hehatemefrisbee

my new Sprung Skates http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/6549/sprungzw1.jpg

Product: RBK 7k / Pronger / Stiff Flex / Right Handed Time of use: 2 seasons of inline hockey, playing 3-5 times a week. My stats: 6'2", 220 LB's, primarily a roller hockey player. Blade: The feel of this stick surprised me with how good it is. I came from using the Mission Hex-1 and the Inno 1100, which both have great feel, and the 7K was just as good, if not better. The blade is very stiff, and has taken some brutal hacks, but still feels as good as it did the day I started using it. 10/10 Flex: This stick is alot stiffer than what I would usually use, considering I usually use an 85 flex if possible. However, I found it pretty easy to get used to this flex, and my shots didnt suffer at all once i realized what adjustments I had to make with the stiffer flex. After two seasons the stick is still as stiff as it was when I first got it, unlike most other composite sticks. 9/10 (personal preference) Stickhandling/receiving passes: Well alot of this is similar to the blade section, so it does pretty well in this category. I find with this stick and curve I can catch passes in different ways than I ever could, such as between the legs, and behind my back. I dont know if its just confidence or what, but I feel the stick has helped me. 10/10 Shooting: As I said earlier, this is a different flex for me, so i expected to not be able to shoot as well as usual, but to my surprise I found that after adjusting my shooting technique slithgly, I could shoot the puck better than before. My slapshots and wristshots are hard and accurate. This stick is really good for slapshots, The puck just seems to explode off of the blade. 10/10 Weight and balance: Basically, the only way I can describe the weight and balance is perfect. The stick is sickly light, and the balance feels just right. RBK did a good job with that. 10/10 Durability: Again, perfect. After two seasons of major hacks and slashes this stick is still going strong. The top of the blade towards the heel has some damage to it where the foam is showing ever so slightly, but the blade is still as stiff as ever, and if the foam wasnt yellow, I wouldnt have noticed it. 10/10 Intangibles: I'm not going to lie, I hated RBK when they first came out. I thought there stuff was cheaply made and cost too much. My rep gave me this stick on a promo to try to get me to reconsider, and actually use the stick before i said it sucked. Im glad he did, because this is my favorite stick, and believe me, I have a ton. And the argument that my views would be different if i bought the stick isnt really valid, as I would very quickly ditch a free stick if it wasnt working for me. Conclusion: RBK has done a great job with the 7K. In my opinion it is the best premium OPS on the market to date. As I stated earlier, I wasnt sold on RBK until I used this stick, and much to my surprise I ditched sticks that i had paid full price for in favor of this one. The 7K delivers the best in both worlds as the durability is excellent, and the performance is outstanding. I highly reccomend people to check this stick out if they are looking in the premium OPS market. 10/10

I'd take a wide Graf 705 boot, add a Nike V-12 insole, and maybe try to flare out the toe on the boot like the Nike boot and have it be the fabric covered, not plastic. Then I would add a Vapor XXX outsole to the boot. I'd put an older style Mission toung on the boot. Then I would put Black Lightspeed 2 holders on the ice version. My inline version would be the same boot and all with a Red Star chassis, Swiss Bones Ceramics, and Labeda Fuzion wheels.

My new 7K Pumps with Red Star chassis, Labed Fuzion wheels, and Labeda Abec 7 bearings. http://community.webshots.com/photo/251589...086853163sQxZhK

Wait until i show you guys my new inlines. I'll post pics tonight after work....

I have the Paragons in stock. Im not impressed. Its a Chinese glove, and it looks/feels like it. I feel that their line has lost some quality.

Helmet: Bauer 5000 with Itech tinted straigt visor Elbows: DR Legends. I LOVE THESE!!!! Pants: Syven 701's Shins: Mission Matrix. These are like 4 years old. Skates: V-12's with Red Star chassis, Mission D-Limiteds Sticks: V120, True-1, M-2, Z-Bubble, 3 11OO Tapered shafts, 2 Green Novius', Response + tapered shaft (Cool pre-fused model from GW), Tie Domi GI Response. I think thats it.

quick update: Used the helmet/visor combo. I love it, the tinted visor helps me out alot. I like that its not as bright out there. Got vapor xv gloves for a pretty big discount. They are sick! Very protective, and very easily broekn in. Im seriously considering ditching my Sandes for these babies. Broke the Tru-1. Now im back to the 1100 kovy, and 1100 tapered. Liking those still.

Reviewer background info: 6'2" 220 LBS Plays 2-3 times a week Plays in Silver grade leagues Roller hockey Product: 260 flex Kovalev True 1 Blade: The blade has a nice pattern to it. The Drury/Kovy pattern is what i like, so this stick was gonna work for me. The blade has a great feel, and catching passes is no problem at all. Its very stiff and fires rockets on slap shots. In the 5 games I have played so far, I havent seen any signs of crcking, or any wear at all really. 10/10 Flex: The 260 flex fits me perfectly. I have tried 85 and 100 flex sticks, and they just dont do it for me. The middle ground of the 260 is nice. The stick has a good amount of whip to it, while staying stiff enough to use. I couldnt ask for anything better than this. 10/10 Stick handling/receiving passes: Again the feel of this blade lives up to Inno's reputation. It really is quite remarkable. The feel of the blade is just like wood, yet with the stiffness of graphite. My friend and I warm up passing the puck pretty hard to each other before the game, and I have yet to not catch a pass with this stick. Stickhandling with this stick is also very nice. The puck has a crisp feeling to it when i have it. 10/10 Shooting: For me when i first get a new stick it takes me a little while to get used to shooting with it. With the True 1 i was shotting rockets with both wristers and slappers in a matter of minutes. Im quite impressed with the kick this stick has too. Maybe it has something to do with the true one peice construction. I dont know, but this is by far the best shooting stick i have ever had. The XN10 was nice, but this is better in my opinion. 10/10 Weight/balance: The True 1 is one of the lightest, if not the lightest, stick out on the market. No complaints here, as the balance is perfect for me. 10/10 Durability: This was the one issue i thought i might have with this stick, but knock on wood, through 5 games I have been hacked and whacked, and thus far nothing has happened. There are a few marks, but nothing that I would say as abnormal. However, I would like to update after i break it, to give you an idea of how long it lasted me. Inc... Intangibles: Being an impulse buy i can expect some bias towards this stick. But I truly beleive that this is the prefect stick for me. I am enjoying using it very much, and as you can tell by my ratings that I think its the best stick out on the market right now. Overall 10/10. UPDATE: I broke the stick last night, which sucked. The slash that broke it was pretty bad, not much else could be expected. Still, i rate it a 10/10. For sure one of the better performing sticks out on the market.

Since im a primarily inline player, I'll do an inline list. Helmet: Bauer 5000 SE w/ Itech straigt small tinted visor (havent used it yet) Elbow Pads: Sherwood 950 classics (awsome pads, fit right, and protect better, i like the older style elbow pads) Shin Pads: Mission Matrix(I love these pads, they have a shin sleeve and two straps, exaqctly what i want in a pad.) Inline pants: S7ven 950 pants. (The best they make, i like them better than my m-1s.) Gloves: Custom Sande 720's (Best gloves i have ever had, i love them) Skates: V12 boot, with red star chassis, factory Halo wheels. (A $900 skate that i paid $200 for. Not only do i love the price, the boot feels like a slipper.) Sticks: Inno Tru-1, Inno 1100, Inno Commander w/ inno blade, Vector shaft, XN10, Response + shaft, Response shaft, T-Flex, Easton z-carbon woodie, Ballistikl shaft. Out of those, I only use the Tru-1 and the Commander. The others are ok, and all the dhafts have various wood or carbon blades.

Product: 2004 Rink Rat Hot Shot wheels. Intro: I go to buy the Hot Shot before many other people. It is only hitting most stores now. I have had mine for roughly 2 months, of 2-3 times a week skating. It should be noted that this years Hot Shot is almost half the price of last years. Grip: The grip on this wheel has stayed strong throught the first few months of use. Initially it was quite difficult to skate on because it was so grippy. The Hot Shot is a dual pour wheel, that does things backwards in comparison to most other companies, with the harder stuff on the outside, softer stuff in the middle. 10/10 - Still as grippy as day one, playing on dirty floors 2-3 times a week over two months. Speed: My biggest issue with last years wheel was that it didnt seem to be too fast, almost as though the wheel gave way too much. Well, it seems as the problem has been fixed, as I feel much faster on this wheel than I ever have. The core of the wheel seems much stiffer than ever before. 10/10 Durability: Again, another issue with last year's wheel was durability. I had my wheels warrantied twice last year, in a matter of 3 months. Thus far I havent noticed even the slightest "crack" in the wheel at all. Last year they seemed to have a problem with the urethane coming lose from the hub, again, so far I have seen nothing on my, or anyone elses wheels to suggest this is a problem again. 10/10 Looks: Probably the least important aspect to me, but some people take notice of how the wheel looks. The graphics closely resemble the Labeda Dynasty, and the Hyper Trinity. Simple, yet eye catching. I have seen better graphics on other brands however. 8/10 Intangibles: The price of this wheel influences my review. Last year's Hot Shot would set you back around $100. This year the highest I have seen for them is $65, and that is a very high price compared to Epuck's price of $54 for 8 (tax/shipping not included). I dont understand how they did it, but Rink Rat greatly improved on a pretty solid design, at almost half the cost. Whatever they are doing, I hope they keep it up. 10/10 Overall rating: 10/10. The only rating i gave them less than a 10 was an 8 for looks, which arent very important to me. I havent had the chance to try the Hornets, but to me, this is by far the best wheel I have ever tried. Labeda and Hyper dont come close to this.

Product: Sande MAX 720 Palm: The palm is a double reinforced nash palm, which comes standard on all Sande gloves. The palm is decent, but doesnt provide much grip, although it is quite durable. However, the MAX 720 has the added feature of the "Trigger Finger". This feature benefits your shooting and passing accuracy greatly. The trigger finger works by allowing your index finger to freely move, as though it is almost seperated by the glove. You can then fully wrap your finger around the shaft, increasing feel, and in my opinion allowing for better accuracy. 8/10 - -2 points due to lack of grip on palm Flexibility/Break in period: All Sande gloves seem to come broken in, and are capable of being "heat molded" in a skate bake oven. Im not sure that baking the gloves achieves much, but it seemed to make them a little bit more comfortable. Any durability issues due to the baking are yet to be seen. the MAX 720 has a tapered index finger, and all split fingers, making the glove very flexible right our of the box. That coupled with the high quality materials used creates a glove that forms with your hand, and flexes with it. 10/10 Fit: The MAX 720 seems to fit alot looser than my previous 720's. I havent yet figured out if I like this more or not. If you like a loose fitting glove the Sande is undoubtedly the way to go. If you are more used to the Nike type fit, where the glove is very tight against the had, I dont think the Sande is for you. 8/10 - Feels nice, just not sure if too loose. Weight: The MAX 720 is practiacally weightless. I really feel like I am not wearing gloves, a previous problem when I had my Mission Warp Zero's. Compared to my Sande's they feel like tanks. FYI Sande advertises the glove at 8oz. I have not weighed to compare. 10/10 Duarbility: So far, I have used the glove for a month, so durability shouldnt be a factor yet. However, I have felt some small threads coming loose inside the glove. My previous Sande's lasted me roughly a year before hte palms got stiff. I will update this section later. INC. Intangibles: I have to say, I had a negative experience in dealing with Sande. I manage a proshop as some might know, and managed to order the MAX 720's before they were publically available. However, I had to wait 6 months for my gloves, when I was told I would have to wait 4-6 weeks. Mr. Sande did make up for this excessive delay, but it still put a negative light on my experience. However, the gloves are fantastic, and met my every need. 5/10 - Delivery problems cost this glove 5 points. Overall: The MAX 720 is a very solid glove. For roller hockey I couldnt ask for anything better. If we are judging the glove alone I give it a 9/10 overall. However, I have to take the shipping delays into account, and because of that I give the glove 7/10 overall.