gosinger

Every piece of equipment is only protective if it fits well. It is rather hard to determine sizing from a description only, so I'd recommend consulting some video resources and applying the information from those to get a starting point, and then work from there. I'd suggest these videos: "How to Size a Hockey Shin Guard" (shows some common sizing cues) and "How to Select a Hockey Shin Guard", and then taking your daugther with her skates to a hockey store and try on some pads, have her take a few bumps to the floor to see how they feel, if they rotate, and so on. She has to feel comfortable and confident with/in them.

So I im in somewhat of a pickle and would like to pick the MSH collective brain on that: How do I match the effective profile between the following skates, holders and profiles? (Read: How do I make them feel as similar as possible with regards to skating, so not catching an edge in transitions, etc. I know that the holders have different pitch, boot construction should be close enough on all of them) The target: True TF9 retail with True Shift holder (263mm), Onyx runner, stock profile - my absolute favorite skate, everything feels perfect. Skate #1: True v1 custom skate, Step holder (272mm), Step runner unknown profile (2nd hand skate). Skate #2: VH custom skate, LS Edge holder (263mm), LS3 runner unknown profile (2nd hand skate). As profiling is not offered for retail customers anywhere in my country, I'll have to ship the steel out and each roundtrip will take significant time. So any suggestions on how to profile/balance skate #1 and #2 to mirror the TF9 setup? Thanks in advance for any tips or guidance on that topic.

It would be interesting if he actually uses "NOS" OG JetSpeeds or if CCM still producing new Jetspeeds with an "outdated" graphics package. Keeping dedicated machining around for just one guy is probably pretty expensive, especially if there is a loss in marketing value with old graphics?

This holder will most likely flex in the rear intentionally, will be interesting after everyone stiffened up and increased the posts on their holders on the past couple of years...

I've had an interesting discussion with an inline-hockey youth coach, who raised an interesting perspective. With their smaller inline rink and 4v4 setup, their kids are not not far behind the top level kids in ice-hockey youth programs run by pro teams, but their cost is a fraction due to not having to maintain ice and being able to operate all year long. In Austria, we are currently seeing rinks remaining closed (or delaying opening until external temps drop massively) due to the rising energy cost, and the remaining rinks increasing their fees, which raises the financial burden to play hockey even more. So inline hockey might be gaining momentum in the near future was his prediction.

I think the problem with "no replacement part" is actually a "no customer-replaceable unit (CRU, intended for end-users to install)" or "no field-replaceable unit (FRU, intended for qualified service techs to install)". If this was offered as a part, each LHS would also have to know how to install them, what tools to use, etc. So I fully understand that they don't offer it as a replacement part, and that a "good" LHS / pro-shop would simply create their own part from plastic and sew it in-place with varying degrees of workmanship.

While I'm not familiar with the US league system, I've experienced fast skaters across a few beginner leagues. My advise to them usually is: be aware of your potential speed, and use it when it makes sense. Imagine a TV camera catching your game, all players should always be in the same frame - a pass to a person half-ice up shouldn't be attempted. So don't sprint "away" from your team, don't go full speed all the time. Come back to your hashmarks, assist your puck-carrier, it is _your_ job to be open for passes as the man without the puck. Use your speed by _changing_ your speed - you always can go faster, while your opponents might not, if you use this as a deception this can be your greatest weapon. When you get the puck, use your speed to buy a few seconds to find open players, read the game. Being fast is a great base, but once you move up and others are as fast as you, but they are stronger on the basics (stick, positioning, etc) it gets very hard not to get frustrated. Use the novice league for gaining skill, so that you can be the type of player that assists you on those 1-3 C-D level pickups for the people in the novice league. This will further your skills and understanding way more. Side-note: Imho games don't build skills. Practice does. In a game you have <10 shots, in a practice you have that within a few minutes. Same for almost any other skill 🙂

The craftsmanship on those decals looks horrible close-up, was this skate an interns first project?

Sizing with Mako and TF9 is rather different for me. Just slipped into my old 8.5EE Mako 2 (not worn in years, also some weight-loss) and length-wise it still fit ("feathering the toecap"), but in my TF9 I now wear 7.5R with the same feathering. If you can combine the drive to the shop with something else (business travel, vacation, ...) I'd highly recommend the travel, otherwise email your preferred retailer and ask if they can ship you multiple sizes to try and you return all but one of them (with you picking up return shipment cost). I did so with a small regional retailer during a lockdown, they were happy to do so.

Or you could get yourself a speedy stitcher and mod it a little. In the past I've added the spine protection from an old pair of shoulder pads to a TotalONE girdle, you could do something similar here without having to spend money for another girdle (especially since the ST has also been discontinued and there now is the JetSpeed) 🙂

I was thinking about swapping holders to LS-Edge as I still have plenty of them plus steel, but I managed to get used to the Shift holder. As there is no shop doing profiling around these parts, I still run the stock profile, and don't have any issues. So as long as there is no issue with getting replacement parts, I'll stick with the shift holder as I'm happy with the performance. Plus having to drill new holes when switching is annoying, so best give em a try for a couple skates and see how you like em 🙂

Speaking retail, APX1 were Curv/Alive, as were APX2. Last top-model tech mesh was the x:60 (the generation before the APX1 was introduced), prior to that the XXXX, and the XXX before that. Don't know about earlier models as those pre-date me playing hockey. Same year that the APX1 was released, the x7.0 (not X7.0, which was mid-tier) was the second-tier skate that was identical to the x:60/XXXX. The APX1 was extremely stiff, with a tongue that offered very little protection. APX2 was said to be less stiff in the boot, as plenty of people complained. So I wouldn't be surprised if the APX1 retail is stiffer than what is out now in retail. Pro-Stock there was the Nexus 1N/7000 V-Cut, which was a x7.0 re-dressed as a Nexus skate.

For those that switched from Shift to Tuuks in the same length, did one side of the holes on the True skate line up for "proper" alignment or did you have to fill and re-drill them slightly offset?

1. True/VH - performance, fit, protection, everything is perfect. Both custom and retail (TF9) are absolutely great. 2. Easton Mako 2 - performance, fit, but lacking protection - had to wear a shotblocker with those. Converted them to inline and love them as I don't have to block clappers 🙂 3. Bauer Vapor 1x - performance, protection, decent fit (clamping down the heel to get decent lock), stiffness is perfect (the original APX was way too stiff imho), my current set of "backup" skates. All my 1x were blacked out, due to damage on the outer-most silver layer. 4. Bauer Vapor x:60/x7.0 - performance, protection, decent fit, durable, but somewhat heavy. Still got a few pairs of new / almost-new as backup if I ever find the True/VH/1x too stiff, and my first set of x:60 were converted to inline and are still going strong 5. (Short-term) Ribcore 70k - only wore those during injury recovery, very flexible, very comfortable, allowed me to get back on the ice in relative comfort when everything else was too stiff.

What I did on my 9Ks / 8k (integrated pant shell) but could also be done on the ST/7092 is to simply fold the elastic over before the velcro and stitching it in place, effectively shortening the strap. Done in <30 sec and gets it as snug as you might need it. On the 8ks I had a slight overlap in padding (not backed by plastic in that area) iirc from this, but wasn't an issue.