smcgreg

Thanks, lots of good info there. RE: the last paragraph, I get what you're saying, but in his case, I think the tradeoff would be beneficial. I can wax poetic about it ad nauseum, but don't want to take up too much bandwith here. Not sure what we'll do, may get a low end P28 to try in compairson to my 03 and see what he things and go from there. Since I use the 03 regularly, I think he can adjust with a bit of time and be just fine, probably better off in the long run. Thanks again for the feedback.

Haven't used it. Looking at it, does look a bit like a tweener, but more of a toe curve right? Not sure that's ideal for defenseman.

Same length and flex. Right now, we wear the same size Makos and same length intermediate stick... go figure. Funny, I thought the same thing about the backhand, because it didn't make a sense to me. What I came up with was the rocker. To me, the rocker has more curve on it on the 03 vs 88. My thought was between the lie and rocker, he's able to take the backhand closer to his body allowing him to get under it more. Other than that I wasn't sure, You're right, for a D, not the most important, but getting out of trouble sometimes requires the same "shot" off the boards. As a puck moving D, he does jump in the offense when he's playing with his own age. Thanks for the feedback.

Regarding the bold, so, my observations have been for a while that he should probably switch, but never said anything so as not to get into his head. The ironic backstory is that we went to a dropin the other day and he forgot his sticks (yes, he's 14), so, had to use mine. He immediately commented as to how the stickhandling was better and backhand shot was better. Those were his immediate observations without prompting, he offered them. His shot was less accurate, but that's understandable given he's used the same curve pretty much his whole playing career other than when he was learning to skate and play and using baby sticks. Anyway, this was driven by that one day and then a couple dropins and a practice today. Good for stickhandling, backhand shots. Shot not as accurate and he doesn't like the loft on passes and shots. I am confident his shot will adjust from an accuracy standpoint and can probably adjust to the loft with some time. It will definitely be in his head if he transitions during the season, so, trying to minimize it. Still, his ability to take shots on the ice as a D man is a plus and I'm a huge advocate of passes on the ice unless needing to get through traffic. Sauce for the sake of sauce is not desirable. Also, aside from the stickhandling, I am fairly confident with time that all his shots will be better when the puck is closer to his body and he can load the stick more effectively due to the acute angle. As far as the Lidstrom curve (at least that's what it used to be called), no, he's been Zetterberg as long as he's had a real stick. I know it's a D specific curve, but he's fine with a normal curve and will likely be ok with W03/P92 with some adaptation time. So, thanks for the feedback. Will likely have to ease into a W03, but easing into a different curve is never going to be as effective as just jumping in with both feet.

Having used both, I would beg to differ. To me, much less rocker on W88. He commented the same. He plays D. Cutting shorter is not an option and I really don't think that makes much difference playing close to the body. He's been doing stick handling drills for 10 years, not gonna change much in a couple weeks/ month. Thanks for the feedback though.

Like I said above, want to stay with warrior for the time being. He like the alpha and hasn't liked other stick manufactures when he tried them in the past. He's good at sauce. He's good at hitting the crossbar on wrist shots, so, lifting the puck is not an issue. Like I said, borderline AAA in Michigan at 15U. I've taught him over the years to keep the puck on the ice when he can. That was what was bothering him.

Yeah, I know Warrior lie numbers are different than others, but the two sticks relative to each other is the issue. That being said, the W88 is the lowest lie Warrior I am aware of and with not much rocker, I've thought for a while he would be better off with a higher lie stick. Given it's the middle of the season, trying to keep the variables in the change minimal. We are both very familiar with Warrior and in the past he hasn't liked Bauer. So, want to stick with Warrrior until at least summer. Thanks of the info.

Title pretty much says it all. My son is 14 and decent player. Varsity as freshman in HS, borderline AAA in Michigan. He's been using a Warrior Zetterberg W88 since he started using Junior sticks.... I dunno... 6 yr ago? The Warrior W88 is unique in that it's a lie 4. I've thought for a while he should switch to something in a lie 5 so, can bring the puck closer to his body, but didn't want to suggest it midseason. On a lark, he tried my W03 the other day and liked it He tried it again today at practice and likes the lie, but doesn't like the loft. One thought is just getting him a W03 and making him get used to it, but he likes to keep the puck on the ice with passes and doesn't want to shoot high inadvertently, which I can appreciate. 6 yrs of 4+ times/week is hard to undo. So,.... hence the question I've looked at the charts, but am asking for opinions. Is there a curve closer to the W88 than the W03, but lie 5? Thanks in advance.

Kind of crazy. 3 high level players with ROC < 9 ft and 3 with ROH </= 3/8". Yikes!

I don't know the study to which you refer, but this confirms my intuition. If true, it should be posted on the banner... But of course, that would negate a lot of special profiling arguments wouldn't it? 😉

Not really passing thru, but after I drop my kids off at the rink, I should be there in about 15 hrs. Hope you've got plenty of pucks and sun tan lotion. I'm pretty pale. See you in a bit.

OK, I'll work on this, BUT.... it's very hard for me to think it's technique. 1) he's a very good technical skater 2) over the summer he does a skills camp every year where he skates 8 hr/week, primarily drills, much of it turning tight turns in the same way he's been washing out recently. In addition, he was playing games 2-4 times per week. Never an issue as recently as Aug. The obvious change that corresponded to the problem is going to the new pair of Makos with longer steel. Given that he's a good skater who's been skating for 10 yr and quite a lot of technical drill skating over the summer without this issue, it tells me it's not technique, it's the new equipment. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to diminish the honest attempts to help, but to me the equipment issue is almost too obvious to ignore considering the timing. The problem is, having dealt with misaligned steel myself in the past, it's a difficult thing to diagnose and a more difficult issue to fix. Anyway.... in the interim, I'll try and get some video at his next practice. I hate being "that Dad" who films his kid's practices. It's bad enough I'm there, let alone filming..... I've never been shy about looking like an ass before though, so, will give it a shot. Thanks again for the feedback.

I appreciate that. We did consider that he needed to go "back to basics". That being said, I know plenty of very good skaters who have terrible core strength, so, that's not it. Fliexibility?.... possibly. He has good flexibility, especially at the ankles where most of this would be relevant. Still, it's possible he lost some flexibility with rapid growth in the last month or two. Looking at all options now. I am thinking 1) OTG suggestion that it is a blade alignment issue. It started shortly after he went to a new pair of makos. Everything else was the same except the length of the steel. It makes logical sense that misalignment could be the culprit. But... 2) Since he has more speed now due to the length of steel. He may simply need to work on the basics of his turns at speed. He has VERY GOOD basics though, so, that's a hard one to swallow. Since many elite skaters are on shallower hollows (I'm not elite, but on 3/4 myself), I didn't think that was the explanation, but that's what he has in his head. Oh well.... Anyway, no clear consensus on this, so, we'll just need to try some things in a systematic way. No easy fix, I don't think. Heck, he may simply "grow out of it" as he gets used to his new found speed. Thanks for the suggestions.

4 plus years ago. I should have mentioned that in my reply to OTG. Went from 5.5 makos to 6.5 Makos. But thank you for the thought.

Nope. I have them profiled -2. So, a bit more than neutral, but not much. Again, he's 14. Been skating on Makos for 4 years, maybe longer. This is a recent development. I thought he was just getting too fast, but the misaligned steel makes some sense. A tougher problem to fix though... 😞

That's actually a good thought. they're actually brand new. They were old stock I was holding for myself, but he grew to the point they were his size. The thing is, this problem started after moving to them about 6 weeks ago That stinks though, no way to warranty them now. Still, that makes good sense.... Thanks. The question is, what to do if that's it?

He says he notices it more turnlng left on outside edge. That's what I've witnessed a couple times, so, not sure if it actually is worse or not. Skates - Makos Steel - Step V Steel

My son is a pretty strong technical skater and has just hit puberty. He's playing at a high/fast level and has started having problems holding his edge in turns at speed. He's washing out pretty frequently, certainly more frequently as of late. As a result, he's started backing off speed in turns, which takes away from his strength. He's a good skater and needs to be able to exploit that, especially at the level he's at now. He asked me about getting a deeper ROH (currently skates on 1/2") and trying a 7/16. I've been trying to convince him for over a year to go to 5/8 for improved glide, but he really wants good edges. I've told him most high level skaters typically go shallower hollow and it's probably something other than his ROH. I argued maybe it might be better to go to a longer profile. He's currently on a 10 ft profile and I suggested maybe an 11 ft might be better, giving him more steel on the ice in his turns. At practice tonight, he washed out 3 times again and he's getting pretty frustrated. So we need to try something. SO...... my question to the skate technical gurus, would it make more sense to go to a longer profile rather than a deeper ROH? Thanks in advance.

Ok, that's interesting. Confirmation bias is always nice 😉

So, I had a couple pairs of skates sharpened with a Sparx yesterday. I watched while they were doing it, and on one pair, the sound while the first couple passes were done was uneven, then it sounded like the sound got more even on the last two passes. In contrast, the other pair sounded more even from the start. So, the question is, is the sound during the passes indicative of the condition of the skates? The guy commented that the first pair were worse than the second and they were my sons, who is older and skates harder, or is at least harder on his edges, than his younger sister (the second pair). Thanks,

Ok, thanks for the detailed response. To be honest, I don't really know much about CCM and Bauer custom. I've been in Makos since they came out always figured if nothing else came along when I ran out of my stash (like from Bauer since they bought the Mako IP 😞 ) I'd go with Trues. I'd followed them and since they came from the MLX heritage, it was the most obvious option. This person I respect made a compelling (although not technical) argument and not being familiar with the custom process from the others, he got me thinking. Also, it seems like complaints from True buyers have increased lately. Maybe that's just a function of selling more. More skates sold means more mistakes simply due to mass action and hence more complaints. Re: Price... if you're spending a grand, +/- $200 is irrelevant to me if it gets you the better fitting skate. Anyway, thanks.

So, more to the original topic since my son and I are both in our last Makos (actually, he grew into my last pair that were still NIB). So, need to start thinking seriously about this problem, since he will likely need a new pair within a season and is at a critical point in his hockey "career" (for lack of a better term). The assumption was that he would transition into Trues when the time came. A friend of mine who is pretty well versed in skate fitting argues that for what you pay for Trues, you can get a custom skate from the other guys. No, they're not as moldable, but 1) they're truely (pardon the pun) custom. 2) lighter than Trues and 3) I know the True defenders will argue with this, but he has seen more problems with Trues than other custom skates. EVen True defenders should contend that the finish on them is not on par with Bauer or CCM. Aside from the fit argument, another argument would be, if you're paying a grand for skates, the finish should be friggin awesome. I personally don't care about aesthetics (heck I wore the first Makos... yuck), but the finish does speak to the Quality Control. There have been a number of complaints about little issues with Trues and then some others that are not so little. So, my question is this, why is my buddy wrong? A custom skate should fit like a glove, and Trues are the same price (roughly) as a custom from Bauer or CCM, so, why not the other custom options? I'm not beating up on True as a brand, that's why it's in this thread as opposed to the True thread. By rights, if paying that much, a custom skate should fit just as well, right? Thanks, Steve

Yeah, I've never understood the notion of buying Prostock "custom" skates. They're custom for somebody else, so, will likely fit worse than off the shelf skates.

As a Mako wearer who hated the pitch with two kids who have been wearing makos for 4+ yrs each (the end is nigh though),.. the best option in my view is simply to go with a negative pitch on the initial profile. Since Makos are +3 (including holder and steel), simply going -2 on the initial profile gets you to a +1, which is pretty much vapor pitch, I think. I've swapped out to TUUK holders for both myself and my son. Way too many rivets popping to make that swap worth it. The -2 pitch does essentially the same thing (-3 if you want more). He's been a -2 pitch since that first pair 4 yrs ago and it's worked great. My daughter has been -2 ever since she started on Makos about 3 yr ago. She's never had a rivet pop. My son puts a lot of stress on his edges, so, he does pop rivets even by simply going with the negative pitch. It's a heck of a lot better than the alterations at the holder though. For myself, I have shims under the holder and a different pitch on the steel on the left compared to right steel. My right steel has a -3 pitch, my left has a -1 (don't ask... ). My rivets are always popping, but I need the shims to be able to skate. Anyway, given the propensity for Mako rivets to pop more than probably any other skate, I would avoid 1) shims and 2) swapping holders as much as possible. I hope this helps. Steve

Curious, how do you quantify this reduction?