Troubadour

That looks like the Shannahan z-bubbles I've seen. If that is yours, I am incredibly jealous. I've been trying to find a pristine one to buy for months now.

It is supposed to be the amount of weight at which it flexes to a certain point. So hypothetically a 75 flex, flexes at 75 pounds, 110 flexes at 110 pounds. However, it rarely seems to work this way. I mean, I may be completely wrong, but this is the way it was always explained to me at least. Not to mention the guys at Smarter Everyday seemed to prove it was somewhat the case. So a 75 flex, can't really be a 75 flex if it is cut 4" even with a flex free zone.

I am asking because I've started cutting my sticks a lot shorter, starting with the EK15. I only cut down to about 4" so I should be well within their flex free zone. However, afterwards it felt a lot stiffer. Moving onto my True A5.2 SBP that I just got today, I cut that down to match the EK15. Same thing, felt it before, was a 75 so it was decently whippy. Now it feels about on par with an 80-85 flex. Both of these sticks I am supposed to be within their flex free zone, yet I can feel a change. To me, the flex free zone doesn't really make sense from a physics stand point. Been trying to do some research on how they work and haven't really found any answers. Anyone got some knowledge they want to share?

Didn't know he transitioned to defense. Explains why he was practicing slapshots at sticks and pucks. He's gotten a lot better, I remember when I first skated versus now and I was super impressed with how far he has come.

Nice! He's a great guy, he used to play on a team I played on in Royal Oak. I go to sticks and pucks with him occasionally.

And it had to do with poor business decisions, not because they made bad skates...

Do you know a guy named Jake that plays on your team?

A bunch of guys I play with use their visors, one uses their stick. They all seem to really like them. They never have fogging problems on the bench. I notice a lot of other guys always wiping their visor down on the bench, they never do. So it's got that going for it.

This has been my biggest problem with the EK15, it's too light for me. I am pretty sure my sweet spot for sticks is 420-450 grams. I am also not a fan of the blade feel. As someone else said, I don't believe the flex free zone is as free as they say. I just cut mine down 3" last night and it was definitely much stiffer after.

No idea why, I don't miss knit socks at all. They'd tear after a game or two and then just be in shreds by the end of a season.

No, if anything I felt faster. They are on the heavier end of a modern skate, so that may contribute to that feeling slightly, but for me I didn't notice anything. They felt a lot better and I skated a lot better. I was coming off a pair of Graf's I truly hated though.

Why wouldn't it be? I have a composite extension in one of mine and it got cut down just fine.

In a heartbeat honestly. I would honestly pay as much as I pay for a league just to have practice ice that was promised to not turn into shinny or drop-in. I've tried to organize something like 3-4 times now and everyone drops out when money comes up.

Tacks are yellow. Ribcor is green. RBZ/Jetspeeds are red. Vapors don't have a lock on using red. If they used blue, you'd say they look too much like Nexus. Orange would have been cool, but then they are just stealing Easton/Mako territory.

Too bad, they don't make their retail skates in Canada. :( Top of the line Ribcors, made in Thailand. For some reason it put my comment in the quote....