Santos L Halper

In a perfect world, these things wouldn't happen...but, as we all know, the world isn't perfect and asshats that shouldn't coach all too often wind up with a helmet and a whistle. It's just your lousy luck that you got to experience this at 10U. While I agree that intensity and accountability are important things to teach at any level, cursing at 9 year olds and teaching systems play to kids that don't have the mental capacity to understand is simply inexcusable. On behalf of GOOD coaches everywhere, I just want to say that I'm very sorry you and your son had to go through this at such a young age. Anyway. Moving on. As an objective observer, the only thing I would say about future hockey plans is that I would caution you guys about making any decisions while these wounds are still raw. Let the bad feelings dissipate and encourage your son to embrace his new team as a fresh start. Then, see how this year plays out and, as the season winds down next spring, you can start talking about what's next as far as hockey goes. Maybe he'll have an absolute blast on the B team and will be raring to go for his 10U major season...maybe he'll be done with competitive hockey. Either way, it sounds as if you'll be fine with it...which is AWESOME...but I would definitely wait a while before making any decisions there. Finally, regarding in-house hockey: There is a stigma that gets attached to in house hockey that really freaking irritates me. Let me lay it out simply - There is nothing WRONG with in house hockey! The kids that play in house don't love hockey any less than the AAA kids - in fact, they probably love it a hell of a lot more, because there's almost no pressure and there usually aren't any overbearing adults around that are treating every ice touch like it's Game 7 of The Stanley Cup Finals. The kids playing in house hockey are playing hockey because they derive JOY from playing the game! No, those kids are probably not going to play in the NHL; but....news flash...the vast, VAST, VAST majority of the AAA kids aren't either!!! And, let me tell you, as a coach, the in-house kids are (usually) infinitely more fun to work with than the AAA kids that have been told since they were 6 that they're the next Connor Fucking McDavid. There is precious little in this world that is more irritating than a 12 year old that never hears the word 'NO' and has been enabled by every adult in his life into thinking that it's okay to be a insensitive, self-important, prick. Create a team full of 15 of those kids and their obnoxious, know-it-all parents, and, ugh...there's a reason I turn down AAA coaching opportunities. Anyway. Have a blast with hockey this year!!! And next year, regardless of whether your son wants to play football, soccer, or in-house hockey, I hope the both of you march in there with heads high!!! Best of luck!

Yeah...I mean, Bauer and CCM may both be new to the 'retail custom skate' game; but it's not like they're new to custom skates. Both make hundreds of pairs of custom skates per year for pro players, so they're not exactly jumping into uncharted waters, here. It makes sense that each manufacturer has settled on a scan method that works for their particular skate geometry. If they hadn't, no pros would use them....

Dude! Awesome! I'm so glad this worked out for the best! Have a fantastic season and, win, lose, or tie; never forget to let your kid know how proud you are to be his dad! ____________________ Behind the cut, one thing that I'd add - it may be worth doing the mental gymnastics of considering how you're going to handle it if you guys get put on the previous coach's team next year...or two years from now...or five. Obviously, your kid will mature and develop and your and your family's attitudes to youth hockey will evolve...and, in the end, perhaps it'll be a complete non-issue. But, if you at least put it on your 'mental map' now, you'll have somewhere other than 'OH SHIT! WHAT NOW!??!?!!' to fall back on if it does, indeed, happen.... Just food for thought...

+1. A coach I work with was scanned for 'custom' Bauers last week. He indicated the same - knee bend with a slight forward lean. He also said it felt 'kinda awkward'. I then demonstrated the position I was required to hold for my True scan and he remarked, "well, that makes a little more sense..." That said, I have heard (anecdotally, to be sure) good reports from people who've purchased custom Bauers, so maybe it'll work out fine....

Yep. While I don't go out of my way to recommend Trues for most youth players, I don't actively recommend against them. As alluded to earlier in the thread, unless a skater has a biomechanical issue that is best addressed with custom footwear, when asked about Trues, my response is generally something along the lines of: "Hey, if you want to spend the money for customs, you can't go wrong with True. However, go into it with your eyes open. Your 9 year old's $800 skates WILL NOT fit him next year...and MAY not fit him by the end of this year; so you must be prepared to upgrade earlier than you otherwise might have to. As a parent of a kid with a relatively 'normal' (albeit, wide) foot; I wouldn't go that route...but I can't deny liking my True skates and, in the end, it's your money!"

At risk of veering wildly off topic, I'd just like to say that, as a coach that does a fair bit of skating/edge-work with private clients, I couldn't agree with this more. Parents ask me all the time, 'what skates should I buy?' - except in VERY rare instances, my response is always, "whatever NON TOP OF THE LINE skate fits the best". Top of the line skates are simply too stiff for the vast majority of youth players.

As a parent, unless I was dealing with a biomechanical issue that is ONLY solve-able with custom skates, I would have a hard time buying True (or any fully custom) skates for a kid under 16 that has not reached his/her full development - and I'd imagine that the vast majority of parents feel the same way. I understand that a few parents at the margins will pay whatever it costs to have the 'latest and greatest', but it just seems like a unnecessary waste of money to buy custom skates for a 14U player who's still got (potentially) upwards of three years of growing to do... Anyway. As a coach, I can tell you that after having my True skates for about 3 weeks, I no longer notice the weight difference - except when I pull them out of my bag...at which point, I'm like, 'HOLY S&#T, these are TANKS!' Once they're on my feet, however, it's all good and I don't notice anything. Do keep in mind, however, I'm coaching, not playing. If I were still playing at a high level, maybe I would notice that difference (in my case, my Trues are almost 21% heavier than my TotalOnes) in the third period? I mean, I guess I probably would? That said, what I DO notice is that my body mechanics are better in my Trues. I have to 'think less' about maintaining proper ankle/knee/hip alignment when I'm showing the kids a drill, because my body naturally goes there...which is not to say that I DIDN'T have proper skating technique in my TotalOnes...but it just 'feels' more natural in my Trues. Also, I KNOW I'm better on my edges. It is absolutely indisputable. Techniques that I used to put a HUGE amount of thought into executing properly now come smoothly and effortlessly. And I have also been able to drop from a 1/2' FBV/Fire sharpen to a 5/8" FBV/Fire, which has allowed me to noticeably increase the glide portion of my stride. As such, for me, AS A COACH, any weight increase has been more than offset by the performance benefit. ____________________________ (N.B. I am willing to stipulate that some of this perceived benefit of the Trues could be due to the placebo effect - i.e., I did SOMETHING (spent actual money on new skates) so my brain is telling itself that I'm doing a better job than I was before. I've seen video and I think I look 'smoother'...but, again, maybe I'm just telling myself that? Also, some of this benefit could be due to the obvious improvement of Step over Bauer stock steel...)

Let me begin by saying that, as a professional, paid, youth hockey coach, hearing stuff like this breaks my heart. THEY'RE. FREAKING. EIGHT. YEARS. OLD. No matter how seriously the coaches (and parents...honestly, the parents are generally every bit as bad as the coaches at this age) take it, this is NOT the NHL. And, what's more, nothing - NOTHING - that happens in any kid's 10U Minor season will either increase or decrease his chances of playing in college/getting drafted/playing in the NHL. Well...almost nothing. The one exception to this rule is, if the experience is SO negative for the player that s/he quits forever, I can GUARANTEE you that s/he'll never progress to a high level of hockey... Anyway. Instead of focusing on skill development, it sounds like your kid's coach is going to waste the entire year trying to teach 'systems' to a group of kids that do not, I REPEAT - DO NOT - have the mental capacity to understand what it is they are learning. Studies have proven again and again that treating kids like they're miniature adults doesn't work. A child's brain does not process information in the same way the adult brain does. It just freaking DOESN'T. The kids may be able to learn the mechanics of the systems...but they won't learn the 'why'; and they certainly won't learn the strategies behind them. They won't be able to repeat what they learn and, in the end, they won't become better hockey players. Put differently, solely in the name of winning, this coach seems dead set on trying to create a group of little robots that have no creativity, no individual playmaking skills, and no hockey sense. And, for your kid anyway, no fun either. (Thing is, though...I GUARANTEE that your kid isn't the only one not having fun...) So. Enough about why this coach sucks...because let's face it, no matter how many utterly meaningless 10U state/national/global/universal championships he's won, if he's teaching systems at 10U and all he does is yell and curse, he does, in fact, suck. The question you have to wrestle with is, what do you do now? I'd agree with the others that you probably need to get your kid off that team. It sounds like your house leagues are a bit of a joke (don't worry - ours are, too...) and it sounds like you have at least a cordial relationship with the B team's coach. I'd leverage that and see if you can't make a change. If not and the rosters are set, a year off from competitive hockey at 8 years old isn't going to hurt his long term development - just keep getting him on the ice in a positive environment where he leaves smiling and, most importantly, wants to come back the next time. One caveat though - in any discussion you have with ANY person that's part of your club, I'd make sure that you keep the discussion about YOUR KID - NOT the coach. You don't want to get into a situation where you're saying things like, "that coach is a jerk" or "all that coach does is yell and curse" or "my son hates that coach". All of that may be TRUE, but getting labeled as the dad/kid/family that can't get along with coaches is NOT a good place to be this early - particularly if you're going to stick with this club long term. If you talk to anyone about this (current coach, club president, B team coach, other parents, ANYONE other than your immediate family), just say that it's become apparent that your son wasn't ready for that level yet and that you want to back off before he begins to hate hockey. If people give you a hard time about it, simply say, "I understand, but this is what's right for my son at this point. The last thing I want is to push this now and wind up with a 12 year old that hates coming to the rink!" Never forget - this is a marathon, not a sprint. A million things have to 'go right' for any one kid to 'make it' with hockey...and, ultimately, the vast majority of those things are COMPLETELY out of our control as parents. As such, I believe it is our duty to make sure that we parents do the best we can with the things we CAN control...and this situation is one you can control. Get your kid back to a place where he has fun at the rink. Do it quickly. And do it without apologizing to anyone. Good luck. And please report back. I definitely want to hear how your son is doing.

So, I'm NOT a fit expert and NOT a skate expert, but after 2.5 weeks, 20 hours on the ice, 3 bakes, and twisting myself in knots with ace bandages and ratchet clamps, I have to say that I'm not entirely sure I'd recommend these skates to someone that has severe low volume issues in a traditional skate. The Trues are designed to fit SO close to your foot that I can easily see how they wouldn't necessarily be a solution to a skater that has problems with off-the-shelf skates fitting 'too tightly'. Yes, the skates are built 'custom to your foot', but in this case, 'custom to your foot' also means 'tight to your foot'....no, really 'TIGHT to your foot'. There is very little dead space (or, almost NONE, if they fit the way they're designed to fit), and that is BY DESIGN. Hell, they even recommend that you use a shoe-horn to get them on! Put differently, if my experience is any indication of 'normal', I'd have to say that if someone is having volume issues in an off-the-shelf skate, they're probably going to have volume issues in a True skate, too. Now, said volume issues may be eminently more 'solve-able' in a True, but I've gotta believe that going into the scan process with the idea that these skates will be a warm, fuzzy panacea of slipper-like comfort is only setting yourself up for disappointment. Personally, my issue remains the complete opposite. Everything feels great, but my heels do not stay locked into the back of the boot. I'm going to do a rebake this weekend (hopefully - got a tournament to coach) and leave the top eyelet undone. Then, I'm going to do some targeted molding of the area around my heels/ankles with my heat gun and a small arsenal of ratchet clamps and see if that does the trick....

Mine look exactly the same (Ordered July 25th, received August 13th). They weigh 987g with both the red footbed and the stock True insole in them. Edit: Weight is for a SINGLE skate. I have size 272 Step blade holders and stock StepSteel runners. By way of comparison, my old Bauer Total One NXGs (size 8.5 D, size 272 Tuuk LS2 holders, standard Bauer steel, standard Bauer insoles) weigh 816g per skate.

Outstanding. Thanks for the tips. I'm not on my skates today, so it's a perfect time for a rebake!

Interesting suggestion and I may go that route if you believe it's worth a try. However, just to be clear, my heels aren't rattling around in the skates - they're lifting up when I stride, ESPECIALLY when I'm skating hard. I'm thinking my baking may not have given me a proper heel lock?

Back after Saturday's 4 hour marathon....and 2 hours last night. Safe to say that I REALLY, REALLY like these skates and putting my Bauers back on my feet (if I ever do it...) will be really tough. They ARE, however, noticeably heavier than my Bauers and I'm not sure I'd like them quite as much if I were still playing competitively - but, I do imagine that I'll get used to that in time...and, since I coach way more than I play these days, I think I've probably hit on the perfect coaching skate. That said, I've noticed that, even after baking them a second time, my heels are slipping - particularly if I'm skating hard. I can't give a quantifiable amount that they're slipping and it's impossible for me to tell WHY they're slipping; but they're definitely slipping...and that concerns me. I thought the whole point of the True/VH skate was to eliminate this sort of thing...? Should I rebake? If so, does anyone have any tips as to HOW I should use the ratchet clamps/tensor bandages to improve that heel lock? If I can eliminate this heel slippage, I'd be an EXTREMELY happy customer...

I've found very little that I can't fix permanently with 5 minute epoxy. However, I've got to confess that I'm not very familiar with your helmet's set-up, so I'm not sure if it'll actually work. On the plus side, if it doesn't work, you've only wasted about 5 minutes AND you get to have some quality time with that lovely mercaptan smell! 😁

Could very well be - having sharpened much stock Bauer/CCM crap on my Sparx, I can tell you that the StepSteel takes a sharpening better and holds a keener edge....

Uh oh....skate #1 is in the oven now... That said, according to the video, 'a couple of hours' before you skate is sufficient. Regardless, my skates will be soaked after coaching tonight, so I'm not sure that's the best time to bake them. Guess we'll see how they hold up....maybe I'll put them in my beer fridge for a couple of hours after I'm done, here! 😁

Hey all. So, I've had my True/VH skates for a little over a week now (coming from Bauer TotalOne NXGs). I've baked them once, sharpened them in my Sparx, and skated once for two hours (back to back practices on Wednesday night). Here are some questions and observations I have after that short amount of time.... It Still Feels Weird I never wore the Makos, so the way these skates feel is just.....weird. Granted, it's only been two hours, but I'm still referring to my Trues as 'my new skates' and my Bauers as 'my skates'.... For those that never wore Makos or any other similar skates, how long did it take until the Trues became 'yours'? Need a New Grinding Ring!!! After two hours on the ice, it's become apparent that, with these skates, I do NOT need anywhere near as deep of a FBV/Fire sharpen as I do on my TotalOnes. It was bizarre, I jumped on the ice for the first time and almost stopped dead. It felt almost like skating on artificial ice there for a while. Once I got going, I realized it was because I was gripping the ice WAY more and, biomechanically speaking, was in a much better overall position - centered on my edges with proper ankle/knee/hip positioning. Put differently, these skates make it NATURAL for me to get my body in the correct position and, when demonstrating, I don't have to *think* about getting my body in the right position. I just go there... All of that said, I want more glide, so I'm thinking that I'll back off my FBV from 1/2" to 5/8". Anyone else experience this phenomenon? Time to Bake Again: I want to get rid of some negative space in both skates and generally get my heels further back (I was, perhaps, too tentative with the whole 'kicking the heel back' thing when I first baked them). Obviously, I need to bake again - anyone have suggestions on time/temperature I should be using? The lone piece of paper that comes with the skates isn't super specific and I don't want to pull an eyelet out or anything.... As an FYI, I have a regular household convection oven with a baking stone in the bottom to ensure even heat - the lowest I can set it for is 180 degrees F. Presuming I'll be using ratchet clamps and tensor/ace bandages, after removing the skate from the oven, how much time will I have to get everything situated the way I like it? The pens to either side of the tongue in Superjet's picture above - I presume that was done to make it possible to lace the skate after baking? When those eyelets fold over, lacing definitely gets really interesting.... Once I get everything set, how long should I leave the skate on my foot to cool? Since a goal of mine is to remove negative space, should I bake barefoot - even though I will wear regular athletic socks while skating? Holy Foot Sweat, Batman!!! I've worn a lot of skates in my life, but I've NEVER had this much sweat come off my feet. My socks were literally SOAKED after two hours on the ice. Anyone else experience this? Should I be concerned about this from a 'damaging my skates' perspective - particularly if they don't get fully dry between on ice sessions? For instance, sometimes, I'll be on ice for an hour; off for two, then back on for two - no way are my skates going to dry completely during that two hour break - is that bad? Any tips on drying them out? Should I remove the footbeds? I think that's about it...any and all feedback/assistance/admonishment would be very much appreciated! I hope to rebake today and will be on the ice for an hour tonight and again for 4 hours on Saturday - I'll report back after that marathon!!!!

Yeah, if I were a goalie (or had a goalie in the house...), I'd be literally LIVID that the cross-grinding capabilities were removed from the system. The Step Steel on my True/VH skates isn't bad as far as burrs go; but the chrome SB 4.0 steel on my kid's friend's JetSpeeds burrs EXTREMELY badly, and my kid's Tydan's steel isn't much better. Again, I CAN take care of the burrs, but it's a pain.... Inverter: I got this one from PepBoys and it seems to be fine. You could probably get most any 800W inverter on the market and have success, but beware any of them that claim to plug into your cigarette lighter for anything over 175 watts - you really need to connect anything that draws 175 watts or more to your battery, or you risk damaging your car's electrical system. Also, don't waste your money on a pure sine wave inverter. It's a skate sharpener, not an EKG monitor. Travel case: Nope. I have a crew-cab truck (4 doors), so I just put the sharpener on the floor of the cab of the truck behind the driver's seat. I, of course, use all of the travel guards when I'm transporting the sharpener, but I've had no problems doing this. For road trips, I just put the sharpener back in the box it came in. That way, I can stack stuff on top of it and not worry about anything happening to it. I may buy the travel case at some point, but it's not pressing at this moment. Bastards! It's how they get you!!!! 😁

So, I've had my Sparx sharpener for just over a year now and I figured that, since we are at the start of a new season, I'd go ahead and post my observations, praise for, and, yes, gripes about my Sparx... (TL/DR - It's an awesome machine. I'd almost definitely buy it again. That said, removing the cross-grinding capabilities from the consumer model was a horrendously stupid decision and I still struggle with getting the sharpener to go consistently high enough on the toes of skates.) The Good: Consistent edges. Every. Single. Time: I simply cannot overstate how much this means to someone that (a) doesn't have access to consistent, predictable manual sharpening; and (b) relies on his skates to make a living. Convenience: As a coach, I am on the ice between 8 and 12 hours a week - sometimes much more, depending on private lessons, sticktime groups, etc. I also have a son that is on the ice upwards of 6 hours a week. Since I won't allow the guys that work at the rink shops to touch our skates AND I live over 30 minutes from the box stores (which don't do a good job, either); having access to sharpening on an 'as needed' basis is invaluable. Ease of use: I'm over 40 years old and I work full time as a hockey coach. I do NOT have the time to become an expert on a manual Wissota or Blackstone machine. I. Just. Don't. I'm willing to stipulate that someone that IS an expert on those machines MAY be able to give me a sharpen that is as good as, if not better than I get on my Sparx...but I don't have access to any of those guys and, since I have neither the time nor the inclination to become one of those guys, I love that I can give my skates a great sharpen without needing to invest an additional 30 years of my life towards mastering a manual machine. Profile Maintenance: I understand that guys that know what they're doing with a manual sharpener can properly maintain a profile, but guys that know what they're doing aren't available in Southern California...and the ones that DON'T know what they're doing can wreck a profile in 2-3 sharpens; so I love that having a Sparx means that the money I've invested in profiling my kid's steel wasn't wasted. Portability: This year alone, my Sparx has sharpened skates in California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. THAT'S awesome! Micro-Adjustability: I love that, using the edge checker, I can really dial in perfectly even edges. It takes manual sharpeners hours of dicking around with their equipment to make sure stuff is lined up. I can do it in a couple of minutes with my Sparx. No "Wheel Dressing" or Other Nonsense: With a Sparx, you never have to ask yourself if 'it's time to dress the wheel'. You just sharpen your skates and get on with your day. Freaking awesome. Additional Income Stream: While I don't make a TON of money, the fact that I can save the hockey families that I work with from lousy (and expensive!!!) rink sharpenings while also making a few bucks isn't a bad thing.... The Not so Good: No Cross Grinding Capability: Dumping the cross-grinding ring was a monumental mistake by Sparx (are you reading this, Russ??? MON!YOU!MENTAL!). Look, I get that the filter was getting clogged. I get that people were chewing through their steel. But when you have an even marginally damaged blade that you need to contend with, running 10+ passes with a $60.00 grinding ring is FUCKING IRRITATING!!! Apologies for the cursing, but damnit, both the reasons that have been given for, and the practical effect of, the elimination of a cross-grinding ring are giant piles of solid waste from a male of the bovine species. Hockey is a rough game and edges routinely get damaged. The fact that I have to suck down 1/10th of a grinding ring's life when my kid goes feet-first into the boards ONE TIME just pisses me off. No Provision to Attach a Shop-Vac (or other dust removal system): I love the portability of my Sparx (see above...); but when it's in my garage at home, I'd ALSO love to attach my shop-vac to the system so that I can suck out all of the mess as it occurs. "But the aiiiiiiir filter!" you say. Mmmmhmmm. My shop-vac has a HEPA filter. It works great. Plus, it has a huge amount of suction. This seems like a total no-brainer and one that should have been thought of when designing the machine. (A note on the two above "Not so Goods". Yes, I could have purchased the PS100, but that runs at a $350.00 premium to the the ES100. Which is patently ridiculous...) Getting the Wheel Consistently High Enough on the Toe: I've dicked around with this to no end - toe right, toe left, goalie risers, no risers, small tip forward in the clamp, etc, etc, etc - I just can't seem to get the wheel to consistently hit where I want it to on the toe without a huge amount of chattering/jumping/skipping. I understand hockey players don't skate on the toes of their blades...but we DO start on the toes of our blades and we have to trust that we have SOME edge on our toes so that we can start explosively and efficiently. Doesn't Like Fancy 3rd Party Steel: Part of the benefit of the Tuuk LightSpeed and CCM SB systems is that you can easily replace your crap stock steel with good steel (Tyden's etc...). However, good steel seems to burr horribly in the Sparx and I have found myself taking these fancy-steeled skates out of my Sparx every two passes to de-burr. Is this difficult? No. Is it a pain in the ass? Absolutely. Observations: Traveling with a Sparx attracts lots of attention and questions - almost everyone's HEARD of the Sparx, but not many have seen one 'in the wild'. Once you sharpen their skates, they're (usually) believers. I've spent a bunch less at our local big-box stores - not just on skate sharpening, but also on random useless hockey stuff I don't need. It used to be impossible to get out of HockeyMonkey or PureHockey without at least $25.00 of crap IN ADDITION to the skate sharpening - now, since I'm never there unless I need something specific, I'm not spending unnecessary money there! I sharpen my skates WAY more often than I used to - not just due to the convenience factor; but also due to the fact that I'm not afraid of dropping my skates off and returning to a crappy sharpening job. A $90.00 800W power inverter means you can sharpen skates in your car.... As the sharpener only draws 200W, you could probably get by with a 400W inverter, but they're not much cheaper and you want to make sure that you have enough 'start up' wattage capacity that you're not tripping fuses in your inverter. Plus, who knows when I'll want to run a 70" TV off my truck battery? Also, local rink pro shops hate me now. I've become 'that coach that has the sharpener in his truck' and I love it. I thought the grinding wheels would be a pain - but I actually like them. They're easy to store, portable, and easy to swap out for a different wheel - no dressing or tedious alignment necessary. That system is pure genius. The option for the Fire/FBV hollow is awesome. I wasn't sure anyone would like it, but it's really caught on and nearly everyone that's tried it has loved it. Anyway. That's about all I can think of as far as my thoughts after 'a year with a Sparx'. Hopefully this will answer some questions people who are still on the fence may have about the pros/cons...or, at least generate some discussion, here. In the end, I'd definitely buy a Sparx again - but I'd probably give strong consideration to saving my pennies for a 1/2 year or so and getting the PS100 instead of the ES100....

Fair point. Again - I'm a skating coach, not an equipment guy. I have a rudimentary understanding of profiling and how it works in the context of allowing a skater to maximize his/her potential; but I do not pretend to understand the finer points of one profile vs another. When it comes to the example I used (my kid), my analysis of his skating technique showed (amongst other things) a need for a more consistent forward lean, particularly as he got tired. Additionally, his coach and I both agreed that his edgework was good enough that sacrificing a bit of potential mobility for added top end speed was a trade-off worth making - particularly as his leg strength continues to build as his body changes. As such, when it came time for new skates, I asked the MSH group what they would recommend for a baseline profile and was recommended doing the Cag 20-35 with a slight forward pitch. Tyler at Tyden's confirmed that this was a great starting point and the rest, as they say, is history. Well, they *CAN* recommend profiles. However, as we've confirmed, it's impossible to really do that effectively if you can't actually see someone on the ice. In my case, I already had a good idea of the direction I wanted to go with my son's profile and Tyler at Tyden's confirmed that I was going down the correct path. As such, I stand corrected - Step and Tyden's don't watch videos in order to recommend a profile. That said, both myself and multiple clients of mine have found that if you ask both Step and Tyden's about the suitability of a particular profile for your needs, they're more than happy to discuss it with you. PM me any time! I love to discuss skating biomechanics and skating!

Full disclosure at the outset - in addition to my 'day job' as a youth hockey coach, I'm also a skating coach, so what I would say on this may not be quite the same as what an equipment guy would say... Anyway. From my perspective (again...skating coach...), this is an almost impossible question to answer without seeing your son skate. Here are just a few of the things I'd be looking at: How tall is he? How much does he weigh? How big are his feet? What blade size are you dealing with? How is his posture in his skates? How is his posture in street shoes? What's his balance like on 2 feet? On each foot independently? What is his natural forward lean like? Does he sit down into a deep 'ready' position naturally? Or is he naturally more upright? Is he noticeably slower (or faster) than his peers? How are his forwards cross-overs? How are his backwards cross-unders? How are his transitions? What is his hip angle at full extension? At full crouch? What is his knee angle at full extension? At full crouch? How is his balance in his tight turns? How is his edgework? No. Really. How is his edgework? Are there mechanical flaws in his skating technique that limit him? Are they easily corrected? Would a new profile help...or hurt? Are there physical strength/mobility limitations that prevent him from executing a proper stride? Can these be addressed via strength/flexibility training? What does HE want out of a new profile? (More speed? better acceleration? More stability?) And, most importantly.... What do his regular coaches say he needs to work on when it comes to skating? I could go on...and on...and on some more. And, the stink of it is, there's really no 'one size fits all' solution, here. From a skating coach's perspective, I want my clients to have skates (and, by proxy, profiles) that work with them; instead of working against them...but, at the same time, I know that profiling skates isn't a panacea and a good profile won't all of the sudden turn a crappy skater into a good skater. As such, without seeing your son skate, I'd suggest you focus on the last two bullet-points and try to figure out what exactly your son and his coaches would like to see him improve about his skating. THEN, take that feedback (ideally, along with a video of his forward stride, forward cross-overs, backward cross-unders, linear cross-overs, and tight turns) and contact JR or the guys at Tydans or the guys at Step and say something like, "here's my kid's height, weight, holder size, coach feedback, and a 60 second video of him skating - what do you recommend for a profile that can help him improve?" THEN, buy a second set of steel from your vendor and have that profiled according to their recommendations. THEN, have your son try it out. If he and his coaches like it, great. Have your other set of steel profiled to match the original set and you're good to go. If they DON'T like it, then you start the "A vs B...B vs C...C vs A...etc...etc...etc..." comparison with the second set. Dialing things in can take time and if you have to send your kid's blades away to be profiled, this can be a frustrating (and expensive) period of trial and error. However, you live in MN...so, perhaps you have access to a shop that understands profiling and can help you reduce the turn-around time to a matter of hours, instead of a matter of days? Anyway. I know - much to consider there; but, as a skating coach, this is really one of those "you really need to be there" type of questions.... (If it matters, my son is a Tier I Elite 2009 birth-year player with EXTREMELY strong edgework and fundamentals - but he struggles with his top speed and maintenance of proper skating posture due to still-developing leg strength. At the recommendation of several MSH members, I went with a CAGOne 20-35 profile for his new skates and we BOTH have been very happy thus far...)

Anyone seen this? http://www.elevatehockey.net/ https://www.instagram.com/elevatehockey/ https://www.facebook.com/elevatehockey/ As with Marsblades, I remain firmly skeptical, but I love to see people pushing the envelopes of engineering, design, and functionality. Plus, as my age begins to overtake my abilities, I'm always on the look out for something that will keep me a step ahead of the little monsters that I'm on the ice with 6 days a week....😁 Anyway. Kickstarter kicks off tomorrow if anyone's interested....

Just so you know, the vast majority of people that sharpen skates for a living would disagree with you, there....

FYI - Bauer stock steel is generally regarded as 'crap'....

Yep. And I admitted that my dislike of colored blades was my own personal bias. He asked what MSH posters thought of Byonic blades. I gave my opinion. Think that's pretty much how this is supposed to work...