Aussie Joe

I'm sure this isn't you but, the thing that gets me these days is the kids that get shoved aside in the snr divisions here because of lack lustre conditioning, low development or just inexperience. Then get pee'd off because they claim the adults are throwing the kids around. If you step up to a competitive snr division, you are playing with men and you need to adjust to a higher level of physicallity. I had one kid's mum label me a "dirty bastard" for roughing her hack of a son up. All I did was play the body clean and tough. It's not my fault he's a rake with poor skating. Once, again I'm just venting not saying you are the same Angel.

Totally agree there Larry. They do it once, maybe the 2nd time late in the session. The guys are very well mannered, I saw one bloke a few weeks back make a play through traffic just so he could free himself to pass to a newbie who can barely skate. They also show the kids how to do skill moves like a tip to hell or quick stop and shot. The Canadian lads are always keeping it positive. Being positive at the rink is one of my main loves atm. Ensuring you have a good time and make the game better for others.

Something I love about pick up recently are the Canadian imports that have come down. Amazing skils, great blokes but most of all they pass. Sometimes they showboat, but to be honest its such a positive feeling they bring along most people are happy to have them with the odd end to end. On a negative note I had a kid last who I cut last winter from my team come to pick up and when I was on the ice, he spit all over my bag. I was shocked at how messed up this kid's upbringing must be.

Leave my girlfriend outta this Kev. ;)

I personally believe if you can deke around every guy there, you need to do it only occasionally. It’s pick up so have fun use your skill if you have it but don’t piss off other ppl. I know personally I will pass to anyone that has busted their arse to stay with me and the play. Especially if a newbie does all the right things, supports the play, skates hard and then just before he hits open ice he calls for a pass. A few weeks back that happened and I wired a newbie (playing less then 12 mths) with a great pass and he scored. The guy is double the size of me and nearly broke my back in the celebration. Needless to say I get more of a buzz out of setting guys up like that then I do from scoring a end to end goal. One of my favourite parts of hockey is giving the new guys great advice, see them try it and then watching their faces light up when they know they did something right out on the ice.

My Pro Stock Vapor XXX Liljas from Ebay. Still one of the most comfortable gloves I've ever used. Amazing feel and protection. Pity the Digi palms wore out so quick, they are being repalmed as we speak for a re-issue.

Awesome skates Mshn7110, those hummers will fly!

Yeaaah, yellow laces are for homos. ;)

Not that much, 30-50 bucks depending on the job/time required. Its worth it as Rhys is very good at what he does. In saying all that my next pair will no doubt be a brand new pair of skates, sent to Keith for a mount of new Sprungs. Thats probably a good year off.

So I've finally converted one of my favourite boots of all time. What a difference it makes switching from the XR to the XX. I can feel the difference in weight and support. Skated two games out with them on Sunday and they were great. I maybe converting some more Aussies to the Sprung trend as well. Special thanks to Rhys for the mount job. PS: Luke, Matt; can't wait to kick these out at Silver Cup. The boots are worn, but still fly as good as the day they left the Canadian factory. Puck view. My little custom touch, ONE90 footbeds.

Word!

The Blueys will get stronger, the club is still new afterall.

Hows the GC working out for you Jimmy?

I still love my Vapor XXX pro stock, its such a pity my Digi palms wore out so quick. It sucks trying to get palms re-done here. Are they loose or quite tight on your fingers?

I want a pair of those Ottawa 67's socks BAD! They look great and were the socks my club team used about 10 plus years ago.

Reviewer Specs: 5'11" 78Kg. Size 8.5D, heat molded (but probably didn't need to) Recent skates Mission L7, Vapor XX (most recent) Foot Type: High Arch, skinny. Fit WOW! I heard of people having issues out of the box requiring multiple bakes, punches or even many months to break in. This was not the case with me at all, the skates fit out of the box! The only other skates to do this were my Roller Daddys and they lasted 6 months. I baked them just in case and have to say they somehow felt better. I was very impressed at this stage. 9/10 Blade/Holder I assumed it was abit of sales hype to assume adding a few mm to the front and back of the steel would help turns. I was wrong, it helps massively and I noticed the sharpness of my turns on my first scrimmage in these skates. I cut really quickly to my left to cut off a rebounding buck and nearly shot myself into the boards. The turns are intense and I feel allot more stable on these then the previous model Lightsepeeds with my stopping. 9/10 Weight Rediculous, I swear they weigh as much as my Vans slip ons. Thats probably an exageration but I have noticed that the lack of weight over the Vapor XX's means I can get thorugh my gears and hit top speed in 3-4 less strides! 10/10 Durability The skates have taken numerous shots and stick hacks. No major damage. I am aware of the fragile tendon guards, thus I treat that part of the skate with care in particular when taking them off. 9/10 Intangibles The only part that concerns me is the whole "Negative Space" thing means I get slight cramps/pins and needles from the natural swelling my foot does as part of hockey. Occasionally I need to re-adjust the lacing whilst on the bench, but I truely believe to eliminate this issue all I need to do is get the level of tightness down pat, when I lace them up to begin with. 7/10 Conclusion Fit and performance wise these are just amazing. Im in awe of these skates and what I can do with them. They have added a new element to my game and I now know what I need to do (Gym wise) to really maximise myself with these on the rink. Overall Im impressed and just in love with the ONE90's. Especially, after the negative experience with my Kor's and L7's. - 9/10

Nice TPS mits, what is the difference like, fit wise between those two models Eric?

Pfft! Kids these days! ;) Whats with the Nintendo in the pic?

Since when don't hockey players eat pizza, maybe thats an over-utilized audience?

Whats the team called?.. The Little Ceasars Pepperonis? OUCH!

Why did someone get gloves made in the "team" of a pizza shop? Was it a promo/competition or something DarkStar?

Rusty, what are the Fury gloves like? The seem really stiff to look at, but one of the Imports for our AIHL team here swears by them.

Very Nice!

TPS R8 Pro Lite - Purchased from HockeyGiant. 14' Red-Black-White Previous gloves: Vapor XXX 14', A. Lilja Pro Stock. Reason for change: Sick and tired of the XXX's palms falling apart even after a supposed repair job. Fit - Very snug to begin with, but the fit loosened up a fair bit after a few uses. These took about 3 weeks or 6-8 sessions to break in and feel as tangible as my previous XXX's. 9/10 Weight - No difference noticed between the R8s and my XXX's. Acceptable weight. 9/10 Mobility - At the beginning I thought these gloves hindered my puckhandling slightly. They are not as flexible as the XXX's on the cuff. I soon found it was simply a matter of getting used to the differences between; well worn in Pro Stock and off the shelf gloves. - 9/10 Break-in - As stated before only a 3 week break in period to get the gloves feeling like normal. Really I could feel them breaking in even after 1-2 weeks. This part in particular really impressed me and again I put it down to the outter shell being light and flexible (its official name is Cable Knit "Armour Weave" according to the 08 TPS Cat.) I think the gloves surpassed my expectations in this aspect. - 10/10 Protection - To be honest the hackers in my league generally direct more punishment at your head then your hands. In saying this I have taken a couple of quick tucks off the boards, pushing myself off the via my knuckles. Good and solid protection. I have also fended off a few stray sticks coming at me with force via the back of my palm. Again solid stuff. - 9/10 Durability - I have had these gloves only two and abit months. They have held up very well, inparticular the palms were a cause for concern for me coming off the terribly fragile XXX palm. The TPS dual nash and digi palms are holding up as well as can be expected. At the current rate I think I will need a repalm in about 1.5 - 2 yrs. Fairly good for a guy who is on the ice in these 3-4 times a week. - 9/10 Intangibles - Its hard for me to try on gloves before I buy because I live in a hockey wilderness. I had heard good things about the TPS R8 lines from the Aussie distributor of TPS. I assumed his praise was just good sales work but he was spot on about these gloves. I have fairly skinny fingers/hands and beleive these gloves could be slightly tighter around them. But this isn't a major flaw at all and to be honest after 2 weeks of wear, the gloves feel the same as my XXX's. My fingers aren't telling me there's a difference so Im not fussed about the increase in room. Overall - Don't be afraid to try something new. I cannot say enough about this glove and the surpise its given me in its fit and feel. I now know why the TPS rep here moves so much kit about, simply put these gloves are strong and provide a great feel and level of protection. Recommend for many hand/finger types, especially if you have thicker then normal fingers. - OVERALL 9/10

LOL... and here I was thinking that putting some frames on my Vapor XX's would be awesome. I've been throughly outdone of course.