flip12

Just saw the blade face picture on the Base Facebook page (posted on April 9, 10), not to forget the curve profile. I'd say it's definitely a lot more like a W10 than a W28. I have a couple of Malkin pro stocks with a very similar pattern (Easton's Malkin 2) and it's very very close to the Gionta blade I have. Shooting is very similar. The toe is taller, so I find it a little easier to use in pulling the puck back in. The W71 looks to be a bit more rounded out (less kinky) in the curves on the top and bottom of the blade compared to Base's BC71. Also, from every description I've found, it seems to be a higher lie: a Warrior 5, so roughly a 6 on Base's scale, which seems to correspond more with Easton and Bauer. To the OP, if you're afraid of a low lie, the W71 may be better for you. It depends on what pattern you're coming from and how adaptable you find your hands to be. I know from experience, some hands are much picker than others.

It depends on what they've got for a toe shape on the BC71. I'd say there's a good chance it's closer to the W10 than the W28: a lot of Malkin's pro patterns aren't very rockered.

Contacted by journalists, you mean? That's a good point. My guess would be it's because a headline about the safest helmet (according to a study, not to forget that that qualification would likely be left out) isn't as click-baity as one about how many concussions you're prone to get wearing helmets from the most prominent manufacturers.

Just from reading the intro to the article in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10439-015-1278-7), it's clear that the authors of the study are much more aware of and true to the nuances of concussion risk assessment. Also, they're aware of and testing for rotational components of impact in their study: "Given the fact that all head impacts have both linear and rotational acceleration components, future helmet evaluation should quantify injury risk using both linear and rotational head kinematics," (page 2).

That's why it's tricky to try two variable changes at once. You don't know what effect they have, if any. What about a 3/4" with a medium channel?

Do you still have the original tongue from your VH? It would be interesting to see how much more mass there is to the thicker ones. As much as the weight sits in people's minds, it would be nice if there were weights for all the sizes in a range, especially since a size 8 in one brand doesn't fit the same as a size 8 in another. I forgot to mention, but I noticed a similar sluggish feeling you mention having with the CXN when comparing my MLX holder to the LS2 (The MLX holder I have is a little longer though, so maybe that's the feeling I don't like?). Along with the LS2 the other holders I really feel comfortable in are Cobras and Tuuk Custom+. I'm wondering if having the hardware securing the steel down low by the toe and the heel can cause a holder to feel sluggish to some people.

Your 930-gram VH skate isn't standard is it? Standard tongue and toe-box, width, etc?

I wasn't trying to pick on you, but didn't want to let a potential misunderstanding continue to brew...it's quick for someone to misread, "getting hit by Borland is like getting shot by a bullet!" In a way that statement could be true, but it may not be the way people think at first. It was mostly the medical thing that I think is important for us all to remember. We're getting better at treating ourselves. Improved research and design is part of that and there are bound to be these storms along the way. I just happen to have that experience of seeing the two sides of publishing new knowledge talking at cross purposes, so this morass is familiar.

I think maybe you meant the same momentum as a fired bullet. Velocity is just velocity: rate of distance moved over the time interval chosen (measured in miles per hour, meters per second, etc.). The momentum thing is true, and an unintuitive fact right out of Newton's mechanical laws, "every action has an equal and opposite reaction." But, that also means that the kickback force of a gun is the same as accelerating force causing the bullet to move, which just shows, absorbing the momentum of the bullet is not the same experience as absorbing that of the gun's kickback. Not that I want to get hit by either a fired bullet or a retired Borland, but those two are also not the same experience. The point is good though. There is a lot more force at play in today's contact sports where players are both bigger and faster than they were in the past. Seriously, I would not want to play against Dustin Byfuglien. He flicks opponents off like toys. Hella fun to watch him do that though. Anyway, bigger+faster just isn't the whole story: medicine has also improved, and part of the reason why there seem to be way more concussions is because it's much better understood that there's something serious going on in these instances of head trauma. The same thing can be said for PTSD, for instance. Everyone is making great points. Yes, journalism is flawed, peer-reviewed research is flawed, and those two pools don't really mingle all that happily (my wife is doing her Ph.D and tells me about frustrations just like the problems with this case: journalists just want a simple truth, as sexy as possible, controversial is a big plus, to plug into their story that has to get in and out of their editors' and readers' faces as enjoyably and as quickly as possible. On the other hand, researchers are often more aware of or engaged with the nuances of their area of expertise, which is literally their job). If we can get out on the other side of this development, having a new voice in assessing helmet safety, maybe we can have improved protection a few years down the road. But there are certainly going to be some rotten and broken eggs along the way. That's just life.

I noticed some new s500's on eBay for $150 today. I was tempted, but they only had D-widths.

Nice old Flyweights. I like that model, tried to make them my primary skates last year, but didn't realize I needed to get them in wide for my flipper feet.

Reminds me of Bauer's 1X branding, which reminded me of the Mako. Too little difference between brands these days.

For me, it would be a sure way to get the edge I want, FBV-style or just a shallower hollow, without having to ship my steel to Sweden or Germany. I'm fairly certain I'd still go to Malmo to get my radius done. Sharpening here is about $6.33 every time, and it's the same 1/2 every time, at that. Over a season or two, it could easily pay for itself. Especially if other people at the club want to try out different cuts and whatnot.

Similar here in Denmark. If you don't clear 50,000 dkk (around $7K) of revenue within a window of a year or something, you're defined as a hobby business in which case you're excluded from VAT payments as well as claims, i.e., you can't deduct costs for running your hobby business. I see on the Kickstarter page it says "Line Voltage 100-240 AC," so these are compatible with European voltage?

Wheeler's been in Bauer since coming back from his leg injury.

Can see Hannan's still in his from the same shot, nice :)

I could easily see that. This goes back to slightly earlier Red Wings teams, but I've been watching some of their classic games online, and when Fedorov and Coffey were there, no one on the ice came close to their acceleration and glide. They just cover so much ice while not even taking any strides. I know Coffey was known for his shallow hollow and long radius, but Fedorov seemed like he had to be on a close setup.

Once I switched from Bauer to Graf, I had no problems transitioning between ice and roller. Part of it certainly was that the boots were just much more comfortable, so it didn't kill me to shift my weight naturally, like it did in Bauer boots. Then I think the longer and more pitched blade setup also played along with how I had learned to skate.

My transition from roller to ice was awful. I think because of the radius thing. It got much better on an 11' radius Cobra holder with lots of pitch and a very shallow hollow, like 1" and higher. My first time on ice, it felt like I had canyons strapped to my feet.

Good to hear OptimusReim. I remember you saying how this was a goal of yours. Now you have the documentary evidence of achieving it :)

But if you look back at when he was younger, he definitely did use tape, going up even higher on his tendon guard and tongue, and it certainly had an effect on the ankle action in conjunction with his skate (which to me, watching his skating, it looks like this current treatment still does).

Jagr's long had a heel-sling elastic band, going way back to 20+years ago. I've never seen him in shot-blockers, though. I thought about that too, for Keith's skates. Hard to tell from the pictures. On a different note... A little show and tell? Or also loose rivets?

I think it's just tape. It looks like Keith imitated Brian Leetch's 80's-style ankle-immobilizing tape. It's the reason why Keith looks kind of like a baby deer when he skates. He's mobile and all, but he has absolutely minimal ankle action, which actually loses him some races from time to time. Can't imagine he could get himself to go without it at all. Can't really argue with his hardware though.

Let's see if he brings them out for any game trials again then. I remember Keith's name also coming in a thread about Bauer custom skates, where he wasn't happy with his boots over several pairs in a row. Since he wore VH for a length of time in the game, I imagine he's been testing them out in practice for a while. Maybe it just wasn't time yet, or maybe he is done with them, we'll see.

Nice, I remember Keith's name popping up, either from SVH mentioning him in a video or reading about a trial pair coming his way. We'll see if it sticks. A few of this year's VH guys have switched back out--Bourque and Eakin in particular.