DarkStar50

Its just stick envy that makes you want it. No one is forcing you to buy any OPS. If its too much money for you to spend, then whats the problem? Play with a woodie. Gordie Howe did.

Bloodwyn Pig.

Please read my post in the XXXX w/pics thread. I have tried the skates on. JR is right. This skate is just the progression of XX and XXX. They do look and feel Vaporish when seen in person. They are not Quest-like at all.

The profile of the ONE90 shoulder pad for me is very similar to the Vapor 10 shoulder pad from about 4 years ago. I wear the Vapor 10 shoulder pad so when I had on the ONE90, it felt similar as it sat on top of my shoulders. The shoulder caps may even be from the same mold. I would not be surprised if they are. I thought the profile was down low and close to my shoulders. There was no feeling of having to look over the pad when turning your head to receive a pass or see where a forechecker is coming from before he rams you into the glass in the corner(I'm a defenceman!). The interior grip print feature will help keep the pads in place when combined with a performance undershirt. The ONE90 shin pads present a different appearance than the 8000, now Pro Lightspeed. The shin shell is anatomically perfect without the wide width bulk of an RBK 8K or Vector shin pad double tandem wide load look! The part of the shin pad that allows for this is on the outside of your shin where they have removed plastic on a concave line. Pay close attention to this in the picture in the catalog. You will realize what you are seeing when you think about what I just said. It is an interesting idea. My caveat is if you are not a fan of the original Franklin multiple holes in the foam(think Franklin vented gloves), then the first time you see the shin pad and the ONE90 series, as well as the Supreme 70 series, you will have second thoughts. The NBH tag name is Vent Armor foam. It does serve its purpose by breathing and reducing weight in the pad. The anchor strap system also works very well on the shin pad. This is what I call a "no brainer." It is simply an over due idea that should have been done years ago. Leave it to NBH to do it first. It won't be the last time they come through with a "no brainer" that has to leave the other vendors going "Why didn't we think of that?" Uh, because you didn't. There is a lot of value in the protection and design of both the ONE90 and Supreme 70 series of protection. If you need to upgrade some gear, it will be worth waiting for before you make a decision on someone else's close out gear sale.

Its time to amend this. I tried on the ONE90 shoulder pad Monday at OneGoal. I picked it up first to double-check the weight against the previous sample I had seen a month earlier. This ONE90 felt lighter. Then I picked up the Supreme 70 shoulder pad. This sample was as light as the first one I had seen. Once I put the ONE90 shoulder pad on, I put on the ONE90 elbow pads. The stretch nylon center strap system worked very well. The elbow pads and shoulder pads fit comfortably together with no problems at the bicep. The segmented bicep pad flexed nicely when moving your arm. These two pieces of upper body equipment are worth the money if you want some serious protection.

I thought the ONE90 shoulder pad was a bit heavy. There is no doubt the protection is there. The Supreme 70 shoulder pad was actually lighter. Some guys will trade off the weight for the extra protection of the ONE90 over the Supreme 70. Keep it in mind the first time you compare the two shoulder pads.

I just checked the RBK catalog. When you look at the Modano and Crosby blade in the catalog there is a lined graph background. The two blades match up perfectly by checking how they line up against the lined graph background. Since the Modano pattern is a #1 seller pattern, it makes sense to put Crosby's name on the pattern for marketing whether or not it is close to his actual pattern. And we know his blade is as straight as a 50s Northland Custom Pro. RBK has to blank out the references to the Crosby pattern in the catalog. My rep put the stickers over Crosby's name and pattern number in my catalog right in front of me.

I saw the new RBK protective yesterday. The 2 Fitlite series 6K and 4K are very well done. There is still the signature Jofa design and craftsmanship in the product. The shin pads have a unique feature on the calf slash pad. It is velcroed to the plastic shin shell. This allows you to remove it to wash it if you want and also allows you to adjust it up or down if you want this calf protection in a certain place. The shin pads are comfortable and not too bulky. The 3 point attachment system on the shin pad works well and will not get lost due to being velcro attached to the shin shell. Both series of elbow pads were very light. They fit without being restrictive at all. The 9K gloves in nylon were light with great flexibility. The split fingers will get your hands around the stick easily. The damper zone padding on the palm is a good idea without being too padded to lose feel on the stick. While the 9K "leather" model is available in 13", 14", and 15", the 9K nylon is available in 14" and 15" only. I would have loved to have seen the 9k nylon made in 13".

The old school Jofa hard cap chin cup is back in the RBK grills.

He got them last night!

There is a line of skates in development. CCM/RBK did not want to rush them to the marketplace for 2007. I don't think we have seen the last of Tacks skates. At least, if I'm in charge of marketing, we haven't! I saw the new Vector gloves today. The 10.0 is extremely comfortable. The 14" sample was snug but not as tight as a ONE90. The 3 piece thumb works very well. The mobile cuff on the wrist is better than Easton's. The 8.0 will be a great value at $100 US retail. The 10.0 and 8.0 are available in 14" and 15" only.

I do not stock the Supreme Senior 2" shin guard strap. They are in stock at NBH. Ask your LHS to order them for you.

Let us know what you think of the titanium cage after Santa stops by!

The Supreme Pant line takes a lot of earlier features from the Supreme Pant line just discontinued. NBH has changed the outer shell materials to stronger nylons with better abrasion quality. The zipper feature is new for this year's Supreme series pants.

Zippers are featured on ONE90, 70, 50, and 30 pants.

The entire Nike V series of protection is discontinued. NBH used the elbow cap mold for the ONE90 EPs.

The Pro LIGHTSPEED shoulder pad, elbow pad, and shin pad will actually be priced higher at retail than the ONE90 series. They have beefed up the new LIGHTSPEED shoulder and shin pad over the current level of protection. The new LIGHTSPEED elbow is similar to the 2006 6000 with extra protection on the inside of your elbow as well. The same stretch nylon padded middle strap is there as was in the 6000 elbow pad. The NIKE Grip print featue has been added to the shoulder pad, shin pad, and elbow pad on the LIGHTSPEED. The marketing push will be ONE90 protective but the Supreme Pro LIGHTSPEED will be more expensive.

I heard that Carbo re-arranged the "seating plan" in the room to break up some of the old habits...and avoid the cliches (sp?) they had last year... Well Carbo should do that given this bit of history: During the 95 lock-out year, I was in Montreal with bunch of guys to play a few games. We had some time off and took the Forum tour. When we got to the hallway with all the photos of the Habs captains, we heard this story from the guide. In the 80s, GM Serge Savard let the players vote for the captain. One particular year the players vote was split 50-50 between Chelios and Carbo! Savard said vote again. They had the same result. Savard said vote again and now I'm too old to remember what happened! But anyway, the players' loyalty to their "brethren" goes back to those days when Carbo was playing and of course, long before then.

About the locker room pictures: CCM had a skate party at the Bell Center during one of the last CSGA shows in Montreal. We were allowed to tour the locker room as well as skate on the latest model skate they were introducing at the time. The famous Canadiens saying with the Torch is written above the photos of the great Habs players. The goalies would sit right inside the door entrance, first in, first out. I also thought the room was rather small. Put 20 guys in there with gear on and there would not be much room. In the mid 90s CCM had a skate party at the Forum to launch the CCM Pump Tacks. The locker room in the Forum was the same shape but definitely smaller than this one. The interesting thing to note is who sits next to who. The Quebec players huddle together as well as the US guys would sit next to one another. I have been in the Rangers and Devils home locker rooms as well. They are both bigger than the Canadiens' room.

Lets move on. Lock and load.

Yabba dabba do!!!!

I can't wait to hear the complaints when the skates hit retail and "they don't fit my big fat Fred Flinstone feet!!! WHAAAA!!!! WHAAAAAAAAA!!" Half of you guys are setting yourselves up for a major letdown if these skates don't fit you perfectly.

I was just thinking about my favorite skate, the Daoust 301 National, circa 1981. Then I thought, wait a minute, what if I could get that boot with a few 2006 custom specs added. Here is my "Custom" skate: the Daoust 301 National boot, leather and ballistic nylon upper, with the heavy duty white cotton felt tongue, as they came out of the box. The boot would be traditional brown leather with black ballistic nylon, as they were back in the day. I would take out the leather inner sole. They always rotted out from sweat and then your rivets had nothing to sink into. I would replace that inner sole with the inner sole from a 2005 Vapor XX. No problems with those. They don't rot out and they would be lighter than the stock leather inner sole. I would replace the old plastic outer sole with the outer sole from the 2005 8090. That would also be light and get a lower profile for the boot to the ice. I would install Tuuk 2000 Clear holders(with plenty of back-up stock for repairs) in size 260. That was always my favorite Tuuk size, not the 254 I skate on now. My steel would be stainless. If that Daoust factory were still around, I would place this order today! What do you want if you could build your skate with technology mixed from all the vendors?

Interesting idea.........