krisdrum

Thanks for the input. Why would my son need to use a different boot? My plan would be to get a pair of used Vapors (his normal ice boot) and mount the O1 chassis to them. That way, he has a similar boot fit and I can use the same chassis as his feet grow and boots change. I did a rigid chassis conversion on a pair of skates for myself awhile back and have plenty of spare nuts and bolts to do the conversion for him.

Wasn't sure where to put this... admin, please move if you think there is a better spot... With no legal ice available in our area... nor are we really too keen to use it if it was (wife is high risk due to chronic health issues)... I'm looking for alternatives to help my 10 y.o. son keep up his skills. For context - top D pair last season, skilled skater that does a lot of agility work in addition to regular practices, etc. His team finished top 20 last season. He loves this sport and works his tail off to get to where he is. I'd hate to see 3,4,5 months off the ice impact that. And yes - he plays other sports and has other hobbies, he's 10. I can make space in the basement or garage or driveway for synthetic ice or I can get him on rollers. Looks like Can-Ice is the best of the bunch of synthetics based on my research. Great glide, no shavings to deal with, etc. He's used rigid chassis rollers before and isn't thrilled with them, finds them too different from ice. So considering Marsblade 01 in hopes they would get him feeling as close to on-ice as possible. He's a size 2 skate, so he just makes the size minimum for a Small chassis. Obviously one choice is thousands of dollars, the other a few hundred. If I boil it down, the question is... are Marsblades close enough to the feel and motion of an ice skate to be a sufficient alternative.

This is super helpful. Thanks for sharing the inside scoop. Curious what you'd suggest for someone with a narrow heel and wide forefoot? Ribcor D to get the narrowest heel and let the boot mold in the forefoot to get the width? Or maybe a Jetspeed EE? Maybe in a 1-piece boot to take advantage of the more moldable heel? I've had decent success in the Vapor line in a EE width. Had to punch out a few spots on the sides of my foot, but heel lock was pretty good. In Graf 535 Wide right now, but miss the stiffness of a modern boot. I'm not sure I want to spend the time building up all those tiny muscles to get the stability and performance I got in the Vapors. There is appeal to something a bit more point and shoot.

Sorry Greg, wasn't trying to stoke the fire. You mentioned the USHL combines and I took it on a tangent. To some extent, I get the position you are in with your son. My nephew just had his U16 season on a team that was top 10 the last 2 seasons, on the road to nationals and made it last year. He's hoping for a local NCDC contract for the fall. Plus, we've been billeting the last 4 years. Our latest "son", who lived with us the last 2 seasons, will be playing for Dartmouth in the fall. Those experiences have given me a preview of what we could be in store for with my 9 year old if he decides he wants to pursue things to that level. I don't envy the position you and your son are in, the tip of the needle gets pretty thin. Hope you can figure out a solution for him and he rocks his upcoming season, whatever it may look like.

Not to go completely off topic... but do we really think the USHL and NAHL are going to have a fall/winter season? Don't those programs depend on ticket sales to give kids their tuition-free opportunity? What about billets? Are these programs going to be able to attract enough households to house the players? Are people going to send their kids to live with strangers? I'm sorry, I just don't see it happening. I'm not even sure I see a way for USPHL NCDC to have a season. Less from ticket sales (as they mostly depend on the tuition of their youth programs to fund the NCDC program), but definitely from a billet perspective. Sorry... back on topic... maybe a stupid question, but why does it even need to be a hockey-style lace up boot? I've been given advice on this site before that roller-blade type skates are sufficient for most applications. Granted, I am NOT a U15 trying to make a spot in the #1 league in the country. So... what are you hoping your son can continue to work on in his inlines? Fitness and the general skating motion or more specific technique that may not translate in a different boot?

Similar to what I have (I have the older style tiles that don't puzzle piece together), works for me and my 9 y.o. You can find the old style ones much cheaper, about $8 a 18 x 18 tile. I highly doubt the new versions are significantly better. Our set-up is 12 feet wide (8 tiles) by 24 (16 tiles) and sits in our driveway. Son uses it all the time for stickhandling, shooting, battle drills, etc.

What size space are you looking to cover? What other activities do you use this space for? Maybe we can help suggest some things that are more DIY. Unfortunately a $20 can of paint from Home Depot isn't going to get you the results you are after. Epoxy or something similar might, but will require significant prep work and likely won't save you much compared to a plastic purpose-built product. Either way you are probably looking at a few hundred dollar investment if you are looking to cover a decent sized space. If the Stick Wrap Around is more your speed, I've seen folks do something similar using thin sheet metal. This would allow you to customize the fit to the curve of each stick. Some Tin Snips, a sheet of metal and some hockey tape would be a small investment to protect your expensive sticks.

Shooting pad/tiles? Either purpose-built or DIY? I've seen folks use plexiglass or melamine boards that are relatively cheap compared to the poly boards/tiles sold specifically for hockey.

Thanks. The Nash helmet foam suggestion is interesting. But sounds like it does not stick and stay in place well, unless I add additional adhesive, and even then... who knows. Barge sounds a lot like the mastik I used to use to glue up tubular bicycles tires. The 3M 77 sounds a lot easier to work with. Maybe I'll just suck it up, cut my loses and get a different pair of gloves.

Aren't all the Tacks the same basic fit and design? If you liked the AS1, why not look at something 1 or 2 levels down? Or do you need absolute bullet-proof protection?

Anyone ever re-padded the backhand of their gloves? Bought a pair of used Vapors off SS. Previous owner cut the backhand pad out of them. Didn't realize until after I received and approved. I like a tighter fit on the backhand, anyone ever used thin foam or something else to tighten up the backhand of their gloves?

Seconded. A few years ago when I was skating more and pretty comfortable, was at stick and puck (all ages) with my son, who was 6 or 7 at the time. We got a little cross ice game going, dads vs. kids. Was going after the puck with a kid, who was maybe 8 or 9, didn't want to crush him, ended up falling awkwardly, caught an edge on the way down, and dislocated my knee cap. Luckily it popped right back in, but the inflammation after had me in an immobilizer brace for a few weeks and knee brace for awhile after that. It was a tough lesson to learn.

Interesting findings. I'm really curious now, maybe I need to try on some Jetspeeds again. I gave them a try like 3-4 years ago, but think it was a roller boot. Couldn't even get the tongue to lay inside the boot they were so shallow on me. Pencil test would have failed from down in the forefoot. And older Vapor 5EE I was able to get to work pretty well for my foot. I should have stuck with those, but got crazy and got some classic Grafs. Sold the Vapors before really seeing if I liked the Grafs. Basically exact opposite boots (one low and flexy, the other tall/normal and stiff). Don't get me wrong, I like the way the Grafs fit my feet, but feel and performance wise (at least for where my skating is at), is completely different. I'd like to get back to a stiffer boot, as they felt much more point and shoot to me. The Grafs are much more nuanced.

As a guy in a similar spot (never played growing up, not a great skater), I have to agree with the last few posters. It is one thing to be out there at an open skate and be responsible for yourself, it is another to be out there and responsible for yourself and 15-20 kids. I've started the process of getting my Level 1 USA Hockey coaching cert last month. And that is really just so I can be in the locker room and help run a door when needed. I ran the clock and scored a few times this year as well. All of that is fun, appreciated and helpful to the coaches. At some point I'd love to be in a position to help out on ice, but need to really work on my skating before I'd truly be comfortable in that spot. Nor do I hold any delusions about being on ice with my son in that context. I could skate 5 hours a day, every day, and maybe catch up to their level of proficiency. He and his team has a serious head start that will be tough to overcome (he's 9, but has been skating since 2.5 and playing since barely 4). And I've taken skate lessons, was getting pretty decent for a bit, before life took over and I wasn't able to make the time to keep working on the skills. In that time off, a lot of what I gained left me. I am in the process of trying to build that back up. Point is, this sport is about skating. If you aren't comfortable with that skill, work on it. OP - don't be discouraged, but find a way you can help that everyone is comfortable with and start there. If there is more you want to do, start the process of getting those skills together while you help out another way short term.

A bit. I don't have large hands either (usually a size small or medium winter glove) and there is a bit of a difference between a Int and Sr stick from my experience. I didn't find it hard to adjust, but I think if I was switching back and forth between them, it might be more noticeable. I think it depends on the stick too, how the shaft is spec'ed. I have an Easton Stealth and Velocity and the Stealth feels closer to a Sr. shaft than the Velocity does. Both 65 flex Int sticks. I also tend to do either a spiral grip with twisted tape running under it or a grip I saw Kucherov do in a video (butt end gets 6-8 wraps of tape, then you move down and do 1 or 2 wraps less, then move down 1-2 wraps less, etc.). So I am adding a bit of bulk for my top hand.

Thanks. Was only aware of the new Supreme ADV. Didn't realize similar tech was available in all three lines.

Phil Kessel, Johnny Gaudreau, and I'm sure countless others use low flex sticks compared to the common guideline of 1/2 body weight. I think the days of 90, 100, 110 flexes being the norm are behind us. Stick tech has gotten to the point where a lower flex is a more versatile tool. I have nowhere near the skill of any of those guys, but have seen much better shots come from dropping my flex from 85 down to 65, as a 5-6, 180lber, I think the lower flex is better for me. Is the ADV a low kick? Given the Supreme badging and everything I've read, I thought it was still mid-kick. Did I miss something?

Survey response likelihood is less about attention span and more about "value". What value are the respondents providing compared to the potential value they'll get back. This "calculation" includes their time to complete, usefulness of the information, sensitivity of the information, etc. If the value ratio isn't tipped in the respondent's favor, you are way less likely to have a strong response rate. Similarly how intimate the questions are (are you asking very personal things or not) will be added to their calculation and may be a factor if their anonymity/confidentiality is in question. Your question about "do they really get shots off quicker" is answered (somewhat) on a linked page to the Tennis Warehouse page already linked. According to the research they did, the Vapor 1X had the quickest release of the sticks they tested (20.7 ms). Worst is True A6.0 SBP at (23.3 ms). We are talking less than 3 millisecond difference between the best and worst sticks on their list. The mean/average of all the sticks tested is 22.4 ms. That gives us a standard deviation of less than 1 for all the data points provided, which would not be scientifically significant. So, is there a difference... yes. Is it one that scientifically makes a difference...no. According to Wikipedia's page on milliseconds, a horsefly's wing flap is 3 milliseconds. If a human can pick out 1 wing flap of a horsefly, I'd be amazed. So.. maybe they are "hype". So if we take the science off the table as being significant, it comes down to feel/proprioception. Stiffer blade feel vs. softer blade feel. Where the stick flexes compared to where your hands naturally fall on the shaft to give the sensation of flex back to your body. Etc.

I'm assuming it is a mistake, but the scale on the Supreme 1S graph is double the scale on all the other graphs. All the graphs show 5 inch increments up to 50 inches. The Supreme graph shows 20 inch increments up to 120. It would be a pretty flawed testing protocol to treat one stick in a very different way from the rest, but it does make me question comparing that graph against the others. Not being a materials engineer, I'm not sure how similar producing a graphite golf shaft is to making a hockey stick shaft. Does graphite come in sheets like carbon fiber? Are there different qualities of graphite? Can you manipulate the lay-up of graphite in the same way? I would want to know more about that before comparing the flex manipulation for each shaft type.

Sorry, maybe not being clear, although a mute point. I thought VH offered a full 360 custom fit, by that I mean a custom spec boot and a custom insole (ex. orthotic). Obviously I am mis-remembering/understanding the product, as the video you posted is the one I was thinking of. I thought the yellow/black footbed was molded by VH to fit the contours of your specific foot in the event of a 3D scan fitting. Thinking that through, it doesn't make sense, because then the product would be different for paper/pencil fittings and 3D fittings, which wouldn't be a good a business model. Figments of my imagination. My bad.

Bummer. That was a major selling point for me. Full 360 custom.

I stand corrected. Perhaps that was an old option, as I could swear the videos I've watched on the skates talk about a custom insole.

Don't VH come with a custom molded insole that is based on the profile and shape of your foot? Why would you need an aftermarket generic insole?

Update: Got the left skate most of the way assembled last night while watching the Pens/Caps game. Need to re-drill 1 hole up in the toe and the plastic I cut to shim my heel didn't work out the way I thought, so I need to re-assess and figure out another solution. Might just finish assembly without the shim for now and alter down the line if needed. Should have the pair complete by tonight. Realized after a few bolts in the toe area that I was trying to assemble with too short a bolt, so I adjusted and the rest went much easier and have gone back and switched the shorter ones out. I'm doing a dry assembly at the moment to double check fit. Will go back and add threadlock once I have everything square. Updation Nation: Finished them up last night. Salvaged some thinner shim material from the garage, re-made my shims based on the ones I had already made. I may need to increase the size down the road, but at least I have a starting point to work from. Found a Torx 15 screw driver too, which made assembly alot easier and faster. I was using one of those stupid "flip out" kits the night before and it was a PIA. Only had to re-drill 2 holes. 1 per skate to get proper hole alignment. Not too bad. Assembled dry then backed the screws out and dropped thread lock into the T-nuts from above. Everything seems solid. Laced them up quickly last night and did a lap of the dining room table. Hope to give them a real go on some Ice Court this weekend.

Got it, makes sense. I just looked at the IW fit descriptions of both and I'm not surprised to hear you needed a bit of help in the heel of the CCMs given what you've found with the Makos. U+10: General fit aspects of the CCM boot are medium-high volume, medium ankle area, wide across top of foot and forefoot and medium toe box. Mako: General fit aspects of the Mako boot is low to medium volume with a very contouring fit; offering low-medium volume in the ankle area, heel pocket, across the top of the foot and the toe box