Leif

I wear a Bauer 1s short but even that is not padded enough to protect my delicate (old) backside. So I also wear a Xion d3o boxer short underneath. I can now take a tumble with no long lasting damage. There are cheaper alternatives such as the Demon d3o shorts, not as good as they get sweatier, but just as protective as they use the exact same d3o pad.

Presumably because a metal dust tray is more durable. Mine came with one too. The plastic one did look a bit flimsy. The locking screw is in addition to the locking guard. Nice to see improvements after launch.

I tried Bauer hockey socks, horrible, designed for people with very narrow toes and they developed holes after a couple of skates. I now buy packs of thin cheap socks from the local sports shop such as these: https://www.sportsdirect.com/kangol-formal-socks-3-pack-mens-416507?colcode=41650793 https://www.sportsdirect.com/giorgio-4-pack-high-socks-mens-416512?colcode=41651290 When the ice is very cold Merino wool socks keep me toes warm.

It doesn’t have to be a black and white discussion you know? I’m convinced the VT results have value, but as pointed out earlier, they also have serious failings. Once you recognise the limitations, you can then take them for what they are. One valid criticism IMO is that VT over egg their conclusions. In practice hockey is potentially dangerous, as are skiing and parachuting. You either mitigate those risks, or do something else.

Of course it is completely down to personal taste. Many reckon ~15 hours between sharpens: https://medium.com/@number9hockey/when-to-sharpen-skates-fc95f12de7f6 Our ice is quite hard, and after ~8 hours I do feel my edges sliding during crossovers. This might be poor technique of course. I happen to like the feel of fresh edges, a luxury that costs very little (~25 cents per pass) once a Sparx is available. I don’t sharpen my car tyres, but then again us Brits are often behind the times. 🙂

I skate at least six hours a week, lots of sideways slides, lots of sprints with deep cuts, generally before the Sparx I liked to get them sharpened every two weeks to maintain the edges. I'd have done more but it meant a morning driving. I have a 7/16" hollow. With the Sparx I can do one pass before every session, as I really like the feel of fresh edges.

Does anyone know how much steel one pass removes? I’m curious to know the lifetime of my runners compared to hand sharpens. Previously they (Step steel) lasted about 6 months. I currently have Bauer LS5 runners. I have been doing one pass before each session, and noticed a slight tilt to the edges at the rear which was cured by an extra pass, so an occasional two passes may be needed. I still think this device is phenomenal.

This is an interesting discussion. What I am taking away from it is that the VT tests will tell you which helmets provide more protection from certain kinds of impact, such as a puck to the forehead, but there are other significant kinds of injury that are not accounted for. Specifically they do not account for rotational forces which are a major cause of concussion. The danger of the VT tests (as stated by stick9) is that they could give someone a false sense of security, whereas in reality even with the ‘best’ helmet, you really do need to avoid certain situations. I’m also quite shocked at the levels of brain injury in hockey, something I had previously only associated with boxing, a sport that I abhore for its brutality. Is it right to subject athletes to life changing injuries in the name of entertainment?

I’m not sure what you mean by football headform. A quick search found this: https://nocsae.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/NOCSAE_Football-Helmet-Standards-Overview-_May-2018.pdf However, if I understand correctly, the above is saying that rotational forces are the ones that cause the most damage, and a helmet does nothing to reduce those. Was it an earlier link that said that ~124 out of 125 NHL brains studied had significant damage (CTE) from repeated traumas?

oldtrainerguy28: Thank you for the response, you clearly have an informd viewpoint. Are the CSA test methodologies for hockey helmets online?

A helmet will protect you from concussion due to a puck, or even a stick, hitting your helmet. I’ve had a slap shot bounce off my helmet, and barely noticed it. Without the helmet I would have sustained a nasty head wound and possibly brain damage. I’ve also gone into the boards, and my helmet has protected my head from concussion. What you perhaps mean is that a major cause of concussion is due to the deceleration associated with the head coming to a sudden stop, as seen often in contact hockey, but rarely in the hockey I participate in. I am sure we can agree that a helmet will not prevent concussion in such circumstances, but I don’t think you have scientific data to prove that a helmet cannot mitigate concussion ie reduce the severity. And neither do I, but I suspect it can reduce the deceleration, and absorb some of the shock waves from the impact. I suspect brain damage can result from shock waves moving through the brain. For my part I know from experience that the Reakt 200 is more protective than the 4500. Maybe not always, but enough to know that I won’t wear a 4500 again. Don’t Bauer argue with the VT results, and say that they perform their own rigorous testing? Sadly, a lot of this thread is “I think that” rather than “Studies show that ... “. You’d think governments would sponsor such testing on public health grounds.

Sounds reasonable, a satisfaction guaranteed promise is a marketing tool, so you should take advantage of it. I returned Superfeet for a refund as I hated them. My Bauer 2s Pros are wearing well, but my friends Trues are built like tanks.

I had the basic Bauer bag with two handles, lasted two years. Corners split, fabric split. I have a higher end Bauer bag with wheels, after six months the corners show noticeable wear. Not a fan.

I certainly would not transport mine on a regular basis without a solid case and the Pelican with foam is ideal. The original box is okay for rare use such as moving home. However the Sparx is heavy, easy to drop, so the ProSharp Home might be a better choice as a mobile machine. But the made in Sweden aspect makes it very expensive, and it lacks automation.

The UK and European price is unreasonable IMO. The Sparx is also much more expensive here, but still worth it.

The EU price is about £600 whereas a new or nearly new 1650 (no foam) can be had for ~£200. I could take mine to training sessions and charge for sharpens, but it’s a heavy machine, and all too easy to drop and/or bang against something.

Is there any advantage to black steels if you do a one pass sharpen before every session? From what I have read, the key advantage is keeping an edge longer. Also does anyone know if any particular blades are more or less prone to being tapered? My previous Step Steel blades were tapered so usng a BAT gauge was a bit tough. My Bauer LS5 blades are not tapered. However a sample of one set of each does not tell me much.

6 clicks is quite a bit, I found the optical alignment tool got close (good enough to be honest) and 2 more clicks got it perfect according to my gauge. One pass is perhaps not enough as suggested.

I find the responses to smu odd. Self inflicted wounds? How so? Yes his posts could be very repetitive and they became boring, and uninformative, but he seems to have had an appalling time.

I tried SF, hated them. They raised my feet up, reducing skate volume leading to lace bite. And they have a fixed curve, which was not a good fit for my arches. I then tried Speed Plates which I love. I went through two pairs of the originals, which crack after six months or so. The current ones seem much more durable, and they have slight padding too so they don’t feel so hard. Oh, and I have fairly high arches.

Last year I went from a Bauer 4500 to a Bauer Reakt 200. Whilst my views are subjective, and unscientific, I’m pretty damned sure that the 200 is far more protective. As an example I took a slap shot to the head, above the cage, and felt nothing. The helmet was able to absorb the impact and dissipate the force. I’ve hit the boards a couple weeks of times, and felt little. I’m sure the 4500 would not have absorbed the shock based on knocks I experienced when wearing it as the foam is pretty hard and dense. I don’t know if the 200 offers more protection from rapid deceleration were I to slam my head at high speed into the boards for example, but my experience is that it does offer significantly more protection against impacts. However, I suspect it does offer protection against deceleration, but only partially for obvious reasons. As for the suggestion that a poor helmet is best as it makes you more alert, I had a headache for several days when a big player going at high speed skated directly into me head on whilst I was nowhere near the puck, and not expecting to be floored. I recently went over when chasing someone with the puck, and he deliberately stopped in a brace for impact stance, not a lot I could do about that.

People here are reasonable, and it looks like a useful tool. I can imagine someone being away from home, and preferring to use this gadget rather than risk entrusting their edges to an untried sharpener who could screw them up. I suspect it is much better than competing products such as the Sweet Stick (which once ruined my edges).

I used to sharpen one pair of skates every two weeks with a 50 mile round trip. It will pay back in 3-4 years. Throw in that I get sharp blades EVERY session, with perfect edges EVERY time, and no wasted mornings, and IMO it’s good value even at the sky high European price that we pay.

He certainly does sound like a good candidate. The issue of longevity is an interesting question. The Wissota and other manual sharpeners have AFAIK only one component that can go wrong in normal use namely the motor. The Sparx has I assume two motors (one to rotate the cutting wheel, one to drive the wheel horizontally) and an electronic module. I have electronic goods that have lasted decades without issue, and electric motors can last yonks, so in principle a unit that is not abused could last decades. It also has some electronic switches to detect when the door and latches are closed, and some lights which I assume are LEDs. An LED should out last the owner and switches should be durable. That said, my well cared for Nikon D200 failed after 8 years due to an electronic module blowing.

I don't see how you can ensure level edges without using a BAT gauge.