althoma1

I agree that this site is the best resource. Chassis: Hi Lo, Flat, Marsblade O1 (more for ice training) and R1 (designed for playing inline) and the Sprung chassis are the main playing options. I have tried Hi Lo, Flat, the old Tuuk Rocker and Sprungs and definitely prefer Sprungs, but you do have to maintain them (and if you want them to last, it's better to use them indoors then outdoors). I haven't tried the Marsblade R1, but would if my Sprungs were shot and I couldn't buy another set of those. The Sprung creator is working on a more durable version called the Fizix, but there's no definitive information on if or when those will be released (just prototypes on FB that have been posted for 2-3 years now). There are more detailed threads here with detailed discussions on the Marsblade O1, R1 and Sprungs. Wheels: This depends on your weight and the surface you're playing on. For outdoors on Asphalt, the Labeda and Revison Asphalts are two that are regularly recommended. For smooth cement, Labeda Gripper yellows are wheels many players I know use for that surface. The best wheel I've used for Sport Court is the Konixx Pure (I use them in +2); the newer version of that is the Konixx Pure X (haven't tried that yet, but they're discussed in a wheel discussion thread). Personally, I spend the money on the good wheels for Sport Court, but just get the cheapest, hardest wheels I can find for outdoor use and if I'm ever on cement indoors I either use cheap wheels or very well used wheels that I've retired for Sport Court use. Bearings: Personally, I don't notice a huge difference in bearings as long as they're clean and spin. I've tried Swiss, Ceramic, Helo Quark, Abec 7, Abec 5 ect. In my opinion, either buy good bearings that have removable dust shields so you can clean and lube them on a regular basis or just buy the cheapest bearings you can find and replace them when they stop spinning smoothly. I notice a huge difference with high end vs. cheap wheels on Sport Court, but really don't notice a big difference with bearings. Some people swear by high end bearings though.

Oh, I didn't realize you already knew the name of the gloves. I thought you were suggesting they call them Halo and they hadn't released a name yet. Mobile is great, but I don't like loose; so personally, I hope they tighten things up before they release them. Thanks for the information.

Are they as tight in the fingers and backhand as the old Surgeon 500 gloves or is the fit more like the current RX3 that is tapered, but not quite as snug as the previous model? Or is it completely different than either?

Since the slash was from behind it probably should have been a penalty shot, but I am guessing just a slash was called. The last thing a ref in beer league wants is to spend time setting up a penalty shot (unless it's a running clock). If it was an obvious clear cut breakaway they would be forced to call it, but the player just got ahead for a split second before the stick was hacked.

Vet, the stock holder size list you posted is correct. SkateWorksPNW does have 272mm holders installed on 6.5 TF9s, but he added those after. It's not a stock setup, but the 272mm holders fit on without issue. That's part of the reason he knows that the boots themselves are sized larger than the size indicated on the tag vs. other brands and models. I wear 8EE Makos with 272mm holders and tried on both 8W and 7.5W TF9 skates. The 8W TF9 was obviously too long. The 7.5W felt closer to the right size, but there's a chance I could even go down to a 7. I didn't get a chance to try on a 7 and don't need need skates right now; I was just curious and was thinking about grabbing these when I do need new skates. Anyway, I would have to go down a holder size (since the stock holder on 7 and 7.5, both wide and regular, is 263mm) and at least a half skate size (maybe a full size) vs. Makos. Hills also has a video (Hockeyreviews.ca) discussing the sizing and details how they're oversized: Both Hills and SkateWorksPNW have baked and used the skates; so they have a better idea of the sizing than I do since I have only tried on a couple pairs without baking them, but we all agree that they fit larger than other brands. The fact that they're so responsive to heat makes it even more challenging to figure out the size as the right size could feel too small before baking them.

Short term, switching to CXN holders may be cheaper and make the adjustment to the new skate easier, but long term getting used to a holder that's in production (as you suggested) makes more sense. Hopefully profiling the True holders does the trick and no holder swap is needed.

Yeah, you have a point. If the profiling isn't enough, going to something like the CCM XS holder probably makes more sense since it will have Step available and is still in production. I was just thinking that the CXN was cheaper, he's used to it already and he could stock up on a couple spare holders (at $5 each, why not) and a second set of clearance steel. With the extra parts it should outlast the skate. You're right about him having to get used to a newer holder eventually though.

There's a limited supply of CXN Step and it isn't being produced anymore, but it's still out there right now. Here's some that I could find (unless the inventory hasn't been updated on the websites): https://www.thehockeyshop.com/products/steel-nash-easton-mako-sr-2pk-step https://www.hockeyvancouver.ca/products/step-steel-easton-mako-skate-runners?variant=21204487302 https://www.bayareahockeyrepair.com/product/step-steel-st-mako-standard-steel-runners-fits-easton-cxn-holder/ https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Step-Steel-Easton-Mako-Skate-Runners-Steel-Blades-Fit-CXN-Holders-All-Sizes-/272347031165 https://hockeysupremacy.com/products/step-steel-runners-for-easton-cxn-holder-pair?variant=31951918465106 Not that you have to swap to the CXN holders, but right now it seems like there's still a reasonable supply of the Step CXN steel. The actual Easton ES4 steel on the hand; that's much harder to find. Anyway, I hope you can tweak the Trues so your son is as happy on the ice as he was off the ice. Happy New Year!

You've found a boot that fits really well without having to go the custom route. I would stick with those and start with profiling, if that doesn't work you can always swap the holders. It's still cheaper than going custom. If you do end up swapping holders, you can consider using CXN holders. That way they'd be shorter, plus you can still find step steel for the CXN holders that's less aggressively pitched (although they're likely discontinued now that CCM owns Step. So if you go the CXN route you might want to grab at least 2 sets while you can). You can get a right size 6/6.5 CXN holder for $5 from Perani's: https://www.hockeyworld.com/EASTON-CXN-Blade-Holder-Sr You can get a left size 6/6.5 CXN holder for $5 from Hockeymonkey: https://www.hockeymonkey.com/easton-hockey-holder-cxn.html You can get Step CXN steel for size 6 holders for $49.95 CAD from The Hockey Shop: https://www.thehockeyshop.com/products/steel-nash-easton-mako-sr-2pk-step?variant=31746752577602 Even after you add shipping, get a backup set of steel and pay around $40 for the holder swap, you'd still come out ahead vs. going custom or buying a top end CCM or Bauer skate. According to Pure Hockey the size 8D TF9 is 904 grams. The OG Mako was about 819 grams and the Mako II was 839 grams in that size. So the True's are heavier, but it's not a massive difference (65-85 grams).

I would just try to find one of the higher end inhalers that actually come in D. Perhaps a discontinued older model on clearance or a barely used pair on SLS, eBay ect. The high end inhaler skates (FZ-0, FZ-1, NLS1, NLS2 and NLS3) are available in both D and EE. It's the FZ-3, FZ-5, NLS4 and NLS5 that are only available in E. Probably more than you want to spend, but here are some 8D FZ-1 Inhalers: https://sidelineswap.com/gear/hockey/inline-roller/inline-skates/2567382-mission-senior-inhaler-fz-1-regular-width-size-8-inline-skates Coast to Coast has some 8D FZ-0's. They aren't cheap, but they're a couple hundred less than hockeymonkey.ca and hockeysupremacy: https://coasthockeyshop.com/collections/senior-inline-roller-hockey-skates/products/mission-inhaler-fz-0-skates?variant=16169750921318

You'd sacrifice a bit of top end speed and stopping power, but gain some agility and they'd be lower to the ground. They'd also be slightly lighter with the smaller wheels. According to the size chart on the Marsblade site the medium is the recommended size for 6 and above, but 6.5 is close enough to the cut off that those who prefer a smaller wheel base for more agility can likely get away with a small.

I would think you'd want the pivot point right in the middle of your foot with the Marsblades. Coast to Coast Hockey shop has mounted a few R1's and have pictures on their instagram feed. They mounted a medium and then a small for Pavel Barber on his custom Trues that they say are approximately a size 5.5/6. The medium takes up the whole boot and the small is centered and seems to fit well in that case. https://www.instagram.com/p/CIZpSK3gQsQ https://www.instagram.com/p/CGpuGKQgaGt Edit: There's also a picture of the Revel 1/R1 setup mounted by Marsblade and they look to be centered as well: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGYmUo2g5kZ

Yes, both the 6.5 and 7 Bauer Fit 3 skates use 263mm holders. The holders on Fit 3 for half sizes 5.5 and up are one size up vs. Fit 1 and 2 (just like they used to do with EE vs. D). https://imgur.com/EatZHVq

FIVE BEST: Kings, Devils, Avs, Oilers, CapitalsFIVE WORST: Jets, Coyotes, Red Wings, Flames, SabresFIVE HON. MENTION: Carolina, Panthers, Columbus, Flyers, Blues The Kings forum blue with the sport gold and that logo looks fantastic. The Devils with the green as a primary colour looks sharp. I like the pop the orange shoulder yokes give to the Oilers white jersey. The Capitals jersey in red with the eagle and all the stars really stand out. The Avs call back to the Nordiques is nice. I was close to putting Carolina in the top 5 as I do like the look of the Whale jersey, but would prefer white to grey as the main colour. I agree with IPV that the Panthers jersey should be their primary. The Blues, Philly and Columbus jerseys have bright colours that pop. The Jets jersey is such a disappointment since they have so many great colour options - the grey is just so drab and boring. The purple does pop on the Coyotes jersey, but that logo and the graphics on the bottom are just too ugly for my tastes. The Wings jersey is too plain and does look like a practice jersey.

With blue tiles it's either Sport Court or Spider Court (similar to Sport Court, but perforated). Some people say Spider Court is harder on wheels - I've only played on Sport Court myself. Bottom line - use indoor wheels. With Sprungs, you can go one level harder than with a flat chassis as the Sprung adds some grip. So if you were using 76a in a flat chassis go to 78a in Sprungs (or +0 in Konixx, go to +1 ect.). The best wheels I've tried are Konixx Pure. I use the +2's with Sprungs, but am much heavier than you. +1 in Konixx Pure's would likely work well for you. If your using other brands than 76a indoor wheels are a good bet with the Sprungs and your weight factored in.

Yeah, I guess part of the font size is personal taste. I don't mind large font on glove cuffs, but don't like the large font on skates- helmets, pants/shells and socks would be other areas where I would prefer not to have huge logos.

An asymmetrical toe cap. I am glad to see that CCM and Bauer are finally adding a feature that the Makos had in 2013. I am actually glad to see that as the Makos have my favourite toe caps of all time. Hopefully True comes out with a Mako like asymmetrical toe caps as well. Ha! It was only the OG Makos that looked questionable with the orange and silver IMHO. I think the Mako II is a nice looking skate. The M7 and M8 aren't bad either. With that said, I would wear anything that fits me as well as Makos once my Mako stockpile runs out. If these clown skates fit like Makos I would wear them (although I might see if I could remove some graphics with acetone). You're fine with the enormous CCM logo?

Yeah, I thought the big gold sections on the Ultrasonic were bad. CCM just took it to another level of ugliness with the huge stripes and giant logo. Companies should offer a retail blackout edition (I know you can likely do it with custom skates, but not everyone wants or needs to spend that much on skates) for players that want to be a little more inconspicuous.

In front of the toe or above the toe? If it's the latter, you could try powerfoot inserts: https://www.adrenalinedesign.ca/powerfoot/ I haven't used them myself, but quite a few people seem to like them and they're designed to take up the space above the toes.

The junior sizes have the same features. You will likely end up with a smaller holder size and steel, but the junior size is cheaper; so if you can't get used to the smaller holder size you could always pay to have longer holders installed with the savings. I second the recommendation to go down at least a half size in the True retail skates vs. most other brands. I wear 8EE Mako II skates and 8W TF9s were clearly too long when I tried them on. 7.5W felt better, but I would want to try on 7W, 7R and 7.5R before making a final decision if I buy them in the future. I am sure a skate in the same size I have now is too big though. The TF7 may feel slightly tighter than the TF9 to start due to the thicker tongue, but the tongue will compress over time and can also be swapped out. The physical length of the TF9 and TF7 is the same and they are built on the same last. I would not size up just to accommodate the thicker tongue.

Not all runners are the same height when new. For example, most STEP steel (with the exception of the steel for the True Shift holder) is pretty tall. Bauer LS4 is another runner that's pretty tall. I believe you have CCM +4.0 holders and steel. With the +4.0 holders, CCM made the holders taller than their previous holders, but kept the steel height the same. So the CCM steel is more of a traditional height and if the sharpener compared them to say STEP or LS4 they'd definitely look shorter, but it doesn't mean they're too short to use. If you start bottoming out on tight turns (the holders hit the ice) then you'll know it's time to replace the steel, but I understand wanting to do so a little before that time. With all that said, I still think your blades look fine unless they're really low at the toe and heel (I can only see the middle in the picture). I've seen some players and refs skate on tiny slivers of steel and often ask them how they skate on those blades or flat out say I think it may be time for some new steel, but their steel is WAY lower than yours. I've never let my steel get lower than half a cm and I've never had a problem transitioning to new steel as long as I use the same size and brand of steel. If I went to taller steel like Step it might take a little more time, but for the last several years I have been using CXN holders and steel and before that I was consistently using Mission Pitch holders and steel for several years (and before that I had CCM Prolite 3 holdes and steel for a good decade).

The steel height in that picture looks good and looks closer to new than replacement level. They should be fine for a while. I would think about replacing them when they're closer to half a cm.

They have a lot of veterans now with Spezza, Simmonds, Muzzin, Bogosian, Tavares, Brodie ect. on the roster, but perhaps they're hoping Thornton will be the vocal veteran that will convince the younger guys to play responsible team D.

I hope everything is OK, but you definitely did the smart thing by consulting with your cardiologist.

Just reminds me of the days when they would bring in guys like Lindros, Housley, Francis, Nolan, Allison (or bringing back Gilmour or Clark for their second tours) ect. Great players in their prime, but definitely not game changers on the Leafs. Not a huge risk signing at 700k, but I don't know how impactful he will be whenever the next season starts.