DigiV

These have to be the sickest looking skates i've seen since the mega air 90s. Why must the Makos be so ugly? VH knocked it out of the park with the look.

Best fitting skate i've ever had. All my previous skates have either given me a blister, or a pain somewhere on my foot. This is the first time i've never had any of those issues. However, the pitch of the skate being at 3mm was too much for me. I really wish they were more a +1, i could even deal with a +2. At 3mm it was too much. I kept falling over my feet, having some knee pains, etc. I had to fix that. The only other things i could say about them.. the tendon guard on the back should be a little bit stiffer and bigger (something the VH guys do well supposedly), and the tongue could be more responsive (something the mako 2's apparently fix)

They open up a bit after baking. Before baking my toes were kinda cramped, afterwards they barely touch.. right where it should be. They fit snug, so a narrow foot should work well with them.

Makos have less "protection" and many guys playing D are wearing extra skate guards on top of them from what i have noticed

Another more general question not necessarily to do with makos but I remember reading if you have some type of supination or out toe syndrome you shouldn't do more than a 9inch radius? Is this true ? Anyone else hear this?

I think me meant he did a medium forward pitch? So he reduced it... There's no way anyone adds more forward pitch to that skate lol

So in a fbv I can get a 1inch glide with like, say a 5/8 bite? What would be a 3/4th in fbv? What would be a 1inch?

I'm interested to know how many people here keep the stock runner/holder on? No knee strains for any of you ?

Looks much better

That's what the guy here tried to do and butchered the blade.

Yup, and it's working great so far. I was normally an 8.5 in most skates but in the makos i went 8 and it does stretch out. That would've been a great idea but i remember in an interview Easton mentioned they were specifically aiming for a younger demographic? The kids coming up. Maybe they should have offered at least the option of choosing the aggressive blade pitch vs neutral.

Like i said i don't know. Are the edge tuuks that different? i thought it was just taller? Anyhow, i'm digging it and that's all that matters. Maybe you're right but the fact that the ES4 blade already has a somewhat shaved toe compared to the LS2/LS3, that was not working for me and once profiled the front got trimmed off even more. I kept falling over the front of my skates.

Ok finally got it done. Had two solid skates in them and i'm already used to the set up. Maybe it's because i've always skated in tuuks? Don't know but it's already feeling good to me. I switched the holder/blades out for a number of reasons. Mainly, i'm just not able to adjust to the insanely aggressive pitch of the Makos. I thought i would be able to but i couldn't. My knees were hurting, i felt always leaned forward and got tired quicker than i normally do. Second, when i tried to get the steel profiled to give me more of a neutral pitch the blades were killed. Most people around here can't profile skates well and with the already aggressive pitch of the blade the person i went to butchered the toe. I did find a cag one profiler but by that time i already had ordered the tuuk/ls3. Like previously said the holes matched up exact to the tuuk+bauer combo but the only thing different was the rivets. The rivets here have to be short, 6/16th is the size that you'll have to use because of the bottom of the Mako boot being all composite. I also found myself tightening my skates tighter after putting this combo on. Is it possibly because the holders are stiffer than the CXN's? Not sure. I applaud easton for going with the set up they did and for kids starting out a mako boot would definitely improve their skating ability with the aggressive stance. For me, at this point, it was too much. Note: i kept the stock 10' radius and went with a 5/8th hollow. I thought about doing the cag one profile to a 25/50 or 30/50 but so far i like this and i'm going to stick with it. I will try a FBV next time though. I also could've went with an LS2 instead of the LS3 and probably have liked it better initially. The LS3's make this skate a bit bottom heavy which i don't like very much but at the same time not a big deal in the long-term.

i'm thinking of trying FBV as well. I normally use 5/8th ROH. what would give me the same glide but with more bite in a fbv?

And what size would that be? they said they had rivets that worked fine but they only had 2 or 3 and ran out (low inventory) so they ordered more. The other ones they used proved to be too long and when it "mushroomed" it was sticking up a bit.

i got it for reasons: too much forward lean, people not sharpening/profiling the skate properly because of the lean so too much toe being taken off, constant noise when stepping on the skate even after tightening the bolts, and i wasn't impressed with the steel all that much. But no go on the sunday. apparently the rivets are too big that come with the bauer holder, they needed to order a really small sized rivet? Hopefully jimmy can shed some light on that.

I gave up on the runner/holders. I'm having them switched out this week. I'll let you know Sunday after my first skate how it goes. Putting on LS3/Edge holder

Yah i've been hearing that for a month. I'm going ahead with the Tuuk/LS3 EDGE replacement. I got it for free so no cash out of my pocket. Hopefully the replacement goes smoothly and i'm happy with the results.

That's not true. What if someones steel breaks from a shot? What if like the post above said someone needs replacement steel to mail in? No excuse for one of the major Hockey Skate manufacturers not to have replacement steel/holders ready to go on day 1. Bauer just released a new holder/runner and they are readibly available.There is absolutely no excuse for this. It's poor operational management. This is not an ideal situation for a skate the company has made their flagship product for the quarter and possibly the future.

where the hell is the replacement steel. this is ridiculous.

After a solid 8 games in these skates (forget my profile issues) the boot is very nice. However, the overly aggressive pitch is too much for most people i think. Also, the tendon guard is absolutely worthless. It's worthless. That's all there needs to be said. There is no reason why it's even there unless you weigh less than 150lb and don't lean back at all at any time. They really need to stiffen it up for the next iteration.

Why is it a mistake? No one is carrying the steel. It's been a hassle trying to profile them because people in this area are naturally not very good and the already forward lean throws them off i think. Most of my blade has been chopped off as a result.Furthermore, the constant clicking is driving me nuts. I always feel the blade is loose and i have to retighten them. The original MLX skates never had a holder of this type or a fwd lean like this.. this is a byproduct of Easton,which has never nailed down a proper holder for their skates.Nevertheless, i'm interested to know why you think it's a "big" mistake. Money? hassle? does it not fit well within the context of the mako boot?

we have the same issues. I can't get a firm comment about the LS2 replacement from anyone though.

yes i need to know this as well Yah, but so much blade has already been taken off the skate even more so would be if i keep trying to get it fixed. Plus, i'm getting the holder/steel for free.

Im' considering switching out the holder/runner completely. The head of our beer league has a good relationship/discount with the LHS and basically told me to get whatever steel i want on him. Frankly, the forward pitch isn't working for me. I like it, but i'm just not that much of a technical skater anymore at this age. Maybe moving to a regular TUUK with a normal pitch and the ability to have it worked on immediately at the LHS would be a better option. Any opinions on this? Are the CXN/ES4 combo that much better?