flip12

What is the new one’s material makeup? Foam, felt, and leather? Can you share some detailed views of it?

Does the new tongue have a moderately stiff thermoplastic piece running 90% of its length like the MLX tongue had?

What improvements do you have in mind?

I wouldn’t change that either. That’s another thing I think Graf gets more than the other skate brands...though I suppose it’s impossiblebto refute the simple counter-argument that other brands only make their skates stiffer than stiff across the entire boot because that’s what the customer wants; on the other hand Bauer and CCM have begun to walk back their overzealous boot stiffening of late. Again, look at Viking speed skates: they’re not nearly as stiff as competitors’ boots, but they’re still popular and skaters wearing them still figure in the medal count. They’ve meshed the integrated outsole-quarter piece and managed to maintain their optimal feel of stiff down low and softer on top. The marketing of the one piece boot is often a bit wishy washy, but I definitely notice a difference in high speed turning stability and more immediate response wearing my MLX compared to Graf. There are still things, previously mentioned, that I still prefer from my Grafs. But when I swap them out for MLXs mid-session, I feel the performance boost instantly. I’m starting to wonder if this has less to do with there being less material or fewer parts in the boot-holder junction and more to do with the boot better resisting torsion. I’ll add some visual materials to show where that thinking comes from in a little bit. I think I’ll have to dig around to find some images and also probably sketch some others. I just want to finish this monster post, “Sorry,” with this: whatever the cause, I definitely do believe in the benefit of the one piece boot...not that I think it has to be one chunk of a shell, but that the effect of those skates is very real, and I’d bet the future of hockey skates 10-years down the line.

Right. I’d try integrating the parts quarter A - outsole - quarter B into a butterflylike unit, leaving the heel part to be stitched up the same way they’ve been doing for decades. Viking’s heel cup is similar, but I picture the approach I’d try changing less about Graf’s assembly process.

I wouldn’t change the various Graf fits at all, just update the boots’ materials and construction.

I just wish Graf would do a monocoque boot, with an integrated outsole and quarter package.

Looks new with the CCM branding on the heel akin to the new Vapors. Yellow so maybe an early look at the next Tacks.

It might seem like a let down that the release isn’t finger operable, but it looks like quite a firm lock and the tool head’s smaller diameter prioritizes the spatial compactness of the mechanism over tool less handiness. That’s the right order of priorities IMO. Also, it looks like a nice pocket size so an amateur coach can have one for making quick swaps on the bench during games or practice. Can the skater do a swap on their own skates while wearing them?

Indeed. I’m partial to not getting slashed on a naked wrist and smart designs that offer both fit and function. I have long arms, though. My XL 20K elbows stop a couple of inches short of my cuffs.

I quite like it, especially in comparison with Bauer’s usual cuffs.

@Sniper9, no, about the threading of that nut.

Did you reach out to True or your local True dealer?

It looks kind of like a yacht sailing on Chara’s thoughts and dreams.

It’ll match my AK27 gloves.

Zizek can and does. It really depends on what kind of publication. Skates from different manufacturers actually do imitate each other quite a bit, so this wouldn’t be that far out of the ordinary.

I don’t care enough about holder looks to have it sway what I’ll use, but having said that, I think the new holder looks messy and complicated compared to the Step/VH holder. I thought that one looked really nice overall.

110 grams and what was the size?

I have Powerfoot inserts. I just forget where. I can't move the tongue lower so easily: I'm still in MLX which has a tab stitched into the tongue that screws into the toe cap. If I were to try that approach, I don't think it would help. It's not the area in the actual toe cap that's too tall, it's the facing and laces not snugging the tongue down enough for my liking from the first to the third eyelet near the toe cap. Moving the tongue further into the toe cap wouldn't address that issue. I think it has to do with how snugly they can be laced when they're baked.

I'm hoping I'll be lucky with that technique in my case because it's not the width of the forefoot that feels too roomy but the height, and the facing definitely is thermoformable. I just need it to snug up a little more than it does from a normal baking.

How thermoformable is the toe cap area? Is a little too much room fixable by applying the shrink wrap fitting method to the forefoot? I my multiple bakings of MLX skates, I find the first three eyelets end up feeling too roomy after the skates have cooled. I'm keen to try the new fitting method but won't get the chance to get back on the ice in the next few months, so I can't provide any feedback until then.

That makes more sense regarding Pastrnak. I didn’t watch much of the Bruins until the Finals. That’s not true.

More ergonomic but skinnier? By 'more ergonomic' I'm picturing a Birkenstock forefoot shape. Did you mean something like that? However, by making the toecap narrower, wouldn't that be making the boot less ergonomic? I imagine that toecap width is something that gets determined by the foot the skates are built for. They should be the Goldilocks 'just right' width if scanning, building, and molding go as they should.

In what way would you like to see it changed?

IMHO, this should probably be its own thread. It lives a parallel existence to the proper Bruins/Blues thread...having said that: Thanks for the links. It's interesting to look at other dives for notes. I can see where these have more hallmarks to them that underline the embellishment. I do have a hard time accepting the argument that, if he were diving he wouldn't have hit his head. I don't think it actually makes sense, because it assumes that a player knows the full outcome of going down prior to initiating the dive and that's not a given. There are some cases where they do plan their landing (perhaps better), as your links show. But there are also incidents where they don't, like this one with Sam Reinhart ... At first it might seem ridiculous that someone might get hurt embellishing on a play, but that can happen. It's not always possible to know the outcome of a fall. You can have an idea you should go down to sell the penalty, but that doesn't mean you'll do it well, both in the sense of making it believable and making sure you don't do something stupid that gets you hurt. Something stupid like hurtling face first into the boards and forgetting about the dasher that juts out below the glass, or attempting to do a bicycle kick on ice and landing a bit too high on your back so you hit your head on the ice. I can't see how Acciari's right leg makes any sense if it's not a dive. It's not sliding forward, as though he loses his balance backward. It simply comes up, straight off the ice and at the same time he leans his back further into the fall. That's what makes his fall look like it has two phases. Once his right leg leaves the ice it looks patently false, to me. Though it even looks suspicious right from the start. MacKinnon on the other hand falls in one motion and spins out, which is the natural effect of losing balance on one leg while another one is still on the ice. All of the embellishment links in this thread seem to have those two phases where it's a jerky fall that has dead giveaways of bad acting. I can see where a fall on ice might have two phases if a player starts to fall but still has a chance to regain balance with the other foot, only to fall backward on the flat of the blade. Acciari's right skate doesn't shoot out at all like that, so even if he were going to fall his right leg would have only come off the ice at most a little bit (again see MacKinnon for example). Even if Acciari were going to fall anyway, he would have spun, as is natural when one's center of gravity is suddenly tilted off the axis of support, in this case, his right leg. For those who say, "No way, this wasn't diving." What the hell is happening with his right leg? Is it demonically possessed? On a general diving/embellishment note, has anyone seen a team awarded a power play where only the diver was assessed a penalty? Whenever I've seen diving called, it's only been offset by the other penalty. I'm wondering if NHL referees are discouraged from calling diving alone on a play.