BlueNux

It’ll probably take some time. This all just launched yesterday so I imagine they’re working overtime to fix any issues. I agree though, these prices are nuts. I wish I needed gear just to support them because I would love for this to be the future of hockey. These are the prices that consumers have always expected - not $300 on a new stick.

Yeah there's no way anyone should really pick No Name at this point. STX bringing all of their research and technology for this price point is a way better value. Plus, free shipping and no risk 14 day trial. I'm most excited about the new Surgeon protectives though. Can't wait for reviews. How do they actually compare to what's offered by Bauer/CCM/Warrior?

Wow, these are some of the best looking gear I've laid my eyes on. STX is really on point with their design. Good thing they moved to a black base material - white gear stains so quickly and feels dirtier. IMO I think the Surgeon line is superior to the Stallion line. In addition, does their online store have a massive error right now? Everything looks incredibly underpriced. For example, the new RX3 is showing up as $175. Shoulders are $110, etc. These are enormous price decreases from their previous top-of-the-line items.

Not sure if this is feasible or not, but it would be really great if there's something in the pro shop where we can pay to rent a set of popular pre-profiled runners to try out. Not sure how the payment would work to ensure people return the set, but maybe some sum of deposit would be required. For most people like me, profiling is something you go into blind and hope for the best. I would love to try out a few runners to see how they feel in person prior to mailing my runners to get them profiled.

Hmm I don't see profiling being available on the MSH Pro Shop, just sharpening. Is there somewhere else on the website I'm missing and do you know how much it would they be if it's an unlisted service?

When profiling, is it only about the radius and the length of contact points with the ice? I ask because the LS3 is 10' just like the LS4, but bulky toe and heels are visibly different. Is it possible to get a 10' profile and just have a different shape toe/heel? I ask because I don't want something too fancy and become too reliant on that profile in the future. I'm currently thinking a 9'/10' combo and somehow ask the shop to make the toe and heel look like a LS2 or CCM runner shape. I went to public skate just now, and was surprised that a hour and half of pure skating got me surprisingly adjusted to this weird runner. I still don't like it, but I'm starting to understand what the runner wants me to do to get those deeper, "crunchy" edges.

They have both blademaster and prosharp profiling options. Prosharp is $10 more expensive (and more expensive for each sharpening thereafter as well). I’m not sure why. I think that’s the main culprit. I read somewhere that the LS3 has the most bulbous toe and heel and it shows during skates. I’m confident I can get used to the 10’ but the huge toe and heel makes edging really weird - I have to be more deliberate. I compared my old blade to the new ones and they are visibly really different. I think my old crappy skates started on a 9’ and is now 8’ or less now (they were several years old model vapors and were $115 since I was poor right out of college). I never profiled them. The runners weren’t even replaceable from the holder so the steel is probably really bad. I used to sharpen them every 2 weeks when I was on the ice like 4-5 times a week every the winter.

So my new skates have LS3 runners. Compared to my old skates, which went through countless sharpening, the new skates feel more different due to the runners than anything else. If I can explain it, they're closer in feel to inline/figure skates. I can still skate and do everything I used to, but it's noticeably more annoying to be agile and it takes more effort to get on my edges. I was wondering if others have experienced this before with LS3 and if I should either profile it or just stick with it. I do believe a few focused public sessions or stick and puck would help me adjust, but I'd like to just start taking advantage of the new skates as quickly as possible. If profiling is your suggestion, what should I profile to? I'd like for something not too drastically different. The main issues is with the heel - doing warmup slaloms, I feed the need to keep my feet even tighter together than usual since there's so much blade contacting the ice. It forces good form during drills, but that's not always possible in a game of actual hockey!

Sort of related, but with the release of the QR Edge, does anyone know when the previous top of the line QRL is going on sale below US$220? I've been itching to get my hands on one since I'll barely be able to tell the difference from the QRE.

I don't think winners are from all of North America. It's Canada only. If you win anything, they require a form to be signed and returned back to them before delivering the prize. The form states explicitly that you reside in Canada with a Canadian address.

Just spend a ton of time on the ice, even at a crowded public skate, and take slow, deliberate backward strides to build good habits. My entire skating was learned back when I didn't know anything about fancy hockey equipment and very low-end Vapors (they were like a 2009 model I think that couldn't even swap out runners lol). Most kids growing up did this and it was never an issue. I still could play hockey fine and learned every backward skating maneuver with those old skates (backward crossovers, backward hockey stops, single leg figure 8s, etc.). Just practice and spend time on the ice. Expensive skates and profiling will fine tune a good skater, but will make negligible difference for someone learning the very basics.

My major concern as well. The less room for human error in deciding the quality/fit of the custom skate the better. For something like this, I'll research the crap out of every detail and option possible before showing up at the shop.

So it seems a lot of authority and professional advise is reliant on the fitter and the specific LHS you go to. That would not only mean that you get a fitter in the store that has a talent for this sort of work, but also the experience and repetition required to become and expert in custom skates. I understand the appeal of asking customers what they want, rather than just relying on a set of mechanical diagnosis of the player's foot. After all, every individual is different and some are more sensitive than others in certain areas of the foot. For me, for example, I've never had to worry about lace bit even for skates that failed the pencil test, but always had really sensitive heels. Even a tiny lack of cushioning in my heels would aggravate my heel spur. I've never gotten custom skates before, so I'm not sure how different the Bauer process is from CCM and True. Can someone shed any light on this? I've heard pretty negative things about CCM (they don't customize much and are not as hands on) and great things about True (they customize everything, mixing very detailed technical diagnostics with anecdotal report by the fitter).

Thank you so much for the very detailed post! This really helps a lot of us who have never ventured into the custom skate world. The detail of the process, as well as the context for the development cycle, is incredibly helpful! My future skate will likely be a custom skate, so I look forward to following the evolution of your product. You mentioned that "Generally speaking, you should stay in the family you scan for" in terms of skate family. If the skates are going to be built from a custom last and everything including depth/volume will be adjusted for the customer's foot, why would anyone pick any skate family other than the most recent, featured-packed skate? For example, in this generation, the Supreme features the carbon Curv, which is the most advanced composite material by Bauer. Along with the many other features that the Supreme has, why would anyone pick Vapor? I assume that a custom Vapor would never be able to get the flexible tendon guard, carbon Curv, or some of the other new tech from the Supreme line except for the liner and tongue.

I heard the STX Surgeon line has minimalist shoulder pads. They're on clearance now. If you want to wait, I think the new line of STX Surgeon protective are probably releasing soon. Some guy on Sidelineswap listed this a while ago: https://sidelineswap.com/gear/hockey/shoulder-shin-guards-elbow-pads/334604-other-brands-new-stx-surgeon-rx3-1-senior-large Thankfully, looks like STX is changing the color scheme to blue and black. White shoulder pads will turn brown in half a year.

Good to know the lacing worked for you. It sounds like your issue was less severe than mine. My heel developed a bone spur and hurt just rubbing against the back of the skate. If it ever gets worse, you can always opt for a heel gel sleeve like Bunga pads. Also, I'm selling an extra pair of new CCM custom insoles (shop sent me extra one). If you're interested, just PM and let me know. 🙂

OP here. I would say that if you're having a serious issue with heel sliding, resorting to unique lacing patterns should only be an option if you really love your current skates and don't want to buy something new. I ended up getting new skates and now no longer need to wear bunga pads. The moment I put my new skates on (even with relatively loose laces), my heel was locked in and my ankles felt like there was even a pinch. Don't just pay attention to skate width. My heels had issues with Jetspeeds despite their having narrow-ish width. Instead, the newer Bauers (both Vapors and Supremes) had incredible heel lock for me and just felt better overall. It has mostly to do with the way the foam padding are located. CCM foams are placed quite a bit higher so my bony heel keep rubbing against the hard portion of the quarter.

I was just about to post this! Anyway, the Pure Hockey email that was just sent out had a teaser photo of potentially what the custom Bauer will look like. EDIT: NVM. Goalie skates. 😞

So they don’t adjust the instep depth/volume? I was under the assumption that a true custom skate would customize everything, from width, instep depth, etc. I’m in supremes now and they still have the metatarsal guard dig into the top of my foot and I fail the pencil test a bit. I swim in Nexus.

I’d like to know the answer to this as well. If this is truly going to be a full custom skate, what’s the point of choosing between Vapor, Supreme and Nexus? I imagine the answer comes down to features. Perhaps even in a full custom, a Vapor cannot get the Supreme flexible tendon guard, and Supreme cannot get the Vapor asymmetrical eyelet alignment or x rib quarter pattern.

I don’t have the FT380/390, but currently skate in the FT370. I tried all of them. They are fundamentally the same (all 3 are rocket frame, feature speed core, and shape are exact same - the other 3 just have stiffer speed core and different tongues/outsoles). My experience is the heel opens up quite a significant amount width-wise and a fair bit even length wise. I recently started a thread here: If you had an experience of heel slippage with the Tacks, there’s a slight chance you may experience it with Jetspeeds again post-bake even if you feel locked in right now. I tried so hard to fit in CCMs - even bought FT1s just to try but had to return them. The FT1s fit completely differently than the lower 3 price points but the heel lock was a bit better. Even that was inconsistent. My right foot was really locked in but my left felt noticeably looser. Eventually, I went back to Bauer and concluded that my heel, for whatever reason, just feels so much more locked in to their skates. It’s probably not even about width or depth, but the shape of the heel pocket and contouring of the internal ankle padding on Bauer skates. Both the Supremes and Vapors (the curv composite price points) have tighter lock for me than any CCM line. I can’t explain it. Even on Supremes, I get sucked into the heel pocket but not so on Jetspeeds. That’s why they tell you to try every pair in person, even between price points.

Thank you for the suggestion Vet! I went ahead and found a virtual mailbox in Montreal through Anytime Mailbox (CAD$20 with a small $2/package forwarding fee) who will forward the package to the US. The store I'm buying from is in BC so the Montreal address allowed the sales tax to be cut in half.

In my recent quest to find a new skate the last 2-3 months, I've started to notice a general trend across all the skates regardless of model or price point between CCM and Bauer. I thought it'd be fun to hear everyone's opinions on this. Is CCM offering better value, dollar-for-dollar, with their skates than Bauer at this point? Consider the Jetspeed FT380 ($400), which feature Rocket Frame composite quarter, heat moldable Speed Core 2 (as stiff as top of the line from previous generation), vented outsole, comfort edge padding, anti-wear/abrasion material near top of collar, etc. Now compare that to the Vapor x700 ($400), which has fiber composite quarter (!?), no vented outsole, no comfort edge, no anti-wear patch, etc. Even the $300 FT370 already has a composite quarter with Speed Core 1, comfort edge, and vented outsole. Some of the FT380 features don't show up until top 2 price points of Bauer. What are some of the features of a Bauer skate that is perhaps more difficult to advertise that justify their pricing? Are the Curv composite that show up in the $500-$550 range that much superior to the equivalent CCM speed core 3 and rocket frame, for example? I'm still going to probably end up with a Bauer because my feet just doesn't get along with CCM skates (and that ultimately is most important), but it does seem interesting to notice the different directions Bauer and CCM are going.

I'm looking to buy skates from a Canadian retailer, but they won't ship to the US due to Bauer delivery restrictions. Has anyone ever purchased skates online from a Canadian seller and then figured out a cheap way to get it to their US address? The seller will ship for free to the Canadian address and I'm more than happy to pay for the shipping to the US (it's probably going to cost around $40-50 from Montreal to my address in the US). Heck, I'd even pay a MSH member to receive the package and drop off the skates at their local Canada Post office!

Thank you so much for all this incredible info and sharing your experiences. I do skate with very loose laces (I do a deep, full knee bend when lacing up and hate tight laces) and thought that was part of the reason for my heel moving all the time. I also wear Bunga pads now, but want to avoid wearing them with a proper fit skate. Your post got me thinking and I have an idea. After searching, I found out that the SMU Supreme Matrix skates (basically an upgraded S180) is available in a narrower C width, which would put it probably just a hair wider than Vapor D width. That would be perfect - volume for my instep with a very narrow anatomical heel lock. Is there any info on the upcoming 2018 Supreme skates and if the new SMU Supreme will be based off the Curv composite model or a cheaper one? Will that be available in C width as well? Where can I place orders online for these SMU skates in the US?