VegasHockey

This is actually a problem that CCM and Bauer are specifically trying to fix. Players getting skates that are too stiff for them and their skating ability because they either have the money to spend or think that buying a more expensive skate will either last longer or provide better performance. The most expensive skate is never going to be the best option for most people. Modern skates are way too stiff for a lot of players and unless you are a very big guy or you skate 7+ hours a week its likely that choosing the most expensive skate is actually hampering your abilities. CCM is now publishing the flex rating of their skates and has a ton of education for retailers attempting to educate them to not always push the top tier skate. Bauer is also doing the same this with Bauer University. I don't lump TRUE into this specifically because their skates aren't designed in the same manner as Bauer and CCM. I have never had a player tell me their TRUE skates don't allow them enough forward flexion and such. The only complaint I heard more than a few times was the skates are heavier than the players current skate. My reply to them has been "don't skip leg day" because there are plenty of players in high level hockey that have no problem with the weight of the TRUE skates. While they may be heavier than retail skates, take any Bauer or CCM with a pro specification and you will see the weight difference is negligible at best.

Woah woah woah. I don't know about you but I was drafted first overall in my fantasy league. 🤪

I had one player who went from CCM custom skates, to TRUE custom skates, and finally ended in a Bauer retail Vapor 2X Pro skate which he said fit him best. I think that's the main problem with custom skates is the manufacturer has an opinion of what really is defined and how the skate should fit, but the customer, for better or worse, has their own opinion. A scan can only tell you the foot shape, it doesn't account for how the player prefers the skate to fit and such. It's all very tricky. Not to mention without having direct interaction with the customer there have to be some decisions the manufacturer has to make. Sometimes those decisions turn out good and other times the customer doesn't like those decisions. I read too much about people thinking custom skates are the holy grail and for the price the end result should be X and Y. No one is taking into consideration that all of these offerings and the technology behind them are fairly new to the hockey market. I consider all of this an alpha or beta phase.

I noticed one of the guys I was skating with today had these. I didn't get a chance to look at them too closely but looks like there is some significant changes. Has anyone else seen them in person?

Meh, I know plenty of people that would hammer on Bauer, and people who pick on TRUE and others that think CCM is crap. Its just a matter of opinion. In the end, people should go with what works best for them. There is no one thing that is "better" than another. It's the same with sticks, gloves and other things. I mean, lets be real. Is Tesla better than Jeep? Maybe, depends on your needs and wants. If I want to go driving off-road you surely are not going to buy a Tesla. I think all of this back and forth is silly and draining. I like all the different models and brands of skates and think they all have pros and cons.

My opinion. I think any issues with QC for most players are quickly ignored, unless they are a structural deficiency, because the skates are going to get beaten up playing hockey. If its anything that is only aesthetic most people don't really care all that much. I mean, I play with guys that have their hockey pants falling apart, gloves with holes covered in tape, shin pads held together with gorilla glue, and helmets that the liner wont even stay in. Most people aren't going to care about a little glue or whatever if the skate performs well and the cost for a full custom skates is significantly less than other brands.

The comfort edge is something I have been wanting for a very long time. To a point where I actually had spoke with a store that could fabricate and add one. I still don't understand why they don't add one.

What was the specific name of the stick?

Yup 🙂

Same. We are also doing scanning for some of the WHL teams this week as part of the Dealer Assist program.

The biggest thing would be a 5mm lower ankle cuff which also changes the eyelet placement as well.

My skates are perfect, so I guess it all depends. I did request a lot of special tweaks to them though so maybe they got a little more attention than others. Overall all the newly refreshed skates we have received have been flawless.

Are you comparing retail FT2 vs TRUE? My full custom FT2 are actually 100 grams heavier than my TRUE skates.

How often are you guys changing the filter? I know they say every 200 sharpens or something when the filter light comes on, but my current filter looks brand new, I have OCD when it comes to cleaning, so I do a very thorough cleaning daily. I clean everything, take out the tray, wipe everything down, and even blow it out with an air cannon, and such.

The senior Vapor stick offerings direct from Bauer, excluding SMU sticks, is as follows: Bauer Vapor FlyLite Grip Composite Hockey Stick - Senior Bauer Vapor 2X Pro Grip Composite Hockey Stick - Senior Bauer Vapor 2X Team Grip Composite Hockey Stick - Senior Bauer Vapor X2.7 Grip Composite Hockey Stick - Senior Base Price $299.99 $249.99 $149.99 $99.99 Manufacturer Bauer Bauer Bauer Bauer Department Sticks Sticks Sticks Sticks Category Composite Sticks Composite Sticks Composite Sticks Composite Sticks Division Senior Senior Senior Senior Shipping Weight 3 lb 3 lb 3 lb 3 lb Shipping Dimensions 63" x 3" x 3" 63" x 3" x 3" 63" x 3" x 3" 63" x 3" x 3" Model Year 2019 2019 2019 2019 Weight Weight of the product measured in grams. 383 Grams 437 Grams 430 Grams 453 Grams Length Length of the product measured in inches. 60" 77/87/102 Flex: 62", 70 Flex:60" 60" 60" Measured Product The specifications of the product used to measure weight and length. 60" 87 Flex P92 62" 87 Flex P92 60" 87 Flex P92 60" P92 87 Flex Construction Material Type of material the product is made of. DuraFlex resin Lightweight TeXtreme - - Kick Point Position Inflection point where maximum stored energy is released. Low Low - - Shaft Design Shape of the shaft edge. Asymmetrical TeXtreme High Performance Mold - - Blade Construction Type of material the blade is made of. AERO-SENSE 2 MaxBalance Blade - - Tapered Shaft width gets thinner towards the blade XE Taper XE Taper - - Warranty Period of time the product is covered under a manufacturer's warranty. 30 Days 30 Days 30 Days 30 Days Family The product line within the brand. Vapor Vapor Vapor Vapor Options Hand:Left;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Left;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Left;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Left;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P92M; Hand:Left;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Left;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:PM9; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P14; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:PM9; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P14; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Right;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Right;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P92M; Hand:Right;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P14; Hand:Right;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:PM9; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P14; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P92M; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:PM9; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P92M; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:PM9; Hand:Left;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Left;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Left;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Left;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P92M; Hand:Left;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Left;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P92M; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P92M; Hand:Right;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Right;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Right;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:102 Flex;Pattern:P92M; Hand:Right;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Right;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Right;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P92M; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P92M; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P92M; Hand:Left;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Left;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Left;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Right;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Right;Flex:70 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Left;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Left;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Right;Flex:77 Flex;Pattern:P92; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P28; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P88; Hand:Right;Flex:87 Flex;Pattern:P92;

Confirmed today the new STEP steel for the Shift holder is a 9/10 forward pitch dual radius profile.

Yes. Very moldable and flexible. I actually like it way more than the standard felt

You are a 254 or smaller?

Had my first bit of actual damage to the skates since I got them. Not sure if the SHIFT holder material is softer than other holders or if the guy just had some deadly swords on his feet. https://m.imgur.com/gallery/N8kO5f7

I had a chance to try my new TRUE skates with the updated SHIFT holder in multiple games and a few drop-in sessions. I can say there is a dramatic difference between the newest generation and the previous generation in terms of weight reduction, not just from the new holder and steel, but overall. I think the new carbon layering process has also made the overall fit and finish better as well. One thing I noticed immediately was the new STEP steel for the SHIFT holder does not feel anything like the previous VH/TRUE holder and STEP combo. In fact, it almost feels like the steel has a dual radius profile, maybe a 9.5/10.5 profile or similar. It's the first time I have been able to just take the skates out of the box, bake them, sharpen them, and play a game with them without feeling like I was wildly out of control. I am honestly not even sure a profile is needed with the newer steel where I felt the older VH/TRUE holder and STEP combo a profile was absolutely required. Overall I am very impressed with the updated skates.

I think this is quite common. What is strange to me is the players who wants 3/8 on their TRUE skates. I don't understand how they can do anything on the ice as I would feel like my feet are in quicksand.

Skating 2x a week you should only need to sharpen every 6-8 weeks with STEP, unless you get some serious trauma to the blade, like stepping on concrete.

Yes, usually players go with a more shallow hollow. I went from 3/4" to 1" 1/2" -> 5/8", 5/8" -> 3/4" , 3/4" -> 1"

Same here, but compared to the felt tongue or the T-Guard there is less protection IMO.

Protection level would be low and its very flexible. If you are someone concerned about foot protection I would say to go with the black or white felt tongue or the tongue option with a metatarsal guard. I personally like how much forward flexion it offers.