Leif

Thanks all. Yes, obviously I’m not going to learn to do a triple Salchow etc, but learn better edge control, better mechanics of skating. Regarding hockey skating coaches, here in England hockey is a minority sport, and we don’t really have hockey skating coaches. And yes there is some stigma to taking lessons, one friend said “man up”. 🙂 But I’ve seen how quickly some figure skaters learn when they take lessons.

I’ve been learning to play for 18 months, and regularly learning to skate for two years, though I had very basic skating skills before. I skate at least six hours a week. I can do forwards cross rolls, hockey stops, left and right, forwards and backwards, one foot outside edge hockey stops, left and right, crossovers, left and right, forwards and backwards, backwards one foot stops, left and right, and tight turns, left and right. I’m currently learning a forwards one foot slalom. Someone suggested I take lessons from a figure skating coach to improve my edge control. We don’t have any hockey skating coaches here. Would this be a good idea, or not? I’m 55 and very fit if that makes any difference.

It’s also essential for anyone having skates sharpened, a lot of sharpeners are unable to get level edges, and you want to know who can be trusted.

I must admit I don’t understand your required improvements, then again I’m no skate fitter/maker. Why don’t you like the injected lacing system and bulky tongue on the 2s Pro? Not a criticism, just curious as we all have personal preferences. I was dubious about both, having never used them, and wondered if they were marketing BS.

I originally rejected 7EE Vapors as I failed the pencil test, so two years ago I went for 7EE Supremes, and got lace bite a few times, but overall they were good. Recently I had the Bauer 3D scan and it said I fit 7EE Vapors best but Supremes are just okay. I now have Supreme customs, 6.5 EE and 6.75 EE. I was best suited to Vapors, but went for Supremes, There is a massive difference between the 2s and a mid range skate such as my s160. The 2s tongue is incredibly protective, and wraps the foot with an even pressure and I suspect the likelihood of lace bite is greatly reduced. Have you had the 3D scan?

Exactly, they can do 1/4 size increments, with different sizes and widths for each foot. Most people do have slightly different feet, I have 6.5D and 6.75EE feet. Fortunately my legs are the same length.

MyBauer customs come with speed plates and traditional style foot beds. The latter are too thin to protect you from the rivet heads. I tried them in a two hour session and had discomfort in the soles of my feet. However, it looks like the moulding process shapes the base of the skate to your arches, so speed plates are not really needed, just a decent foam foot bed would do. I can’t comment on what Bauer do with respect to the scans. These custom skates are awesome value, given that you pay a small amount above the cost of stock skates. I believe that at my LHS most people who go for top end Bauer opt for the custom option. They did not and don’t do the full custom, I don’t think that was ever available outside of North America.

The custom program gives you the ability to customise the 2s, such as having traditional lacing or injected lacing, but it also means a better and closer fit. I assume this is for a youth, in which case custom would be a bad idea due to growth.

Obviously MyBauer aren’t stock boots, but I’m interested to know how the default boot differs from stock, beyond the customisation listed byJDub. I don’t think you can ask for specific changes to the boot behind those listed by JDub, for example he states that the scan takes care of the width. I was asked if i wanted to add any notes, which I think is designed to help Bauer avoid problem areas such as a bulbous ankle. I did see some skates for someone with bulbous ankles, and the skates matched the scan. I can see that stock skates would have been a poor fit for that person. One question I have is whether or not the Bauer scan allows for the footbed, and if so whether it also allows for the Speedplates which are a little thicker than the standard footbeds. I would expect they do, and I wonder if it is added in when they make the last.

FWIW I have Bauer 1s pads and to be honest the elbows could be better. I don’t like the 37.5 liner, it makes them harder to get on and I don’t believe the sweat wicking claims, as they are covered by the jersey. I find the liner slows down the drying out process afterwards. Also even though mine are small, they are a bit wide for my thin arms. I wear medium in shoulders and shorts, but my legs and arms are youth width, adult length. The protection and general quality are good. The elbows don’t get smelly, so the antibacterial claims seem true. I also have 1s shoulder pads, I can’t fault them, took a slap shot to the shoulder, didn’t feel a thing.

The skates I had that were too big literally had room for a 16340 battery in the toe cap with room to spare while I was wearing them. That means they were at least 16mm too long. That LHS owner was as thick as pig poop.

I don’t know if Bauer do a full custom in the sense of a tailor made suit, but they do fit the length and width of each foot independently with length adjusted in 1/4 size steps, and then use heat and pressure to mould each skate to a custom machined last. My Bauer customs fit like gloves, and a friend’s Bauer custom goalie skates also fit perfectly. I know another person who will pick up his Bauer customs when he returns from working in Russia, and I’ll ask him what he thinks. The only issue I had was that they are better with the standard insoles rather than the Speedplates, possibly because the latter are a bit thicker. I suspect I would be happy with CCM or True, but Bauer custom was realistically my only option, the True dealer being a five hour drive away compared to 35 minutes for the Bauer LHS. As far as I know CCM custom are not available in the U.K.

Yes, my stock Bauer skates were size 7. I was thinking more along the lines of CCM versus Bauer sizing. Incidentally they are very good (freestyle) skaters.

Funny you should say that. On Tuesday evening some friends saw my new skates, and asked about them. They were amazed I had size 6.5 skates. Theirs were sizes 10 and 11. We were all a similar height and build, and my shoe size is UK 9. They had CCM skates and mine are Bauer customs so maybe that explains some of the size difference. To be honest I don't really care about most of my kit, I buy high end pads as they provide good protection, but I do not care about the details as long as they fit okay. I do care about skates and Sam at the LHS says I am 'fussy' about my feet and skates. When I started learning to skate, I had so much trouble with badly sharpened skates, and a pair of skates 'fitted' by a hockey coach that did not fit and which caused several injuries including a head impact on the ice, that I now take great care with my skates and runners.

I found the same image, albeit linked from a different forum. As you say, ~5/8" is the commonest, but there's a fair bit of variation. There is a 5/16" but no 'death grind' (1/4"). Mind you some do have different profiles which will alter the ice feel for a given hollow. There's a survey of amateurs here: Lots of ~5/8" but I'm amazed at some of the really shallow grinds. A friend used to play UK semi-pro 30 years ago and he does not even know his hollow. He's a brilliant skater too. A good figure skater I asked had no idea. How can you skate and not know your preferred hollow?

Thanks, yes you’re not heavy, probably fairly lean given your height, you should perhaps have a slightly shallower hollow than me based on weight alone. I’m fairly lean too. 1/2” seems to be the standard hollow in the U.K. that you get given by default.

Thanks. Out of interest how much do you weigh? I weigh 11 stone or 70 kg in new money, which is fairly light by ice hockey standards. Apparently the most popular hollows in the NHL (and I in no way compare my skating and hockey with that of NHL players) are 1/2" and 5/8", but NHL players will be quite a bit heavier than me on average.

Had them sharpened to 7/16” yesterday, did two hours general skating yesterday and one hour today, and wow, I can’t believe the grip I’m getting, my outside edges are back, my crossovers are not slipping, my tight turns are not slipping. Stopping was a bit tricky at first, but I learnt to reduce the blade angle to avoid digging in too much. I think I’ll stick to this DoH till the softer ice returns at the end of the hockey season, and then maybe go back to 1/2” depending on how it feels.

It’ll have cost him far more than the sticks are worth to have created the video. Sometimes he is paid by the maker to do the review, he claims it covers the production costs, but obviously that raises questions. To be fair on him, this seems to be a common practice. I suspect coach Jeremy does the same. It seemed like a good review to me, the lad who tested them will be a decent player, his views sounded honest, a mix of plus and minus points. Personally I prefer to buy a last season stick at half price.

JC225: Thanks. I used to be among the best in our team at forwards cross rolls (outside edges drill) with a good lean. The ice is currently hard, so I get less grip, and the boots give me more ankle flexibility, so I have to concentrate more on the outside edge placement as the boots don't do the work for me. Also my old blades were flat due to sharpens removing the profile. 🙁 So yes I'm doing outside edge drills, to get used to the new skates, and learn (again) to ride the edges correctly. I think I will try 7/16" tomorrow, I can always switch back.

Keeping the profile is one reason I want a Sparx. When I bought new skates, I checked the profile of my old blades, Step steel, and they were flat except at the ends. No wonder I had trouble with some edge drills. It’s hard enough to find a sharpener who can get even edges, never mind one wo keeps the profile. I think the fact that Step is deeper does not help.

I agree, a mid range skate is ideal for a beginner. You can learn your edges, crossovers, stops, and so on perfectly well in a mid range boot. It is more important to learn good technique, and make sure your blades are ground correctly and to a hollow that suits your weight and build. You might want to wait a couple of years before going to a stiffer skate. As said above, skating lessons will provide more benefit. I know for a fact that some pro/semi-pro players in the UK wear mid range boots, and if they are good enough for them ...

Thanks. I've not seen a hand done rivet before. Out of interest, have you any idea where the non custom high end Bauer skates (2s Pro, 1x, 1n) are made?

Hopefully this will work:

I noticed that from outside each rear copper rivet at the back of the skate looks like a copper washer place over a piece of straight copper bar that protrudes 4 mm or so. Am I right to think that the ends should have been squashed against the copper washer, and hence this is a manufacturing flaw? That is what I see online, and on my old skates. I'm sure I can get the LHS to sort this out as they re-rivet and replace holders, it is a bit odd though. And should this be rectified ASAP given that if I am right, the rivets have little strength/grip? Added: I sent an email to the LHS and Mark emailed back a picture of a good copper rivet on a custom skate that looks like mine. Apparently in the Far East they tend to really flatten copper rivets, but not in Europe and North America.