VegasHockey

LOL. Yeah, I like the cage off my face a little but not THAT much.

The PS and ES use the same rings. The XG rings should not be used in the ES units and I am not sure if Sparx ever updated the firmware on the units or the encoding on the XG rings NFC to allow/disallow the use of them. You will likely have to email them to find out unless they reply here. I know their stance is to not use the XG rings in the ES units. Also, the XG rings should only be used to remove large amounts of material or when you sharpen new skates. These should not be used constantly and the finish on them is not ideal. If you are sharpening skates that have already been sharpened previously you should not need more than 1 or 2 passes unless the blade has serious trauma.

it's just the angle of the shot.

Here are some pics of my TRUE lid, size M with an L Bauer Re-AKt cage.

Funny you mention 9.5/10.5 as thats what is now standard on the TRUE Shift holder STEP steel and it feels almost exactly like a Quad 0.5.

My store bought a bunch of TRUE AX9 pro stock sticks and I have been using two of them for about 2 weeks and roughly 30 hours of ice time so I figure I have a pretty decent amount of time with the sticks at this point to provide some feedback to others who are eagerly waiting for the retail version launch. This is not a review as I still need more time with the stick but I have had a lot of people message me, Instagram followers, asking about the AX9 as they know we got a bunch of them in at the shop. About me: Age: 39 Height: 5'11" Weight: 185lbs Shoot: Right Preferred shaft flex: 70-80 (varies on stick and kick-point) Preferred blade pattern: P28/TC4/W28 (max height when possible) Position: Center or Left Wing Overall the stick feels like the next generation of A-series, which is good. I am a big fan of the A6.0HT and SBP as I have always felt they had a good feel and balance. My biggest issue with TRUE sticks has always been with the blade. The first generation XC9 the blade would fall apart, usually due to the urethane insert being exposed and not inside the actual blade itself, but also the toe of the blade would wear far too quickly. I think all versions of the A-Series had these issues as well, the tow of the blade always seems to wear out very quickly. I personally have never had a TRUE shaft fail, only blades with my TRUE sticks so the overall durability has been pretty good. When TRUE added the BRT+ it made things better as far as overall blade durability but the BRT didn't really address the issues I had with the toe of the blades continuing to fail far too quickly. Disclaimer: I do not tape the toe of my stick, and yes, I shoot off the toe, so this contributes to wear but compared to any of the other brands of sticks I have used my TRUE sticks blades have always worn much faster and the resin itself delaminates. Now, on to first impressions. The looks are awesome. I like how they incorporated the chrome accent but left the rest of the stick fairly plain. I hate flashy sticks so I always felt TRUE has incorporated just the right amount of flair into their graphics. Enough so you recognize the stick brand but not overwhelming as Bauer has dont with the new Vapor series which is overly busy and too loud. The shaft shape on the AX9 is more like the Nexus, kind of flat on the sides with rounded corners. It's not as concave as the A-series and not as boxy as the X-series. It's my favorite shaft shape. The flat sidewalls give you a good stable grip and the rounded corners allow you to rotate your wrists nicely. The blade seems to be mostly the same, it does look like they did make some changes though as the blades now have a textured pattern. I am not sure if the retial model will come like this since these are pro stock versions but I hope they do release them with the textured pattern. I have never liked the fact that Warrior and TRUE retail sticks are very slick without any type of textured pattern on the blade. I can say that the durability of the new AX9 blade is much improved. After many games and drop-ins, I have seen a single mark on the blade whereas my other TRUE sticks would be showing some wear by now. Kickpoint seems to have been moved up a little making the stick much more dynamic. It's still easy to load but it doesn't feel like its a single use stick anymore. If the A6.0HT was comparable to the Vapor 1X Lite I would say this new model is more like a Warrior Alpha DX or a JetSpeed FT2. The kick point is still low, but not so low that you lose power when shooting or the shots come off the stick with low accuracy. The pucks fly off this thing. There were a few goals I nabbed from the top of the circle that the goalie just didn't even see soon enough to react. So if you are looking for a quick release this stick has that. I usually score from below the top of the circle but since I am getting a little more power into my shot I can shoot from a little further out. Weight! Thats the big thing here. Damn, this stick is light. TRUE says 393 grams and I would say that might be an understatement as mine came in at 389 before I cut it. I think 390-400 grams is a sweet spot for me when it comes to sticks so it's taking some time to adjust to a stick this light. Really hard passes are sometimes hard to cradle and there have been a few times when leaning into a one-time shot that I could feel the stick lose leverage to the puck due to how light it is. It feels lighter than 389 grams too! TRUE always talks about swing weight and while on paper the Vapor/Supreme ADV and such may be lighter if you hold this in your hand and swing it compared to those sticks the TRUE feels noticeably lighter. Overall I am very impressed with the new AX9. While I thought the A6.0 HT was a very solid stick it felt like it was designed more as a single-function stick and was not dynamic. It was good at quick release, but everything else was just good, not great. The AX9 has taken this up a notch and I think it does everything great.

5'11" and 185lbs.

Yeah, the numbering system actually sucks IMO. Too often I get people thinking the Q0.5 sits between the Q0 and Q1, which any normal thinking person would assume. lol

I think I heard these are basically the same as a 1N sticks with a new graphic.

What's weird is the Warrior DX3 is a three piece elbow pad as is the DX, but the DX Pro which sits between those two is a two piece. Go figure!?

I'll throw my hat in the ring here as someone who does a ton of profiles and also tests them. Owning a full-service hockey shop gives me the ability to have access to try all different combinations of skates, steel, and profiles. Yes, I am lucky, but this also comes with negatives as well considering I change configurations so often I sometimes physically hurt myself s and it most certainly does take its toll on my skating as well by changing equipment so often. Such is life..... BTW, when I say I hurt myself testing, I am dead serious. I hurt my back not too long ago, slipped a disc. I was testing an unreleased pair of skates with a very aggressive Quad 0 profile that was applied, it still had the full pitch in it and my back just couldn't handle the strain exerted with being so far forward. My back and core were constantly engaged fighting against the extremely stiff skate and the pitch of the profile and something had to give... Something did. My back. Anyway. Quad 0.5 is a great overall profile and as mentioned, what I typically like to start players on if they are coming from steel that has not been profiled previously. It's also very good for new adult players, as the pitch is something they are not yet accustomed to and can throw off their skating. For the young kids, I prefer to put them on a single longer profile until they develop advanced edge control. This allows them to focus on skating and not worrying about balance as much. Quad 2 would be my second go-to. The Quad 0/1 removes a very large amount of steel and also add quite a bit of pitch. Once you blend the toe properly many people feel too far forward and they get short choppy strides due to balance issues and such. There are so many factors I think we can all agree that its truly impossible to say what is the best method and what to use for each player without seeing. Not to mention that some skates have a built-in forward pitch, like TRUE, and many other skates are very neutral. For example, skating on a Quad 0 using the "Pro Sharp recommendation) on my TRUE skates makes me feel unbalanced. When I do Quad 0/1 I tend to remove most of the pitch from the profile to preserve steel and also lessen the forward pitch. I can always add more pitch later but I cannot add steel back once it's been removed.

With many companies making fewer options the PM9 has become requested often and is something I rarely see in local stores. For example, Bauer only has that option in their top of the line sticks now.

I haven't used a Sher-Wood in ages. I have really been wanting to try the EK365 and M90. The last one I had was an EK60 and I thought it was a very solid stick and was extremely cheap too.

As far as I now only TRUE uses senior diameters for intermediate sticks. I dont think anyone else does.

Well, not every manufacturer thinks this way. It seems many manufacturers are actually led by the design of ski boots, a lot of that technology and materials have crossed over into hockey skates. I think portions of the skate need to be rigid and stiff but other sections need to allow proper flex. IMO, only TRUE has is making a skate that allows for both of these by design. Using a monocoque boot but still having a separate upper portion of the boot allows for flex and rigidity where it's needed. The current design by CCM doesn't allow for this in their one-piece boot frame. Bauer will hopefully incorporate some of these design philosophies into the new Supreme skate being released in 2020. It was stated they did incorporate this in some ways into the 2X Pro, but I personally didn't notice anything different and with the quarter package skate still being a one-piece CURV shell I dont see how they could have incorporated multiple flex zones.

I think that is specifically why the MB ice holder has a locked toe and only the heel moves by default.

Looking for recommendations for websites that sell high-density foam? Various thicknesses and shapes. Amazon has some options as does eBay but it would be great to find a company that produces it so I can go direct. Thanks!

Did you go with the Shift holder or another option?

They are awesome, as long as they fit you properly. 🙂

I think Marsblade and Bladetech are on to something, essentially adding a suspension system of sorts to hockey skates. Every other sports manufacturer has incorporated some type of system to either decrease the shock impact of striking the ground or developed a solution to help propel the athlete. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/13/upshot/nike-vaporfly-next-percent-shoe-estimates.html Hockey and ice skating are obviously not the same as running but I think there is obviously merit to the work these companies are doing, especially with such limited funding compared to a corporation like Nike. I have no doubt in the next 5-10 years we will see significant developments made in the way skates, steel, and holders interact with the player's mechanics and ice. My biggest issue with the MB is specifically the weight penalty didn't seem to outweigh, no pun intended, the benefits.

The stock radius is a neutral 10' profile. Not a single player we have mounted the MB holder for has stuck with the stock profile and most players seem to prefer the longer profiles like the Pro Sharp Zuperior and Quad 2. Why would you change his holder midseason if he only has a single pair of skates? I would not recommend doing such.

Pic showing the changes I made to the facing on my skates.

I had a few people ask for pics of the SHIFT holder, specifically to see the mechanism. Here ya go.

Look at this skate tongue too. It's super thin. Based on his playing style he probably is willing to sacrifice some protection for flexibility and weight savings.

Looks like Structure has released a new camera so I imagine scanning is going to take another leap forward and become even better IF TRUE rolls these out. https://structure.io/structure-sensor/mark-ii