althoma1

It's not a good idea to use shoe size as a guide for skate sizes as some people leave more room in their shoes than others. Knowing your skate size in another model (as tight as possible without pain and with your toes brushing the cap) would allow people to provide more accurate guidance. If you don't know that then another option would be to trace and measure your feet and provide those measurements (length and width at the longest and widest points).

The stock varies by location. One Winners had about a dozen gloves, but the other two I went two only had two pairs.

No problem. Glad to help. If you picked up the Z9s the cuff does feel stiff and somewhat restrictive when they're brand new, but if you use them for a few hours it breaks in nicely. I'd try breaking them in before cutting the cuff off - perhaps baking will help accelerate the break in time.

I didn't expect it either - my wife was looking for clothes so I went over to the mens section and came upon them near where they sell the headphones and phone accessories ect. My guess is that they offered Miken the best price for their excess stock when they decided to leave the hockey business - you would've expected them to be cleared out by a major hockey retailer, but I have seen decent baseball bats (RBK Vector) there and at Marshalls (owned by the same company) in the past so this isn't the first time the company that owns Winners has picked up some overstock sports equipment. On a positive note for people looking to find some, they'll probably have better luck finding stock at Winners then they would if a hockey store was blowing the gloves out at this price. A hockey store would likely sell through these gloves a lot faster than Winners at this price, but of course a hockey store would likely also charge a bit more for them unless they really wanted to clear the inventory.

I snagged a pair of Miken Z9s at Winners (for those of you who are in the US and don't know what a Winners is; it's the Canadian version of TJ Maxx) for $39.99. I was already lucky enough to win a pair of these at a previous Modsquad event and still use them for roller hockey. I couldn't pass up getting a second pair at that price. They feel a little stiff in some areas when you first wear them, but break in very nicely after a few games. Davetronz did a detailed LTR on the gloves: http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php/topic/61152-miken-razor-z9-glove/ For those of you who prefer a traditional 4 roll style they also had the Miken Pro Fit T gloves for the same price and DR Legends for $34.99. The Miken glove price tags say compare at $80, but I believe that's incorrect and they were both originally around $109 - the Z9 is currently $69 on IW: http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Miken_Razor_Z9_Hockey_Gloves_Sr_14/descpage-MZ9G.html. The DR Legends were originally $60 gloves and I know Pro Hockey Life has them for $49. Some people on another forum also spotted Viscious 1.5 sticks for $49.99 (entry level sticks and not as good of a deal as the gloves in my opinion) and Miken bags for $29.99. I haven't seen any sticks, but did see the gloves, stick bags ($14.99) and one gear bag at the locations I visited.

Your best bet is to try some pads on, but it seems like that isn't practical so I'll add my fit experiences with a few warrior pads and hopefully that'll help. I currently wear 16" 2010 Warrior Projekts (the white ones) and have tried on the 2012 Projekts (White, but with Blue and Grey accents) and the Dynasty AX1 16" Senior pads. They all seem to be the same length to me, but the AX1 felt like it had a wider knee cap and it also had much more room in the calf protector area (I can easily get the calf tight both Projekt models, but even with the calf fully tightened the calf protector in the Senior AX1s felt a bit roomy). The 2012 Projekts felt the most streamlined out of those three so if you'd like to go with Warrior and want something a little slimmer then I'd just stick to 14" and try to grab some 2012 Projekts on clearance. If you want to go with the latest model and your current 14" pads are the right length then you'll likely want the 14" Intermediate AX1s as those will have less overall volume, but the length will still be 14".

Fair enough - I was just curious. I know the Sprungs feel much faster than the Tuuk Rockers I was previously using, but I haven't used a flat or hilo chassis in ages so I don't know how they are compared to that. I do notice that I need to use harder wheels with the sprungs vs. any chassis I've used in the past, but I'm sure you already tried various wheels. The mount looks great and I really don't know if all coppers are an issue or not as I'm not a mounting expert. I was just curious about that because I have an almost all copper mount myself.

They look great. I know from other threads that you used Sprungs for a few years. Why did you decide to move away from Sprungs? I also notice that all coppers were used for the mount. Did you ask for that or did the shop decide to go that way? In another recent thread it was suggested that ice holders not be mounted with all coppers because the copper holds the chassis tight to the boot, but the steel rivets prevent it from moving side to side. There was some debate on this, but it was suggested that a mixed copper/steel setup was best and that all copper setups could lead to bent steel. Obviously bent steel wouldn't be an issue with roller hockey skates, but I'm not sure if there would be other issues with all copper. I'm curious myself as my current conversion has almost all coppers (8 coppers, 2 steel with Sprungs. 4 coppers at the back, followed by two more coppers at the front, 2 steel and then 2 more coppers). I didn't specifically ask for that - just provided the mounting instructions and that's what the shop chose to use.

I'd also be 100% sure that you actually received a 90/50 the last time. I've used 90/50 for a while and every once in a while I ask for a 90/50, but get something else that has significantly more bite. I notice right away and go back and get it cut properly at 90/50 the next day. I'm not sure why it happens (someone forgets what I asked for, didn't want to change the spinner and didn't think I'd notice, misheard me ect., but it unfortunately has happened a few times). Before switching to FBV I was using a 7/8 regular hollow and 3/4 before that. I first tried the 90/75 FBV and that felt like a bit too much bite, but the 90/50 works well for me and I don't know of a shallower spinner that's readily available at most places.

Amazing find. I'd just leave the black holders on myself, but they are your skates.

I've never heard of the product, but would certainly also be interested in hearing the thoughts of anyone who has had the opportunity to try the chassis. It looks interesting, but at $1995 SEK (the equivalent of $313.04 CAD or $304.92 USD based on todays conversion rates) plus shipping, it's not cheap so it may be a tough sell. I realize that package includes bearings, spacers, tools and wheels, but I think many people would rather use existing bearings and wheels or choose their own in order to get the chassis for a cheaper price. I think they should add a lower cost package that only includes the chassis, spacers and tools. It also seems to only be available for shipping to select European countries at this time so that also limits the people who have access to it at the moment. As a current Sprung user I wouldn't want to go back to a rigid chassis and I know that Sprungs outperform the older Rocker Chassis I used to use (which is probably hard to find now as well). I'm glad to see that there are other non-rigid options being developed. I hope Sprung gets the funds together for another production run, but if they don't I hope this product can perform as well or better, comes down in price and is available in North America at some point. It's being positioned as a training tool for ice players, but the wheel base seems small enough that it would seem to be useable to play inline as well. And if they were available to the US would you be willing to shell out over $300 + shipping and possible customs and duties in the hopes that they perform as well as Sprungs? If I heard from other Sprung users that they perform as well or better and are durable enough to survive several seasons of roller hockey (I'd want to have some players to have skated 30+ games/hours in them) then I'd consider grabbing them if the price were closer to the $100-$150 range. There's no way I'd spend $300+ unless they came with a lifetime warranty...even then I'd be hesitant because it's not a big well known company and who knows how long they'll be around - it's great to see smaller companies innovate and succeed, but it's certainly not an easy business.

I think only the A8 (large) model is in stock and can't predict the future as far as availability goes for sprungs. For those that already own the chassis or can find them used they could put them on this boot - otherwise someone would have to choose another option for a chassis. The point is a person can put whatever chassis they choose on the skates without having to first remove an ice holder. Weight isn't everything. Fit, durability, overall performance and other attributes all play a part, but if you can save some weight on anything that goes on your extremities without sacrificing fit or too much durability then that's a good thing. Sometimes people are a little too hung up on weight though - it's better to have skates that are 100 grams heavier that fit you well then lighter skates that don't fit properly ect. and I don't think most people will notice the difference of 100g or less in practice.

That's 520 grams WITHOUT holders and steel - that's compared to a Bauer X60 without holders and steel at 632 grams, but the comparison to an MLX skate at 900grams isn't fair because that's including the holders and steel. A comparison to the Mako boot without holders and steel or both skates with holders and steel would be more appropriate. Having said that, more innovation and competition should be good for players in the end. It also seems that they're planning to offer just the boots to be mounted on your chassis of choice (either roller or ice) which is what many roller players have desired for years. I imagine these with a set of Sprungs would make for a very nice roller setup.

Correction - Stupid HP Bloatware! Glad to hear the video guy was able to fill the space though.

Yes.

Thanks. I didn't see that one, but was very happy to win the stick! Did you win all new CCM gear in your contest or you guessed one product and won that?

I was lucky enough to win a new Mako II with the E28 curve E28 and Warrior Smyth curves When I was taking pictures last night I did notice a sloppy area on the lower shaft (it'd be on the tenon if it was a tapered blade) - if I push on those areas I can case the small flakes of composite material and paint to move slightly, but it's very solid underneath so I believe it's just cosmetic. I just hope it's not a weak point and I don't end up breaking the stick there after a few hard shots as I don't think a stick that I won will have a warranty:

If you know you're going to buy for sure then just be honest with your LHS and tell them you're not sure if you need size 7 or 7.5 and won't be positive until after they're baked. Then ask if you can have the 7's baked and if they fit well buy them. If the 7s are still too small then go with the 7.5s. From other peoples posts it sounds like some shops are letting people bake these skates before making a final decision.

Won Hockey Supremacy's dream stick contest on Facebook. A new Mako II 100 Flex with the E28 curve.

Once you receive your replacement pair from Easton, I'm definitely interested in hearing your thoughts on how the Makos compare to the Kors. Since you've already baked the Makos I'm sure you have some initial thoughts. You already mentioned that the Shift 2s are wider and deeper, but beyond fit I'm interested in knowing the differences in heat response and of course performance. The Mako (and MLX before them) and Kor skates are both based on speed skating technology, have long bake times and are highly malleable. When I first read about the MLX skates they seemed to me to be very similar to Kors in concept, but with more adjustability and a flexible tendon guard. The Makos are an evolution of the MLX skate and still share some similarities with the Kor skates. I noticed that in the video where Dave Cruikshank is talking about the Journey to the Mako skate there's an old picture of him where he's wearing Kor Shift 1 skates (47/48 second mark): He does talk about how the skates on the market at the time didn't allow him to do what he wanted and that's why he started work on the MLX skate. So obviously the MLX skates are different than Kors, but on paper certainly share some similarities. What I'd really like to know is if the Makos are more or less responsive to heat than the Kors, if they perform better and if so how much better? I know it's impossible to say they're 25.7% better, but some general comments like they're a little more response or allow for much better feel and edge work ect. would be greatly appreciated.

I believe the Mission AC series is based off a Bauer Supreme last. You might be able to find a pair of One100s at the higher end of your price range.

http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php?/topic/62450-easton-e28-you-tube-video-promo/?p=949509

The Luxe definitely had a wider backroll than the Supreme gloves - it was more akin to the Vapor in the Bauer line (I thought the Luxe was even slightly wider in the backroll area than the Vapor gloves). The Luxe was a low volume tapered glove, but I found it to be a little wider in the back roll than I prefer. The Covert gloves felt similar to the Luxe, but are slightly narrower in the backroll and like the Luxe they open up in the cuff area. That's only from trying them on once though. They're definitely worth trying on in the store to see if you like the fit. I did see the show it off thread where you discussed the Koncept gloves. They do sound like a good fit and I might use them for roller or ball hockey, but I'm not sure about ice. I know they have plastic inserts and dual layer foams, but I prefer the bone system and the tri-lam foams that the Projekts have for ice on a regular basis (I did break out the old One90s for Winterfest, but that was because the palms are already beat up on those and I knew I'd be trying sticks with tape. My Projekt gloves have only been used with Tacki Mac and Oggie grips and I didn't want to befoul them with tape). I suffered a broken right ring finger in an ice tournament after taking a hard slap shot off the hand and since then I've taken comfort in the fact that the Projekt gloves use the bone system with tri-lam foams throughout the entire backroll and all the fingers. I did ask Gary (Vulcan7905) about the 2012 Projekts at Winterfest as he owns a pair that he won at SummerJam and he told me the cuff was tight at first, but breaks in well after use so I may consider a pair of those if I can find my size when they're being cleared out. I do wish the bone system was used on the entire backroll and all the fingers of the Covert, but it's better to have it down the middle of the glove than not at all and they'll still be one of the more protective gloves on the market.

Yes, it does look like the Koncept and Projekt lines are going to be discontinued with the exception of the Projekt girdle (and the Covert Pants are tweaked Projekts with a new name). That means the current protective and gloves only lasted one year. I'm definitely sad to see most of the Projekt protective go - the 2012 Elbows are my favourite elbow pads of all time, I also really like my 2010 Projekt shins and the 2010 Projekt gloves are some of the best I've worn (the 2012 cuff was a bit too closed for me when only trying them on, but probably breaks in a bit after use). Now, the new Dynasty Shins felt and looked nice when I tried them on at Winterfest (although I'd need a larger size) and will definitely garner consideration when it's time for new shins. The elbow pads there were mediums and I'd probably need a large so I'll withhold judgement on those - they looked nice and had a deep pocket for the elbow so the arm should lock in well, but were two piece pads instead of three like the Projekts and it'd be hard to beat the mobility of the current Projekt elbows. I'll certainly try them on in my size when it's time for new elbows, but I'll also be tempted to pick up another pair of 2012 Projekts when they go on clearance. I didn't try on the shoulders since they were mediums and there's no way I'd squeeze into them, but they did look to be low profile and you could see some similarities between the new shoulders and the Projekts (which felt very mobile and comfortable when I tried them on). The Polygiene is definitely a nice improvement to the liners if it inhibits the growth of bacteria as well as the catalogue suggests. I was also pleased to see the grip type liner on the AX1 protective. I also think grip should be added to the shins of the long Nutt Hutt under pants - perhaps that can be added for the next revision. As JR mentioned earlier, the Covert gloves are more closely related to the Luxe than the Projekt - they're basically a tweaked Luxe with the Smart+ palm from the Projekt. The backroll did feel slightly more tapered, but they aren't as snug as the Projekt gloves. I do prefer the cuff of the new Covert to the 2012 Projekt gloves, but still prefer the 2010 Projekts overall (based on simply trying on the Coverts...my opinion might change if I used them). That's just personal preference though - the Coverts definitely looked and felt like a very nice glove. I'm very happy to see the Projekt Girdle isn't being discontinued. I love that Girdle and already have one backup in my closet. I thought I might have to stock pile a few more, but it looks like I can hold off for now (of course if I see a good deal on one that's my size I'll snap it up). The focus on fit with the new protective is definitely positive and I could see the intermediate sizes working out well for tall thin people in general - teens are mentioned, but slim women and men will likely also appreciate the size options. I can see why it would make sense for them to reduce the number of protective lines and eliminate the different lies on sticks. Everyone has their own personal preferences and it's nice to be able to accomidate as many as possible, but from a cost perspective it definitely makes more sense to focus on less options and put products out there that will have mass appeal even though they might not meet every specific preference. Of course from a stick perspective most personal preferences can be met via the customizer (which has the most options I've ever seen at the general consumer level for any product in the hockey industry). I'm certainly very happy the DT1 contruction with a Smyth curve is available via the customizer. The AX1 socks remind me of the Tactics hockey socks I currently wear, but with different colours. That's a positive thing as I'm very happy with the Tactics socks so it's nice to have another option when it comes to cut resistant socks. Now the Tactics website isn't up (it has said "coming soon" for months) and there hasn't been an update to their Facebook page in quite a while so I'm thinking they either went belly up or perhaps Warrior bought them out and it wasn't widely publicized (if it was mentioned here I didn't notice that thread).

I had the pleasure of testing out a new Mako with the E28 curve at Winterfest. The stick felt very light and well balanced and I noticed significantly more pop on my wrist and snap shots than I did when I tried the original Mako. I was also pleasantly surprised by the curve itself - it's definitely not as open as an Ovechkin pro and I actually had pretty decent control with it. It's definitely more open than the Warrior Smyth I'm used to, but it's still a nice curve. The Mako gloves also felt really nice based on only trying them on.