VegasHockey

I know of one person who used to work as an engineer for Bauer & CCM who has started his own company selling high-quality one-piece sticks. He has a relationship with factories which has helped but overall it's still an uphill struggle for him to offer a high performance, low weight (370 grams) , product while keeping prices low since he doesn't produce thousands of sticks at a time as the big companies do. For example, he can only offer 5 patterns currently and a mid-kick option because the cost for fabrication per blade pattern template is insanely expensive for a one-piece mold.

Really? It's pretty awesome. Kane Van Gate did some videos on it. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kane+van+gate+bhl+cup

I bought a bunch of the Trigger 4 Pro and they all had the retial taper design.

I used to be guilty of doing a single pass after every ice session. It became second nature when I would be unpacking my gear after skating to dry it out to just toss the skates in the sharpener for a single pass.

I've always noticed pro stocks feel stiffer than what they are rated at.

Anyone playing this year? http://bhlcup.com/

$399 is more than $389. According to MAP no Bauer store should be selling the Supreme ADV for $399. Where are you seeing it for that?

It gets a little slippery because it doesn't absorb the moisture. If you want it to get grippy like standard untreated clarino then you want the tan liner. The moisture-wicking fabric liners soak up water but arent a grippy material. I find the skates get waterlogged very quickly, take a long time to dry out, and the liners wear much faster than the tan or grey clarino. One of the guys I skate with applies this (below) to the inside of his skates to make the grey clarino super tacky. He says he washes it off after every few weeks with warm water and soap and then reapplies it. I dont know what is in the product or anything really more than what he has told me. He claims it works wonders and doesn't ruin his socks or skates. YMMV. https://www.doversaddlery.com/tack-up-grip-spray/p/X1-31009/

Agreed 100%

The moisture-wicking liner is not very durable comparatively. If you are wanting a skate to last many years you definitely do not want that option. Also, it's not a grip fabric either, so while it soaks up moisture well I also find the grip is less than the grey clarino too.

More durable but it also doesn't absorb moisture so the skates stay lighter and dont get waterlogged.

Agreed. I travel all over North America and always bring a few sets of steel with me but enjoy going into shops to see which ones are progressive when it comes to profiling and sharpening. It's shocking how many stores I have been to that are clueless when it comes to the art of profiling and sharpening. I have gotten into arguments with shops telling me profiling is all BS and its not needed, its a gimmick. I also had shops tell me "no good players" skate on anything over 1/2" and so they offer only one standard cut, 1/2". I think this is why many stores are slowly adopting machine sharpening like Pro Sharp and Sparx units.

Clarino 90%

You make a lot of really solid points. I know many people who have kids playing high-level hockey but do not have access to skilled pro shops for sharpening, and they all buy Sparx units. In many cases there are pro shops in the area but when it comes to sharpening its just not consistent quality. These are areas like Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, very big cities. The fact is most hockey moms/dads have families with multiple kids and they dont want to learn to sharpen skates or simply dont have the time. However, they do want to give their kids and teams access to quality skate sharpening. I see more parents investing in Sparx units lately for their kids entire team and then sharing the cost. Overall, people are making a mountain out of a molehill in many of these arguments. If we are complaining about $1-$2 then we are all involved in the wrong sport. Hockey is not cheap by any means and surely is not going to become cheaper any time soon.

I vaguely remember that scam... lol

I've been wanting to see someone review this: https://pamahockey.com/product/virtuoso-ice-hockey-stick/

This is weird to me.

Agreed. Maybe it will come with a 1-year warranty? LOL

Looks like retailers are already getting the holding pages online. Looks like the price will be $399 CAD, $40 CAD more than the Supreme ADV. https://www.sportszonecanada.com/bauer-nexus-adv-gr-stk-sr-142613.html

Just use a lighter and carefully burn the hanging threads. As long as the gloves aren't unraveling a few errant strands of thread arent a big deal.

Bauer skates just dont seem to work for me. I have tried to use Vapors multiple times since the 2X Pro released and each time I found the fit too sloppy for me compared to my TRUE skates or my custom FT2s. Going custom in the Bauer really isn't going to fix that issue since its not really a sizing issue, it's specifically how the skate wraps. When the new Supreme skates release later this year I am going to give those a try. Maybe I have needed a Vapor fit in a Supreme skate and thats my main issue 😉

The kick point on the 70 flex Flylite changes the feeling entirely when compared to the 68 flex TRUE.

Yeah, it's that stupid locking design. I hate it.

Yes. I ordered these for myself, 70 flex Flylite senior with a Pasta curve. They are very whippy and I don't think I would order a Flylite with that low of a flex again. I think the kick point, length, and flex all need to be accounted for when looking at dropping to that low of a flex.

Use some of this to prevent the wear from getting worse. https://www.amazon.com/Star-brite-Liquid-Electrical-Tape/dp/B0000AXNOD