shoot_the_goalie

As a fellow OCDer, you know what would really drive you crazy? Leave one skate with dirty laces and put new clean laces in the other. I can guarantee you that's all you'll think about when you're playing.

Get out of here! You mean to tell me your beer league games don't draw big crowds or scouts!? heh.

I remember we used to call the Flak shoulder pads "flak jackets" back when I was a kid, for obvious reasons.

To the OP: IMHO, I would suggest not helping on the ice until your skill level is high enough to play with kids around 1.5X their age. Most parents wouldn't have a problem with a less skilled parent helping out, but there are a few (and they are always the loudest) who do have a problem with it. So it's just best to avoid it. Plus, like many said, if you can't keep yourself safe, then it's really hard to aid in the safety of a large group of little kids. With that said, you certainly can do things off the ice to help. I know some parents who assistant coach on the bench, who can't play very well at all, but know the game and study the game. It's Mites, so it's not like it's high strategy or anything (usually), and if you have a good understanding of the game, even if you didn't play, you can certainly help at that level. You can also be team manager (under appreciated role, but very valuable), or you can even simply be the parent that helps your kids and other kids gear up in the locker room. And while you're doing that, take lessons, skate with your kids, practice yourself, and in time...you'll be on the ice with them. It's a joy that you're giving something to your kids, that you yourself didn't have a chance to experience at their age. And it's even better that you want to be very involved with them while they're doing it.

God, I love this thread Amazin'. You have really shown the MSH community what one can do when someone who clearly loves the game, put their heart and mind into it. And to your credit and to the MSH communities' credit too, people have given you great advice and feedback, and you've just taken off with it... kudos.

I had CCM Supras back in the day and thought they were the bomb (they also made you look a bit like a stormtrooper, with the black padding and white plates). However, they were bulky, heavy, and limited your range of motion quite a bit, vs anything on the market today. They were super protective though.

Very common. Holders, steel, skates...even if the same pair...can have slight differences that can throw your skate sharpening off. So yes, you need to adjust the holder typically for each skate. Usually not much, maybe a click or two. And yes, at times, though not often, you may need to adjust the pitch dial. If you want less fiddling with adjustments, I would suggest sharpening your steel out of the holder, which may give you less variation.

If you do take off the tendon guard for repairs, you might as well flare the copper rivet when putting a new one in or change out to a bolt. In my experience, the copper rivets at the tendon guard fail pretty easily.

Yeah. Those aren't great. Is that out of the box or post bake? I had very small glue "blemish" areas, but nothing like the ones in the pics. Call True. They're pretty good at responding to e-mails, but phone is even faster. Their customer service department is very helpful.

Certainly can't hurt, but not absolutely necessary I think unless you play a lot or you sweat heavily. I just take my insoles out to make sure the skate dries out fully, usually overnight.

I've had mine for over 2 years now, playing about twice a week. Normal wear and tear, and all pretty good with the exception of the copper rivets in the tendon guards. They kept popping out until I replaced them with hex bolts.

One of the many aspects of why Miracle is such an enjoyable film to watch - the actors/players can actually skate. (well, maybe not Kurt Russell) Drives me nuts when actors play professional level athletes in films, and they look like complete beginners. It's just so distracting and takes me out of the movie. Also, in regards to Bombay, you should search for Jamie McKinven's take on the Mighty Ducks and Gordon Bombay. Pretty funny stuff...

Bunga pads typically should not be used as a permanent solution. If you need to always wear Bunga pads to prevent pain, your skates probably don't fit properly. I used to use Bunga pads during the break in period of any retail boot, where I would use them to cushion hot spots temporarily (for first 10-15 hours of ice time). After break in, I removed them. With my Trues, there was no break in period, so didn't need Bunga pads at all with them. Back to the OP. I don't fit in any Bauer boot either due to the shape of my feet. Vapor too narrow all around, Supreme too narrow in forefoot (though heel is great), and Nexus just too big all around. I find CCM may have more variety/options for you going the retail route. And again, all else fails, you can go custom.

Completely agree. I wear a 9 sneaker and wore 6D CCM Tacks as my last retail boot. (I'm in Trues now). I will say though that I like a very snug fit, and I wear super thin sock liners instead of socks.

Get away from Bauer. Try other brands or worst case, go custom.

I don't find a difference in terms of length of time between sharpening between the two. Where I see a difference is that Blacksteel sharpens cleaner and with less burrs (or even no burrs) than regular Step, all things being equal.

Agreed. 1st gen Tacks was surprisingly a great stick. Ultra Tacks was ever better, and might possibly be my favorite stick of all time. Nexus 1000 was a pretty great stick too.

Sorry, Should have probably been more clear. I'm trying to use the True 1st gen Step steel with my Sparx using the Sparx blade holder. Am I missing something, because I can't see how to get the steel to seat into the holder if the bolt is in place? I can see how, if it was in say a Tri-Lie holder, it wouldn't be an issue... but not sure how to get it to work with the Sparx holder.

So you're saying to tap this part out? (marked in red) https://imgur.com/M2r0rEB

I use the AS1, and I do find the variable mid-kick to do what it says it does. My wristers and snappers are cleaner, heavier, and with more control/velocity. The AS1's made my slapper suffer though, as the mid-kick is not as smooth as my previous stick, which was the CCM Ultra Tacks (which had probably one of the smoothest/truest mid-kicks imho). My slappers have suffered, but then again, I take maybe 1 or 2 a game at most... so the tradeoff with the AS1 is worth it. Interested to hear how the AS2 is different from the AS1 if anyone has tried both.

The mid-range CCM RBZ series (particularly this model) is a fantastic option for beer league if you can find it. Light, flexible, low profile, provides pretty decent protection.

Seems like the screw bolt on the steel would make this problematic? Or can the bolt be taken off easily?

I too am interested in how this affects True skates from this point forward. I'm sure this has been discussed before, but does anyone know if the XS holder holes line up with the 1st gen True holders and the Shift holders? Or do you need to drill new holes?

Concur with Sniper9. I've never seen this happen unless they're really cheap wax laces or the wax laces were baked with the skate. I use Elite Prolace waxed laces and never had a problem with my Trues. Probably don't need waxed laces with the Trues (as I barely tighten my laces), but it's just a preference thing.

They definitely are on the heavier side of the skates out there, but at this stage of my hockey playing life, the difference in weight is negligible. I also have the shot blocker protection, and that's definitely worth the extra weight considering I've gotten pucks to the foot and have felt very little. Also, I might be wrong, but seems a larger portion of the weight differential is from the use of Step Steel in Trues. Also, the new Trues are supposed to be around 15% lighter than last generations?