Jarick

That would be fantastic. A flexible grip with a rubber wall that is slightly thinner than your average one-piece...tape whatever butt end you want. Make 4" and 6" versions...I'd love that.

I see a lot more Oggie's on the shelf at Hockey Giant, if that's any indication. I tried one, didn't like it, sold it, bought another, tried it, thought it was okay, have someone who wants to buy it this weekend but using it again tonight.

Oh the Bauer Endure...that thing was indestructible. I sold one a couple months ago that I had used for over a year and it still looked brand new. Shame that they felt like they were about 30 flex stiffer than they were. I still have my eye out for a 67 flex original Endure PM9 lefty ;)

Helmet: Mission Intake w/ Bauer 8500 cage Shoulders: Itech 255 or Sherwood 5030 Elbows: Easton Stealth S9 Gloves: CCM Vector Pro Pants: Bauer Vapor XXV Shins: Bauer One90 Skates: Bauer Vapor XXV Sticks: Warrior Dolomite NG 340 flex Robitaille Warrior Dolomite PF 300 flex Weight Picked up a new Dolo tonight as 07's were on sale. Sold off my other shafts and blades. For future reference, the 75 flex Dolomite had a sticker with 339 flex written on the inside, so that answers that. Another was listed at 340 flex. My 300 flex prostock was listed at 315 and felt in between the 75 and 85 flex retails. Couldn't read the flex on any of the 85's.

Yeah, I had a newer Mercury Cougar that was great for occasionally hauling stuff around. I'm a drummer, so it was nice to be able to toss five cases in the car, the massive hockey bag holding all the hardware, a cymbal bag, some stuff for the guitarists, AND fit the girlfriend up front. Although I'm seeing Nissan Muranos go for pretty cheap now that everyone's selling off their SUV's. Under $16k with lower mileage...going to have to test drive one.

BMW 330xi - $22,000 Front right axle and ignition - $1500 Front left axle, headlamp fixture, and tail lamp fixture - $1500 Repairing damage from a tree branch falling on the car - $3500 Rebuilding transmission - $2500 Learning to never buy an expensive car as a 20-something - Priceless Anyways, hoping to sell this car and get a little hatchback, Mazda3, Scion tC, something like that. Something low to mid teens.

Found myself a pair of Tackla Pro 5000's in great shape for $30 :D (although it took me an hour to fish a new belt through them). They're a bit small (size 46, I probably need a 48) but don't seem too much shorter than my old pants. But on the plus side, I now have really nice protective gear and shouldn't (hopefully) want anything other than new shafts and blades. Helmet: Mission Intake w/ Bauer 8500 cage Shoulders: Itech 255 or Sherwood 5030 Elbows: Easton Stealth S9 Gloves: CCM Vector Pro Pants: Tackla Pro 5000 Shins: Bauer One90 Skates: Bauer Vapor XXV Sticks: Easton Synergy II 70 flex w/ Warrior Dolomite Weight Warrior Dolomite 300 flex w/ Christian Torch Forsberg TPS XN10 R2 Int flex w/ Easton Synergy Elite Iginla (dryland stick)

It protects your hands better and you get a higher performance palm. I took a slash in my $40 Vapor Apollos and went back to my $140 Vector Pros because it bruised my thumb pretty bad.

Sticks are whittled down to: Shafts Warrior Dolomite 300 flex Polarfibre Easton Synergy II 75 flex Blades Warrior Dolomite Weight Warrior Synergy Elite Iginla Christian Torch #1 (Forsberg) Easton Synergy II Drury Easton Synergy II wood Forsberg Christian Torch wood #1 (Forsberg re-curved to Sakic)

Odd, I wear 14" shins and I'm only 5'8". Roommate wears 14" shins and he's 6'. I know guys on my team taller than me who where 12" and 13" shins that barely reach down to the skates.

Picked up a couple blades, including a Christian composite for $15 at a LHS. My collection is up to: Christian Torch #1 (Forsberg) Christian wood #1 (Forsberg that I opened up at the mid-toe) Easton Synergy Elite Iginla Easton Synergy II Drury Easton Synergy II wood Forsberg (opened up at the mid) Mission L-2 Elias (Forsberg) x2 Mission L-2 Hull (Iginla) x2 Using a Dolo 300 PF shaft and a pair of Mission L-2 75 shafts.

Mission L-2 Shaft Flex: 75 Test Blade: Mission L-2 (Elias, Hull) Reviewer: 5'8", 170 lbs, rec league winger Time Used: Two months (20+ times) Shaft Shape / Flex I'm a shorter guy, have smaller hands (13" gloves), and am not particularly big or strong at 170 pounds. So the intermediate flex shaft feels great for me. At first it felt a bit small, but now everything else feels huge. The finish is a little slick compared to other sticks I've used, but it hasn't been a problem or required any additional adhesive or grip. The flex on this thing is great, whippy yet predictable. I'm able to fire off quick wrist shots no problem but also get plenty of heat on the slap shots. I also have the confidence to fire quick shots through traffic since I can load it so easily. But the lighter flex does seem to make passes a bit harder to catch. 9/10 Stickhandling / Receiving Passes The feedback of the L-2 shaft and blade combo are terrific. I can feel where the puck is on my blade better than wood, so I do have a bit more confidence carrying the puck in traffic. The whippy intermediate shaft combined with the stiff composite blade make passes hard to catch though, enough that I have to remember to cradle the puck to slow the momentum. 8/10 Shooting Shooting is excellent with this shaft and blade. Wrist shots are more accurate than anything I've used before and come off faster than anything else I've used. I feel like the lower flex combined with the design of the shaft (low torque and low kickpoint) works very well for my style of shooting. Snap shots have been fine, although I'm not great with them, but I was able to hit corners from in close just fine. My first slap shots with this stick felt very strange due to the whippy flex, but I've found that I can lean into and through them and retain all of my speed on the shot with less vibration than stiffer sticks I've used in the past. For me, there is no weak part about the shooting of this shaft. 10/10 Weight / Balance It's thinner, shorter (55" or so), and lighter than anything else I've used, probably at or under 400 grams (keep in mind this is an intermediate stick). This makes poke checking and stickhandling quite easy. But the stiffer blade and lighter shaft make it more blade heavy, and I can't imagine using a wood blade in this shaft. A wood end would probably help balance it, but as light weight as it is I haven't had any issues. 9/10 Durability The stick has taken several slashes and the paint chips off very easily, but I haven't noticed any cracks, damage, or change in feel. None of the blades I've used have softened at all. 9/10 Intangibles At first I avoided the stick, honestly because I thought it looked cheap with that bright red finish, especially on the tenon of the blade (looked like a toy). And the "bargain bin" pricing that seemed to drop $10 every time I went in the store made me wary. The red color has grown on me now. I just have a lot more confidence in shooting with this stick than anything else I've used. Between the light weight and flex and smaller shaft diameter, I can't go back to my old sticks. Conclusion I highly recommend this shaft for any player. The shaft and blade have held up incredibly well, it produces a great shot, and right now you can get a shaft and two blades for about the same price as a high end tapered blade. Overall 9/10

BAUER ONE90 SHIN GUARDS Time used: 2 months (20+ times) Reviewer: 5'8" 170 lbs, rec league winger Fit Of all the 14" shin guards I tried on, these were the tightest fitting. I believe it is a combination of the slimmer design and the floating shin system used in this model. Because I have slimmer calves and shins, these fit perfectly whereas most other 14" shin guards fit too big. There is one very large strap that incorporates a calf protector and one smaller one just above the calf. The large strap is very secure but the top seems to allow too much play, so I need to use shin tape for a more secure fit. Although it fits very well, I am still conscious of the fact I have them on, and I would say that there could be a better strap system. 8/10 Protection Although I haven't taken a great deal of shots off these guards, I haven't felt anything through them. I did hit the boards knee first and these pads didn't provide much help as I hit the top of the knee (even with the extended knee flaps). The calf protector is the best I've found; there is a thick piece of perforated rubber/plastic that would absorb quite a bit of impact. 9/10 Weight Although the shin guard has a very slim design, there's quite a bit of padding and protection that adds some weight. It does seem to be lighter than my old Bauer 4000 guards, but it's really not a big factor for me. 9/10 Durability I can't comment on the long-term, but the stitching of the guards seems to be very well done and the materials feel pretty solid. The paint/finish started scuffing of pretty easily, but that is only cosmetic. My old Bauer 4000's held up incredibly well, but I'll decline to rate these due to brevity of use. Intangibles I really like the fit of the pads and protection. They are suited to a winger's game: slim and light weight, plenty of calf protection from goalies chopping in the crease, and the floating shin seems more to protection for falls and large impacts rather than shot blocking. I ended up tucking the extended knee flaps back in the shins as they would catch on my pants while skating. Also, they seem to be just a hair shorter than standard guards, so if you prefer to wear your guards over the skate tongues, double check the fit. Conclusion These are solid, slim pads with plenty of protection for any level forward. Defensemen and shot-blockers may want to look at larger pads. Overall 9/10 Update on 3/10/10 (after another two years): Everything is still 100% on this pad just like brand new. No cracks, gouges, nothing falling apart. Well done, Bauer.

Yeah I'm glad I read through these threads before shopping for sticks. I'll only do a quick flex test, how easy is it to load a quick wrister, not the full body press. I've had guys do that with my sticks, are they trying to break them on purpose?

If you dig the Hold Steady, try and find old Lifter Puller. Same singer/songwriter and guitarist, way more drugs, less Elvis Costello, more...drugs. Lots of drugs. I'm on a mid-90's kick right now which involves the second, underrated albums from a lot of alternative bands that everyone's heard before.

Could be worse, James Sheppard is being mentored by Darby Hendrickson!

Very cool story, love the pic with the "FOSHO" car.

2g and counting!

Picked up a pair of Vapor Apollo gloves at HG for $40 to use while sending my Vector Pro's out for a repalm. Surprisingly nice quality, feels more broken in than the rest of the Vapor series, light weight, a decent amount of protection, although it's not going to be confused for a top end glove. First impression is this is a great glove for the money.

Saw it too, was pretty sweet! 2nd goal and he's already being shown on a highlight reel with Kovalev.

Perron is out there wreaking havoc for my team...wish the Wild would have picked him instead of Colton Gillies.

Well after going through a half dozen shaft/blade/stick combos in the last month, I picked up a Mission L-2 75 flex Hull over at Hockey Giant for $60...last non-junior in any hand/pattern too as luck would have it. Good and whippy, decent balance, perfect height, in a pattern I like. Hopefully I'll be happy with something for once!

And secondly, you have to remember that the Bible was interperted, same with the Torah and the Quar'an. Don't sound so self rightous with stating "your God doesn't want you to get tattooed". Yeah but really Ti, how can you argue with a Rhodes Scholar candidate who has such stinging, poignant insight such as "the front part [of the Bible] has all that crazy rambling crap about not wearing cloths of differing fibers?" Really, striking logic. If only we could spread the word. Oh, and my favorite are the people that get a dozen different random styles of tattoos all over their body, then they try and get a sleeve to "tie them together", and they just look like a mess. Good luck with that crap in 10 years!

Yeah that Mazdaspeed6 looks sweet...I have to swing down and see what the ACTUAL retail is. And my boss' husband is a Mazda salesman so I might be able to swing a deal. BUT, I need to pay off the loan for another year first.

330xi which rocks in the snow and rain with regular all-season tires. Except I'm getting killed on repair costs, so I'm hopefully getting something else next spring/summer. Looking at the new 128i, maybe a used G35 or Mazda6. Something with low/no miles, fast, and small(er).