z1ggy

Not that I know of. If you plan on keeping the CXN holders but getting Step Steel, the following will occur: Neutral profile steel = +2 overall feel -1 pitch steel = +1 overall -2 pitch steel = neutral overall I have no experience using negatively pitched steel and honestly that just sounds like a weird idea/concept. If you truly feel like +2 is too much for you, I'd honestly just put Tuuks and stock Bauer steel on, and call it a day.

@ Gogovs - No to the best of my knowledge Mako boot is neutral, all the pitch comes from holder and runner set up. Not even sure how one really makes a boot itself have pitch to it. @Jimmy - I have superfeet yellow in my Makos. The little shim in the back does put you slightly on the toes a touch, but I've only ever skated in the stock Mako footbed once, so it's tough to compare and actually say you'd be +4 on a stock Mako plus yellow superfeet. There's a guy on here who actually measured a bunch of holders and did some math to figure out what heights of the various holders gave what type of profile. I'd guess using superfeet would put you at something like a +3.2, if there was such a thing.

There has been so much discussion on this topic already here. The CXN holder provides roughly a +2 pitch, and the stock Easton runner provides another +1 in pitch. The overall stock Mako skate is a +3. If you put on stock Tuuk's plus stock LS steel, you will be at roughly +0, just like you would be on a normal Vapor/Supreme/Nexus set up. I have not used Bauer's in a while, so somebody can correct me on the stock pitch of the LS blade if it is not neutral. At least back when I had Vapor XXXs it was a totally neutral set up.

As far as I know, CXN lines up with Tuuk.

@grindr28 - INSIST to your LHS that they are baked before you buy. If they know anything about the Mako's, then they'd know these skates can be baked many times. So far, I've baked mine 5 different times to achieve a literal air tight lock on my foot, and the boot is fine. If the hell lock is good, go with D width. Like others have said, you can always punch the boot out around the forefoot to make it more comfortable. I had to do this on both feet where my 5th met bone is, because mine protrudes rather far.

I think the biggest thing Bauer could do if they were going to cannibalize the Easton skate technology, is to make the toe box anatomical. Nobody's foot is shaped like a "U" and ends up leaving negative space or cramped/squished toes. The extreme mold-ability of the skate was a huge plus, too.

Yes I know, but they are much heavier than Mako's and almost impossible to find in stock in retail stores. Hockey Monkey Norwood did not have any 703's in stock at all.

When do you guys think we might get positive (or negative) confirmation from Bauer regarding the fate of the Mako skate? I am really tempted to buy another pair of Mako 2's on sale, just to have in case my current pair breaks down and there's no other skate on the market that fits me as well. What are the odds that Bauer would keep the design, but rebrand it like CCM did with the RibCor? I know that Mako sales were much lower than Vapors, but people like me with very narrow, low volume feet pretty much have no other option but Mako. We could get custom VH's but that's very pricey. A Mako hidden in a Bauer skin might sell better since I'm sure there's a bunch of people who settled into Vapors who really belonged in something a little bit more narrow, but anatomical.

Thanks guys.

Is there any way to get the two Square drive runner tools replaced? I'm searching all over and can't find any. I've somehow misplaced them and want to put new steel in. Otherwise I have to scavenge at the local hardware store to see if they have something that will work. I know they make some screw drivers, but I'm not sure if that will offer enough torque.

Well, in my opinion... Bauer wouldn't buy Easton just to eliminate competition. I have not looked at the sales numbers recently, but I would wager that Bauer kicks Easton's butt in every single hockey equipment category, especially in the skate department. If you ask anybody who owns the Mako skate who came from almost any other mainstream brand, I would bet they like the fit and feel of the Mako better; I know I certainly do. So in my view, the only reason Bauer would want the rights to Easton hockey IP is to utilize their technology, which is the most "groundbreaking" in the skate department. Maybe not a 4th line (I would love that) but maybe some significant changes to their current models based on what's in the Mako now. Bauer could market a pile of horse crap, and it would sell like crazy as long as NHLers were in it, and they could convince kids/parents that they have to have it. So if they just carried over the Mako skate with no real changes other than a new name and new logo... That's a pretty low cost option.

I haven't tried on Tacks or Jetspeeds (nor the even bigger Nexus or RBZ) but I have put just about everything else on my foot that's come out in the past 2 years. Mako is in my opinion, the most anatomical fitting toebox around. A normal Bauer toebox say on the Vapor, is that classic U shape. Look down at your foot. Notice anything? Like, how your toes don't form a U shape? Yeah, that's why the Mako toebox is better. It's actually shaped like a real foot. And it took how long for somebody to think of that??? Yeeesh. Optimus, you must have an interesting foot to have the Mako toebox in D width feel sloppy (one of the lowest volume boots in my book). I'm glad your VH's fit well though. I just didn't trust roughly $1000 bucks on a stencil and photo of my foot.

Size EE? I have a D width Mako, came from a D Width Vapor XXX. I find the toe box to be a tad wider, but more anatomical fitting than my Vapor's were.

What do you mean by "floppy"? Floppy laterally? The cuff of the boot is shorter than most (if not all?) major skates out now, so that could be one reason, I believe.

There's a chance Bauer could carry the design into a new product under their name, so they have a 4th skate offering for those of us who don't fit into any of the current Bauer offerings very well. I know I tried on 1X's and the length felt okay, but the boot overall felt more volumous than my old Vapor's ever did. I knew that if a 1X felt too big, than an MX3 would, too. Mako's were the only boot available that gave me that total heel lock, and had almost no negative space left in the boot. Hopefully they will rebrand it under some new product line, and Bauer would have something like, "2X, "2S", "2N" and "2K" where K is the Mako design. Market it as the ultimate in energy transfer technology with maximum agility and turning radius, blahblahblah. Seems like CCM did this with the "CCM RibCor 50k", which seems essentially the same as the Reebok, with a few minor changes and a slightly new appearance.

My feet go cold if I crank down my Mako's. I basically just tie the first 4 eyelets snug, then do the remaining ones tight, up until the very top eyelet, which I do loose enough to get good ankle dorsiflexion.

What's funny is, I'm not sure if I just adjusted over time, or if just sharpening slightly less aggressive helped, but I did keep my 1/2 on there for my 2nd and 3rd sharpening, and it felt like a bit less bite than the very first time out. I still chattered a little, but it was much less. Also, unrelated, has anybody purchased the M7's? I'm thinking about getting a pair and converting them over for inline skating. Skating in my old Vapors now and it sucks compared to my Mako fit.

Depending what skate he came from, the CXN steel could be a decent amount harder, too. I had issues at first adjusting to the inhanced "grab" of my mako's edges compared to my old LS2 steel. I definitely chattered until I had my skates sharped with a slightly less aggressive hollow. I normally got a 1/2 and now I'm using 7/16 or 5/8 depending on ice condition.

Alright. Since I switch between roller and ice all the time, I probably wouldn't notice a huge difference if I got a 10'. I'll be keeping my eye out for the speed plates to be sold stand alone soon though, seems very promising as a footbed.

Guys, don't kill me for asking because I searched all over the place to try to find this answer.. But why is the new LS4 steel a 10ft radius? I know LS3 was 10', but why put a 10ft on the Vapor? Is there a very noticeable difference skating on 10' as opposed to 9'? I've only ever used 9' myself.

Sorry can't quote here at work.. @Jimmy My symptom is just overall, I'm less balanced and I definitely feel like there's less blade on the ice compared to my Vapor's with Tuuk/LS2. When I went from Vapors to Mako, I knew the radius was the same, but I felt more of a rocker I suppose. I attributed this to there being more of a roundness to the toe and heel, even if overall radius of the flat section of blade is the same. I know the pitch is greater, too... So maybe that's what I was feeling. Would you think Step steel, with 9' radius profiled to "medium" or "minor" pitch would help?

@monty22- Because if I don't like it, then I'm screwed until I can get the profile changed again. Edit: Additionally, I don't think the radius is the problem for me in finding my correct balance. I think it has more to do with the shape of the steel (very round toe and heel), and perhaps maybe the aggressive pitch given by the steel + holder. It seems less risky to order some step steel and have it radius to 9' (just like mako) and given a medium pitch (slightly less than mako) and see if that feels better. Then I can go from there and make any corrections if I feel it's needed. Otherwise, I could buy nothing, and just have my Tuuks put on my Makos and see what that's like. I'd kind of rather go the first route though, bc I can swap out steel during a game if I felt all sorts of messed up. Swapping holders would require me going to a shop, or a few hours of time installing them via Tnut and bolt.

Guys - really want to try out tinkering with the Mako pitch/feel just a touch. I can't decide if I should order step steel from No Icing and get a 9' radius and put it into the CXN holder, or just put my old LS2 holder and steel on the Mako skate. Obviously getting step steel and just putting that in is cheaper, but I'm not sure that would actually change anything. Might feel a bit better because I think my real issue isn't the pitch or the radius, but the fact the overall blade shape is rather round. I feel like the contact patch I have on the ice is very short/small sometimes.

@lou Thanks for the pic. Do the "tube" of the tnut poke through the chassis, or are the #6 ones too big for that?

Lou- It would help if you could show what you mean. I'm picturing that you just put two washers between the bolt and the t nut? But I don't see how that helps the t nut not spin around...Seems like it's needed because of how you said the outsole is so thin, the bottom of the t nut pokes through.