rh71el2

^ thanks for the thought - I may actually do that for one of them since they're close to sizing-out of it. I'm surprised there's no collaborative opinion on how Tours and Missions fit/feel in comparison to Bauer.

They play ice full time and still use the boots including through spring. The boots don't last longer than a year regardless as they are growing teens.

I am primarily concerned about feel/pitch of the skates. My 2 kids who wear size 6 senior Bauer Vapor 2x & Bauer Supreme 3s Pro are in need of roller hockey skates to play a single season coming up (keep it cheap). They have had a year of roller experience before but I'm looking for a clear picture of what's the most compatible brand in terms of feel now that they need new skates again. I wear Bauer Vapor ice skates and own an old pair of Tour Code 1 (not hi-lo) and wore Missions (hi-lo) before that. I feel like the Tours are an easy transition and the Missions were not, but again, these were very old skates and they may have changed the modern skates. Any tips on what brands work best if they want the least difference? Not many Bauer Vapors on the used market and I'd like to get educated on brand differences regardless. I've found some Tour Volt KV4, Alkali Revel 5, Mission Control Xi skates so far.

We can easily figure that out by measuring the height of the runner and see how many passes it takes to cut it down say a full 1/2 inch. Volunteers?

I do suppose that's right. Interestingly, the 2 additional passes have made it less sharp again. I can't quite tell a difference yet between this 3/4 and 5/8 I had been used to. At least not after 1 [coaching] skate. Bottom line - it takes 4 passes or more to change a hollow going shallower. 2 doesn't cut it.

I've done 2 more passes (total 4 each skate) and will test this afternoon. But I've been thinking more logically about this. If I was on 5/8, the hollow would be deeper than when I apply a new sharpening of 3/4. That 3/4 pass or two, if it doesn't reach down to the current hollow of 5/8, will effectively just make the 2 edges flatter & wider than it was. And that's why I was feeling more bite.

How many passes to change your sharpening? I used the sharpie method and after 1 pass it was completely gone so that's unreliable IMO. I'm trying to change from 5/8 fire to 3/4 fire (more glide). I did 2 passes each skate and it actually felt waaay sharper while skating than 5/8 and even when I used 1/2 fire in the past. Lots of leg fatigue in a game. Maybe it's some crazy in between because I didn't do enough passes?

I did the Tydan assessment and they recommended a Bauer Pulse DLC (diamond-like-carbon coating) and CagOne 35/65 profile. I checked their shop and it's all Bauer. What happened to their own steel? https://tydanblades.com/collections/player-blades Is that any different than the Pulse steel that comes on something like a Supreme 3S Pro skate?

Curious about how the pros get 'er done too. I've seen the Crosby/Penguins equipment guy video and maybe 1 other.

I think they're just saying by doing the very next eyelet "outside in", you are essentially skipping the crossing of the laces entirely in the 1 area (where the lacebite occurs). You can see the bypassed part in the video.

I have a Sparx so I use the stone afterward on our skates. One skate has the LS Pulse steel. Are we supposed to use a honing stone against steel with that mirror finish? Because I think it looks marred now. Does the leather strop actually do anything? Am I supposed to use both on regular steel (LS3/LS4)? Only the leather on mirrored & carbon steel because that is the only compromise?

Thanks & understood - I've started the topic in a more appropriate location now.

I was wondering if anyone has ever compared skating with and without the top eyelet on their skates done up. I've been skating for almost 15 years, but in the last 3+ years, I've left off the top eyelet when tying my skates. Instantly I felt so much more freedom to do agile turns, lower forward lean (deeper knee bend?), and everything associated with it. I've even got my kids (starting Bantam) doing it and they like it too. But my question is whether or not this has a negative effect on anything else like generating speed from a full stride. Some players like it tied super tight all the way up and I always thought it was personal preference, but I'm genuinely curious if I'm hampering myself now as far as pushes coming out of turns or straight-line speed. Skating/speed is such a technical thing so every little detail seems to affect something. Thoughts?

moved:

Turned out to be completely trouble-free on the ice. Go figure.