VegasHockey

I would imagine the fact that you have to reinforce the area around the cut out the blade with a cutout wouldn't actually be any lighter than a full blade.

Digging this back up from the grave. Can someone explain to me why you need to apply the base and then the Pro/Max wax over it? I ordered the starter set to test and it seems the Max wax sticks just fine to the tape with or without the base wax. Is it just a way for them to get you to spend more money or is there some genuine justifiable significance? I should note, I understand the principle behind a wax base coat as I used to surf. However, I dont see how it applies to hockey.

I did notice that Marner uses an XC9 without an insert, it seems to have an XX-Stiff A series blade. Though most of the pro stock ones for sale online still have the insert and are basically just standard XC9 sticks without a warranty. However, his new AX9... Now that is quite an interesting stick.... Our store purchased a bunch of pro stock AX9 sticks from TRUE and here are a few variations of the Marner AX9. The biggest difference was one weighs in significantly less than the others, 368 grams vs 390 grams. The spec sheet doesn't show any difference between any of them though, which is strange.

It does, however, the J clips dont sit properly without spacers and it squishes the cage.

Found a good pic showing how Marner doesn't lace the top eyelet. Makes me wonder if the next trend is to start making skates with a much lower cut front fascia to aid in forward flexion while still keeping the sides tall to provide stability.

Oh, those are the stock insoles that usually come with the CCM customs. Just a really thick black insole, no arch or anything, and a white CCM logo.

Yeah, had the same issue with a helmet and had to go to Home Depot to buy longer screws. We now keep a small box of them in store for the TRUE helmets. The CCM and Bauer clear face masks also need longer screws than are supplied because the plastic brackets are thicker, so we needed them for this as well. Note: I let TRUE know this about the screws so I hope they will make an update at some point to provide longer screws with the helmet.

Pic?

Try putting very thin plastic spacers between the J clip and the helmet.

Here are some better pics that show the cage fits fine. There is roughly a fingers gap between my chin and the chin cup with my mouth closed.

In Scottsdale, AZ it rarely gets cold enough I need a heated garage. 😉

Do you have no knob or anything at all? Its just a bare stick?

I have a whole setup for my personal unit in my garage, all my extra sets of steel, hones, oils, and such. Lots of skate sharpening goodies 🙂

It could also be the new skates are super stiff and arent allowing you to get proper forward flexion. Have you tried dropping the top eyelet?

I think if anything we will see the Supreme and Nexus lines merge eventually and the Tacks and JetSpeed follow the same. Having three lines of sticks is silly IMO and costs retailers a ton of money. We won't even carry Tacks or Supreme sticks because they are hard to sell. If a customer wants them, we will order them, but I only order a few during our annual bookings. It would also be great to see every manufacturer eventually trim their lines down to 3 options such as elite, performance and value. As it stands there is too many options to order in various flexes, curve patterns, and styles for most normal sized stores.

Based on the new sizing and the test samples I was able to try on FIT2 was perfect for me. It was like an E/A pro stock fit which is exactly what I need. The FIT1 felt more like a D/AA, the heel was ok but my poor toes were smashed.

The main issue is making something durable that also doesn't add too much weight or affect the feel. Hence why I though it would be Polar Fibre.

Yeah. With the 2S Pro EE it felt sloppy all over and I had terrible heel lock.

I would be surprised if within the next 10 years tape has not been entirely replaced by something else, a coating or some other item that can be applied. I honestly had thought that Polar Fibre was going to be the solution to all of this.....

Starting with the 1S I find the Supreme fit about 1/2 size smaller now. For example, previously I wore a 7E and now wear a 7.5D in them

1: The difference is Sparx you pay less upfront for the machine but pay more over time with the rings, the Pro Sharp consumable rings last much longer. I did the match and if you keep both units they end up costing the same after 2 years assuming you only use one ROH. If you are using various ROH for different players and such the Pro Sharp is significantly more expensive. 2: Yes, I have done blind back-to-back testing in our store with Sparx and Pro Sharp portable units and 95% of players cannot tell the difference. I think it has a lot to do with the prep prior to sharpening and then finishing after the sharpening. 3: Yes, they are both user-friendly and fairly simple to adjust 4: Sparx warranty is much better than Pro Sharp in my experience 5: None that I can speak to. 6: I would say the Sparx can be used anywhere, living room, garage, wherever, it has a built-in filter and is a closed cycle system. I still would not use it in my kitchen though as there has to be some debris that escapes through the top of the unit. Better to be safe than sorry. The Pro Sharp has much more debris though, I would recommend using it with a vacuum attached to help control the metal shavings, based on this I would not recommend that to be used in your home amnd only use it in a garage or some other space.

I've used every single ROH and FIRE and I seem to always go back to 1" ROH on all of my standard width steel, but on my Flare steel I like the 3/4" FIRE

Because you said the following above which was implying RFID and NFC are different. At least, thats how I read it. No biggie.

I remember these. Loved them.

lts way cheaper, you get 3 in a pack for less than a Lizard Skinz, and actually has a good texture to it.