althoma1

Fair enough. I haven't worn them, but did handle and try them on. The Super Tacks didn't fit as well as the Makos in the toe area, but the heel lock was good. I don't think they would wrap as well and I think I would miss the flexible tendon guard, but I do think they would be more protective. That's only speculation though. Hopefully someone who has used them can answer your question.

If you love the fit and performance of the Makos, but don't like the protection then getting shot blockers for your Makos would seem to make more sense than buying new skates that may or may not work for you as well.

I have both Mako I and II skates in the same size and actually find that the Mako II feels slightly longer in the toe area (I can feel the cap/tongue more with my toes on the Mako 1's - both pairs I've converted to inline and the 1 pair I have for ice). Technically they should feel the same as the sizing wasn't changed from model to model, but there are variables at play like bake times, if you knocked your heel back in both skates and of course if the workers making your skates glued the tongues at exactly the same location in the toe cap.

I thought Leia looked great and realistic, but Tarkin looked like he came straight out of a video game. A game with good graphics, but very obviously animated.

Pets are part of the family and it's always difficult to see them pass on. You were missed at Winterfest, but I'd also want to be with my pets in that situation.

If you're referring to my post - I spot heated the skate carefully with my foot out of the skate, then put my foot in and wrapped the sock around and put the clamp on and let it cool.

I also have a narrow heel and super wide forefeet and when I wanted to tighten up the heels I didn't have any compression bandaids around so I spot heated carefully with a heat gun, tied around some compression socks and then used the clamp over the socks. It worked and no damage was done to my skates, but if you can do it just with a compression bandaid/and or your hands that's likely the safer way to go.

Sounds like they fit like mine. A half size down might be a bit too tight. If you spot heat the heel you should be able to get a better lock - you can use a tensor bandage and/or clamp to help after spot heating the area. I used a big plastic clamp to help with heel lock. It looks like a bigger version of this: Here's an old VH speed skate video where they use a tensor bandage:

Yes, a standard bic or papermate pen or #2 pencil. No thick oversized pens. With your toes brushing the cap, lean your leg forward and then place the pen behind your heel - it'll be below the tendon guard area. It's great that you're sure about the width - that eliminates one key variable.

I can do that, but I'm sure I'm not the only one curious about that comparison. You may want to post in the VH and/or Supertacks threads about it. I don't have a dire need to know as I have a stockpile of Makos that will last a while and the Supertacks and VH skates aren't in my current plans, however; I think it's unlikely I'll be going back to a boot with a separate outsole after using KORs and then Makos for the last decade or so and it's nice to keep tabs on other skates without separate outsoles. I know when another member, mc88, did a comparison of the Mako II and VH skates it was very interesting reading. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels that way.

I don't think the Makos are actually longer than the Vapors in the same size. The Mako is just more responsive to heat than Vapors and has a more anatomical toe cap. So after a bake the Makos would've widened up where needed and the toe cap is already wide. The Vapors may be still narrow for your feet in some areas (especially the toe cap) which elongates your foot and would make the skates feel shorter than the Makos. Either way, if you undo the top few laces and really loosen the rest and then push your foot to the front so you can feather the cap and then see how much room you have in the heel you can determine if you need to go down a half size. If you can't fit a regular pen down the back then you have the right size (for length anyway), if you can just squeeze a pen down the back then you're on the borderline between sizes and could stay where you are or go down depending on personal preference, and finally, if you can put a pen behind your heel and can move it back and forth a bit then you should definitely get a smaller size. As far as width goes you'd only know if you bake both a D and EE in the same size, but if the EE fits you with little to no negative space then it is probably OK - if you have a lot of room side to side anywhere then you could consider dropping to a D width.

If I recall correctly, you also have VH skates. It'd be interesting to hear how these compare after you've skated in them for a few weeks.

Most people go a half size down from Grafs to most other skates. If you ordered the same sizes your Grafs then that's likely why they're a bit long. With the prices you can grab the skates for now, you could consider ordering a half size smaller, keeping the pair that fits better and selling the other. Then after you're sure of the best fit you can stockpile that size. I tried both the 8EE and 8D myself (only baked the D as I didn't need to skate on them to determine they were too narrow). I might have been able to make 7.5EE work post bake, but my toes were pressed against the cap prebake (also tried that size when they were full price) and in the 8EE I can feather the caps when standing and am only just off them when in a skating position. I think a 7.75EE custom might be ideal performance wise, but I have good heel lock in the 8EE and they are comfortable - at the end of long reffing shifts I can feel the caps even when just standing. Oh, and I managed to sell the 8D pair without losing any money since they were only baked once and unsharpened.

I've never mounted a chassis myself, but I think Larry's advice is sound for most chassis including the Hi-Lo. The only chassis I know of where this differs slightly is Sprungs where they should be mounted 1/4" more toward the rear. I do like when a shop alternates copper and steel rivets for roller conversions as it feels more secure - roller puts even more stress on rivets than ice, plus I'm not a small guy at 6'2" and north of 200lbs; so having the extra copper rivets give me piece of mind that it's not likely to come loose. I have had rivets come loose in the past ages ago on stock skates that only had coppers in the two rear positions and steel for the rest.

You shouldn't need to dremel the outsole for a HI-LO chassis. It's the Labeda Hummer all 80mm chassis that often requires some dremelling.

The whole setup looks great; even sideways.

Use an external hosting site like tinypic and then post the link.

I would (and have) stock up. Besides, if Bauer were to release Mako like skates would you rather pay $1000 for those or the prices you can find Makos for on clearance now? These new theoretical Bauers would of course be cleared out at some point, but not for at least 2 years after they're released and even then they still might not dip as low as the current Mako prices.

The stock profile is 9'. The pitch is +3. I'd change one thing at a time and then give it a few skates to get used to things. The first and easiest change would be to get them sharpened at your usual 100/50 FBV. Some people have stated that they actually had to go shallower in hollow due to the more responsive one piece boot. That wasn't the case for me since I was coming from a responsive one piece boot (KOR Shift 2), but if the 100/50 FBV feels off then you could try something like a 90/75 FBV and see how that feels. Whatever you do, I wouldn't do anything more than minimal one at a time changes and then give yourself a few hours of ice time to adjust to each change.

Yes, they're very popular with the older refs in the Toronto area, but it's rare you'll see a younger ref wearing them (Supremes seem to be the most popular amongst the younger refs). I was talking to one senior ref who'd used custom Grafs for quite some time, but is now actually considering going the VH route since he needs new skates soon and can't currently get customs through Graf. I recommended trying some clearance Makos to save some cash, but he seemed pretty set on going the custom route.

I'd take the whole box with you to show them you bake them for 10 minutes at 200 and make sure they preheat the oven. If they're not used to baking Mako skates or skates like them then some shops baulk at putting skates in for longer than 5 minutes (at least that's been my experience in the past).

The early batches said 16. Not all originals. 10 minutes should be ok in a good preheated CONVECTION oven. Read Chadd's comments about the box saying 16 minutes a 200 early in the thread - see the post below.

A regular non-convection oven doesn't distribute heat as effectively or evenly. That's probably why they didn't feel that pliable. I'd try them first and if they don't feel that comfortable then I'd take them to your local shop and have them baked in that oven for at least 10 minutes (the original Mako boxes said 16 minutes) and make sure it's preheated.