althoma1

I use the Valken V-Pro and knockoff Tron V-pro pants. The knees are articulated and very tough so they don't rip. I only had a pair the Tron versions rip near the fly because I washed them with the zipper open and Velcro undone. As long as you zip the pants up and do up the Velcro before washing, this isn't a problem. Those pants aren't being made anymore so aren't easy to find, but I have a small stockpile in different colours. I am curious to see what others are using today and which models are durable.

I was going to recommend the Surgeon 500 gloves before even reading the post from Santos. I tried the XC9 and QRL gloves on at Modsquadhockey events and both felt comfortable, but the QRL is the snugger fitting glove of those two. I own a pair of HSX gloves and STX Surgeons and the Surgeon gloves are definitely the tightest in the fingers and backhand, but open up more in the wrist area. If I was buying new gloves today I would go for another pair of STX Surgeons, but the QRL gloves would be on the shortlist. You could also consider the CCM Quicklite gloves.

I found some new in the box size 4 Mako II's for $150. Sent you a PM. I'd have a hard time justifying spending $800 for skates for a player who is going to grow out of them in a year as well.

I don't think any of the retail models out now will feel anything like the Makos. With that said, you do have one piece boot options in the Jetspeed FT1, CCM Supertacks and Verbero Vortex and Cypress models. If you're thinking of spending the coin on top of the line retail models at full pop though; I'd seriously consider the VH/True route. What size Mako would your son need? I search for Makos in my size periodically and come across others - I could let you know if I see your son's size.

Warrior Gionta or Smyth.

You can't post them directly. Use an external hosting site and then post the URLs. tinypic.com is one example of a free image hosting site. There are plenty of others.

Sorry for your loss. Pets are part of the family and it's always tough losing one.

They need to put in the price - I see it's $199US at the major US e-tailers. That's not cheap, but it's $100 less than the 4 star Reakt 200.

As soon as marka reads this he's going to be on his way to a shop to grab a CCM FL500

Is the toe box actually shorter on the left skate or is your left foot just a bit longer than the right? It's not uncommon to have one foot a little longer than the other. EDIT: I forgot you ordered two different sized skates because one foot is significantly smaller. I believe you have the bigger size for your left foot so you definitely have a significant size difference between your two feet. Custom certainly makes sense for you.

I believe there are two positions for the tongue and it adjusts with a snap button - have you tried adjusting the tongue to see if that helps with the feeling of the toe box being too shallow on the left skate?

I don't have those Bauer pants, but skated with an official yesterday who has them and he loves them. He says the area below the zipper on his old pants would blow out and likes that they don't have zippers. He also said they're comfortable. I felt the material and it seems very durable. I prefer a separate girdle and shell as I like the girdle to hug the body - I wish they made a shell only version.

Even if the pros testing/endorsing them wanted to wear them, I'm not sure they could without getting league approval first. They're definitely not cheap, but they'd be more expensive to produce than most holders because there are more parts. They're also being produced by a smaller company in smaller numbers than the most popular holders; that also drives costs up. You'd definitely be limited to the proprietary runners; it'd likely be a stainless steel runner. No one knows for sure how they'll hold up over time right now. It seems like they've been testing them for a while now. It's not the same thing as profiled steel - it's allowing more blade to be in contact regardless of the profile. You could use a custom profile in conjunction with these holders. The same profile with these holders and traditional holders would allow for more steel contact in turns. I don't think they'll necessarily get more traction from players learning the game. They'll get traction from people willing to spend money to possibly gain a competitive advantage and that could be players of all levels. With that said, it'll be a niche product to start for sure; I view it as similar to Sprung in the inline world. I think the Sprungs are better than the stock chassis on most skates, but most players are fine with the stock chassis and aren't willing to spend the money to buy a new chassis. Most people are also comfortable with the stock holder on their skates and aren't willing to spend the money to swap it, but there are those who do and will. While I did spend the coin on the Sprung chassis for inline, I did that because I played ice first and was always searching for that ice like feel in inline (had already used the Tuuk Rocker chassis). For ice, I'd have to be shown that there would be a DRASTIC improvement with the new chassis to consider spending the money on the new chassis and getting it mounted. That's why I'm also in the wait and see camp on this, but the concept is interesting. Oh, and for those wondering why I compared this to the Sprung holder in inline vs. the Marsblade inline chassis; I don't have the numbers, but think Marsblade may have sold more to ice players who don't even play inline on a regular basis because it was marketed as a training tool.

The $469 is the tag price, but it might scan at $399 (as that's what the 8EE pair was marked at); either way it'd be an additional 30% off the lowest price. With that said, going between widths is certainly a gamble. I wear 8EE Makos and tried a clearance 8D M8 and even after baking they were too narrow in the forefoot for me so I had to resell them. That's why I didn't bite on the 8D Mako II's.

Ontario tax at the retail level is 13% HST. I scoured the store and those were the only Makos I found. So there are the OG 8EE and 8.5EE pairs in the box and the 8D Mako II's with no box on a rack.

For those Mako lovers in the Greater Toronto Area, I spotted some clearance Makos at the Pickering Sport Chek that's closing in mid-December. Everything is currently 30% off lowest ticketed prices - the discount may increase as the closing date approaches (I believe the final day is Dec 17). They had 8EE OG Makos in the box for $399.88, 8.5EE OG Makos in the box marked at $469.88 (may scan at the same price as the other OG Makos) and 8D Mako II skates out of the box on a rack for $469.88. These are the prices before the 30% discount. If the Mako II's were 8EE I would've grabbed them myself. The did have the OG Makos in my size, but I already have several Mako II's so left them all. I did open the OG Mako boxes to check that they were in fact the originals - they were.

That sounds like the perfect size. They should just be brushing the toe cap when they're laced and standing and then come off slightly when you bend your knees and get into a skating position. Baking will help with the break in. When the padding compresses you may gain 1mm or so as Vet88 suggests, but that's a good thing - you don't want to gain a bunch of room as you're describing the ideal performance length.

Yes, being able to get to different sized skates for $350 is a great deal. Custom skates from any other brand would be closer to $1000. Now, it's not built based completely on your measurements like others would be, but no one else offers two different stock sizes. With other brands you would have to pay for a complete custom option, buy two different pairs or fit the smaller foot and have the other boot punched and/or stretched.

Basing sizing on measurement makes more sense than going by shoe size as some people wear shoes looser than others and different brands fit diffently. I wear 10W in most dress shoes 10 sandals, 10 winter boots and 10.5 in most sneakers. The box that my 8EE Mako skates came in says they are for 9.5 shoes...if I went by the shoe size guidelines I would have ended up in an 8.5 which would be too big for sure. I would try on both 7.5 and 8 in a D Nexus if you go that route. For the Tacks line you would most likely need an 8EE, but trying on multiple sizes makes sense. If none of them feel great or are approaching the $1000 range, look into True/VH.

From the sounds of it, you should be in either a 10 or 9.5 Mako. The fact that they're too long may be causing some of the fit issues as you feet may not be in the right place in the skate. The widest part of your foot could be behind the widest part of the skate and the arch of your foot may not be lining up with the boot arch. Depending on the exact issues you're experiencing, width could also be a contributing factor - maybe you're in a 10.5D when a 9.5EE or 10EE would be the perfect fit. It's impossible to say without you baking and skating in a different size, but hopefully the Vortex II's work well for you. With all that said, you know that the Makos are a bit big. If we assume it's a half size then the Mako and Vortex sizing would line up. I tried on the original Vortex skates in 8.5D and they felt a half size too long for my feet. So I think 8 would be the correct length for me in Vortex and wear 8EE Makos. So I think Vortex and Mako sizing for length would be similar. Your experience is consistent with mine for the length. With the original Vortex, I found the D to be a bit wider in the forefoot than the EE Mako and the heel to be MUCH wider (Nexus like width in the heel). If you're comparing the heel of the Vortex II to Graf 705's, I assume they tightened them up a bit. I've never used or tried on 705's, but I've read they're for an average heel. The original Vortex felt like it was for a wide heel. Then again, they had already been baked for someone elses foot when I tried them on; so that could've skewed my perception.

I think 8.5EE would be too long in the current Bauer and CCM lines (as well as the discontinued Easton Makos) if your feet are 27cm in length. My feet are 26.7cm long barefoot and I'm in 8EE Makos and feel like I could actually go down to a 7.75EE if that were an option (with the 7.5EE my feet are pressed right against the cap). I could see why you'd think 8.5 would be the way to go since you were wearing 9 Grafs and most people drop a half size down from Graf to other brands, but I'd trust your foot measurement. The Grafs could be a half size long and feel like the right size because they're narrower than you need and are elongating your foot - you should unlace the Grafs, push your foot all the way forward until it's against the cap and then see how much room you have behind the heel using a standard pencil (if you can fit the pencil width all the way down then they're likely a half size long). I also have wide feet, a bit wider than yours with an approximately 12cm forefoot width, but have an average arch. The 8EE Mako line works well for me, but it's discontinued and the arch may be a bit high for you. The D width Nexus skates are based on a EE last. I wouldn't go all the way to EE if you go the Nexus route as I have tried on a D Nexus (7.5D) and that was plenty wide for my forefoot - it was just too wide for my heel as I have a narrower heel. The Nexus is certainly a deep and wide boot. The 7.5D felt long enough for me in the Nexus line, but this was an older Nexus 800 from several years ago. Take that with a grain of salt, but I do think the D width Nexus is still wide enough in the forefoot for most people and EE would be sloppy wide for anyone that doesn't have EXTREMELY wide feet. Tacks in an 8EE might work for you - they were a bit too narrow for me in the forefoot, but your feet aren't quite as wide as mine. The heel lock was good in the Tacks. I have not tried the new Ribcore skates, but the Ribcore line has been known for being good for flat feet in the past. I also know that it was a fairly shallow fit though; I don't know if that has changed with the latest model. I agree with Jamaraquan, if you're going to spend high end money then just go the True Custom route. Trace and measure your feet and let them know you have flat arches and they'll build a custom skate based on that that will cost you around the same amount as a top end Bauer or CCM stock skate.

How is the size lengthwise compared to the Mako M8?

If the computer told you to try Supremes then you could just move to Mission skates. The Mission skates are built using the Supreme last. The Mission skates also use a Hi Lo chassis though; so if you prefer the Hummer 2 or another chassis then of course converting would make sense. I'll let others answer the shim question as I haven't used them myself.

I picked up these early last week and have used them for about 30 games now (yes, 30 games. It was a very busy tournament week): https://www.sportchek.ca/product/332338716.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwgIPOBRDnARIsAHA1X3TjWmKFaNN6MGOlTpb1HtkDXgtLGXlwoQrKK9F9gCoOn3_r8166aJoaAmIIEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CIm6pZzWsdYCFQd9AQodi7kAdQ#332338716=332338730 For 5 years before that I used the CCM 100 shin guards. I find the new Bauer Official's shin guards are slimmer, lower profile, lighter, allow greater range of motion in the knee area and stay in place much better (they're very secure even before I put shin tights on). I can go from one rink to another while wearing the pads without skates and the shins will stay in place, whereas the CCM pads would shift around without skates on if I tried to walk in them (even with shin tights on). I've taken several hard shots off them and they seem to be just as protective as the CCM pads. Fortunately, I haven't taken a hard fall in them yet so haven't tested out the knee protection, but it seems good. The only thing that's taken some getting used to is the knee sleeve - it takes slightly longer to put the pads on with that sleeve and you have to make sure it's on just right. Even when it's on right it feels tighter behind the knee, but that's also what helps keep them in place so well. So far I'm really happy with the upgrade (also picked up the new elbows which are very light and mobile - I find I do have to occasionally move them back into place though). The removable calf guards and thigh guards are a nice touch. I've kept both on as I don't find the extra protection adds a lot of weight or limits mobility. One note on sizing - I was wearing the 16" CCM 100 shin guards and bought the Bauer 15" or L/XL Official's Guards since that was the longest version they made (I usually wear 16" pads to play). The 15" Bauer guards are long enough for me and easily tuck behind my tongue and actually go slightly below the first eyelet of my boots with the knee in the proper place. There's no gap in protection between the boots and the pads and at the same time there's no interference or limit of mobility. I'm very happy with the purchase so far. I'd only bought CCM 100 elbows this spring and my 16" CCM 100 guards are still in good condition, but the new Bauer stuff looked and felt really good and I couldn't resist combining a gift card sale (15% off) with a friends and family sale (25% off regular priced items) and took the plunge.

I haven't used the Mission Compression Pro, but the specs look great. 37.5, compression fit and removable protection: so you can add or remove things based on how it's feeling and perhaps the type of game you're officiating. Seems like a very good choice.