flip12

Thank you for those shots. It's easier to see the subtleties of the patterns from your pictures than from the Praux site itself. I often wonder why product shots are set in outer-space, where it's hard to get a proper look at what you're potentially about to plop a load of money on. And I have to say Damn, that Barkov looks perfect. I love that curve profile. Just like a P28 on a diet. It looks almost identical in curve to my S.Niedermayer blade, but with the heel radius added to the Darby rocker just like Kovalev did. Darby's my favorite retail pattern of all time. A toe focused curve would make it even more perfect for me. The extra aggressive heel radius is a nice to have, but I never have the puck that far away from my body with that curve and feel like it's too square there for me.

I'll second @birky here, the curve is more like a P88 with a deep toe curve. In other respects, it's quite similar to P88. I wonder if Demitra wasn't starting with something extremely close to a P88 pattern when tinkering with his patterns in this cluster. It's more rounded at the heel than just about any other blade at retail followed up by one of the flattest rocker profiles at retail, even flatter than a PM9. The toe shape is kind of a rounded P88, but similar down-shoe style where the tip of the toe shape is in the bottom half. If you want a P88 that's more open, BigMacPro isn't going to help.

Malkin’s classic toe kink is a modified PM9, just like Kovalchuk’s curves. I know Gepetto says it’s “just like a P88” but it’s not really. Either he can’t tell the difference or he references P88 because PM9 hasn’t been around much in recent years. @birky have you been able to compare the Barkov to a Darby side by side? Barkov looks like a modified Darby to me, but I’ve never gotten my hands on one.

The P46 was close, but it didn't last. I'd love that curve if the heel weren't so aggressive.

From factory videos I’ve seen, eyelets are punched out, not drilled. It’s probably easier to get a clean cut that way, and I imagine drilling would stress the material beyond the eyelet area. RocketFrame composite is a kind of fibreglass blend if i remember right, only the Tacks mention carbon. That doesn’t change the contact surface qualities much, though, which makes me think of monocoque boots having rivet issues. Maybe there’s not enough tooth to the combo of smooth quarter panels and eyelet rings to hold on as well as when there’s some pleather facing there.

But that’s just like your opinion man. Better concussion protection by what measure?

The weight could be for the lightest blade pattern in that model at a certain length. It’s probably not a max-height blade. I think 60” is the standard height they weigh; not sure if that 60 is heel to top of the shaft or standing against the wall.

That flex makes me really want a pair of Catalysts. Plus the yellow/black/silver matches our club's uniforms perfectly.

It's the first helmet I've owned that I actually look forward to wearing.

If the only issue is the top outside eyelet, why not spot heat that area with a heat gun to work it out of the way. That way you can fully focus on the problem area and leave what’s good alone.

@pgeorgan did you try the TF9s with a thicker tongue? The TF7 traditional felt tongue would change the fit in the direction of what it sounds like you’re after.

Even the Catalyst line got a lot of hate.

It’s something you could easily test out. Give it a shot and let us know.

Ah. Gotcha. I was indeed focused on height, in the line of the Powerfoot solution. The replacement for the TF looks like it has a sleeker toe cap. I’m not sure about toe cap width after the TF because I haven’t been able to try on Catalysts yet. I vaguely remember the TF toe being pretty wide, but it’s been quite a while since I tried them on.

My view on the tall toe box was they wanted the players to have the option of a roomy cap or repositioning the tongue down inside the cap to make it snug. Since they’ve gone to shallower toe caps in everything after TF, it seems the optional stuffing route didn’t work out the way they were planning.

Pasta’s got little to no ankle involved in his skating, so it’s not a huge surprise. Krejci too. Krejci actually tapes the tendon guard though, along with a handful of players that still do: Coyle, Panarin, Perron, Rasmus Andersson, Pacioretty, and Barbashev. Coyle only started doing it in the last few years, maybe after he started playing for the Bruins. Pacioretty started a couple of years in. I wonder if his brother-in-law, Maxim Afinogenov, got him into it, but that’a pure speculation.

There’s ample room between those two extremes. As you’ve correctly pointed out, it’s very individual where the skate ends up on that spectrum. You can and you actually have to. Otherwise it would be impossible to get a sense of how thermoformability and boot body assembly affect feel and performance for instance. At the end of the day they’re all hockey skates. They’re all comparable to one another. Some comparisons result in a greater degree on contrast, but that’s all an effect of comparison.

Strangest gloves by each recent company… Bauer: one90, appreciate the attempt to push the envelope but it tried too hard to look different as well. CCM/Reebok: 30K, maybe the ugliest glove of all-time. Easton: Mako, ideas were decent, just horrendous appearanch. Mission: Fuel 90. Warrior: pretty much anything since the QRL. True: Anything Z-Palm

Nike Quest 1s featured similar nylon loops instead of eyelets over the forefoot. They cleverly covered the loops with pleather facing to prevent them from get sliced by skate blades.

They’re there, but not as augmented as other brands because the shell is meant to mold more.

I have the traditionally 4-fingered (+thumb) Mission Warp 2s from that era in my basement. The break pattern on the backhand and fingers was way ahead of its time, but a lot of small details were poorly executed or mistaken in their premises. Biggest issue is the thumb-index junction is too shallow, forcing the index finger into an awkward position. Otherwise, the feel is almost as natural as AK27 gloves…maybe no wonder because Kovalev experimented with Mission gloves of that vintage.

I remember those. Elbow pads like it too. That was my first thought. With the return of the hinged skate maybe they’ll do a protective rerun as well.

It’s insanely comfy. I just got one after way too long with a Bauer HH5000 that was just a terrible fit anyway. I tried on newer helmets before settling on the 4500 and they all felt all plastic-like inside, without the soft grip of the 4500, sliding around and whatnot. 4500’s a classic that just works. Like the tapered MacBook Air or iPhone < 4 body.

Just from looking at the differences, McDavid pro is a modified Iginla Jr., so you'd be adjusting to two sets of alterations: down in blade length, heel height, and lie to the Iginla Jr, as well as McDavid's added curve and loft. It's related to Iginla, but it's a wild child compared to the rather mild Iginla Sr.

They also list the weight of each product.