althoma1

She's made it to the second round! Voting is now live for this round from now until 12pm ET tomorrow. This time she'd need you to press the DOWN arrow to vote if you're so inclined.

Thank you for voting. My wife has always been very close to her brother (and I love him too), who happens to be on the spectrum, and her brother is obsessed with raccoons. He's always talking about raccoons, drawing them and gets more excited seeing raccoons at the zoo than any other animal. I suggested the Raccoon to my wife because I figured a lot of other Toronto submissions would focus more on just the Skyline/CN Tower or the Leafs and a raccoon would be something her brother would love. When my Mom saw the design, she asked if my wife designed it with a raccoon because my favourite stuffed animal as a little boy was a raccoon; that wasn't the reason at all, but it is a fact. The skyline is incorporated in a kind of crown for the raccoon with the 6 leaves (in the same red the Jays use) across the bottom representing the nickname "The Six". So the obligatory skyline and some leaves are included, but they aren't the focal point. I actually didn't know about the raccoon memorial until you mentioned it and I googled it. I agree that most people outside of Toronto don't know about the "Raccoon City" and trash panda thing. I'd heard of that, but my wife, who was born and raised in Toronto, didn't realize that was a nickname until I mentioned it. We know that not everyone will instantly think of Toronto when they see the raccoon, but we do have a huge raccoon population, it's something a little different and has personal meaning as well.

My wife entered a puck design contest that Sherwood Hockey is holding. She designed and illustrated the puck and I provided a few ideas and feedback. Well, her puck was selected as one of the top 32 designs to compete in a bracket format on Instagram. Her puck design is Toronto #3 (Raccoon) and it’s facing off against the Anaheim puck today! If you want to vote for her, go to the Sherwood Hockey Instagram page, https://www.instagram.com/sherwoodhockey/, and click on their logo to view their stories. You can then click (on a desktop) or swipe (on your phone or tablet) to get to her matchup. When you get to her page click the UP arrow to vote for her design; that’s it. You cannot vote by leaving comments on the general bracket page – you have to go to the stories. It’s live now.

Obviously, no one likes to see damage on their new skates, but I wouldn't be that concerned with a small crack on the lower part of the toe cap plastic. That toe cap is held in place with adhesives and the rivets from your chassis; I can't see it going anywhere and there's carbon fiber under that part of the cap (based on pictures I've seen of the True shells). Now, if it was a crack in the carbon fiber, that would be concerning.

I went from KOR Shift 1 to Shift 2 to OG Mako to Mako II. My short answer is the Mako is similar and a small improvement in comfort for me, but not a giant improvement since the Shift 1's were already great. In regards to the KOR skates, the Shift 2 was a good skate, but I preferred the Shift 1. At first the Shift 2's worked well, but after a while I started getting a blister between my baby and second largest toe and had to wear a sleeve - there was a ridge where the to cap and boot met that was just a little too narrow. Even though the Shift 1's were supposed to be slightly narrower, I never had that issue in those skates and I also preferred the lower cut of the Shift 1's. I also enjoyed the comfort of the built in, heat moldable footbeds, the snug feeling of the toe glove and the smaller tendon guards on the Shift 1. The tendon guards did tend to get floppy on the Shift 1 though and I did not use them to take off the skates (I undid two eyelets completely and really loosened the boots before taking them off). All my KORs had the Mission Pitch holders which had great steel that held an edge nicely (I believe I went with the neutral setting with the Shift 1 and +1 with the Shift 2 because I felt the boot pitch was more neutral on the Shift 2). The OG Makos were just as thermoformable as the KORs and were lower cut like the Shift 1's. The toe box is amazing - it's lower profile and is quite wide (at least on the EE). I have no pinching or discomfort in the toe area with the Makos. The OG Makos were less durable than the KORs though - they got softer sooner and the padding near the top of the boot flattened out. I also enjoyed the flexible tendon guards that could be replaced. The CXN holder has great steel that's similar in quality to the Mission Pitch steel and, to me, the stock pitch feels similar to the Pitch holder on the +1 setting. The Mako II's fit and feel the same as the originals, but they're more durable, are stiffer and have more pleasing aesthetics (at least to my eyes). So my revised ranking, (I originally posted here in 2019, if you go back in the thread and had both Makos ahead of the KORs due to the toe box) after giving it more thought, would be: 1. Mako II - great ergonomic, low profile toe box, great looks, flexible tendon guard and good durability. 2. KOR Shift 1 - felt and performed great. The tendon guard went soft, but it wasn't a huge deal. The toe box wasn't ergonomic or low profile, but didn't cause any pain. This is a VERY close second. 3.Mako M7 - fit and feel like the Mako II and only slightly heavier with a thicker tongue. I have a pair of these converted to roller and they're an amazing value. They've held up way better than the OG Makos (I had multiple pairs of OG Makos for both ice and roller). 4. OG Mako - fit and felt great, but had durability issues - padding compressing, going soft and even the seam splitting between the lower unibase and the upper thermoplastic on one pair. 5. KOR Shift 2 - thermoformable one piece boot, but higher cut and there was an issue for me where the toe box met the boot. I'll be trying out a converted pair of TF9 boots with the Marsblade R1 chassis in the next few weeks; so, I'll be able to give my thoughts on those boots as well after I have them baked and have used them. From trying on the TF9 ice boots, they feel low cut like the Shift 1's and Mako, but the toe cap isn't ergonomic and is taller than the one on the Mako. I didn't feel any seem where the toe box meets the boot though. I still think the Mako II's will hold on to the top spot, but I expect the TF9s will crack the top 5 and will be ahead of the Shift 2 and hopefully the OG Mako (as long as they hold up).

The Mission vs Vapor sizing difference is odd unless you have old Mission skates made before 2009. Post 2009 Missions use the Supreme last which should be the same length as Vapors, but wider and deeper. Whatever True size you try, use them as much as possible over the next few weeks in case the sizing does change after break in and you have to use the 30 day guarantee. Do your toes brush after baking the 7.5s?

Well, you have a 7 and 7.5, right? Measuring the inside won't help since the foam is a different thickness, but maybe measuring the length of the bottom of the boots? Lining them up side by side with their heels against the wall to see how the eyelets line up may be helpful as well. @oldtrainerguy28 already measured the size 7 and 7.5 skates back in September and said the 7.5 was definitely longer, but I'm not sure if that was inside or outside the boot:

Actually, it seems like the 7.5 might use the same last as the 7 boot, but with thinner padding. If I'm reading it correctly, the full sizes get the thicker padding and the half sizes get thinner padding. Similar concept; it's just the size below the half size is the same boot, but with different padding rather than the size above. An 8 would be using the same last as an 8.5, but the 8 would have thicker padding. If that's the case, it'd explain why @PBH had size 7 TF9s that felt like the right size at first, but felt a bit big after break in. If the 7 is really a 7.5 boot, but with thicker padding then it'd feel closer to a 7.5 in length after the padding starts to compress.

The original O1 chassis was absolutely made for ice hockey players training in the off season. I've seen a few players use that in rec leagues, but I've never seen it used at high level tournaments. The R1 is a new chassis that just launched last summer and it is designed to improve inline hockey performance. I haven't used it yet and haven't seen it used at high levels in person (all roller hockey in my region has been shuttered since last March), but in the promo videos they do have high level players like John Schiavo (Team USA), Jordan Mula and Nick DellaMorte (New York Roadrunners), Jake Coughler (Team Canada) and Fabian Morschler (Team Germany) using them. Having officiated some high level inline tournaments that have come to the Toronto area in the past, I agree that the Flagship Mission and Bauer skates with the HI-LO chassis is the most common setup. I've seen a few pairs of Sprungs and notice those because it's what I use myself, but they're a rarity. I think most of the high level roller guys grew up playing with the HI-LO and it's what they're used to; so they stick with it. Marsblade seems to spend more on Marketing than Sprung ever did and already has a few high level players using the product; so perhaps they'll make better inroads than Sprung did.

I second the Medium/Yellow 80a Labeda Gripper recommendation. I haven't used them myself, but know several people that swear by them for use on smooth concrete. Pre-pandemic I basically only played organized hockey on Sport Court and paid for high end wheels meant for that surface, but just used whatever was cheapest for the odd outdoor skate or to officiate on smooth cement. So I don't have personal experience with the Grippers, but the guys who have recommended them have played in a league with smooth cement for years and say that they've tried everything from expensive dual pour sport court wheels to cheap rec wheels and the wheel that provides the best performance for them on that surface is the Yellow Grippers.

Pre-pandemic I was reffing and/or playing most days. I've only played 2 organized indoor ice hockey games (in early October 2020) since March 13, 2020. After being off the ice from March 13, 2020 until mid-August, I officiated some tournament games in late August and September. Some of the games were being officiated with one official; pre-pandemic I used skate 2 hour solo shinny sessions for a bunch of 9 year old AAA kids that are all excellent skaters with ease. It was obvious I hadn't done enough cardio during my down time as I was sweating buckets when I started skating 40 minute games in August. Oh, and then after doing a few one official games with young kids, I was asked to skate a couple high level 2-man games; the assignor told me it would be competitive hockey, but when I got out there on the ice I saw a bunch of OHL helmets mixed in with the usual AAA helmets. I've officiated some AAA games, high school hockey and high level inline, but even in pre-COVID condition the pace of OHL players would be an adjustment. I had a good partner, they were no hitting games and most of the players and coaches were well behaved (there was one PITA coach and a couple minor situations to manage, but overall it went well); so it was a good experience and one I may not have had if it weren't for the pandemic. My endurance definitely improved after a couple of weeks and by the end of September I was much closer to my pre-pandemic condition (but not quite there). For the games I played in October, I'd already built up a bit of endurance via reffing, but my hands weren't great as I'd only skated outdoors with blades and a ball a couple times. Then, in mid-October, all hockey in Toronto was shut down again, hasn't opened back up and it still looks like it'll be forbidden for at least another few months. Hockey also hasn't been allowed on the outdoor rinks all winter (only pleasure skating); so I haven't skated indoors or outdoors since October 9. Once the ice is taken out and the snow melts, I do plan to start skating on the outdoor rinks with roller blades. I'm hoping to be able to do that by late March or early April. I can't see them allowing indoor hockey until at least May (and probably later; the doctors and politicians are really hesitant to open things up here due to the variants floating around and the fact that only a very small percentage of people have been vaccinated. I can understand that, but wish it was safe to play sooner). There are plenty of cities and towns across the province where hockey is allowed now, but I've been staying close to home. I really miss it, but I'm trying to respect the guidelines and stay safe; it's just been a long time with no hockey. I did get a spin bike in late December that I've been using; so hopefully my cardio won't be as bad as it was in mid-August. Toronto was one of, if not the biggest, hockey hotbeds in the world pre-pandemic, but during the pandemic it hasn't been a great place to be for playing or officiating organized hockey. Driving to other regions, having a backyard rink (I'm in an apartment style condo; so that's not an option) or trying to find a safe pond are options, but it's definitely a challenging area to live in for a hockey fanatic right now. I was born in the smaller city of London, Ontario and still have family there; my cousin's kid plays competitive hockey and he told me there was hockey until December there and it's allowed again now. So they went a few months without hockey, but in Toronto there's been far more time without hockey than with it in the past year. It doesn't help that the vaccine rollout in Canada is much slower than in a lot of other countries, but even in Canada, it seems like Toronto is the worst place to be in Canada if you want to play hockey anytime soon. I expect when I come back that it'll take a few games to get my legs back and several weeks to start getting my hands and shot back, but most people in the area will be in a similar situation. Since I've been doing some cardio and weight training, I hope I feel better than when I returned in August.

Yeah, with the 30 day offer with select retailers you can bake and use the skates; you just have to return them within 30 days if they don't work for you.

Read through the TF9/TF7 ice skate thread. The ice and inline boots use the same boot. Some key points: The True skates fit a half to 3/4 sizes larger than Bauers in the same size after baking They're very thermoformable and the fit changes after baking The Trues in W are some of the widest skates on the market Participating retailers have a 30 day satisfaction guarantee on the Trues. So you could buy them, bake them and try them and if they don't fit or are the wrong size then you can return them for a refund. Missions are built with the Bauer Supreme last. So are the RX and RSX skates. The difference in sizing will be the width. The RSX come in R; which is slightly wider than a D Supreme, but not as wide as a EE. I'm over 200lbs; so would never consider a skate with a two piece chassis, but you might be OK for a while at low level play if you're lighter. I just don't know if an R RSX would be wide enough if you had width issues in Tours. Personally, I'd try the Trues baked from a shop that is participating in the 30 day satisfaction guarantee and if that doesn't work out then try EE Missions from a place that offers returns on unused skates (just don't use them until you know they fit).

The steel chassis is usually a two piece chassis instead of a one piece design. It's the design that's less durable and more prone to bending/breaking. So it's not steel vs. aluminum; it's one piece vs. two piece. 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. Another option is to buy your chassis of choice (Marsblade R1, Sprung, One Piece Aluminum Hi-Lo ect.) and have it mounted on an ice boot. This gives you more fit options and you can often find good deals on older models of ice boots or just use your old, but good condition ice skates for the conversion and buy new ice skates.

I have both the CL and RBZ shins and they're both light and don't retain moisture, but the RBZ line is more comfortable. The Velcro for the straps are the longterm weak point, but the Velcro could be replaced or you can just use tape or shin tights to keep them in place (I do the latter). The Jetspeeds don't feel as nice as the RBZ to me and aren't as low profile. For elbows, I stockpiled 2012 Blue and Grey Warrior Projekts, but if I was looking for new pads I would consider Vapor 2X Pros, Warrior Alpha DX, STX Surgeon RX3 or the Jetspeeds based on what I have read. I would definitely lean toward a 3 piece pad. For shoulders, I love the Verbero Shield pads I have as they're very mobile and modular (I use them without the caps). 2X Pros, RBZ, or FT1 pads would be lighter and more hydrophobic, but I an not sure they would be as mobile as the Shield pads with the caps removed. I prefer a girdle to pants, but that's personal preference. I use the True XC9 and was deciding between that and the Warrior QRE when I stumbled upon a great deal on the XC9. The pants others have mentioned seem like good choices.

Hills used them and made a video on the sizing: PBH also details his sizing experience here: He went from 7.5EE retail Bauers and 7 1/4E Right and 7 E left custom Bauers down to 6.5R TF9s. He was also able to easily fit a 272mm holder on the 6.5R TF9s. I wear 8EE Makos (and also measure an 8 on a Brannock) and tried on both 8W and 7.5W True TF9s. The 8W was clearly too long. The 7.5W felt better, but that was unbaked. I didn't get a chance to try on 7R, 7W and 7.5R TF9s and would want to do that (and ideally baking the ones that felt close) before making a decision on the size. I know from just trying them on without baking I'd definitely have to drop down at least half a size. Hills and PBH actually baked and wore the skates; so their experiences are more telling.

Keep in mind that True retail skates fit between a half and full size longer than Bauer and CCM. So you'd be looking for a half to full size smaller than your usual skate size. I'm not sure if that helps your situation or not.

If you're having trouble finding the TF9 inline skates in your size, but really want to try the TF9 boots then you could buy the ice boots and get them converted to inline. I don't know what the pricing is like in the UK, but in North America converting a pair of TF9 ice skates to inline would still be cheaper than buying a top of the line Mission skate. You'd also get to choose the type of chassis and wheels you want if you go that route.

Yeah, they seem perfect for what Datsyuk used them for; travelling a long distance off ice with skates on. O'Reilly may have had a ways to go from the dressing room to where he had to stand for the media (or whatever reason he was there; looks like a media setup though). I can see the merits of the product and don't knock anyone for using them; it's just something I've only seen younger players use in person. Obviously adults can and have used them. One concern for me with outdoor use would be how often you'd have to replace the wheels as they're ground up by the asphalt (I'm not sure how hard the wheels are). Indoors on rubber mats or other smooth surfaces that wouldn't be a worry. Plus, $60 for a pair of skate guards is quite a bit.

Yeah, the rollergards are very popular with the say 12 and under crowd around here, but I haven't even seen any bigger kids, let alone adults wearing them. That doesn't mean they can't and I wouldn't say anything if they did; whatever works. With that said, they'd probably garner a few looks and comments from some people.

When you don't cut the loops your thumb stays with the protection - if it's a lock thumb then it doesn't move and if it's a flex thumb then the protection moves with your thumb. When you cut the loops you're creating a gap in the protection that say a stick blade could fit into if someone was slashing you in the hands. It doesn't mean a stick will find it's way in there, but it leaves a protection gap.

Ha! I had that one too. I bought it on sale, tried it a couple times and then it also became a permanent backup. It wasn't something I really wanted, it was just something I picked up on impulse at the store for myself with some paper route money (I think it was on sale for $50). I was around the same age when I bought mine. I forget if it was before or after I bought the Easton's, but out of the Aluminum shafts I preferred the Gold Easton, Silver Easton (even though I couldn't flex it at all) and then the Bauer was a VERY distant third. None of those were right for me (although the gold easton was usable), but the Bauer Aluminum was clearly the worst. The wood and fiber glass sticks I had at the time definitely worked better. The first shaft I had that was close to the right flex was a Koho Vector 400 DRC Fiberglass shaft in "Mid-stiff" flex that I picked up around 16 or 17.

Grafs are the historical choice for referees because they were primarily black and looked professional. It doesn't mean they're the most comfortable skate for you or your feet. It doesn't hurt to try them on, but you shouldn't fixate on Grafs and should try on and consider as many brands and models as possible if you do have to buy new skates. The other solutions mentioned like profiling and using gel pads may allow you to keep using the same skates. Quite a few refs in my area that skate a lot have moved to True skates; even some of the older officials who came up using Grafs. Some have gone the custom route and others have bought barely used pairs that are a close enough fit and then have them baked to fit their feet. The ones who used to have pain issues say they're much more comfortable after switching to True skates. Obviously the ones who went the custom route should have comfortable skates as they were built for their feet, but even the ones who bought "close enough" barely used models have been happy. That's likely due to how malleable they are after a proper bake. COVID was upon us before the retail Trues came out so I don't know any refs who have switched to those, but I have tried them on and the TF9s flip12 mentioned felt pretty good even without baking, but fit a half to a full size longer than other brands in the same size (so you might have to go down to a 9 in those if they fit your feet well). Icewarehouse offers free return shipping on skates for the lower 48 states in the US, plus True is offering a 30 day satisfaction guarantee for purchases made before Jan 31 at participating retailers (IW is participating). So you could potentially order TF9s to try with little risk (even a few pairs to dial in the sizing without having to make a long road trip). If they're the wrong size, you just send them back with the prepaid label without sharpening or using them. If they're the right size and you bake them, sharpen them and try them and they don't solve the pain then you could still return them for a refund within 30 days. https://www.icewarehouse.com/True_TF9/descpage-TF9SK.html. They do make a cheaper option with the TF7s that you could also try if the TF9s are more than your budget allows right now. I might have taken advantage of the TF9 30 day trial myself, but there's no hockey going on and only 45 minute pleasure skating outdoors booked online in advance allowed; so it wouldn't be a great time to test them and I wouldn't have been able to make extra money officiating to pay for them if they worked well. Plus, I still have two pairs of Mako II's waiting in my closet. Once my Mako II stockpile is depleted, I'll try on everything I can, but right now I'd lean toward the TF9s. If something fits me better at the time, I'm certainly open to it though.

The silver Easton 110 flex Aluminum shaft I tried to use when I was 13. That thing would be too stiff for me now; it was crazy stiff at that age. I also had a 100 flex gold Easton; it wasn't quite as bad, but still too stiff. I knew nothing about flex, skate hollows and all the great things I learned from this site at that time. I did stumble upon some sticks and shafts with more appropriate flex ratings, but that was basically because they were on sale and I got lucky and not because I knew what I needed. Also, the Nike 004 helmet. It looked great, but was too narrow for me at the temples and gave me headaches. I moved on to helmets that aren't really known for their style, but fit me comfortably.

Was he in the original Mako or the Mako II? Both are softer than the Trues I have felt, but having owned the original Mako, Mako II and the M7, I'd say the originals are definitely the softest and break down the fastest. I definitely noticed an increase in energy transfer when I switched from the original Makos to the Mako II's for ice and converted original Makos to M7's in roller (even the $400 M7s were stiffer than the original Makos and have held up better).