Leif

Why do you say Bauer will discontinue SP2? They are amazing IMO.

I am UK size 9 shoe size, and my custom Bauer 2s Pro skates are 6.5 and 6.75. I've never had lace bite in them, beautiful skates. I was in a size 7 Supreme 160 skate and did get lace bite from time to time, it wasn't nice. I think the really thick tongue in the 2S Pro allows me to wear a smaller size skate without lace bite. Maybe you could find something to go under the tongue (or even over the tongue) that helps spread the pressure?

I am told that CCM black steel is painted and comes off easily. Surely if a steel is harder, it is more liable to break?

I’ve worked for more than a few small(ish) companies whose owners were fattening the company up so it could be bought out. Maybe it would be to our advantage as Sparx would then benefit from CCM marketing and distribution channels.

Has anyone created a real ice pad in their garage/basement? And if so what are the running costs?

Curious, I've taken slap shots to my 1S shin pads and felt nothing. They have expanded polystyrene and Curv composite so they should absorb shock. Which part took the hit? Maybe there is a weaker area.

Yup, Sparx here too. Next best purchase is top end skates. However, my best money spent award goes to skating lessons which are massively improving my skating.

My 2s Pro came with a card stating that they can be baked up to three times. I think the temp and time were 80 Celcius and 4 minutes. I know someone who baked his skates in a gas oven and the flame melted the rear! Why not email Bauer?

I have Bauer 2S Pro skates which have a carbon fibre shell. Baking speeds up the shaping to your feet although they will gradually mould to fit with use. Some of these carbon fibre boots, especially Trues, are very heat mouldable and my guess is that they might never achieve as good a fit without heat forming. (It isn’t really baking since the temperature is so low, more a case of thermoforming. But the term baking is in common use by the manufacturers.) Of course it depends on how good a fit you get out of the box. AFAIK there are no downsides to baking as long as you don’t exceed the recommended temperature and maximum number of bakes.

I wear Merino wool ski socks. Very comfy. But I wear through socks very quickly.

I bought some Bauer ones and they are awful, totally the wrong shape for my feet. They assume pointy toes, not flipper shaped feet! I like woollen ski socks when the rink is cold, they keep my toes warm.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that except that the wheel won’t last as long. Whether or not that matters is for the owner to decide. Certainly if I was playing a game, I’d do a pass, but I just do scrimmages and training so I don’t.

I'm gradually weening myself off of the 1 sharpen per session crack. I'm down to on one pass every 3-4 hours and thus far I've not gone cold turkey. As for haircuts, if only I had my own Sparx hair trimmer life would be so much easier. Mmmm, now there's a new product idea for them ...

The cost analysis obviously depends strongly on many factors. In my case the LHS I trust is 25 miles away, so to get a sharpen requires two 25 miles drives, and a wait while they sharpen them. There was usually a queue. So it would wipe out a morning, and cost £10 or more in fuel and car overheads. The sharpen is now £8, so the total cost is at least £18, let’s say £20 in round numbers. One sharpen every two weeks works out at £500 a year. The machine will easily pay for itself in three years, and that’s ignoring the benefit of getting my Saturday mornings back, and always having perfect edges. Even the LHS I trust had destroyed the profile on my last set of blades by the time they were replaced.

This has already been explained to you by a Sparx representative. Please learn to read. The rings are IDENTICAL apart from the packaging. The only difference is the ESTIMATED number of sharpenings. When I questioned this, I got an email from Sparx and a post here too: I saw no need to make ridiculous remarks about Sparx or to falsely question their integrity.

HockeyTutorial on YouTube have a review of each machine, and a head to head review. They like both. Ring costs work out similar (ProSharp claims make it sound like they last much longer than Sparx rings). The only advantage I could see is that the ProSharp is half the weight, and much slimmer, so if you want to carry it around, it would be the better choice. The Sparx is mostly made in China (maybe partly assembled in America), the ProSharp is made in Sweden, Chinese production costs are much lower.

There is one small bit of truth in your rantings, namely that changing the estimated number of sharpenings on the box from 40 to 60 is potentially confusing. However, the rest of your ranting is just nonsense, you seem incapable or reading the other posts that correct your misunderstandings. You’ve made your point, so why not move on? Oh and I do agree that Europeans pay a lot for the machine compared to North Americans, and yet at about £1200 it is much cheaper than the ProSharp. Why is it so expensive here? I assume that is because Americans buy direct, whereas we buy from an intermediary who has to take a cut on each machine sold. It is also possible that Russ at Sparx had a bad experience with a European and is taking revenge. Probably not. It’s still worth the money IMO.

I do one pass after ~4-5 hours skating and that keeps the edges nice. So I think Sparx are in my case underselling the machine. However, I can see that each use case is different, so their figures are quite reasonable.

When I noticed this I simply sent an email to Sparx and they explained the reasoning. They were helpful and I don't have any issue with this, it all makes perfect sense. I think you need to do your research first, rather than always assuming the worst and then throwing your toys out of your pram. And at risk of being confrontational, your outbursts are getting tiresome. By the way, ProSharp claim 500 pairs of skates sharpened per ring. They assume one pass equates to one sharpen. So, who is being more realistic, Sparx or ProSharp?

I try standard hollows at my LHS to see if I like them before buying a ring.Sadly I can’t do that with Fire rings, so I suspect I will never buy one. I believe that in North America you can send blades to Sparx to be sharpened.

I could sharpen less often, and I am slowly increasing the time between sharpens. But it’s so easy to shove a skate in and do one pass. 🙂 I have a 1/2” hollow.

That’s a bit strong. There are families who happily use these machines. It sounds like your users really mess up their blades to an unusual degree. I play maybe three hours a week, low level rec, and it is rare that I get nicks that require loads of passes. In fact I’m down to one pass every 3-4 hours skating, or four passes per fortnight which is how often I’d visit the LHS for a sharpen. Uneven edges might require four passes. If you need more, then the skater should avoid their LHS like the plague. It sounds like the issue you have is that you sharpen skates previously sharpened in shops staffed by unskilled workers who don’t have a clue what they are doing.

Presumably a heated garage? Mine is cold and damp, unsuitable for a Sparx but that’s sunny England for you.

Good information, but I’ll add a few minor points. 1) Russ from Sparx explained earlier in this thread that ProSharp and Sparx have different ways to describe usage. A ProSharp sharpening is one pass, and a Sparx sharpening is multiple passes (they used to assume four, they now assume fewer). And the Sparx removes more metal per pass. Hence the Sparx is cheaper, according to the CEO. I recommend you read post 32 from Zamboni Fever. ProSharp have not posted a rebuttal, make of that what you will. 3) The Sparx is more user friendly in that you can you can program in four passes and it will do four passes. The ProSharp needs the button pressing for each pass. But the ProSharp is more portable as it is much lighter. IMO the Sparx is not portable unless there are two people, or one strong person. The Sparx is VERY strong. I know someone who dropped his down a flight of stairs. It survived. And it has taken wrist shots to the glass without issue. The ProSharp is said to be strong too. 6) My Sparx is in the spare bedroom, but it could sit on a kitchen worktop quite happily. It really creates almost no mess, a few metal shavings. If used regularly, then I agree best not in the kitchen. As far as I can see the Sparx is a copy of the ProSharp with more up to date electronics, and it is made in China rather than Europe which reduces manufacturing costs. The huge cost difference decided it for me, but if I regularly travelled with it, I’d buy the ProSharp. Some people happily travel with the Sparx, so decide for yourself.

For 1/2” to 5/8” (and the reverse) the edges feel as expected. But it’s a valid point and it would be nice to have some proper validation e.g. measurements from a depth gauge to check the hollow is correct relative to the edges. However, those gauges cost a fortune and a BAT gauge is all I have. Oh I do have a ProSharp depth of hollow gauge, but it’s a useless POS made from stamped steel. If you are concerned, throw in an extra pass.