Hat_Trick_Hokie

I got sick of replacing rivets every month. My shop suggested to put in four copper rivets in the front of the holder, and four copper rivets in the back of the holder. Has worked like a charm for 6 months. Same setup as this:

Ha, first thing I thought of. Unfortunately for him they're LH. Sorry guys... 85 flex, no grip, LH, Lidstrom

No longer collecting dust in the back of one of my rink pro shops...

Thanks for the warning, never would have thought about that.

I have called up my LHS and asked is they had stick boxes they had inventory shipped in, and were willing to get rid of. Drove by that afternoon to pick them up. Worth a shot?

Male, 6'1", 210lbs, playing in B-D leagues. I mainly use 4-roll gloves from various manufacturers (Eagle PPF, Eagle X72, Eagle X95, Eagle Fusion, Warrior Franchise 14N, Easton 4-Roll Pro, and Graf G65) so these STXs are a big change for me. I have played with these gloves once a week for 8 months. Disclaimer: I went by the factory STX sale and bought these Surgeon directly from the manufacturer. The shell is slightly different from retail as they are pro stock samples, so they have less branding, and the entire shell is nylon. Otherwise, they are identical to retail Surgeon 500 gloves. Fit: This is where I was most skeptical initially, as I normally use 4-roll gloves that give me a ton of mobility. After playing for a while, I'm in love. I have tried on every glove at the store, and can't find anything that has a snug fit in the fingers and backhand, but has no limitation for wrist movement. I find they give me the great mobility of a open-cuff 4-roll, but they take away the sloppy lower hand fit. These are my first pair of gloves with stretch gussets, and they allow for a low gusset height, but allow for a tight grip on sticks. The gussets combined with the three-piece fingers and flex thumb, give great dexterity. One note: I use 14" gloves for everything else and use a 15" for these, so be sure to try on a size up. 10/10 Protection: The foams in these gloves are on the thin side, but they are backed up by full plastics. I have taken a good amount of beer league slashes, and have no major complaints. The gloves offer good wrist protection, as cuffs are pretty long and flare out. However, they are not tanks like my Franchises, so I am a little cautious during games. 8/10 Weight: These seem to be very light weight gloves. I'm not sure about the actual weights, but they are lighter than all my other mitts. 10/10 Durability: My only real complaint about these gloves is durability. The shells are holding up well. The binding between the thumb and finger on my upper hand is starting to fray. The biggest gripe: is the palm. I use a very small cloth tape butt end (example) and it's chewing up the palm on my upper hand. I think they would have been better serves by using a different overlay, maybe a tougher grip material. 5/10 Intangibles: I am a bit of a snob about gloves, and think they could have used better materials for the palms. Something a bit softer for the main material, and something a bit more grippy/durable for the overlay would be preferred. I like the cleaner look of the pro-stock model without all the graphics. Padding throughout the gloves, all the way through the fingers makes these extremely comfortable. 7/10 Conclusion: I might be converted from four-rolls forever. A REALLY good first try for a new hockey company, they got a lot right. By far the best fitting "anatomical" gloves I have tried on. Once I wear through these palms, I'll get them replaced with better materials, then these will be unstoppable. 40/50

Male, 6'1", 210lbs, playing in B-D leagues. I was looking to replace my old bulky protective gear (Koho shins, Jofa shoulders, and Mission elbows) after about a decade of use. Went into my local Hockey Giant looking for something a little slimmer/lighter at the expense of protection since I'm only playing no-check men's league. Abused the pads for a year, playing at three or more times as week. Fit: I went with a Large shoulder pad, large elbows, and 15" shins. At first the shoulders were riding up and hitting my neck, but I just needed to loosen the rib straps. The lower profile shoulder pads are nice, as I can no longer see them in my peripheral or hit the caps with my cage. The elbows lock in place and don't slide down like some of the others I've tried. The shins are narrower than most, but I have no problem fitting my large calves in there. The only complaint I do have, is the lack of wrap on the back of my legs that leaves some of the back exposed. 9/10 Protection: I went in with the understanding that the RBZ line was going to sacrifice protection in the sake of lower weight. However, I find that these have more than enough protection for beer league physicality. The shoulders and elbows have kept me from injury after falling all over myself, and the shins deflect/absorb shots with ease. I alluded to this earlier, but the only downside is the calf wrap would be a little lacking for anyone that's not super skinny. For contact hockey, I imagine some bulkier pads would be necessary. 7/10 Weight: Maybe my favorite part about the pads, super low weight! 10/10 Durability: I have been using the pads for just over a year now, playing at least three times as week. Elastic straps are still snug, velcro still grips well, and none of the hard plastic has cracked. Internal padding is holding up well, and hasn't developed any funk. Absolutely no complaints. 10/10 Intangibles: The shin pads have removable liners, nice touch. 10/10 Conclusion: If you're looking for a smaller profile, lighter, and mobile set of pads, take a strong look at the CCM RBZ line. And don't look past the mid-tier offering from CCM. For 50% of the price of top-of-the-line, I'd say they get you 90% of the performance. 46/50

If they have your size, that price looks great. Sounds like the usual cost for a set of steel.

And now the use of the team name is under review by the Army. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/nov/29/army-officials-to-review-hockey-las-vegas-teams-us/

A buddy on my team did the same to get a bit more volume

Haha. Glad you're taking the comments in stride. Enjoy the Vapors, and don't let these Mako groupies make you feel bad.

Glove collection is getting a little worrisome... Helmet: Bauer 5000 Cage: Bauer 7500 Shoulder Pads: CCM RBZ 130 Shin Guards: CCM RBZ 130 Elbow Pads: CCM RBZ 130 Pants: Easton Stealth S1 / Mission Inhaler AC3 Gloves: Rotate between Eagle PPF / Eagle X95 / Eagle X72 / Eagle Fusion / Warrior Franchise pro stock / STX Stallion pro stock / Easton 4roll pro stock / Graf G65 Skates: Easton Mako M7 / Bauer X90 / Bauer X90R Stick: Rotate between Bauer G3 pro stocks / Bauer 1N pro stock / True A6.0 / Sherwood EK15

I know I'm a little late, but I really like my M7's. Have a pair of M8's from the last sale that are still in the box untouched. I'm used to the normal felt tongues, so I'm unsure if the tongue guards are going to be hard to adjust to on the M8's. For the price, I wish I went and picked up another pair to convert to inlines...

Oh great. How many spares can I hide from my wife...

Oh yea. I have the M7's now, but picked up a pair of M8's to store away for the future.

Hockey Monkey has the M8 for $200 and M7 for $140 today. Time to stock up. http://www.hockeymonkey.com/black-friday-sale-july-skates-sr.html

Funny you mention that. I skated on them this morning, and notice red marks on top top of my foot where you would get lace bite. Didn't hurt and I couldn't really feel the laces, but maybe some signs the tongue could break down in the future.

I have about four games on them now, and love them. I think the fit is so much better that I don't miss the bells and whistles. That being said, I'm watching sales and eBay to pick up a pair of Mako II to put in storage until I need them. The big differences I imagine are the liner, tongue and overall weight. Mako II and M8 have the hard metatarsel protection on the tongues, while the M7 does not. I am used to "regular" tongues, so that doesn't bother me at all. Weights are not crazy different for a size 9D skate: M7 915g, M8 859g, Mako II 839g. Being over 200lbs, I'm not going to fuss over a 70 gram difference with my skates.

Due to all the great comments, feedback, and suggestions on thread, I picked up a pair of M7’s yesterday. Wasn’t planning on getting skates, but I went to a Total Hockey last night and the price was low enough to try out the Mako style boot where I can upgrade later on if I decide to stick with the fit. The sales person was super helpful and did a "half" bake on two different pairs to try on so I could ensure I had the right size. I ended up going with the same 8.0D that I wear in my Vapor X90 boots. Probably old news for most of you, but wow are these comfortable!! I have some foot oddities that were giving me pain in the Vapors, but these Makos molded right around them. The lack of negative space above my toes is pretty neat, and the toebox is appreciated. Went out for a morning pickup to try them out, and I’d say I’m 80% on-board with them, I’ll check back in after a few games. I come from tongues out, loose skates, so these feel way different. There doesn’t seem to be enough tongue on the Makos, so I’m actually tucking in my shin pads for the first time ever.

Great updates. I just got hooked on the RBZ elbow/shoulder/shin line this year, and these look like worthy improvements.

These palms are very interesting. Would have to see one in person before I order though, I'm too skeptical.

Helmet: Bauer 5000 Cage: Bauer 7500 Shoulder Pads: CCM RBZ 130 Shin Guards: CCM RBZ 130 Elbow Pads: CCM RBZ 130 Pants: Easton Stealth S1 / Mission Inhaler AC3 Gloves: Eagle PPF / Eagle X95 / Eagle X72 / Eagle Fusion / Graf G65 Skates: Bauer X90 / Bauer X90R Stick: Bauer N1 pro stock / Sherwood EK15

Those are amazing. Congrats

Absolutely agree. I love the stick challenge videos from Pure Hockey.

A buddy picked up a twig for me from the same sale: