Rustpot

Intake Fusion is essentially what it is I would imagine. Mission, CCM and now Bauer are offering both EPP and VN versions of their top helmets (Intake/Fusion, V10/V8, 9500/5100). Looks sharp. What's different from retail TBL?

My dad bought an '08 standard TrailBlazer. It's pretty decent, rides smooth. When I'm sitting properly in the seat my head hits the headliner though. The pedal-to-seat-to-wheel angles aren't ideal for me, but I don't mind driving it that much. Gas mileage is nothing to write home about however. I think 18 highway is all he gets with the 6cyl. For God's sake, do NOT buy a Chrysler product. They are hands down the worst of the Big 3 across the board. On another note, my marathon Detroit->Harrisburg->Philadelphia->Detroit travel from 9am Monday to 2am Wednesday means I'm back in business. Good thing the cop only tagged me at 83 and not 110 when I decided to open it up on I-75 south of Detroit. She's getting winters and new shoes (black steels baby!) when I get up to school, finally have garage space enough to store a second set of wheels. http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/rustpot/IMG_0108.jpg

As opposed to the guy on your team behind you that looks like he has his shins laced to his legs? Gear looks great, though I was never really a yellow lace fan.

Been almost a year... added the following NikeBauer XXXX skates, Canadiens pro stock CCM Vector 10 helmet, Oakley pro mod and Itech straight visors Eagle X70, Mission M-1 gloves (and many gloves have come and gone in the mean time, Eagle X70, TPS HGT, Mission H750, Vapor XX, Fury Aeroflex, Mission Icon to name a few) Sticks now stand at; Vapor XXXX, One70, One90, 9KO, 7V Sickick, 6k Sickick with Christian wood, SL, SE with pro VDS, ST Zubov pro, Nitro6500 with Lang pro, Response Lite pro stock, Rubber with Lang pro, Fuel Ti, Dolomite with L-2, Zbubble with AK27 pro, 52calibre with SynergyII, SeniorLight with Vector 4, SherWood 950 paddle, couple of old wood sticks. Went through an SE, S17, 2 AK27 pro stocks, MacDaddy, another SL, Nitro 8500 and 9500, and probably some sticks I forgot about. Never paid more than $110 + shipping for any of these, most were considerably less.

There's always a threadpuller, and I would take them off your hands (:P) if you dropped the price to around $50.

Good call blacking it out. They look a lot like the Hockeyworld SMU gloves from Warrior with the backroll stitching.

No surprises huh? Chevy is still as bad? I'm only 6 feet tall, I have to literally slide out of the car since they decided on using 8" windows for style. Said windows take 25 seconds to roll down, longer if you're trying to do multiple at once. The little pop-open compartment in front of the shift knob only opens halfway. So many small things that someone with half a brain could have said "that makes NO sense".

During a tournament last spring my LHS said they had some younger kids moving skates from the queue to the done pile to get the line down faster. Things got hectic and there were so many skates the workers didn't notice. There's now a sign that says to check your skates before you take them. This is a smaller store where the sharpener is right out front across from the register.

I'm riding in a 2009 Malibu rental while my car is in the shop. I think I'd rather have your 2000, this car is a pile.

How much did that run you? I just paid for a One90 from a member here. I wasn't too happy with the XXXX or the One70, so this is a last ditch for Bauer for me until used One95s start getting sub-$100 on the board :)

Get custom clones now.

Is that a black with grey XXXX? I just posted in the gear sightings thread how much I liked that look over the flashy red 12k with red and chrome retail look. Very nice.

No clue. Still up in the air on everything. She's contesting the fact I'm out of state as being incompetant to the situation (non-resident, no familiarity with the roads) and is suing for thousands in medical costs, I'm arguing she must have thought she was still on 95 with how fast she was going and should be double-faulted for this shit. Still not in the body shop, 10 days until I was scheduled to be out of here, 16 to X-mas. Lookin like Christmas alone in my shitty PA apartment.

2001, 2.4T I believe. I also have the shitty 2001 tranny that doesn't switch gears very quickly, they've upgraded both the engine and transmission several times across the board in the years since. I must say the Volvo has spoiled me though. I think I was 20 or 21 when I bought it used, and being used to all of the creature comforts is going to make it hard buying something with less than $40,000 as the starting sticker price. I've been looking at used Benz 4-matic wagons and 3 series xit's from BMW to replace it. I don't know if I'll stick with Volvo, the XC70 is about the only suiting model for me (AWD wagon) and I'd like to move into something with a little more pep and handling abilities.

It's a turbo 5 cylinder, nothing exciting. I think it's rated at 190hp peak, which is quite high in the rev range. The turbo doesn't really kick on until 2500+ RPM, so starting from a stop like I tried doesn't have any instantly available power. I'm not a fan of turbo cars, and this is yet another reason why I won't own one again unless it's a dual turbo with one setup for low-RPM power. The tailgate won't close and the square thing behind the wheel is a hole that's open to the rear fuse box and battery. I'd rather not drive with that, even if I tape it off. Hopefully the body shop can get me rolling in 2 weeks.

Coming out of my apartment complex there's a trailer company on my driver's side with a sign on the fence and flatbeds with their ramps sticking up, hard to see traffic from that way. I see nothing, pull out for the left turn across the 2 northbound lanes and hit the brakes as I then see a car coming at a good clip, I'm pretty far out, maybe a full lane at this point. Two thoughts; 1. Where the fuck did that come from 2. MOVE. Split second decision, no time to back up, the driver didn't react at all so I gunned it and prayed. Turbo lag = no getup and go so the lady hits me going somewhere south of 50 I can only assume. Spun my car 180 on a dry road, you do the math. Thank god there were no other cars southbound, I would have been spit into them. The speed limit is 35 and she came at me faster than most cars I've seen as I usually wait 5 minutes for a clearing every morning and see lots of cars. Basically I was obstructing her lane and am at fault. She didn't hit the brakes, swerve, nothing. When the cop asked her what happened she basically said she saw me and froze, she couldn't recall what lane she was in and said the center lane, but I'm pretty sure she was curb, less lead time to see that lane and I wouldn't have tried to cross only being a lane out. So I called a coworker, told him to tell my boss I wasn't going to make it in, and after the cop left and I called insurance I drank half a case of beer and ordered pizza. Fucking $1,000 deductible and I need to move back to MI in 2 weeks.

Nice morning I had today. People suck at driving, especially the 40-something lady who decided to hit me on my way to work. I was at fault for her speeding around a blind turn. At least her car got fucked a lot more than mine. Chrysler 300 vs. Volvo V70 - The 300 had to be towed with half the front end ripped apart, I drove back to my apartment.

I had a good idea the other day. The evolution of man scene, where you see the 5 or 6 outlines of the progression of evolution. Lots of personal meaning for me and quite appropriate for this phase of my life. Think that would translate well into ink? Just a 4" x 2" leg piece or something.

Not nearly far enough, I don't anticipate being done any time soon. I don't know if I'm beat to the punch, but I really don't come across nearly any broken sticks, and it's been tough picking them up on here, most people dump them or stickfix. Most of what I've got isn't with me in Philly besides.

I haven't been on the ice with it. Flex feels right for me, a bit more than my 70/75 shafts, a bit less than 85 Eastons, marked 80. Can't get enough of the tall, boxy shape. I have high hopes, especially after hearing great things from a few guys I've skates with who use them. Plastic coat on the last 6" is a nice touch for durability. Read the 52 Caliber long term review.

Nice feel and flex/kick, horrible torque. Slightly smaller shaft size in my big hands doesn't help. Good weight and balance with my bulky Lang pro blade. It's got a sand grip which I'm more of a fan of than soft grip, I wish companies offered all 3 (clear, soft, polarfibre/tactile).

Took a pic today of what I've accumulated in the last 2 months or so. I keep telling myself I'll take a pic when I'm done, but then I buy something else... One70, XXXX, 9K, and 5-6 others are still at college. S17 is broken; for future projects. One of the SLs is a shaft, going to a co-worker as soon as it gets a blade. Only the Response, 7K and SL are full OPS.

Find two S17s, one with a top break, one with a bottom. Chisel and shave the tenons for male-female ends, cut it short for a 12" plug, assemble the 3 pieces when you get to the rink. :D Or leave a stick with a friend that you know is showing up.

Those look good. I was thinking of just hitting mine with some black spraypaint, Selanne style. I don't think I'd leave as much gray as you, but that harder/smoother area might not take color as well.

They've been sold, but the palms on these aren't mint. I've found taping fully heel to toe with an extra strip on the bottom leads to a lot better life, the blade won't wear down or chip as much, and catching a puck on the heel or toe without tape messes with the feel for me. I only do it when I take time and prep my sticks at home. At the rink I just do 75% of the blade and call it good. As far as Easton gloves... LOVE the look, not so keen on the fit of this pair of Handzus pros I have. I need a bigger fit, they feel like they want to come off. I think it partly has to do with my thumb slipping around a bit and not staying bottomed out. Might get better as they break in more, I don't know. The fingers get better every time I put them on after hitting them with a little heat and pulling them a little straighter. Cuff needs a little upward flare to keep my wrist from rubbing on it, too.