mojo122

What other "custom" skates have you had other than VH/True. Seem to remember you had a bunch of older Bauer high end skates over the years but don't remember if they were retail or custom? I've seen too many fit issues with Trues and advise those looking for a one-piece boot to go CCM. I've only had Bauer customs over the years, but if I was going to go with a one-piece skate I, myself, would be going with a JetSpeed. Maybe Buzz can weigh in as I believe he's had Mako, Bauer, and CCM customs.

Available in both the XF Pro and XF models. The Pro is just insanely stiff, possibly too stiff, and that coming from someone who likes stiff skates.

I would just add that updated models are driven more to the retail market than the pro level. Looking at sticks and skates ,we are now seeing tweaks to the top line models and not what I would call any groundbreaking. Take the Bauer X5 Pro and M50 Pro skates. Basically a reskinned 3X Pro and M5 Pro with the new PowerFly holders.

Interesting video on using 2 of the blade lifts originally designed for Bauer's CarbonLite runners to help round out the toe. Feathering the toe

This pant is strictly a retail only pant similar to say a CCM FT6 Pro or Bauer Hyperlite. Definitely not a beefy Pro Stock pant.

Catalyst Player Pant Not sure of the partnership details between True and Tackla, but this is a nice pant. Tackla fit and extremely light. It will be interesting to see how the durability is and how well it does at retail.

Used SuperFeet before and after SpeedPlates. They're better than stock footbeds but do (did in my case) require a bit of a break in period. Curex makes a nice arch specific footbed as well. Currently using the Bauer Aetrex footbed and find it to be more comfortable out of the box when compared to SuperFeet.

I know of a couple of customers who swapped out holders because they had multiple sets of profiled Pulse TI and factored the cost of new holders and the swap over that of new steel and profiles. PowerFly holder is definitely stiffer, more so in the front tower, but I haven't experienced anything negative on the ice over the 18 months I've been on them.

Anthony was a great guy and contributor on this forum. He will be greatly missed.

What's your sample size? I'm not getting negative feedback in my area. Those that are telling you they don't like what is the reason? Fly TI is the same as Pulse TI except for the geometry. Fly X isn't polished like LS Pulse was.

New skates, new steel, new profile. That's a lot of new coming from what was old. I tell customers they really need to get 8-10 hours of ice time on new skates. After that issues identified can be addressed.

It's a nice machine in that all you need to do is drop the skate in and set the number of passes. Self leveling and auto height adjustment are nice features. Pressure from the wheel is much harder than that of the SPARX machines resulting in more pronounced burrs than that of the SPARX. If you own a SPARX and have had no issues then there is really no need to switch. Just another option for those who haven't yet purchased a home sharpener. About $100 more than the 3rd generation SPARX and $250 more than the 2nd generation SPARX. It will be interesting to see how this goes for Bauer since IMO I think SPARX has a done a good job in saturating the market.

Shadow is a big improvement over the Mach. The Amp flex in the Mach made the facing flex out on me when skating. The Amp flex in the Shadow is smaller and doesn't go through to the back. IMO the Shadow with the new toe cap minus the Amp flex between the 2nd and 3rd eyelet would be an awesome skate. What is it that you don't like about your Hyperlite 2's? I was always in Supremes with my last pair being custom Ultrasonics. Thought I'd never be in a Vapor skate, but was disappointed with the Mach and now have custom Hyperlite 2's. Completely satisfied with how they perform for me so no need to make a model change now.

Sound advice from Buzz. You didn't mention what skate your old ones are? If Bauer, back then steel came with a 9' profile and your new ones will come with a 10' profile. That could translate to a similar feel on the ice even with the holder size change. Deal with adjusting to the new boots first.

From a major retailer's perspective decisions are customer driven and not based on loyalty.