Miller55

Labeda Gripper yellow

I believe Joe (not John) Norris was involved with Keith. Not sure if they both sold to Thom or Joe stayed on our what his involvement is currently

Thom bought up the remaining stock, as well as the rights to production of the Sprung frame. I have reached out to some folks to see if I could get a sample to try, would love to mount these and test em out

I'm basically still in mostly Easton, but it has started to shift as some gear has worn down and I have yet to find replacements. Skates- was in Supreme or Nexus forever, two years ago went to True and haven't looked back (except I do have a pair of Mako 2s). Protective- I'm in Easton shins, girdle, chest and elbows still (all the old pro stock synergy protective), Easton gloves as well, with some Bauer, eagle and warriors mixed in. When the time comes for new under protective, I will definitely move to pro stock CCM though, as they have carried on the JDP stuff. Sticks- pro stock hockey sticks at this point, but I have a mix of Easton, Bauer, CCM and Warrior, although in the last 2 years I've pretty much only bought pshs

Big fan of pro stock sticks. I have a bunch and just placed another full custom order. I also have quite a few curves in both the big brands and pshs version (nylander NXG and 2s pro, eichel, MacKinnon trigger/reckoner, Brayden point's coverts, Panarin jetspeed) and can say that the quality is definitely not worse, in some cases better on the pshs build. To each their own but I'm a big fan of the super round shaft, but I also used a trilage for like 3 years so you can't really trust me lol

I use A7s and actually have not had longevity issues myself. I have a few pairs as I bought backups, but in reality I have only used one set for 3 years now basically, 3-5 games weekly indoor sport court and haven't had issues. The original a6 did have issues but the A7 are pretty sturdy. To be fully honest, I have not taken them apart to clear in about 19 months and they're fine, but I suspect that my laziness will affect the longevity down the road

Panarin skates look like ribcor to me...? Interestingly enough, he was using Jetspeed sticks until the major supply chain issues last season, and then he went back to Bauer and scored a filthy goal with the Nexus and stuck with it after that. Can't find the clip but I recall him putting to the Bauer logo on the way back to the bench. Was against Florida iirc. Wonder if he's going to end up back in Bauer gear.

Not sure, they don't seem much lower than my 2S pros though, maybe a drop

Well, this just got interesting. Question for Thursday who have tried them- is the boot lower cut than TF?

Possibly the foam package is more dense due to increased protection, but I'm not sure

Pro stock Warrior Franchise ideally look for Canadian made, good condition, and the right sizing. Franchise gloves came in 13, 14 and 15 and 2 widths, narrow or std, which is more like a wide. The concern is that if you're going pro stock, there are lots of different specs and you won't always know exactly what you're getting, such as liner adjustments, extended or shortened fingers, materials, etc, so that's a big factor to keep in mind. For example, Chara wears 14s that are marked as 14s, but the fingers are extended because Chara is huge, but you would never know that from any markings on his gloves Personally, if you can swing the 2-250 for Eagle customs, and you can get through a couple more months, then I wouldn't think twice about it, and I think Eagle can make some of the x series gloves as customs, even though they don't offer it. Just gotta email Kelsey

Pro stock Easton MiC or MiC Franchise. You can still get custom PPFs though, but the lead time is about 3-4 months for customs at this point. From the general options though, I prefer the Bauer Pro Series, which used to be Nexus. Light and durable and a nice liner. Warrior quality is horrible at retail these days, and CCM hg97 would be in the middle for me. But Eagle is the best out there at this point, and if you can wait a few months and afford customs then imo it's a no brainer

I would try true and CCM. I was in Supremes before going to true. I didn't pass the pencil test but with the thick bobby Clarke custom tongues I never had lace bite, but the best skates I wore were Nexus 1000, just to give an idea on the depth I need. And true have been great for me, no depth issues

Branches pattern 99, bit of a squared off toe

Haha slow and steady. I'm gonna try it either way, just figured I'd see if anyone had any tips first

Pretty straight forward, I have a couple wooden lefty blades and tried to give them away but nobody seems to want them, so I'm writing if it can torch them to make them righty. I used to do this to play with the curve back in the day, but never to such an extreme. Anybody have any experience with something like this?

Ya if you're looking into tf9i would start with 7R and try 6.5R as well. Consider ordering from somewhere like ice warehouse and r return the pair that fits worse

I imagine they will see how the Cat sells and if there really is a market for a softer boot and go from there. Personally, I'm intrigued. I have 2 pairs of tf9s currently (ice/roller) and am very happy. That said, I would prefer a bit more flex forward and a toebox more similar to the Mako. But I also want to wait to see feedback on the cat series before buying (I also don't really need new skates as these are holding up extremely well)

That's why I still just wear Easton gloves

Lol ya I'm still mostly in Easton gloves honestly

Oh I was talking about pro stock

I remember a certain review of the xc9 and I tried on a pair at BTM at one point and didn't like the cheap feel, but I never realized that they released another edition. How can you tell the difference?

Have never used True gloves, which ones do you like?

Surprised that nobody here mentioned giving the second tier jetspeeds a try. The ft4 (not pro) are great skates with a one piece boot and will have the flex you want. They're not makos by any stretch, and obviously you know that trues are the closest, but if you want another option, I would look into ft4s