althoma1

I have no experience with the RX3 gloves, but love the STX Surgeon 500 gloves I own (both retail and pro stock). The thumb is very flexible/mobile, it's tight in the fingers (triple split with the exception of the pinky) and backhand, but opens up nicely in the cuff. I've read, in this thread and others, that the RX3 isn't quite as tight as the Surgeon 500, but the Surgeon 500s are very snug everywhere except the backrolls. The pro stock gloves have a much cleaner look than the retail gloves as they have less branding and are all nylon/tufftek instead of a mix of materials. As for sizing, I wear a 14" Surgeon 500 and used 14" Easton HSX and Warrior Projekt gloves in the past. The Surgeon 500 have less volume, but fit similarly lengthwise. So for me, they're try to size, but have a snug fit which I prefer. If you like a snug/tapered glove, grab Surgeons, but if you want a glove with more volume then look at the Stallion HPR line.

Dek/ball hockey is way more popular around here simply due to the fact that the barrier of entry is far lower. You don't have to know how to skate or buy skates. Personally, I prefer roller hockey by a wide margin, however; as others have said, inline has been shrinking, but I think ball hockey (at least in my area) is doing quite well.

The RSX and FZ skates both have a Hi Lo chassis, but according to the inlinewarehouse descriptions the entire FZ line has a one piece chassis including the entry level FZ-5. Look under the specs tabs for both the FZ-5 and RSX and you'll see that it states the FZ-5 has a one piece aluminum frame and the RSX has a two piece steel frame. https://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Mission_Inhaler_FZ-5/descpage-MFZ5.html https://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Bauer_RSX/descpage-BRSXS.html You can mail your skates away with a chassis and have them mounted. The MSH Pro shop offers that service: I am sure your current boots are in good condition now since they're hardly used, however; I think someone your size would break them down fairly quickly. If you're going to pay to mail skates away, get a chassis installed and have them mailed back then it may make more sense to do so with higher end, stiffer boots that will last you longer. If you take a size 10 or higher skate and like the feel of a Hi Lo chassis this LG Aluminum Hi Lo for $49 is a solid deal: https://www.inlinewarehouse.com/HI-LO_Aluminum/descpage-HLALF7.html If you want a more ice like feel for training outdoors then you could consider something like the Marsblade O1 (more for off ice training) or R1 (designed for playing inline hockey): https://www.marsblade.com/

Most low end inline skates have a two piece chassis. You have to jump up to mid-range skates to get a more durable one piece chassis. If you were smaller, I'd say you could buy an aftermarket chassis (Marsblade, Sprung, HiLo depending on your preference) and mount them on those boots, but low end boots won't last long at your size. I believe the RSX skates use the Supreme last; so do Mission Inhaler skates. So if you like the fit of the RSX skates then you could look for Mission Inhaler skates in your size. I believe all the FZ Inhalers (the current line) have a one piece chassis, the low end NLS6 of the previous line used a two piece chassis, but they higher end models had a one piece chassis (the lower the number, the higher the model). The other option would be to find some Supreme ice skates or whatever ice boot fits you best in your size and buy a one piece chassis separately and have that mounted onto the ice boots. You can save some money, by looking at used or clearance ice boots, but at your size you should be looking for boots that were originally around $400 or more if you want them to last a while and give you good support.

There's also a post about the TF9: http://www.hockeyworldblog.com/2020/04/02/true-tf9-skates/ It seems the key differences between the TF9 and TF7 are the TF9 has a carbon shell, adjustable anatomical tongue and a clarino liner with HydroFoam tech and the TF7 has a fiberglass shell, a felt tongue and a black wick liner. The pro version seems to be a custom version of the TF9.

Corona isn't a hoax and playing hockey now is going to come with risks. I don't know if this will be effective enough to make it worth the cost of buying a full shield plus the filters and dealing with the likely drawbacks of extra fogging, less ventilation and more heat/sweat. It could help prevent virus transmission on the ice during play, but you'll have to lift up the mask to drink water on the bench and possibly to wipe off fog or sweat. It's good Bauer is trying to come up with things to reduce the spread of the virus and make playing safer, but I don't know how much this product will help overall. The off ice shields and the off ice masks along with not sharing bottles, no hand shakes, limiting time in the rooms, social distancing in the rooms and modifying play with things like 4 on 4 ect. may be more practical.

This page suggests that the full shields are mandatory for ON and SASK and only recommended for BC, MB and IL: https://ashl.ca/ashl-summer-2020/

I tried a bubble very briefly as a teenager. From what I recall, it was hotter and fogged up. If I would've used it longer than it likely would've gotten scratches as well. I get the idea behind the use of the bubbles, but it practice I think it may make people breath harder and sweat more. I'm totally down with 4 on 4 and wearing a mask and social distancing off the ice, but am not a fan of the full facemask requirement on the ice. It's also an extra cost for something you may only use for 8 games (that's how long the proposed ASHL summer season is). It's a hard pass from me, but I may change my tune if it's still a requirement in the fall/winter and there are no other leagues or options that don't require the full shield.

Yeah, they do have a cheaper look. Hopefully they were just prototypes and the actual models will look better. I am just happy to see something that may feel close to Makos that I can get for a more affordable price than full customs. My stockpiled Mako II skates should last a while, but the day will come when I need replacements. I know buying new or close to new customs made for someone else is an option, but any size 8 Trues I seen for sale have been standard D width according to the sellers. D didn't work for me in Mako skates even after baking, EE did. So I am hoping EE retail True skates will. And if they fit and perform then I will grab them even if the aesthetics leave something to be desired.

This August 13 is the North American date True posted on social media. July 16 is the European date so maybe full details will be available at that time.

Considering the images were already posted here on March 2nd, I assume it's OK: https://modsquadhockey.com/forums/topic/71678-vh-footweartrue-by-scott-van-horne/?do=findComment&comment=1107583

I believe the origin is that the people who started the site were all Moderators on the old Corebeam boards. So they were a squad of moderators or Mod Squad and of course the subject of the board is hockey. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my understanding.

Verbero was bought by the same guy that owns Tron. They cleared out a lot of the old Verbero products, including the pucks, on both the Tron and Verbero sites. There appears to be one available on Amazon.com right now: https://www.amazon.com/Verbero-70000-b-gr-Aero-Puck/dp/B018LFXXDG and the Canadian shop Coast to Coast Inline seems to have some (I do think they ship most products internationally though): https://coasthockeyshop.com/products/verbero-aero-puck?variant=12452384644 There's also this California based site that shows some in stock: https://usaskates.com/verbero-aero-inline-hockey-puck/ I wish they'd come back and be used in leagues and tournaments as they're the best inline puck I've ever tried, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe the Hoplite can compare. I didn't realize that the Bauer pucks were used for NCRHA games. After some googling, it seems they made the switch around 2016. No wonder those pucks are still around; I wondered how it was surviving on individual sales alone. They do feel weird compared to IDS or Rocket pucks since they're noticeably heavier and don't seem to slide as easily. On the other hand, they do tend to stay flat a little better than the Rocket or IDS based on my limited experience with them. I definitely didn't love them like the Verbero Aero puck though and am more comfortable with a Rocket or IDS vs. the Bauer. At least the Bauer isn't as bad as the Mach 1/Tron puck.

Ha! Yeah, there have been some bad ones over the years. That Sonic Mach 1 was one of them. Someone brought Tron inline pucks to a pickup session ones and I tried it and thought, "man this thing is as bad as the old Mach 1." Then, I took a close look and I think it's a knock off of the Mach 1. Of all the pucks to knock off, why that one? lol.

My personal favourite for indoor use on Sport Court was the Verbero Aero puck. http://www.hockeyworldblog.com/2011/07/06/verbero-sports-aero-puck-review/ The Aero puck slid better than the rocket, bauer and IDS. It also stayed flat better than the Rocket and IDS. The Bauer stays pretty flat and has more weight like an ice puck, but doesn't move as well as the Aero. The Rocket puck is the default puck for most of the leagues with tournament players simply because it's used for tournaments like NARCh. The Rocket puck was founded in 1999 by Daryn Goodwin who also owns and runs the NARCh Tournaments. So even though pucks like the Aero came out that were better, league owners continue to use the rocket puck because they know that's the only puck that will ever be used at NARCh due to Mr. Goodwin's financial interest in both companies. The IDS puck is the official puck of AAU USA & USA Roller Sports. Since the Aero puck wasn't the official puck of any major tournaments or leagues, it died out even though it was a good product. The Bauer puck has better distribution in my area than the other pucks around here since you can actually buy it in store instead of online only, but since it's not used in any of the leagues, I don't know how long it will be around. Another puck that's interesting is the new Hoplite puck. It uses an internal gyroscope distributes momentum to keep the puck flat. I haven't used one yet, but it sounds good in theory: https://www.hoplitepuck.com/ It'd be cool to have an updated comparison that includes the Aero puck and Hoplite, but I know the Aero is in short supply now. Coast to Coast does seem to have some Aero pucks in stock: https://coasthockeyshop.com/collections/inline-roller-indoor-oudoor-hockey-pucks-balls-biscuits/products/verbero-aero-puck?variant=12452384644

A couple people in that thread have/had both the O1 Marsblade and Sprungs. According to them, Marsblades feel closer to ice, but Sprungs allow for more control on turns and better stopping. A member on another forum used both the O1 Marsblade and Sprungs and prefered Sprungs for playing: Having used both and playing semi pro hockey, I find the sprungs to be ultimate in terms of performance. Gives your quick feet an edge. However reliability is another issue. I go through these like a faze. (220 5’10) I’m not a huge guy but I play competitive inline in Canada and im hard on my feet. My sprungs were done after 2 seasons. I used mars for one season and I didn’t like the way there “rocker” sat. Put me on the toes of my feet too much. Preference for me is the sprungs, however it’s subjective. I know players who swear by marsblades. Then there's the new R1 Marsblade that's not out yet. I don't believe anyone has used that and Sprungs yet. My personal opinion based on everything I've read and using Sprungs: if you're primarily interested in training for ice outdoors then I'd go for the Marsblades over Sprungs as they more closely replicate ice skating and will be more durable outdoors. If you're looking to get the chassis that gives you the best performance when playing roller hockey then I'd either get the Sprungs (if you can - they're out of stock on the Sprung site and there are only a few A7s and A8's on ebay and Sidelineswap) or preorder the Marsblade R1. Another future option might be the Fizix chassis (they have a FB page) that the inventor of Sprungs is working on, but it's in the design stage with no ETA and no guarantee it will be released. Even though I love Sprungs, I'd probably lean toward the Marsblade R1 right now since it's currently available and you'll be able to get parts for it for the foreseeable future.

Are you using the hardest durometer in both or do you have the option of going from say a +1 in the OG to a +2 in the X?

I have used a lot of different indoor wheels over the years and Konixx Pure +2 are by far my favourites. They're fast, durable and grip well. I haven't tried the new Pure X yet, but look forward to doing so in the future.

I hope they can prove me wrong, but I just don't see it working. If an N95 mask gets wet then it's much harder to breath through it. It's already harder to breathe through a mask, but once you start sweating it will become even worse; so if the filtration is similar to an N95 mask, players will either have to remove the masks to breathe or some may start passing out. If they can come up with something that filters the virus while still allowing you to breath well (even after being soaked in sweat) and doesn't have major fogging issues that'd be great, but I'm pessimistic. Let's say the mask is perfect; you still have to deal with being in change rooms and the helmets have to come off eventually (even if you put on another mask right after taking off your helmet there has to be at least a few seconds where you have no mask on). Also, how do you drink water through the mask? If you try to go through the whole game without drinking water then you'll have dehydration issues.

I can't shed any light on the RX3 gloves as I've never worn those, but I do have both Pro and retail versions of the Surgeon 500 gloves and can tell you that those are definitely tighter than the Stallion 500 gloves (predecessor to the HPR line) that I tried on. The Surgeon 500 gloves are tight in the fingers and backhand, but open up quite a bit in the cuff.

For indoor inline I either tape like I normally would for ice and then use an exacto knife to cut off the bottom strip of tape (I cut carefully along both sides of the blade a touch about the bottom and then peel off the bottom strip) or I'll just put a few horizontal strips of overlapping tape across the front and back if I'm feeling too lazy to use the exacto knife. I hate the feeling of tape on the bottom of the stick for inline, but some people actually play like that. Outdoors it wears off very quickly and then feels usable, but on a smooth indoor surface it won't really wear off and I definitely notice the increased friction. Bottom line; I think you're fine taping as usual if you don't mind spending a little time with the extra friction, but when you retape you could get rid of the bottom strip of tape before even using it.

I have always had my conversions done at a LHS with rivets, but the key for a Sprung mount is that the chassis needs to be mounted 1/4" more to the rear of the boot (with most other chassis the mount is centered). You can find the full installation instructions here: https://modsquadhockey.com/forums/topic/65472-sprung-question/?do=findComment&comment=994730 There's also this thread about converting inlines that mentions the use of t-nuts https://modsquadhockey.com/forums/topic/44573-how-to-do-a-ice-to-roller-conversion/?do=findComment&comment=652410

Tacki Mac Pro Ribbed aka Kane grip. It's the thinnest version with the smallest knob and provides good feel, reduces glove wear and is much cheaper than other non-tape options. Edit: the rocketgrip looks exactly like sniper skin https://www.prohockeylife.com/collections/hockey-stick-grips/products/fox40-sniper-skin-hockey-stick-grips?variant=21193324789837

I believe that they're just clearing out their current inventory and are focusing on a new Fizix chassis. The Fizix looks like an updated Sprung made of magnesium. It's still in the development stages though. Search for Fizix on FB and you can see the drawings.

That's a good price for a shaft and 2 blades, but it'd be a better deal for outdoor use if the blades had an ABS core instead of being composite and fibreglass. Fibreglass/composite will wear a lot faster than ABS on asphalt.