flip12

It's a couple of games' old news maybe, but McHeyzeus is back to his pre-Oates pattern.

Not always. The best Vapors of all-time, 8 and 10, had no red whatsoever. Their second tier models (4 and 6) did, but it wasn’t until XX that the Vapor stain was first seen.

Strange to see Vapor gradually losing its L-cut. Looks like a one90ish tendon guard. The graphics aren’t doing it for me. My favorite post-rib Vapor for looks is still Hyperlite.

The first version was an awesome skate. It’s clear Bauer’s been giving nods to their Mission IP lately: the Amp Fly Weight stripe on Vapor X1’s (first gen.), the Drive Shaft bar on the Power Fly holder, and the flex notch (though not a Mission invention) in the Supreme Mach facing.

Where we skate is a dedicated rink. The ice quality I’ve experienced in the CPH area has been very mixed, similar to what I experienced growing up in Wisconsin. I skate with some Canadians (one from Red Deer I’m pretty sure), but none of them have mentioned the ice quality.

Amp Fly Weight?

Hang on, all ice in Europe is soft?

Blasphemy 🫨

If you still have the old skates, try them with a series A/B tests (in no particular order)... new boot on one foot, old boot on the other swap which foot has the new boot and which has the old old boots on both feet new boots on both feet Make sure it's the same steel you're always skating on, to focus on the differences between everything else. Just try and focus on your feet and your edges and what might be causing a disconnect there.

Maybe. I don’t look at those. The farthest down I’ve looked was at Vapor X4, and there you have the three options. There’s some argument for looking somewhere below the top of the line for replacing X:60s, but I wouldn’t seriously recommend anyone that’s that used to a boot of X:60’s calibre to go low end. From just checking X3, it looks like that might not be offered in Fit 1, but our LHS offers them in Fit 2 or Fit 3. I guess if you call Fit 2 a D, you could say D exists, but it doesn’t translate well back to when Bauer labeled their skates D and EE.

No. In fact there is no current Bauer 9D. Back when there was 9D it was also a lie because the width of the foot last each line was built on was different. When the 3 Fit System came in Bauer started having the updated version of the different fits available in your preference of Vapor or Supreme. Bauer was wishy-washy on the language about Fit 1 being close to a Vapor D, Fit 2 Supreme, and Fit 3 Nexus, with the updates to those fits coming from their 3D scan data. If you search MSH there are similar stories to yours where a happy Vapor D wearer wasn’t able to find the same degree of fit from their size or even a size down in Fit 1. The new toe cap can push people down half a size as well, just like the switch in the forefoot shape from the straight sidewalled TechMesh boot to the curved TrueLasted (or whatever it was called) CURV boot did for some.

You could get Graf to make a nice Vapor replicant if they still have the materials: Ultra G9000 pattern looks like their closest to the Vapor L-cut: https://grafhockey.com/skates/ice/player/ultra-g9000/ (says it's available for custom order). Reposition the eyelets though so spacing is even top to bottom--no extra space between 1st and 2nd eyelets at the cuff. EPP teclite mesh monocoque quarter construction = TechMesh: https://www.purehockey.com/product/graf-custom-ultra-g5-xi-ice-skates-senior/itm/6628-41/ Oversize traditional Graf toe cap. It's not very anatomical, but going up a size can get you more wiggle room. It's pretty low volume, which is nice. Details: 1. The tongue is crucial to classic Vapor flex. I'm not sure what they offer that would be closest. Maybe their updated Flex-insert panel tongue that's standard on Ultra 9000, but the last time I saw G75s in a shop with those tongues they didn't have the lace bite protector's stiffness in the upper half that Vapors have had since the Vapor 10 (Vapor 8 tongue was closer to a Supreme tongue flex profile). 2. You would maybe want to ask that they don't reinforce the collar. A lot of Graf skates have an extra stiffener that wraps the top eyelets and the collar, forcing the top of the boot to flare. That's not the case with traditional Vapors. 3. They even used to offer a fully composite outsole, rather than their Texalite outsole. I had G35X with that outsole, and while it was stiff enough, it turned out to be rather disappointing on closer inspection. It was mostly plastic with a carbon weave injection printed fabric to make it look fancier. 4. Depending on which generation of Vapors is your favorite (mine's Vapor 10), you may want to ask for reduced vamping in the first 3-4 eyelets. Hell, writing this out is getting me tempted 😛🤑

True's fit was large on the original TF line. That was corrected on all retail lines since then. If their toe cap were as anatomical as Bauer's current toe cap, they'd be closer to 1:1 fit. Right now I fit True 9.5 like a Bauer 9. I wish I could drop to True 9 because the boot fits sloppy compared to my 9.5D Vapors.

But what about the PE acquisition? Can you share some links to that? I tried searching but nothing comes up. I can only find articles on CCM’s sale last year.

These refreshes keep enshittifying the cosmetics of iconic skates. 652, Air Accel (not “Excel” like @justdohockey posted last week) Elite, Vapor 10. They just look awful compared to the originals and today’s skates. Any other available option would look better.