Westside

Holy cow dude!

I’ve been a huge fan of Darn Tough ultralight runners socks. I think that’s the line. Thin, no padding, mid-calf height, and they’re made from wool so they resist odors. Then there’s DT’s lifetime guarantee. Worth every penny

I've been using a Pacific Rink bag since 2017 or 18? Something like that. Minus a year of Covid where it sat in corner collecting dust, it has fared well being moved from the house to the car/plane every week. I went with the Varsity bag as I didn't think I'd ever use the backpack straps, and it was 50% less expensive. PR sold me a pair of the skate holders which I sewed into the Varsity bag exactly like the Player bag. I like the skate holders because they keep the skates in a specific part of the bag and the water bottle holders come in handy. I find gear dividers in general more of a nuisance and I already have a laundry bag. Only thing I miss is not having the top flap to hold jerseys/base layers, but whatever. I wear senior sized medium gear and the bag fits it well. I don't think there's any way I could get it all to fit in the Junior bag

That’s why I was surprised. Figured there must have been a larger back storage space that wasn’t customer facing

Really?! I figured it was just going to be at the new pro shop at TSC where the Kings practice. Will be nice if there’s something closer to LA than having to drive all the way to OC for any hockey supplies

We getting those 3D printed ones?!

‘Best’ is all relative, right? Do you want protection, breathability, etc. I went through this journey years back. At the time I ended up with CCM QLT shoulders. I liked the breathability and profile. They had enough protection for beer league and wouldn’t have prevented the shoulder tear I got wearing them. I wore them for 4-5 years before moving into CLs. Preferred the CLs for moisture wicking and felt the breath ability was about the same, if not slightly better, than the QLT. When the FT4 line came out they were pitched as true replacements for the CL line. Unfortunately I tried the FT4 Pros and got rid of them almost immediately going back to CLs. For me, the FT4s simply did not breathe nearly as well as the other pads and that’s my primary concern. When the FT6 line launched and I found a pair of FT6 Pros for half price I figured why not. IMO CCM improved ventilation significantly compared to the FT4 line and that’s not accounting for the aer-tec part. I sold the CLs and these are now my primary shoulder pads. So for me and my ‘best’, the FT6 Pros and CLs fit the bill. I wouldn’t pay retail price for them, but if you can get them at a discount, they’re well worth it

I had a pair of APX2 pro stock gloves back in the day. Player who wore them clearly had a finger injury as the gussets of the middle and ring finger were cut and the fingers were sewn together. So that would be my suggestion if you’re taping two fingers together. not exactly reversible tho

Can’t help with the question, but holy crap, I’m pretty sure I was 90lbs when I was 13 or 14

That's good to know. I'll have to try and find a pair in stock somewhere, thanks!

Stumbled upon this thread and looked at the skates online. Anyone picked up a pair? Do they fit the same as FT6 Pros? Saw Canadian stores were selling them for $400CAD during the holidays. In hopes of a future sale I thought these could be a great boot for roller

Anyone happen to have a free shipping code? Was thinking about picking up a second set of R1 for another boot

Looks to be the same as what was posted 2 months ago just silver instead of black. Really hoping these come to market soon. Holding off on new skates and would love to mount these to whatever I pick up

Yep. Use an exacto knife and go slow making sure you’re only cutting through the excess fabric holding the shot blocker in place. If you want after the shot blocker itself is removed, you can use a seam ripper to get in the small space between the glove breaks to remove the fabric that was leftover from fabric that was cut off. Did that with a pair of Jetspeeds and you would never know there was a shot blocker on them

Same. I still remember my first skate on TF9s. Was blown away by how great they felt from the first stride

Did you bake the True skates before trying them on? I have to imagine there was some kind of error with the scan if you fit in an 8.5 in CCM and need to go UP 1.5 sizes from there. I wear the same size in both True and CCM

I’ll third this comment. I also only undo the top eyelet with about an inch of lace sticking out of the second eyelet in order to get my skates on/off. Went down a size in laces compared to Bauer/CCM. The laces that come stock with True are absurdly long

I also have a pair of those pliers whenever I run into stuck steel. Work great

Came across an ad for an upcoming BLPA tournament in Tokyo this May. I have some vacation time to burn, I love Japan, and thought it could be a cool experience. Just wondering if anyone here has ever participated in one of their tourneys? Pros/cons/thoughts? Would you do it again? https://blpa.com/event/japan-draft-experience/

Did you read the first page of this thread? Believe what you're asking was covered throughout that page. If not, here's another thread where Petter discusses the difference in the R1 radius compared to the O1 The feel of the two really depends on how tight you keep the center bolt of the O1. I used to keep the O1 bolt as loose as can be. That can't really be replicated with the R1 as even the insert with the most movement (H5-T8) doesn't rocker as much. Now, with that said, I did an 'experiment' when I initially got the R1s and wore both chassis at the same time. The difference wasn't as drastic as I would have thought

Interesting look with the back heel leather material being added. I, personally, think the current Cat Pros are the best looking skates True has ever made, but the new 9x4 don’t look terrible. Granted, I’m not a fan of all the branding (like the giant Neurofit+ on the back and sides) or the unnecessary embellishments on the toe cap/lace facing, but at least they’re no longer yellow. The name on the other hand is pretty brutal. Do we really need ‘x4’ on every skate? Will be curious to see how well the new ‘plastic base shell insert’ works in holding rivets more securely and prevent them from disintegrating so quickly.

What’s up with so much helmet experimentation all of a sudden? Vegas I understand the gold chrome. Kings I can get on board with too I suppose. The Canucks? Not sure how this fits… https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canucks-new-metallic-blue-helmets

Not upset, simply stating that you didn't seem to be listening to feedback anyone was giving you. Your (now edited) post also had you saying you were going to size UP to get more space between your toes and the cap of boot rather than size DOWN which is what myself and others had recommended. Same goes for disregarding how substantial the fit of a True boot changes when baked and how malleable they become

I don’t think you’re reading my response correctly. You claimed that your toes were ‘almost touching the cap’ which means they weren’t. This was BEFORE baking them as you also stated. Read any comprehensive write up on fitting True skates and you’ll see that they all say your toes should be pushed pretty hard against the toe cap before baking. Once they are baked, they open up and your toes should no longer be against the toe cap, but will fit how you’re describing them now. But hey, it’s your money. Not sure why you bother asking for advice if you disregard it

I thought it started with the Yotes, specifically Bauer 4500 helmets, because they couldn’t get the color so the team had to spray paint it. Maybe that was BS, but when they first launched the desert alts all other helmets were glossy. Honestly not sure how I feel about it. On one hand, matte helmets don’t show finger prints or scratches which would be a huge plus for us players and I’d imagine EQM. On the other hand, they just look off… https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/carson-soucy-of-the-vancouver-canucks-flashes-a-smile-news-photo/1940920539 Lokks like uni watch made a post about this topic too if you zoom in on Hughes’ Bauer helmet (4th in the carousel) it is definitely a matte vinyl wrap on a glossy helmet https://uni-watch.com/2023/11/21/are-matte-helmets-about-to-become-an-nhl-trend/