CBnCO

I'm curious if you have any other thoughts after skating on them more and/or experimenting with the different wedges? I got mine mounted a month ago, without custom profile, and started on the 14ft radius. I pretty much felt comfortable on that right away so haven't even taken the time to try any of the others. I still have a second pair of skates with step-steel blades and quad profile and I get the chance to go back and forth. I really do think the Marsblade runner gives a smoother and more stable sensation in turns and transitions, which matches the advertising and concept. That said, did they transform me immediately into a much better skater..not really. I'm a bit of a gear/tech nerd, so I'm absolutely happy with the purchase and the Marsblades are my go to skates for now. But, I'm not sure that for the $200 it's helping me dramatically (hmmm..maybe $200 toward a skating coach!). If Marsblade had OEM deals with Bauer, CCM, etc. and the Marsblades came on the skates new, based on my experience it would be a no-brainer to buy them. As a side note, given they are not entirely fixed there is a loose sensation and sound when walking off the ice and when stoping a puck with your skate. But, as long as they hold up I'm happy.

Ha..I'm assuming you mean a pro stock CCM, Bauer, etc..and not a prostockhockeysticks.com "black" stick? See how confusing it can be. And, this would be because you believe the manufacturing and design methods of the big brands are superior? Which may be the case; but, go read many of the reviews on hockeymonkey, etc..about people complaining how their CCM, Bauer, Warrior, & True broke after 3 or 4 uses. Sure a $129 Pro Blackout sounds great against a non-discounted $300 stick; but, last's years model and pro stocks can be had for less than $150 and not sure that makes the "black" sticks as much of a value. I think these companies could do better with their advertising to help a consumer clearly understand the differences in the stick construction and tech. Compared to sticks from 15 years ago, they are probably all much better!

That's what I meant..the ones on the company's website..not so many in other places. At the end of the day, the question is are these sticks at these prices a legit value (a $300 stick for $150 or less) and, if so, of all the brands which to consider.

A friend of mine got a Pro Blackout stick from HSM and said he liked it. So, I started doing some research and in addition to the HSM regular and lite Pro Blackout sticks, I saw No Name, All Black, Twig, and more. All seem to offer a similar product, a 380g to 425g stick for $100 to $150ish and with plenty of good reviews. They all advertise 18K carbon, one piece construction, etc.. I'm trying to understand who actually makes these sticks, are they all from the same factory? And, how to differentiate between these value sticks and brands How good is the value and performance versus "last year's model" big brand name stick on clearance or a pro stock stick, both at similar prices?

I got a sale email this morning and they are selling these (Vanquish & Stryker) sticks for $125. Can't find reviews anywhere..other than Tron website. Anyone here own or try one?

One issue that I'm trying to get my head around with the Marsblade holders is how the "Flow Motion" rocker movement relates to and interacts with the profile on the skate blade. Go read through the ProSharp site and there are now almost infinite numbers of profile patterns from Single to Quad to Ellipse. All of these profiles promises a specific performance enhancement: more blade on the ice for stability and speed, less blade on the ice for agility, forward pitch by moving balance point back Xmm, etc. and it seems the Marsblade technology is supposed to do many of these same things. For example: does a Quad 0 profile with the Marsblade holder (of course there are 5 rocker wedges to choose from!) perform and feel the exact same as with a standard holder? Then, of course, you have the various ROH sharpening levels and all the new "flat bottom" types that promise equal bite, more glide, and the ability to use a lesser ROH equivalent for the same bite and more glide. Confusing, huh. So, my real question is with the Marsblade and how it effects profiling and sharpening. Initially, I thought the Marsblade holder would replace the need for custom profiling and maybe the only other variable would be to experiment with sharpening. But, in the Marsblade literature and from their customer service person they suggest to profile as you normally would. I'm concerned that there is now an introduction of another variable to the other two (profiling and sharpening) that makes dialing in the optimal combination virtually impossible for most people without unlimited budget, ice time, and steel to experiement on. I'd be interested in specific guidance from Marsblade and their engineers on the physics of how their holders interact with the blades profile and, to a lesser extent, the sharpening ROH or FBV equivalent. If the Marsblade holder actually does many of the same things a custom profile would and alleviates the need for custom profiling for most skaters there would be a considerable value add to the product, especially for those of us who don't have a competent profiling shop nearby. Thoughts?

Interesting. I'm not clear on where the prongs go into (inside of the boot I'm assuming but how do they flatten?). I see they sell round tee nuts without the prongs, akin to those in helmets. Let me know? Thanks.

I've been intrigued by the Marsblade concept and the temptation to try them was too much, so I went ahead an ordered a pair of the new I2 holders for October (I hope) delivery. Now trying to figure out if I should put them on my old skates to test (thus, incurring one mounting charge and then another if I like them to swap onto my new skates) or all in and straight to my new skates (CCM Ft2's with XS holder and Step Steel). Anyone else here having similar thoughts? Also, I have to drive a bit (90 miles) to a skate shop that does rivets and wondering if one of the rivet gun tools at Home Depot, $20-$30, can be used on skates? I can't find anything online other than skate shops with specialized rivet machines; but, DIY would sure come in handy when experimenting with these holders. For Marsblade: Put some of your testing footage and feedback of the new I2 up on YouTube. The test footage you filmed for the original version was great and it's definitely helpful to see pro's skate on the holders..maybe even showing a tester experiement with the new wedge choices.

Good question. My old skates, up until now, have been a 2015 model Jetspeed size 9. The new FT2's are in size 9.5 as CCM did change sizing a few years ago. The FT2's are a different skate for sure than the original Jetspeed; but, the fit is very similar. In fact, as I weigh the FT2's versus going to Bauer I do feel that the FT2's give me a more familar feeling and that will likely sway me to stay with CCM. I guess it depends exactly how granularly you are going to analyze the fit and feel. Once I got the right size in the FT2, aside from the FT2's feeling a bit stiffer overall; they felt pretty much the same as my old skates when on my feet in my house. I've yet to skate on them because my local rink is a 6 month winter operation and I've got about 4 more weeks to wait. I hope this helps.

FYI..I just received a response from Bauer that they will discontinue the practice of including custom profiled blades (Power Profile) on retail skates into the future and will only offer them on Custom skate builds and through their Custom Steel (35 day lead time) programs. Apparently, they've determined, and probably for many of the reasons cited in this forum thread, that mass commercialization of pre-profiled steel isn't practical at this time. Heck, even startups who've tried to market single radius profiles produced in mass like T-Blade or Marsblade haven't exactly boomed to date. My conclusion is if you want the absolutely best performance from your blades/skates then find your profile and shell out the money to skate on it. And, good luck for you if you have a shop close who can do this for you reliably and economically. I think the majority of adult league skaters will continue to skate on standard, single radius, blades and will maximize their function by finding the right cut and a competent sharpener. I'm still looking forward to trying my Power Profile quad blades when our rink opens for the winter in a few weeks. I'm sure I'll like it and be faced with a choice of the challenge of maintaining it going forward or the easy decision to go back to standard blades out of convenience and cost. Good discussion here and thanks to all who have chimed in. I've learned a ton about skate profiling and it's place in the market.

Actually, the Power Profile also comes on the 3S Pro, which I have. I do see the associated commercial challenge with offering "pre-profiled" blades; but, my comment was predicated on the logic that profiled blades ultimately provide a net benefit to the skater and, if more readily available, most would convert to using profiled blades (as I likely will). It would certainly be an investment risk by Bauer to attempt to steer the market there proactively. As I mentioned previously, the odd thing is that Bauer trademarked their new "Power Profile" to go with their new blades and LS Edge holders and then didn't come up with a mechanism to get replacement blades with the same "Power Profile". What would be the net benefit to Bauer to get a skater hooked on their proprietary profile and then force them to go for re-profiling or replacements to a Prosharp or other shop? You'd think this feature would provide brand stickiness to dis-incent people to go to CCM or True. Perhaps I need to go buy the Bauer Hockey company to ensure this oversight is corrected! But, seriously, you make good points and my entry to this thread was really to better understand the benefits of profiling and then to figure out the best and most economical way to incorporate it. Cheers.

I've always skated on stock radius/profiles and never thought much about it; but, I'm with the nerds and like the science that supports innovations. That said, I did think it was odd that Bauer includes a retail quad profile (280mm runners on mine, so not sure on which quad equivalent) and then doesn't make that same blade/profile combo available for replacement blades..and, it would be nice if they did and I would think a market opportunity for somebody to sell blade/profile combos. I just used the pricing from my other post from a couple places I found online (Bay Area, KK, Tydan, etc) and saw $40-$50 not including shipping. So, now I have a Quad profile blade on the skate and a standard profile backup..probably need to get them to match.

I've been reading this thread and trying to learn more about profiling after purchasing a new pair of Bauer skates that have their "Power Profile" quad already on the blade. I do appreciate the technology assciated with custom profiling; but, I'm trying to figure out how to maintain it and get it done economically when there isn't a profiling shop anywhere close. Some say you need to re-profile yearly (depending upon skill or lack thereof of your sharpener and number of sharpens) and then you see adverts from Sparx or Blademaster saying their auto sharpeners don't degrade the profile at all. I do see the mail-in services; but, at $40-$50 for the profile and probably $10 in shipping each way and depending on how often one would need re-profiling it would almost be cheaper to get new blades each time..especially if you could buy them pre-profiled. As a side note, I was shocked to find that the pre-profiled Bauer runners that came on my skates cannot be purchased separately for a back up set or replacement. I just see some gaps between cost and convenience in the profiling process for now and I'm thinking it won't be too long before they'll sell replacement runners pre-profiled with the most common cuts at least. Perhaps I'm wrong in some of the info I've gathered or my assumptions and am interested in thoughts for those of use without a local profiler and without unlimited budget to work with?

Ha, I am aware and have never skated on a Quad profile before. I do have a set of LS5 runners with standard 10' profile on them and was thinking I should probably put those on for the skate test. That said, in addition to the skates themselves I am interested in trying the Quad profile v. standard; but, I also live in a rural area with nobody local who does skate profiling. So, if I decide on a custom profile, Quad or other, I'll have to drive 75-100 miles every time it needs to be re-done..which I've read could be once or twice a year???

I ended up getting my hands on a Jetspeed FT2 in D and the 3S Pro in Fit 1. I'm still curious what the Vapor 2X Pro in Fit 2 would have felt like; but, I'm going to choose between these two. There are definitely subtle differences in the fit and feel in different parts of the skates; but, I'm not going to be able to choose until I skate on both (which won't be for another 5 weeks until our rink opens back up for the winter). First impressions are that the Jetspeed has slightly more width in the forefoot and both pairs feel similar in the ankle/heel area to me. The Bauer 3S Pro feels like it has more substantial interior padding and a thicker tongue. Also, based only on trying them on, it seems the Bauer is at least an equally stiff skate if not stiffer. Since I'm coming from an earlier pair of CCM Jetspeeds, the CCM pair does feel a bit more familiar and I thought I immediately go for the CCM. But, something about the Bauer skate, even thought it's the second down in the Supreme line, makes it feel a little more substantial and supportive. Plus, the Bauer gets better reviews for its holder/steel combos than the OEM CCM versions. I can't give a final verdict yet and am looking forward to skating on both.