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Lou- Thanks for calling me out in your vid a bit ;) haha. I would definitely appreciate if you made a video detailing how you lined everything up, drilled out your holes, etc. If you could use the marsblade as an example, that would be awesome. If not, that's okay I'm sure I'd figure it out if I had to drill more/less holes.

How long should I expect shipping to be to the US? It takes 5-12 business days. I'll be ordering Thursday or so.

Per, Thanks for the info. Would you advise not going with a Hi-Lo wheel set up? I know this is not really typical for an ice hockey skate, and I feel like this was only done on solid chassis to try and give the feeling over being over one's toes as on ice. With the rocker from the Marsblade, could I use all 76mm wheels? ie, did you design this chassis for all 4 wheels being the same size, or just 1 smaller wheel in the front, etc? Thank you for your support.

Thanks Per!! It did. I'll be putting the chassis on my Vapors, and likely going to add a rear shim, due to the fact I will be going with a Hi-Lo set up (76-76-80-80) for my wheels. (Unless you recommend not doing this) I assume Tnut and bolt set up will be safe to use as well?

Per, Could you tell me what the "pitch" of the Marsblade chassis is? I skate in a pair of Easton Mako's which has a +3 pitch overall. I'd like to get my Marsblade chassis to feel as close to the pitch angle as I can. Would a shim be able to me used here if need be?

@iammerson - I own them as well. My 2nd toe hits the toe cap (it's long) and for me, I am fine with that. I have a pair of roller hockey skates where none of my toes really touch, and it drives me nuts. For me, I like having a little bit of contact with the front... It's all personal preference. It's impossible for us to tell the OP which size is right for him. Only he can figure that out. My advice was just simply that if the skate can indeed be stretched as a normal skate can, than if I was between a 6 and 6.5, I'd go with the 6 and stretch it. But that is just what I would personally do. And OP I have never tried on original Makos, but I tried on M8's and M II's, and they fit exactly the same (to me).

Agreed 100%. However, I'd be more liable to think the reason they might not stretch at all/very well is having a non traditional design, ie not a dedicated outsole. My Vapors with a carbon fiber outsole stretched okay, then again, it's a totally different skate and design. Why not just call up Easton and ask? Jimmy or JR might not respond to this thread right away unless notified.

Yeah confirming is always a good idea, I just don't see why they wouldn't be considering how moldable they are otherwise. On the off chance they aren't able to be stretched, then I may avoid the skate totally. There's nothing worse than having a cramped foot, other than having a skate that's a bit too big and trying to make up for it using thicker socks, etc.

To the guy struggling with fit size. Say you are a bit loose in the 6.5, but very snug in the 6. Here's my advice: Go with the 6's. 1) Mako's can be heated up multiple times. So far I've baked my Mako II's 3 times, and spot heated them maybe 12-15 more additional times to work out minor kinks (I have some pointy feet bones, etc) 2) As long as you aren't pressed for overall skate volume, the boot can also be stretched a bit. It sounds like you're really a 6.25. I would grab the 6's and go for a public skate. Skate as hard as you can while out there to get a good feel for them, and wear them around the house for a few hours. Walk around in them, etc. If after about 4-6 hours, you still feel really cramped, then bring them to the shop and tell them to give you a a little stretch in the boot. This may reduce volume a bit in some spots, so just be aware of that. Luckily, even if it does, you can spot heat and press out any problem areas. And no the M8 and MII do not fit differently, I tried both on. I think the M8 were slightly less stiff feeling, and thus a tad more comfortable. I went with the MII though as they are a bit lighter, and I felt overall construction just... Seemed better to me.

I just wanted to post a brief update, because I did try the insole "shim" last night in my skate. It did actually work a little bit I think. It was slightly uncomfortable as it pushed me toes even closer to the top of the toe box. I used a Dr Shole gel insert and a plain shoe insole insert, which was maybe 2-3mm thick. I may actually try removing the gel insert and putting in another thin insole, possible glue them together to see if that is more comfortable. I'd like to avoid touching my steel if possible... Edit : update 2. Skated again last night with the insole & gel insert. I think it's too much material in the skate for me, because my left toes all went numb. Definitely going to try the two insole approach next, and if that isn't working, profile @ pure hockey.

@AfftonDad Yes it was aimed at you, but anybody can answer that has used LS2 and ES4. Okay good I'm not nuts then. I'm not in a FBV hollow, but I'm guessing the same thing would apply for a regular hollow. I'll try the 9/16 and if it's too sharp I'll just dull it down using the plastic edge on the door from the bench. I'll report back here after I get my profile done. Wish me luck....

@ AfftonDad Understood now. I talked to the profiler at Pure Hockey that's closest to me.. I explained my situation and he said he could make the runner "more neutral". I didn't say "put on a +0", but when I go in Saturday, I will, and I will make sure we are on the same page. I think I'll have a chance to go for a public skate later on Saturday or Sunday. Would hate to find out in a game that I hate it, although I doubt I will if it's done correctly. Will probably take a few minutes to adjust back to a less aggressive pitch, but I think it will be for the better for me. Oh, and one aside. Did you find your ES4 steel to be harder/sharper than LS2? I got a 1/2 hollow on my Makos.... Back in November. Haven't had them sharpened since. First few skates I could barely even stop because I was chattering all over the place. Odd because on my LS2, I needed a 1/2 put on my runners every other week. I think I'll have this guy put on a 9/16, although I'm betting I could even get away with a 3/8, since it's been 3 months of having 3-4 skates a week and I'm still getting a pretty good edge.

@ AfftonDad Good point. Maybe going to "+0" (is that even a thing?) would be better. Also, wouldn't I really ask for them to do a -1? I assume there is no bar for +0 on a profile, since it seems like every runner on the market comes neutral, and the pitch comes purely from the holder. So by putting on the -1 bar on my skate, he'd be taking the +1 to a "+0" overall. I'm still hesitant because when I called pure hockey and asked if they could profile my runner to be more neutral (told them I had Mako II) and the kid was like, " uhhh yeah, we do radius'ing." *facepalm*. I better call and ask to speak to the guy who actually does the profiling to see if he's ever done this before. If not, I'll have to remove them and send them to NoIcing, as it sounds like they have most definitely dealt with this scenario before.

@ AfftonDad I'm at work and we can only use IE, unfortunately. Okay your statement makes muuuuuuch more sense to me now. So technically, monkey guy is correct in a way, but probably hasn't worked with Mako's much. Even though he did wear them for a while, he probably never thought about or messed with profiling too much. Now that I think about it too, I remember watching some video of the MLX guy talking about Mako (the concept) right when the original was released. I actually remember him saying, and I paraphrase, "...Taking a little bit of steel off the front.." in regards to the aggressive nature of the skate and how it puts you in that "ready to go" stance. Sending my runners to NoIcing is kind of a no- go though, unless I am willing to wear my old Bauers for a game, or skip a game completely. I play so much these days that I assume the standard turn around time wouldn't be enough for me. I live about 45 mins away from Pure Hockey and 90 mins from Hockey Monkey. I really cringe at the thought of not knowing the person who touches my skates. Literally my entire life, I have known the person who sharpens my skates and I trust them. I'm a bit of a control freak (and perfectionist). @smcgreg I think for now, I will probably take the advice here and ask somebody to profile my blade to +1 @ 9'ft radius. If AfftonDad is correct in that the runner pitch is +1.5, I think that should do the trick for me. I do like the more aggressive stance compared to my Vapors. I have never skated better, both forward and backwards before (especially backwards) but I think +3 is just a bit too much. As far as the pain goes, it's not from any rubbing, it's from skating 3-4 times a week, with that constant tension on my calves, due to being up on the toes so much. I really need to take care to foam roll and stretch my calves out every single day. I'd prefer to not take the skate apart, but if I did, I'd probably just suck Tuuks on, and put a +1 on the runner for a bit more aggressive angle (so skate would be +2 overall). Also, if +1 is still too much, I'll have it put to +0 and I'm guessing that would be totally fine. When I went from +1 overall in Tuuks, to this, I honestly didn't feel like it was a crazy jump between the two.

Sorry I can't quote people, my browser is fussy: @ smcgreg 1) I assume you did the T nut yourself? I feel like that a) I'm not confident enough nor do I want to drill into my boot to add custom T nut myself and b) I also doubt pure hockey, or hockey monkey would do that for me either. Obviously it's the preferred way, so I could add in shims, or even replace the holder at will. 2) How did he measure this? I really want to see pictures of just the steel alone, on whatever machine measures pitch. It's not that I don't believe people one way or another, but I just don't get how there can be guys in the industry telling me it's essentially neutral and all the pitch comes from the holder. @ Larry54 Yes. I agree with you. I actually did this insole shim last night. I put in some Dr sholes "ball of the foot" type insert under my superfeet. Did not really feel all that great, nor do I think it would make much difference. hockey monkey guy suggested I use CCM custom insole, along with that Dr Shole gel pad under the ball of my foot, and that I could also add another thin insole in a layer with the insert, too. That might not feel good though because the skate is already pretty much at the limit of volume for me. @AftfonDad I think you and I had this convo a long time ago when I was deciding to go either VH or Mako. So it is your understanding and belief that if say, I sent my runners to NoIcing and asked for a +1 , that I'd get an overall total pitch of that skate of +2.5 (when measured)? Going along with the stuff I said above... I'd love to see pictures of the steel measured to show that it's actually that +1.5 (how is that possible btw if machines can only go in whole increments?). I just don't want my skating to get completely screwed up. Right now, it's basically fine. It's causing me some pain in the Achilles and calve because I'm always on my toes. Not really a bad thing during the game. I do notice that when my wuads start getting tired, I tend to start "falling" over my toes a bit more. I don't fall, but I just get off balanced over my toes a bit more and it makes finishing up the shift tougher. I don't really trust people with my skates (have had bunch of bad sharpenings, etc) and if the blade actually is neutral, putting a +1 on it is going to be a disaster.

@ smcgreg- I just talked with a guy at hockey monkey just now who's been in the Makos a while. He suggested before I ever did a profile, I try to add more of a "shim" in the front of my skate, to make my foot more neutral. I won't go into detail because it's kind of irrelevant, but it's basically just adding some small padding under the ball of my feet. He also noted that stock steel is not "profiled" ahead of time to some forward pitch. The entirety of the cant is based on the holder. So when people refer to taking the +1 pitch to 0, what you are really doing is giving your blade some negative pitch. He said he likes to avoid people messing with profiling a skate 99% of the time, unless they know exactly it is what they want. It almost makes me lean toward if this doesn't work out, just "giving up" and switching out the Easton holders for Tuuks and step steel.

Has anybody had their stock ES4 steel profiled to more of a neutral pitch? I've been on these now for... almost 3 months, and while I love them, I just can't quite adjust to the very aggressive pitch. I'd rather not switch the holders out for Tuuks, so I figure a profiling from the +1 on the blade to 0 would bring my balance over my mid foot just a touch. Edit: I'd been on Tuuks for the better part of 10 years, so I guess it may take more than just 3 months to adjust..? However, I've been playing 3-4 times per week.

I just wanted to give a short term review of my QR1. Nothing really worth noting expect a lot of paint being chipped off. Could just be a bunch of games where I took more than the average amount of slashes, especially if I got stuck playing center, but my DT4 shaft and blade looks to be in much better shape, and I've had that stick for even longer. I also feel (opinion here..) that my blade is rather pingy compared to past sticks I've had. Since I don't have hands like Patrick Kane, this leads to me having some issues with harder passes. Shooting is great though, so it's a trade off. Overall, I am happy.

How would you rate the 1x compared to the QR1? I have a QR1 and a DT4 and I've actually switched back to my DT4. I've found the QR1 to have really awesome balance and puck feel, but it's too pingy and stiff in the blade for my liking now. Probably because I need to work on my hands to soften them up, but I've found I pass and receive passes much better on my DT4. Could also be because my QR1 is in the Henrique curve, which is basically a Crosby/Hall clone, and I kind of prefer a lie 5 mid-toe a bit better.

Well, I'm thoroughly confused then. How can Bauer have conflicting information in their own catalogue. Mainly, I'm just trying to figure out if I can cross shop P28 with E28/W28 and PP92 (Sherwood). I'm guessing the 1x will only be available with the Lie 6 variation of P28, while in general, P28 may come in lie 5 OR 6, in general.

According to HM, it comes in 5 or 6.

I think I'm going to call hockey monkey and see if I can talk to somebody who's used E28/W28 and if they've compared it to the p28. It's odd to me that it's listed as the exact same blade pattern as the p92. The p92 must have less rocker? I carry the puck with my hands a little bit lower, so I really prefer the lie that comes on the W28.

Link to this please? It's seems to be totally carbon fiber, which is pretty brittle. I wouldn't mess with it personally. I've molded the upper, and the upper heel area, but the outsole is extremely stiff. I'm curious as to how it's done.

I'm sure QA is just the same. Just odd to me that the stock steel on a Vapor skate will be 10'. The less uneducated people may not realize it, or wonder why their Vapors feel different than they ever did before. Yes I know that. I usually don't ever go try a new brand of stick with out trying it out in person, and comparing it to what I currently use. I assume that Bauer Lie 6 is probably pretty close to the standard Easton Sakic/Hall of 5.5. Regardless, I've pretty much been using Warrior now for the past 1.5yrs, and will probably just stick with them, but the new 1X stick does look enticing. I had a Bauer XXX many years ago and liked it a lot. It just wasn't that durable which is why I made the switch to Easton... Then switched to Warrior when I went through a few Eastons pretty quickly, too. Haven't had any of my Warrior sticks break on me yet. But anyway sorry, back on topic.

Interesting. So is this a way for them to save money then? By essentially having less QA over radius length and profile? I could maybe see that on the top end stuff, because as you say, most of us get a profile to what we like anyway. But in the future if LS4 got put on the middle level skates, that could be somewhat of an issue. Either way, make no difference to me, I'm in Mako 2's and don't plan on switching :-p Interested in the 1x stick though now that they will have a E28/W28 clone. Is the P28 going to come standard in lie 6 though? Most of the time, like for p92, if it comes in lie 5, it will specifically say so on the order form. There's no option to chose L5 on hockey monkey website that I see yet, unlike the choice for L5 on the p92 like on the APX2. Mainly I'm trying to figure this out because the true 5.5 lie is just a touch too high for me, I'll have the really hard passes squirt under my stick from time to time. I naturally carry my hands a bit lower. Currently in a Sakic clone, but I really prefer the E/W28.