stick9

Ack...no more Draper! The new stick graphics are pretty cool. Digging the Projekt gloves, wish they came in red.

More than willing to pay for a bake job, no problem there at all. No way in hell I pay 15 bucks for a sharpening. It wasn't about the fee (I can't be anymore clear on that). It was the flat out refusal to do the work is what cost shop B our business. This is a well known ski shop that does tuning all day long. This wasn't a first time set up, this was strictly a tune up (hot wax, edge grind and tweak the bindings as they were popping off a little too easy).

You should never assume. He was more than willing to pay for the service. He wasn't looking for a discount or some kind of special deal. He just want to have his skis tuned up before heading out for the weekend. Look, I'm all for supporting the local shops. However, the day a shop refuses service or decides to charge me more than the going rate will be the last time I do business with that shop. That's all there is to it.

Quick story. A buddy of mine bought some skis from shop A. He brought them to shop B to have the bindings adjusted and the edges done (shop B close to home and trusted we their techs). The owner of shop B wouldn't do it and told him to bring the stuff back to shop A. Neither me or my buddy purchased anything from shop B again. Shop B lost thousands of dollars in business over $50 in tech work. So it's not that I don't understand it, it's I don't think it makes very much business sense. I didn't buy the skates there, so what. I'm in your shop now looking to do business. If you're gonna turn me away or charge me triple, I'll probably never shop there again. So not only did you lose out on the skate purchase, you're gonna lose out on the stick purchase, the glove purchase, monthly sharpens, ect.. ect.. Imagine if auto dealers did this with repairs and service, you'd be looking at a $100 oil change. Hey if you bought the car from them it would have been free. When it comes to baking I understand the charge. It's time consuming and it's part of the fitting process.

So if I buy skates at another shop and don't have them sharpened (maybe the wait was too long or the guy who does it was out or just plain sucks) your shop will charge me $15? Incentive...sounds more like a requirement if you ask me. What if I already know what I need and I don't have them baked or sharpened, do I $45 bucks off?

I'd be interested in hearing peoples thoughts on the X:40.

Nice mitts JR...love the color scheme.

I've been looking at the S11 skate for 250 at my LHS, but the S12 is only 50 bucks more. Would it be worth it spend the extra money and get the S12's?

AustralianBear - very nice! The pinky stripe is a nice touch.

JR, you gotta post some pics of those bad boys. Looks to be a sweet set up.

The S9 skate and down look like Bauer knock offs.

The protective looks bulky.... I really like the Warrior Pro bag. The Syko bag is pretty cool too.

Did they swap the fit between the Vapor and Supreme gloves?

In comparison, I was thinking One75, Easton S11...maybe even the Vector 08. They seem to be in the price point we are talking.

I think it appeals to the people who want a high end skate but don't want to spend $600.

If I understand this correctly, the 09 X40 will be a completely different skate than the 08 version? It will end up being the new XXII or XVI price point skate with specs geared towards that price.

Kind of a two part question. If the X40 replaces the X25 with the X50 and X60 being new models. Will the X40 be re-branded to remove the Nike name? If so will we see NBH branded X40's on closeout?

Man, talk about building up the hype....

Didn't Bauer have some funky way of attaching a blade to a shaft? CooperAlls are another that come to mind.

Monty, sweet Mega 90's...nice find. I had a pair back in the day. One of my favorite pairs of skates.

Those Eastons are a thing of beauty. WTG Drew!

I notice the S11 has the elliptical taper, but not the TORX technology used in the S15. Anyone else find this odd?

Thanks, that looks about what I recall seeing MIA's for before. Still out of my ballpark.

Should we expect MIA type pricing for the Warrior/MIA gloves?

Ok, officially annoyed with their marketing... Love the new MIA gloves. Wish the syko wasn't their high end stick. That's their best paint job so far.