BenBreeg

They are very moldable when you bake them, but just like wrapping a present if there isn’t enough paper (facing) it doesn’t matter.

I have the Platinum which is a 78K with the 80K tongue (black steel too but that isn’t worth mentioning as an upgrade). My foot is regular to a bit narrow but kind of tall in the midfoot. So I don’t wear high volume skates but my foot sticks out through most of the eyelets. i loved the comfort of the Ribcores I think because they were padded and didn’t feel as stiff. I was coming from 7000s that I had worn forever and was worried about the new stiff skates. After about a year in them I am not as in love with them. Because of the padding they do feel a bit disconnected from my foot. Combine that with not having as much wrap and my foot doesn’t feel “in” the skate if that makes sense. I actually feel fine skating in them as far as performance maybe because I don’t lace high or tight anyway, but that’s just my impression from a feel perspective. As far as flex, they are still stiffer than my old ones but I lace down one or sometimes two so it doesn't matter much to me.

Just summarizing: -your son is a pretty good player and is happy with the skates he is in -his skating coach previously recommended new skates because he were getting soft but nothing about the fact that it was impacting his skating -his game seemed to improve after that but there was no way to attribute that to new skates -you notice that the top of his skates are getting soft when you squeeze them (which honestly may have little correlation to how they are affecting his skating once on his foot and laced, even down an eyelet) but are simply worried it will affect his performance Seems like there is nothing to see here, performance should be the indicator as well as player preference.

I went back then the family morning schedule changed and I had to stop. So now I get to get out again after another layoff. Not a bad situation though: -Shanked pass "Sorry, I've haven't been on the ice in months..." -Get burnt on D "Sorry, I've haven't been on the ice in months..." -Catch an edge and look like a newb "Sorry, I've haven't been on the ice in months..." -Sail a shot 15 feet wide "Sorry, I've haven't been on the ice in months..." Eventually that well will run dry and I won't have any excuses, but while it lasts....

It’s not just a simple pricing calculation for one product. They have to have a model where they can offer a product at a price people will pay, have enough volume for it even to make sense, and look at profitability over an entire product line.

Arguing is simply debating, not a negative connotation. This board is populated by a bunch of hockey and hockey gear geeks, creating threads and debating minutiae is what makes this world go round, it's what we like to do here. Participation in any thread is 100% voluntary.

@Miller55 thats is awesome, I had no idea that’s how they used those model numbers.

The "implication" is (you should argue what is explicitly stated vs. what you deem is implied but I digress) is that dropping an eyelet provides forward flexion which is impeded by todays very stiff skate and forward ankle flexion is beneficial to good skating. Period. Other discussions are tangential to that point.

Just because Ribcore is the most flexible of the CCMs doesnt mean they are that flexible, I have them and they are still the stiffest skate I have ever had. Regarding True and fastest skaters, not sure the disconnect. They dont have a large market share so the chance of anyone wearing them is low. And nobodyhas empirically shown they are better/faster that I am aware of.

Sure, but all of these aren’t zero sum. First, even low end skates are extremely stiff. I keep my son in middle tier price point and he still skips the top eyelet. Ditch the waxed laces if waxed laces are causing an issue. All the rest of the things you mentioned are valid but not lacing so tight or skipping is something that can be experimented with at zero cost. Even in big cities, trying to find someone who knows about shimming is a needle in a haystack search.

1- it would be nice if people would add to the dialogue instead of just the lazy use of emojis 2- I find it interesting since you brought her up that Laura Stamm has been warning of overly stiff skates and their impediment to ankle mobility for at minimum 20 years, regardless of how the approach to mechanics has changed

Hmm, not too bad of a drive and I've never been to one of these... Will have to see if I can make it happen.

I don’t see anyone claiming it is a new paradigm, I think you are tilting at windmills. As long as I can remember people have viewed one of the purposes of skates to do the work of supporting the ankle. Tendon guards used to have eyelets, guys used to tape tendon guards to their shinguards, lace tighteners, etc. The stance of the desireability of greater degrees of ankle mobility is not a widely held view for the general population. Stiffer skates do make the problem worse. How messaging around lacing solutions is doing a disservice is a mystery. You going to convince them to make softer skates?

But he skips the second eyelet and wears a flexible skate. It is data, a study which references other studies and adds to the body of knowledge.

Good article, although the paragraph about motivation to leave the eyelet undone seems out of place in an academic paper. The rationale behind it has zero impact on the data and all of those guys tuck their tongues now anyway. Using vertical displacement as a positive data point at first seemed odd but it makes sense as you can’t push horizontal and there will be a vertical element to the vector which should correlate to acceleration and speed.

In game I can't say one way or another but certainly not as a training exercise.

I used a ref bag for years and hated it. I got the pacific rink backpack a few years ago and love it. Skates go in the side pockets and helmet and gloves inside (you can also clip the helmet to the outside). It has an inner sleeve I put a clipboard/whiteboard in, two externals that i usually have pucks in for stick time, and a small pocket on the flap I keep pens/markers in as well as some extra helmet parts and small screwdrivers. Might be worth a look

*Double post*

Any improvement in Bauer steel for me would be great. Sick of getting my son’s skates sharpened and then after one or two skates there are little burrs and nicks. Shouldn’t be that fragile.

Me three...

Lace free has been around for a long time. Basically training your foot to control the blade vs. letting the “clamping power” of the skate do the work.

Same as @Miller55, I like the comfort and flex of the Ribcore, but the heel and shallow boot are drawbacks for me. A 100K in the mid-fit sounds like something I would try.

Love Sturgill and Tyler Childress, nice call.

Wow, is this really our only music thread? Anyway, resurrecting. The new Smith/Kotzen album is amazing. Ritchie Kotzen (Winery Dogs, solo, others) and Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden). Blues-based rock, definitely song-oriented, not a shred album although there is plenty of guitar stuff to chew on. They share vocals, Kotzen has a crazy voice, almost Chris Cornell at times.

Yep, the naming sucks, but maybe they should first figure out how to match a profile with a skater so people have a clue instead of creating all these profiles that make peoples eyes glaze over when they look at them. My gut (albeit with no data) says there are only a few profiles that matter.