pgeorgan

Nice. I spoke to the good folks over at Tydan and they're going to cook me up a Quad XS/Zero hybrid.

The Polaris sounds interesting. I actually have access to someone with one of these machines, as well.

Dang. Must've missed it. I'm on their email list too.

Oh I see what you're saying. The steel already had a profile, but you didn't pick it.

Oh nice. Was that like Black Friday by any chance? I was just about to order a custom profile from them.

@drmFF33 Did you ever try a Quad before? I'm looking into the Elite SCS options now, but they don't give specifics on which is which. I was hoping to get a comparison to something I've already used. Thanks!

How can I go about getting a Quad XS/Zero hybrid? Eg, 6 ft – 8.5 ft – 11 ft – 12.5 ft, and 18.5mm of forward pitch. I have money. Will pay. 🙂

What about stability. I'm curious if there are different Atomic K Cuts for different sized runners, as well. Wish I could get some more info on this. It's expensive to get new steel and a new profile for it to be a total dud.

Can you tell me what's different about it, in your opinion?

Lol I have to go to IG to read about profiles? Sheesh. What about the Atomic K Cut? It says "top secret".

I posted a question about these profiles earlier this year and you said you were going to ask if you could share any info, but I never saw that you responded. Still curious what profiles they offer. Their website still doesn't list them, but I know they have a few odd-sounding ones out there. Atomic K Cut, eg. Edit: I found some random info on Instagram, but Atomic K Cut Is listed as "top secret". Sounds like a lot of marketing but I'm open to anything.

What quad profiles were they on, specifically? The quads are a little aggressive and require quite a bit of athletic balance. They're not for everyone. What exactly is a 981/Quad hybrid, anyway?

I'd have to agree here. Custom SVH market is very niche. Same with Bauer and CCM. Parents aren't going to get their kids customs of any kind when they'll outgrow them almost overnight. As far as adults are concerned, I know one player in SVH because everyone on the team got a pair, whether they used them or not. At some point, I think PSH got their hands on a lot of the unwanted pairs, as they had a massive influx of new SVH Custom team stock (which is how I got my hands on a pair in my size). If I were to ever actually get custom, I would probably only feel comfortable with CCM or Bauer since I'd have a pretty good idea what to expect.

I did try on a pair of SVH Customs that fit pretty close to my foot. It wasn't a vast improvement, if any, for me anyway. Certainly not a 2-3x improvement when compared to how cheaply I can get a great fitting tier 1 pair of Bauer skates from a prior year. Even if I had never touched a pair of SVH in my life, I know that there isn't enough slack in my current pair for 2-3x improvement to justify the cost. Just because one can afford something doesn't mean they should be foolish or reckless about it.

"If you can afford something like True SVH skates why would you bother getting off the shelf skates?" Easy. Because they don't offer me any advantage over my current retail Bauer skates. Certainly not a 2x one.

The poster said $260. Idk, I wouldn't waste money on Ti or coated steel. Doesn't do anything. Get a home sharpener instead. Problem solved.

$260.

I did. They're very bulky. The thigh guard is also multiple pieces and kinda looks awkard with the shell on. They don't sit flush like they're supposed to.

It's just you.

If the machine is in a stationary environment like at a Pro Shop, it won't really need more than one adjustment. To be fair to Sparx, it is quite easy to operate. But of course, if the operator doesn't care about their job (and they likely don't), the end result might be disappointing.

B) Don't care

I think it's a great machine. Folks that don't already have a Gen 1/2 will love it. It's not an iphone, so don't expect massive leaps and bounds in R&D year after year. At the end of the day, it's a grinding stone passing over some steel. No need to overthink it. I like that Beam is backwards compatible. Hopefully in the future, they'll integrate it directly into the machine. IE, laser automates edge checking and adjustments. That's what I first thought when I read the release. Definitely would've purchased one had that been the case. Though, I don't know how useful it would be in a home setting. I don't check my edges often, because everytime I do, it just confirms that the machine is in fact accurate. App functionality makes perfect sense. No need for Sparx to write entirely custom software. They're not making the mistake that automakers did betting against Carplay. In the future, expect the machine to have no buttons and be driven entirely by a smartphone. Additionally, it allows them to begin to collect usage and performance metrics, which can then be parlayed into further improvemnts in successive generations. This might not appeal to users at first glance, but I think will ultimately bear fruit in years to come.

Sounds like user error on the part of the person operating the Sparx.

I bust out the impact wrench.

Any updates?