sdcopp

use some two-part epoxy from the hardware store, you can layer it up as it dries and get some patches on there

the scuff guards are on inline boots for those very reasons, an ice boot would have holes through the boot in those spots. The assassins are solid boots, you should be fine

Isn't Warrior's 4 the same as everyone else's 5 for the most part? The Weight/Vanek pattern is a 5.25-5.5 lie

the Vapors are far too popular to get rid of, the Flexlites are like a half line with 4 models instead of the 7 models of Vapors and 6 Supremes. All different fits, really something for just about everyone

the irony is that the catalog pics of the Vapors aren't really telling either, not sure why they wouldn't want those posted since they look like x-rays Law Goalie, there are Flexlite skates this year, 4 models I believe

in the spring

Looks like it says it has high-densite foams, where the previous blade did not. it's some sort of epoxy fill instead of foam, but what I'm asking here is what is the advantage of the new HD blade over the prior Dolo? Better feel? Stiffer blade? Lighter weight? And not the sales rep marketing fluff, what am I REALLY getting from the new blade?

what is the real world difference between the prior Dolo blade and the new HD blade? What exactly am I getting out of the HD blade I didn't have before?

ice wheels I believe they were called, had disks running around the whole wheel that would rotate and allow an "ice stop" the inline wheels with tread pattern on them quickchange products

The Sprungs are relatively new still and been pushed on word of mouth, not carrying the Bauer identity. I haven't replaced the Vanguards that came on my Missions with Sprungs, but if I didn't like the Vanguard I would in a heartbeat.

http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=MAC

I wanted to share what one of my LHS has listed in little made up pamphlets they carry to show pricing on the products they carry as well as costs for services. The owner, Marty, is a great guy and has many of the same issues that a lot of shop owners/workers have expressed here. Despite the online shops and multiple chain stores, he's maintained his business well. "ALL customers ARE welcome & appreciated in our store. Customers are treated EQUALLY regardless of team, league, or association affiliation. We do NOT discriminate against ANY customers by discounting select groups. Please do not ask us for discounts, we DO NOT haggle over or 'match' prices. We KNOW what internet & our competitors prices are - PLEASE COMPARE TO OURS! We ARE usually more expensive on SHARPENING & REPAIR ONLY - for a reason. We will NOT over-sell you things that you don't need or anything that doesn't work & then sharpen your sates for free OR give you a free roll of tape to cover it up. We ARE honest with our customers, even if it means NOT SELLING YOU SOMETHING. We are NOT a corporate owned franchise, we ARE a locally owned private independant. Please respect our store & TIME if other customers are waiting. You CAN schedule a before or after hours appt. if needed OR if coming down from Denver/up from Pueblo. If you need to get fitted or recommendations but are NOT buying we do charge for our time & experience as well as any work done on 'brought-in' equipment, skates or sticks. We prefer service-work & fittings be done during the week & NOT the last hour of the day. Service and repair work on items originally purchased from us DOES take priority. We are NOT after NOR do we EXPECT everyones business.. for those who understand & SUPPORT us, we exist for YOU. WE DO APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS, THANK YOU - Marty" Marty has a few different pamphlets with such store philosophy, as well as properly fitting all types of equipment. Great guy, and his prices line up with everything out there. With the fitting fees and everything he always has business in his shop. People aren't usually payng those fees though because they are buying from him. Once the FDA or whoever approves a neck surgery he needs, he's packing up and moving to Minnesota to work up there because of the ever growing retail chains and online stores. It's kind of interesting though, because he'll be going to some chain of shops where it's a lot of experienced guys basically working together to do business against the Giants and Monkeys of the world. Kind of a weird evolution of the LHS.

Check with Player's Bench, since they get a good amount of Avs returns

Thus the shafts now. The Apollos aren't bad, but they do feel just off the mark, whereas the M-2 is probably my favorite shaft ever because it just has that right feel to me.

Teh Tour shinnies are good and comfy. The skates are all stock, other than putting on the extra set of Factory wheels for outdoor use on the 5500s. The 10K skates are tearing me up trying to break em in though, I've got blisters on the bottoms of my feet (go figure that one out) and raw spots where the top of the boots rub me.

more roller stuff to the fray here

size 10 can be a grey area, some are medium and some are long. If you really want to get a setup, I'd say the easiest way is to send them directly to Tour for their 98 dollar offer: Tour Hockey

Hi-Lo and Tri-Di tend to pitch you forward onto your toes, where flat frames tend to put your more on your heels. Final makes really good frames, so they're definitely worth the ten dollars.

I've skated old flat 76's, Hi-Lo, Nexed 2 degree Hi-Lo, Tri-Di and now the Hummer. The Hummer takes a little getting used to, but can be worth it. I personally think I'm going to go back to the Tri-Di setup if I can find some PF10's my size and the money for them, but the Hummers are solid and fast so it's livable until I can get my personal preference again.

It also varies on which setup you want to run with. If anyone out there is fond of the old flat 76mm frames, hockeyoutlet.com has Final Force frames for 10.00 a pair right now. That helps keep the cost WAYYYY down, if it's a setup you can live with or prefer. Those frames are on par with other top of the line flat frames from back in the day.

The externos were really narrow in the toe box, the Vectors are much wider there. If the only difference is the midfoot from RBK to CCM Vector, than they're a bit wider throughout than the externos

I seriously doubt they drop the CCM line at all. The way things look right now with the new gear is taking the Vector line to Reebok exclusively, and putting RBK where things used to say Jofa. Nike kept Bauer around for the same reason Reebok will more than likely keep CCM around, long term brand recognition. If you find someone who grew up playing, and they haven't played in several yrs, guess which brands they look for? CCM and Bauer. Those two names are the longest lasting, most well known names. Nike could have axed the Bauer line along with Daoust and Mega, but knew the market share Bauer would retain for them, it's no different here.

I think it'd be dumb to have any bad blood over that. Seriously though, alot of the stuff coming out of the major manufacturers is really good stuff anymore, but alot of people still do conversions due to brand preference. Bauer no longer makes the Supreme in an inline format, and I see alot of people using those as conversion skates. You can actually build skates for about the same price as pre-packaged.