althoma1

Hi everyone, This is Besa, Anthony's wife. I am not sure if I am posting this in the right place but Anthony Lee Thomas, a passionate user and participant of Modsquadhockey passed away on August 28, 2024 at home from brain cancer with the love of his family. Details and info about Anthony's funeral are below. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries/toronto-on/anthony-thomas-11968697 He will truly be missed. Kindly, Besa

n Toronto: Pro Skate Corner (inside the skating lab, accessable from the Chesswood Arena parking lot) Just Hockey on Don Mills north of Eglinton and south of Lawrence Majer Hockey on Dufferin north of Finch Hockey Lion in Markham or Richmond Hill Scotiapoind would be good, but extremely busy during a tournament with long wait times. The fancy Skatescribemachine seems cool, but I recall it being expensive ( I havent used it, but noticed it while at the rink for a ref clinic. The weekday head tech at the Leaside SportCheck does a good job (I am less confudent with nights and weekends where you may get someone less experienced) I stay away from Canlan and Canadian Tire due to previous bad experiences

For adult hockey, the Verbero  SSheild and Stark DC9 are great options. Thsy are both lght, mobile and modular

It's definitely very difficult to thread the top two eyelets over the tongue with the skates on. What is much easier is threading the eyelets behind the tongue and then pulling the laces over.

As a fellow Mako user who has a pair of converted TF9s for inline (along with some converted Makos), I agree that there's about 1 size difference in length in the same size between Makos and TF9s after baking. I wear 8EE in Makos and went with 7W TF9s. Before baking, my feet felt hard on the cap in the TF9s, but if i put the Mako 8EE boots next to the 7W TF9s both the length and width appear identical. After baking, the 7W TF9s still felt a little tight, but after about 5 hours of skating my toes were just brushing the caps and the 8EE Mako II's and 7W TF9s feel like the same length. The one difference was the toe cap - the toe cap felt more comfortable on the Makos and to get a little more space in the TF9 toe caps I carefully heated the area with a heat gun and then did some body weight squats with the skates on - that helped, but the Mako toe cap is still more comfortable. Since then, I've tried on the Catalyst and Hzrdus True boots and before baking it feels like I'd have to go up to an 8W in the Hzrdus. The one plus, if I was using them for ice hockey, would be that the 8W uses a 272mm holder like I'm used to whereas with the 7 and 7.5 I'd have to get used to a smaller 263mm holder or have 272mm holders installed for an additional fee. The Catalyst and Hzrdus toe cap does feel more comfortable than the TF series toe cap - so they've improved that IMHO. With how much extra room I got after baking and breaking in the TF9s, I may want to try a 7.5W...of course that'd be best to do if I was buying from a store that participated in the 30 day satisfaction guarantee while that's still running. Now, I know that I've read that some people have had the heels crack with the TF9s and Catalyst skates. That did happen to one person in my inline league with the TF9 boots, but mine are holding up well. True claims to have addressed the issue with the Hzrdus line (I haven't seen or read about cracking issues with the Hzrdus line; so, hopefully they did fix it). They still require completely unlacing the top two eyelets, really loosening the rest and then twisting your foot to get in and out, but I do know some officials that use the Hzrdus and Catalyst lines that say they're comfortable on the ice for days where they have several games.

I wore neck guards growing up to play and those old ones from the 80s and 90s weren't very comfortable. I had to start wearing them again when I started reffing a little over a decade ago (it's required for minor hockey in Canada) and the newer Kevlar guards are much more comfortable than the old foam ones. I have several shirts with built in Kevlar neck guards from both Bauer and CCM and they're all comfortable. I rotate them when one is in the wash so that I always have a fresh, clean one. I also picked up a stand alone Sherwood Kevlar neck guard on sale as a backup and it's also comfortable. Bauer also makes (or at least made a few years ago) an elite Kevlar neck guard that's stand alone. I would say the key to finding one that's comfortable is to look for something thin and made with Kevlar. I haven't used one to play since minor hockey, but the recent incident makes me consider it. I definitely wouldn't chirp anyone who chooses to do so.

Since Bauer owns Mission and the Mission skates are built on the Supreme last, I believe that a 7.5 Bauer ice boot and a 7.5 Mission inline boot would be the same length. Of course, the different materials may make them feel different, but I think 7.5D would be your best bet in Mission if you used 7.5 Bauer ice boots. With that said, I agree with you that the the AS1 inline boots in the same size as your AS3 ice skates is the safest option. They will also be stiffer than the WM02 Missions and are a one piece carbon composite boot. The only downside to the AS1 inline boots that I see are the outdoor wheels (if you plan on using them indoors).

For your needs, a Force Krome referee girdle and some Bauer Officials shin guards would be a lightweight, breathable solution with enough protection to cover the odd fall or shot.

The friction wear is on both the rocker arms and where the front arms are inserted into the chassis. To prolong the life of the chassis and arms, taking them apart and cleaning them once in a while helps slow down this wear. Using them outdoors will make them wear faster since there's more grit and dirt out there - if you use them outdoors then you should clean them more frequently.

Well, I know I fit a 8EE Mako/Mako II with my toes lightly brushing the end and the Bauer 3D scanner says I'd be a 7.5 Fit 3 in Bauer...so based on that, the Bauer Fit 3 may be about a half size longer than a EE Mako. That's interesting that the EE Bauers are actually a little longer. It seems that the company should keep the length the same and only change the width, but based on your experience and Vet88's actual measurements, it does seem that the EE Bauers were longer than their D counterparts in the same size at some point. It's hard to say if that's still the case. Nothing will beat trying them on of course.

First, the EE Vapor may feel longer than the D Vapor simply because it's wider and isn't compressing the sides of your foot. When the side of your foot is compressed, it's elongated. I wear 8EE Mako II skates, but when I demoed Bauer skates at Modsquad events, I wore 7.5EE. I also scan as a 7.5 Fit 3 on the Bauer 3D scanner. I know in the Mako thread some people used the same size as Bauer, but others, like me, went up a half size. I also have a pair of True TF9 boots converted to inline and had to go down to 7W for those boots (the TF9 fits about a half size longer than Bauer and a full size longer than the Makos after baking and break in). Those are pretty similar to Makos, but are stiffer, have less flexible tendon guards and more volume in the toe cap. The new True Catalyst line has a more flexible tendon guard and a streamlined toecap; so, they're even more Makoesque. True adusted the sizing on those to better align with CCM and Bauer - so I believe I would need to go up to 7.5W with the Catalyst skates. In general, a half size is about a 4 to 5 mm difference in length.

The fact that you scan as a 7 doesn't surprise me at all since I wear 10W dress shoes and scan as a 7.5 Fit 3. Sizing can of course vary by brand and model, while I'd be a 7.5 Fit 3 in Bauer, I have 7W in True Tf9s converted for inline and 8EE in Easton Mako II's. Fit 3 is the deepest and widest Bauer skate and a D Vapor would be the shallowest and narrowest. So, the Vapor 8.5Ds were obviously way too narrow and long for your feet. That would certainly explain the discomfort. It's good you went with fit over brand. I hope the ASV's treat you well.

The 8090's in D were more like an E width in most skates. They're definitely both wider and deeper than a D width Vapor. The Bauer length also changed sometime after the 8090 came out - most people needed to go down a half a size. So, if you picked up Vapors in the same size as your old 8090s, you may have bought skates that are too long and too narrow for your feet. They may have felt like the right length because the sides compressed your foot and made them feel shorter than they really are. I'd start by going to a good shop with a Bauer 3D scanner and get your feet scanned. That will give you a good starting point as it'll recommend a size and Fit for Bauer, but try on various skates around that size in all the brands and models you can.

Either buy serviceable bearings (the ones you can take the covers off) and clean and relube them a couple times a year or buy really cheap bearings and replace them a few times a year. I notice a big difference between cheap and quality wheels, but I can't say I notice a big difference in bearings. I'll usually use bearings for a while indoors and then relegate them to outdoor use when they get a bit loud (even after cleaning and relubing if they're serviceable), but still spin fine. If they aren't rolling smoothly and they can't be serviced then they're thrown out.

I have TF9 boots converted for inline and they're very good boots, but the toe cap isn't quite as comfortable for me as the Mako toe cap. I tried on a pair of Catalyst skates the other day and the Catalyst toe cap feels VERY similar to the old Mako toe cap. I believe that they'll also be using the same toe cap on the new Hzrdus skate that will replace the TF line this summer.