4-5 on D. We max out at 6 defense (and that only ever happens maybe once a season when everyone shows up). We run a 15 skater 1 goalie roster to keep the costs down, and like I said, it's rare that EVERYONE shows up all the time.

I did. Good experience. He did exactly what I needed. I had some volume issues and knew what I needed in a tongue. Here's what I requested: - thicker than the stock tongue, but thinner than the "thicker" tongue (the thicker tongue is definitely too thick/long in the toe and forefoot area). - a bit extra thickness/padding in the upper ankle area (like just below the ankle bones upward). - a bit more width (with minimal thickness) in the mid-foot area between the area just behind the toe box and ending just before the ankle bone height-wise. - the same length, or slightly shorter than the stock tongue. - custom embroidery of my last name on the top of the tongues bold silver/white thread I will say, be very careful with respect to volume/lacebite when ordering new/thicker/thinner tongues. Like I said, I knew exactly what I needed to fill up a bit of extra space. A little bit of extra material does a LOT.

Exactly. Just order new tongues from Scott. No need to send them back for this reason. To OP: What advantages will you have with a flexible/felt tongue?

Fact: Sidas was actually initially developed for skiing. Then it was adopted for hockey insoles, mainly by GRAF. The technology remains the same for both products/applications. An insole that "fits" your foot shape for comfort and support.

Sidas Custom or Sole Thin Sport

Same problem here. I was able to fix the copper rivet myself in my shop by cutting the Vibram slightly, re-pressing the rivet, cutting the excess and re-gluing the Vibram. Unfortunately, the tendon guard also feels like it's about to break and the area just below the tendon guard copper rivet on both skates is rolled/peeling, so it's a bit rough on the back of my Achilles. Skates will likely need to go back to Scott around the first couple weeks of July when I don't have league play.

Well, if they're hanging over the edge of the toe and heel...

That's fine. Oversize holders for the boot. I have a friend that goes +1 size for his holders on all skates he uses as a preference for having longer blade/more blade on ice.

Got rid of both VH insoles because they were too spongey, and the red pieces just seem to take up volume... Switched to Superfeet and started getting bad lacebite and my arch wasn't supported. Switched to Sole Thin Sport and warmed up with a hairdryer and put in the skates, then laced up. Have felt much better since then.

I was in the same boat a couple years ago and would be happy to help with any questions you have. The biggest transition was and is still the skates. I skate on a pretty flat profile on my player skates, but the lower cut boot in goalie skates and the much flatter radius tends to trip me up a bit. Injury prevention is the next big one. Stretch, improve your flexibility, especially in hips, knees, quads, hamstrings, IT bands. There's some great videos on YouTube for stretches for goalies. They've really helped me. Watch the pros and other goalies for positioning tips. See when goalies go down, how they play angles, timing, how far they come out, etc. If you can buy used gear to start (especially C/A, pads, glove, blocker) it helps. I'm lucky to have a buddy who sells me most of his gently used high-end gear when he gets the urge to buy new stuff every year. The stuff will be broken in a bit and might be a bit friendlier for someone just getting started. Invest in a good goalie jock, good knee/thigh pads, and a good helmet. Make sure all the equipment you buy "fits". This is pretty self-explanatory, but it still needs to be said. Lots of guys wearing improperly fitted gear. Some of my best sessions for learning came through local goalie schools who work with adults. These 30-45 min classes really help address any areas where you're struggling and give some individual teaching time. I actually rented ice with some buddies at the start and had them take shots on me. It cost me a lot for late night ice for just myself paying, but it was great to learn movement and get a feel for the puck in a non-game situation.

Hey gents, Just picked up a second set of custom tongues from Scott to fine tune some volume issues. Absolutely amazing turn-around/ship time. And really good quality work on the custom tongues. An advisory to everyone though - periodically tighten your tongue screws. I managed to lose a screw during a shinny and had some major tongue slippage and rubbing on the top of my foot. . The good news - a standard short helmet screw will work to re-attach the tongues if you're in a bind. Remember, skate functionality over head protection! LOL

I guess I can chime in a bit with a partial review now. To answer JR's question on the previous page - I taught my girlfriend how to do the tracing based on my experience with doing customs for other manufacturers. Tracing was done barefoot, seated, 90 degree bend. I then scanned at 100%, provided measurements from all angles and dimensions on the scans, and sent with about 20 pictures of my feet. I made a few requests with my skates: - Increase height of boot by 10mm to provide additional support. - Narrow AA heels. - LS3 and edge, not profiled or sharpened. VH and I discussed not mounting the blades and holders and that I'd do them myself when they arrived incase I had to offset or shim. At the end I decided to have them mounted by VH. When I received my skates I was really impressed by the quality and construction. Wow, they're light! During the heat fit I felt a pretty good burn (even through socks) from the copper backing that holds the tendon guard on. Skates molded very well and I skated on them. During first skate felt a variety of volume issues (too much volume in mid-foot) and heel lock issues (slipping). I also had some issues with the stock LS3 profile (I usually skate on 13'). Did a little bit of work on the skates myself and still wasn't getting what I was looking for. Discussed with VH and luckily him and I were able to meet up for a good hour plus when he was in Calgary for Speed Skating Worlds. We worked together to reduce the volume with thicker tongues and changes to red insole liner. We also re-heated and clamped the heels on my feet to increase the heel lock. He also fixed the copper backing that was protruding a bit from the one tendon guard. We "opened" up the skate walls a bit so I could get my foot in a bit easier. Great experience with Scott in person. Awesome guy and made the best out of the limited tools we had on-site. Based on my experience in the industry I took what he showed me in regards to the specifics of the VH skate, and told him I would be able to make additional modifications on my own. Honestly though, best in-person experience ever with Scott. After modifications with Scott I was still having some issues with volume, but the heel lock and any small discomfort was solved. It took a bit of playing around, but I ended up removing both the red and black VH insoles and putting in a pair of Superfeet (I'm not usually a fan, but I found the VH insoles too spongey). I used these together with combinations of both my thicker and thinner tongues, moved the tongues up and down slightly, and have finally found my sweet spot with regards to volume and insole support. Interesting to note that this is the first pair of skates that I haven't had to offset the holders or shim to correct pronation. I'm perfectly square. This is also the first pair of skates that I haven't had issues with toe boxes, toe irritation, or ball of foot irritation. So comfortable. I feel more load on my thighs in these skates, so I need to stregthen these muscles a bit. I really like the edge control with the skates. The only durability concern that I've noted is minimal. I've taken a couple shots or blades off the toe caps and the material seems to turn a bit white. I wasn't a huge fan of the "glossy" look, so this discoloration is fine with me. Otherwise, I'm really happy. Considering ordering a custom pair of goalie skates as well. Hats off to Scott. Oh and to whomever was discussing tongue thickness. Yes, thicker tongues are available for purchase - just contact scott. I have a pair of thinner stock tongues and a pair of thicker tongues.

Every now and then I still see the odd person coming in to get those installed on their jets. Maybe one every 4-6 months. A couple years back someone was telling me how awesome they were and how fast they made him go - I asked how often he had to charge them. He wasn't aware that charging was required, had used them on his skates for almost a full season, but yet couldn't offer an explanation of how they heated up.

Yeah, you can. Warm it up a tiny bit with a hair drier or heat gun. VERY carefully. Remove them from the skate first. Don't heat while they're in the boot. The red footbeds shouldn't show too much signs of taking heat. If they're curling or showing deep indents from the rivets or the footbed above it, then they've gotten too hot. Chances are, you've already heated them sufficiently for what they need to be heated in the baking process.

Haha, oh no, that sucks! Mine just got here, and already in my skate oven as I type this. They look really good. Scott's attention to detail on these are top notch. No luck getting my foot in before baking though, so we'll have to see how the fit goes once they're baked. Yeah, let me know when we're here. Are you bringing your gear, or just your skates?

Mine are "out for delivery" with Canada Post - playing the waiting game too.