slooz

I may be going to grad school next year in Las Vegas and want to keep playing beer league. I have a pair of Graf 9035s that are super thermoformable, and I'm worried that they'll be in a constant state of baking because of the desert heat. Do any players in hot climates have tips for keeping their skates cool? Should I use an old pair and leave the expensive ones in California?

What about the heel? I'd like to adjust it without having to rebake the entire skate again.

Thanks for the advice!

Hey there, I'm trying out Forward after playing D my whole life and love it. However, I'm still having a trouble in the following situation: say you and your linemate are on a two-on-one. Your linemate has the puck coming up the left side, and the defenseman is playing him instead of the pass. The goalie is, rightly, committing to your teammate as well. The linemate decides to thread the needle pretty close to the goal mouth and into your general vicinity, sending a pass near your backhand. How do you finish in this situation? I use a lie 5 stick so the puck usually goes between my skates and the stick. Should I choke up to shorten the distance between my blade and my skates? Open up to the pass so I can use my forehand and try to snap it in? Any advice or experience would be helpful!

Dumb question: do I need to skate with insoles? Is that a thing that people do? I finally found a pair of skates that fit my feet (Graf 9035s), but have been having control problems on the ice. I profiled them to better match my old Bauers, which definitely helped, but I still felt off balance. The stock footbeds that came with the skates are, in addition to being frail, too small in length and width, so I took them out at public skate tonight for the heck of it. It made a huge difference: I was way faster and stronger on my edges. I've heard of people skating without socks, but do players ever skate without insoles? If I do need them, do you have any recommendations that will let me feel the ice as much as possible?

Will aftermarket steel companies keep making runners for Cobra holders now that Graf is out of business? I got a sweet pair of skates this weekend but didn't really think through all the implications of Graf's bankruptcy.

I got the Synergy 80's from IW, which are coming tomorrow. I'm a barrel-chested 5'7/195lbs, so I hope a small works out.

It's a shame that Warrior did away with such an awesome design in 2 cycles. I'm gonna check out the cheaper RBZs this weekend or get some Eastons (I really like my HSX shin guards and hope their elbows are equally as good). Thanks for your recommendations!

Hey there, I left one of my Projekt elbowpads at the rink last week and can't find it anywhere. Devastating! There has been a run on elbows in my area, but I'm heading down to SoCal in a week for vacation and am planning on picking some up. What's the closest pad I can get mobility-wise on the market right now? There are a couple pairs online, but I'm loathe to pay $70+ tax and shipping. My absolute ceiling is $70 total. Looking forward to your recommendations!