Leif

Not necessarily. I have some padded shorts that I use for public skating and they have a D30 insert. It's thinner than the foams typically used in impact shorts, presumably because it is more effective at absorbing shock. The foam in my Bauer helmet - the old 4500 that scores poorly - is quite thick, and much thicker than the D30 pad in my shorts. D30 is quite expensive, so that would add significantly to the cost of the helmet. What strikes me (no pun intended) is that although the padding would spread the shock, it surely would have an insignificant impact (no pun intended) on the deceleration forces experienced by the brain. In other words, an unprotected head would on hitting ice suffer a shock wave and a deceleration. A good helmet would reduce the shock wave, but have little effect on the deceleration. I'd like to be proven wrong. I must admit I do wonder about helmets. I play non contact hockey, but a week back when going slowly I had someone skate into me at full pelt, and I recall the sound of my helmet hitting his, followed by me falling backwards. I had a headache the following day. These bangs do concern me, and I'd happily pay more if I knew the helmet provided more protection from head injury.

I bought some inserts and I used them for a few months. They did improve the psychological feel of the skates. But I stopped using them and I don't miss them. Maybe my balance has improved, maybe I'm used to the void above my toes, who knows. I know others who have them, so they are not uncommon in the UK among rec players.

I considered a manual sharpener. But it needs its own heated room, it's messy, it's very heavy so cannot easily be moved about, and it takes time to learn. I have one pair of skates to sharpen, and no-one to teach me, or spot the mistakes I make and reinforce. So a machine makes sense. As to them being made of lots of plastic, there is a rec team in the UK who own both Sparx and Prosharp machines, and they take them all over the UK and even overseas, and they say they are both robust.

Any update on when the Sparx will go on sale in Europe? I'm assuming no sooner than mid 2018, maybe even 2019.

Thank you.

Thanks Steve I realise these things are dependent on people outside of your control, but do you have a handle of whether or not you expect to start supplying UK/European customers this year, or next year, or the year after?

Hello Steve Do you have any idea when the Sparx will be available in the UK, and at what sort of price point? As I understand it you do not ship direct from the States, but you will have a UK distributer.

My skates get very wet inside, irrespective of the insoles used. All I do is pull out the speed plates when I get home, and they dry out just fine. As someone else said, just push on the opposite side to the arch support, and then slip a finger under the arch suport, and pull the insole out, easy peasy. I have not noticed sweat unduly collecting beneath the speed plate. I skate for an hour or two in public skating sessions, and I am learning to play hockey, so moisture build up might be more of an issue to more serious players. The problem I have is that I use the PowerFoot inserts. They are great, but they soak up sweat and get very very wet. They take ages to dry out. This is a serious flaw IMO.

A bit of an old thread but I'd never skate without these insoles. I bought mine a month ago. I have dodgy knees, and bought them to support my arches. I'd tried Yellow Superfeet but they gave me lace bite as they lift the foot up and pull the toes back. Last week I forgot to put the Speed Plates in my skates before leaving home for the rink and the difference was dramatic, I had far less control on the ice, and felt decidedly less at ease. I can imagine some people would prefer Superfeet, presumably they have deeper skates (or shallower feet) so the extra depth of the Superfeet would not be an issue. Similarly some people will prefer Speed Plates. I'm not sure it has been mentioned here, but Superfeet will refund your money if you do not get on with them. I took mine back to the local sports shop (UK based) and they refunded me, no questions asked, all I needed was proof of purchase.