Giltis

You hit the nail on the head, this is what bugs me the most about it. "We won't give you a team, but rest assured we will be making money off your legacy"

Someone told me that the Red Wings jerseys were pretty much practice jerseys, and I agree. Great: Devils (holy hell that deep green is nice), Hawks, Oilers Interesting: Habs, Caps, Blues, Panthers, Wilds, Kings, Rangers, Sharks Awful: Canucks, Wilds (Interesting, but leaning towards awful) Low Effort (most of these just seem washed out or uninspired) : Stars, Red Wings, Jets, Avs, Tampa, Leafs, Bruins , Penguins, Sens (just poor timing as they are going back to their 2D for the non-retro)

Yeah a little bit of everything, mostly curiosity. but you're right, a used mid-range would be the most economical/less fiddly route/

If say, I want to get a 2 piece today mostly for coaching and messing around, what would you guys suggest for me?

Well it gives the consumer the freedom to switch skate brands without thinking about the added aftermarket blades cost.

If they made a holder that took this blade, would they be able to? "Oh yeah our system just happens to take a blade that works in both of these other holders"

- Thrashers is indeed terrible, but I like that they tried (and failed) an asymmetrical pattern - The Habs barberpole PJ and the Kachina are both so bad that it's somehow good

Yeah I'm a few skates in now, and obviously this is anecdotal from a short term of usage with a sample size of two (my son and I), but it's quite a bit better in every aspect except installation (those clips are shit, and those screws need improvement). I'm able to be heard a lot better, it's less hot in the bubble, and it doesn't fog at all. As you say it might just simply be that it sits a bit more away from the face, but it helps so much.

Yeah most masks that I've purchased whether for myself or for my kids have been this way, no returns.

I recommend the CCM FV-1 over the Bauer's. Good clarity, no fogging. Install was a bit tougher, not a fan of the clips and I had to flip them around from how it's put on originally out of the box. But at least I don't have to dremel the brackets anymore like I did for the Bauers in the past. The CCM screws that come with it are really dinky and I could probably shear them off. The CCM J-clips are nicer and easier to dial in with how your cage sits. My U9 kid likes it on his as well.

Just had a practice with the CCM game on mask over my CCM FV-1. It was a bit uncomfortable on the bridge of my nose but I think I can adjust it. Zero fog issues (although I wasn't as skating as hard as I would during a game), if anything it seems like it directs the fog down.

So it's the worse of both worlds? Not only can it fog, it has grills instead of a clear area where you see through.

I've bought the Bauer multiple times over the years, because it was the only one available. They always start out great until one day it fogs, then you have to use a spray, and then after awhile even that stops working (I always use a microfibre cloth and use a protective bag to transport). I've recently purchased the CCM this time around (after an errant stick caused a huge scrape on my previous bubble), so far so good.

I like the Jake Allen pick up well enough by the Habs, but in hindsight it seems like they could have gotten a better deal for a younger guy in Free Agency.

They have Casey DeSmith who seems decent enough.