somefan

Marketing hype vs. acual performance advantage is probaly the short answer. To the trained eye the marketing videos and the actual product are laughable in suggesting a break through in engineering performance. The Mako skate may be built around an anatomical last which creates a great custom fitting skate that provides better individual comfort, reduction of friction which could cause blisters, etc....so kudos to Easton for that. And maybe they added some extra heel lift in the last to put you more on your toes then other companines, who knows?.....But when you get down to the brass tax, the Mako skate is still a stiff hockey boot like a majoriy of the skates on the market. A flexible tendon guard, which is really the only unique feature of the Mako skate, does nothing if you stop to think about it. Your skating stride is powered by dorsiflexing your ankle and bending your knees and hips in unison. A flexible tendon guard will only be engaged by rolling your socks over the tendon guard or taping your lower shin guard around the tendon guard. A majority of players don't do either however and insteasd tuck their socks in front of the tendon guard....i.e between thier leg and the tendon guard. The ankle is forced to dorsiflex against the stiff boot, tongue, blade and holder that really aren't that more flexible compared to other skates on the market. Thus the flexible tendon guard is more marketing hype than it is performance advantage. At the end of the day they built a skate around an anatomical last which gives you better comfort and fit. Tying to tie that into a break through performance adavantage is where they fall short.