marka

Howdy, Did you just get the lace lock parts from the reebok skates and screw them into one of the eyelets? Mark

Howdy, Used these last night for the first time. I did get up to the local rink and do a bake there. They were a little softer than the bake I did at home, but still not "play dough". Maybe really old / hard play dough. :-) I preheated the oven to 197, then put them in for just a touch over ten minutes (temp dropped to 188 when I opened the door, so I went a touch longer). Also left one in while I was lacing up the first one, so that one got another minute or two. Fairly old Blade Master oven, not sure what model. I baked with regular athletic socks on. Anyway... played in them last night, with Bauer skate socks. No pain! That's a significant improvement over every other skate I've used in my extremely short time... I miss the lace locks from the Ribcors though. Boot loosened up a bit so I re-tied about 1/2 hour in and my ankles got a bit of that "in concrete" feel. Going to try a lace locking pattern per someone's post above at 4 eyelets down from the top to see if that will help before I look into putting actual lace locks into the skates though. For anyone else out there going from Ribcors to these... I was in an 8D in the CCM Ribcor and went to a 7.5D in the Mako M8. The Mako is a touch shorter (which I needed) in length and I would say the overall width is similar, though the shape is different (perhaps because of the molding to my foot more than anything else?)... Seems like less volume on the M8 as compared to the Ribcor as well and I fail the pencil test in them, but no issues with lace bite last night. My mostly uneducated guess is that the plastic tongue guard / very thick tongue is helping there. Figured I'd just post an update. Thanks to JR in particular who helped me with the size! Mark

Howdy, Thanks folks. I think I'll take them up to the local rink and do a bake there. They didn't feel any more pliable than any of the other skates I've done. Is there anything to the "Easton oven" thing, or do they just mean "a real skate oven, not your house oven"? I'm withholding judgement for now. I'd like to make sure they get a good bake on them, then I'll wear them around the house for a half hour or whatever the next day, then decide if I'm going to sharpen them and give them a go (which means I can't return them for credit). Mark

Howdy, Ok, got my M8's today, threw them in the oven (regular oven, set to 205 deg, brought to temp, shut off, put skates in for 10 min), and baked them. Everyone talks about how crazy pliable / "play dough" like they are... Is that an exaggeration? Because while they were a little more pliable, they weren't what I'd call really pliable or soft. Anyway, we'll see. Sitting there for 20 minutes or so after I put them on for the bake, nothing hurt or anything. They seem to fail the pencil test pretty hard, but not sure that'll matter all that much with the plastic tongue guard? The comfort just sitting there was pretty well "eh, whatever" vs. "OMG these rock! Appreciate any input from folks that have baked these and know what they feel like coming out of the oven! I do have the option to go to my local rink and bake them in the "normal skate oven" there (the box talks about a specific Easton oven... and only putting them in a non-easton oven for 10 min? Not sure what's up with that). Mark

Howdy, And, with some advice from @JR Boucicaut, I dropped the size down to a 7.5D, since my current 8D Ribcor 46k's seem a touch too long. Nothing like starting over with skates. Sigh. :-) Mark

Howdy, Well, I guess I'm going to find out. Just ordered some M8's in an 8D size. Certainly can't argue with the price, so hopefully if they don't work for me I can flip them. Mark

Howdy, That reminds me of a question I had... Why is adjusting the height necessary? Are the various steels/runners not the same thickness? I'd have thought that once you adjusted the holder to hit the center of the wheel with an 1/8" steel, any 1/8" steel would also hit the center? The holders clamp directly to the steels, right? Mark

Howdy, Boy, I keep looking at these Mako M8's for such a great price.... Can anyone comment on how they compare size-wise to CCM Ribcors? Curious about all facets.... Length, width, and volume. I currently wear an 8D CCM Ribcor. My toes don't brush the endcap, and Easton's chart has a general recommendation for a size 9.5 shoe (what I typically wear in sneakers) to use an 8.0 skate. Width-wise, my foot seems to be sorta wide in front and narrow in the back... I have to pump up the Ribcors a decent bit (maybe 10+ pumps?) to lock in my heel but the side of my foot just behind the little toe and the big toe rub the boot hard enough that I've got bumps forming there. Volume on the Ribcors seems fine. I use Superfeet Yellows. Regular white athletic socks. About a year ago I had a set of entry level Easton Stealth in a 7.5D and my feet hurt a lot, under the arch of my foot. I then went to a set of entry level CCM Tacks in an 8D and initially had foot pain, but it got better over time, particularly when I switched to skating barefoot. Appreciate any advice on how the fits for the Makos would compare! Mark

Howdy, It was at 3:20 Mark

Howdy, Just seemed weird to me that you'd shove a guy over that wasn't in the blue paint. But I'm new, so maybe that's an accepted thing? If that's normal, I'm glad to learn about it now, vs. just after someone shoved me over and I got seriously pissed. :-) Mark

Howdy, Did the guy you shoved in the back at the end of the game ever come back on you in any way? Mark

Howdy, Yes, this one. I'm also new, and like Beardo at 46 I frequently am out on the ice with other folks that could be my children. My advice would be to focus on the people saying positive things and not the ones saying negative things. And as for the ones saying negative things... Beardo has it 100% right. Its not like you're lying to get into a group where you're not supposed to be. If they have a problem with it, _they_ can leave. Mark

Howdy, (I can't seem to edit that post?) Also, if I'm currently in CCM Ribcor 48k's in an 8D and like the fit (the width is good, they're perhaps a small touch too long), what would the recommendation be for Makos? Mark

Howdy, So, can someone explain the differences between the M7, M8, and Mako II and how they might relate to a beginner / lower skill level player? Thanks! Mark

Howdy, Other than that you have to use something like Yonder to actually make the service work... This one. Mark

Howdy, Probably you all saw this already, but just in case.... Hockey Monkey is having 40% off clearance stuff until Monday and they have a bunch of Easton Mako skate versions on clearance.... Mark

Howdy, Wrong thread. Mark

Howdy, Wait, they offered you a job, then changed their mind and gave the job to someone else? And then decided that if you wanted you could have the in house guy's old job for a bunch less money? Sounds to me like they did you a favor by illustrating that you don't want to work there during the hiring process! You're for sure doing the right thing. I'll have to dig it up if you want to see it, but I took an online concussion training thing when I was an assistant coach on my son's soccer team. Among other good things, they had some guidelines as to how to know if a kid was ready to play again, plus some education stuff. If you'd like, I could try and track that down. My recollection is that the summary of that part of it was "let the kid's doctor decide", plus some 'evaluate when they come back' pointers. Concussion is no joke and you can't "rub dirt in it and get back out there". Edit: Here's the big 'fact sheet' from that training, which includes some steps to getting back going after receiving a concussion: http://www.cdc.gov/headsup/pdfs/youthsports/coaches_engl.pdf And here's the training itself: http://www.cdc.gov/headsup/youthsports/training/index.html It was pretty quick and I thought it was worthwhile when I did it last year. A lot of it is common sense, but there are some things I hadn't thought about / wouldn't have known to look for. Mark

Howdy, Blech. That does suck. How long are you out? Did they have to screw/plate it? Mark

Howdy, I love it when I go watch the local Junior team (Phantoms) and one of the players does something mundane like fall down while going for the puck or whatever and they get back up without really slowing down and continue on their way. And I'm like "well then. I can't even do _that_." :-) Mark