Chadd

Especially in a year without a training camp

Always try on skates, never guess at fit. That said, G75s are a good place to start.

I'm probably past due for my annual update Skates: Easton Mako Helmet: Easton E700 Shoulders: Jofa 3500 Elbows: Jofa 9025 Gloves: Winwell Pro Stock Pants: Tackla 9000 Shins: Itech 660 Sticks:Warrior Widow, Miken ZL

Holder sizing is exactly the same as my Mission skates, they do not appear to be oversized at all. No skate is going to take a poor skater and turn him into a good one. The Mako gives you what you need without getting in your way. Other than me thinking about things to write in the review, I haven't had to think about my skates or how they were going to react on the ice. The skates provide an excellent platform to allow you to get the most our of yourself.

They will open up a bit and feel slightly bigger after baking.

I really didn't find the pitch to be all that aggressive. Coming from Mission, it was seamless for me.

People put way too much emphasis on a few grams difference. Fit is the most important factor in choosing a skate.

The boot isn't soft. The side panels are extremely hard and stiff, possibly even more so after baking. That said, the heel construction allows for some movement of those side panels, while allowing them to retain their stiffness.

My replacements showed up this afternoon, no issues at all. Now to bake them and start over.

no, only the first generation APX.

That was what has impressed me the most about mine. Unlike some of the other composite skates out there, the Mako is incredibly comfortable. My feet hurt just putting on the newer Bauers, let alone trying to skate in them. Baking opened up the heel a lot in my case.

I thought they were prohibited from using it, I guess I was wrong. It doesn't, plus there is also the issue of the spinner patent.

There is no such thing as Blademaster flat bottom.

I think they will open up quite a bit after baking, if needed. Conflicting opinions on ft are why I always suggest trying something on before buying whenever possible.

One of our retailers just posted about a sale on those elbows http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php?/topic/62991-insane-sale-going-on-right-now/

I picked up an older conversion van last week. I figured for the price, it wasn't a bad deal and I could use it for our upcoming hockey tournament and maybe some concert trips over the summer. The interior is in fantastic shape, just need to get some floor mats and maybe upgrade the stereo, if I can do it for a reasonable price.

When I asked last month they gave me a couple of targets but officially the answer is still "Spring".

If you need to blame someone, blame the players. You have a lot of guys that take absolutely forever to get set for the faceoff and then jump immediately if the puck isn't dropped the instant that they want it. The vast majority of linesmen drop the puck quickly and fairly, something that isn't easy when both players are doing their best to make sure that they get an advantage on every faceoff.

The shift 1 never got wide enough for me, even after baking. The shift 2 was huge in width and volume, maybe even too much for me. The Mako fits much closer to my foot without feeling like my foot is locked in a vise. The Makos are very comfortable for me, looking forward to getting on the ice with replacements. I'll be able to talk more about skating in them at that point.

I have been in missions mostly for a long time, but I had been back in my Kor Shift 2s for a couple months after cutting my foot open in my Missions.

I believe so, I have not been on the ice again since my initial use. It was with the CXN holder. This is something I see regularly on other brands as well and is not meant to be a criticism of Easton. If anything, their honesty and fast handling of the issue gives me great hope that their people are doing the right things for the right reasons. They recognized the cause of the issue and addressed it for full production runs of the skate.

The steel is seated in the holder at an angle on one of the skates. I see it all the time in the skates that I sharpen for other people, a lot of shops and manufacturers won't take the product back. As I said, Easton told me that the issue has been resolved with the CXN holder on the production models.

My review is on hold, pending replacement of the skates from Easton. They are aware of the issue and tell me that it was resolved prior to full production. They have handled the issue very quickly and professionally so far.

I got mine from Easton and paid to bake them at the local shop. Seems like a much better idea than potentially causing a problem from the start. With an $800 (retail) skate, skimping on paying to bake them really doesn't make sense to me. I left the insoles in when I baked mine. There were no directions to do otherwise and I didn't want to be screwing around with a hot boot more than I had to.

Given the time and temp, I would just pay to have them baked at your local shop. That's what I did.