mojo122

Had my second skate today, now totaling 6-hours of ice time with them. Even though only on the ice twice, these skates felt like they were completely broken in. The liner didn't appear to be any wetter after the skate than my NXG's would get. Extremely comfortable. I had some concerns with the innersoles as I have one flat and one high arch, but absolutely no pain whatsoever to date. Waiting to see how these are once I get them totally dialed in.

The forward pitch might affect your balance or stability until you get used to it, but shouldn't change how the skate fits. After all, we are talking about what, 3mm? Also, if fitted right your foot shouldn't being moving forward. It really shouldn't being moving at all. If after a few skates you are still having trouble adjusting to the pitch then you can contemplate having the blades profiled. I hope you can work out what ever issues you are having with the breaking in/adjustment period. Unless you have a low volume fit you might be best to stay with the Mako footbeds.

Had my first opportunity to skate in the Mako yesterday. Was on the ice for just over 3-hours. I didn't really have to adjust to these since I had Jimmy install LS holders with heel lifts on mine. The skate itself is very comfortable, experiencing no pain for a first skate. My sense is that these skates will break in fairly quickly. I did think that the liner and footbeds were pretty wet with sweat after taking them off. Wetter than the APX liner in my NXG's and my Superfeet footbeds. The skate dried very quickly on a boot dryer as did the footbeds. Once I'm dialed in on these I'll be able to make some performance comparisons to previous skates I have worn.

MLX skate baking instructions took into account that most users baking in a home oven would not be using a convection oven. If the shop baking the skate is using a preheated skate oven, then the 10-minute mark would probably be enough time. Having said that, I've seen some shops start the oven, place the skates in,and set the timer for what's on the box.

When trying on these skates, I couldn't get my foot into a 6.5, all my toes were tight up against the toe cap in the 7, and my big toe was feathering the toe cap in a 7.5. I went with the 7 because I knew my heel and foot would pull back with the baking. After baking my big toe is feathering the toe cap. The footbed from the Mako to me seems more like a footbed from a running sneaker than a skate. I am currently using custom Superfeet in my Bauer's, but intend to try the Mako footbed when I start using these skates in a couple of weeks.

The second set of Kovalchuk gloves are mine. They are 14" Narrow that originally had digital palms and have since been repalmed with mustang (from Warrior). The inside of the cuff picture shows just how great the mobility of this cuff is. I also have a pair with the Hossa cuff. I like the Kovy cuff over the Hossa, although both cuffs are nicer than the standard Franchise cuff. At least in my opinion.

Here’s a picture of what a Mako looks like with LS2 holders. Had I not already have 2 sets of titanium runners I would have given the CXN holder and steel a try, but I really like what I get out of my current steel. This particular runner has 2 years of sharpening on them at this point. Jimmy used the lifts off an old pair of skates I had, so I should still have close to the original Mako pitch had I left the CXN holders on. Jimmy can best answer how the process was in switching out the holders.

The Mako comes with a 9' radius. Chippa is right in that profiling them will assure that you have matched runners in terms of radius. Also, not everyone is skating on a 9' radius.

Disagree with your opinion on the flexible tendon guard. Having skated in both TotalOnes’s and now NXG’s I can say from experience that the flexible tendon guard does contribute to one’s skating stride and skate performance with the added flexibility of the NXG’s a big improvement over the previous TotalOnes’s tendon guard. Many Pros stick with what they have been using, whether Bauer, CCM, Reebok, etc. I grew up on Tacks and Super Tacks and only changed over the years due to the product quality degrading, so I’m happy to see CCM moving in the right direction. Easton has actually manufactured some well performing skates that have fallen short when it comes to durability. This skate has potential depending on how it holds up over time.

Probably as many now, if not a couple more players than previously wore an Easton skate. The only surprize to me is that Dustin Byfuglien recently switched out of them seeing he was a Dave Cruicshank pupil and former MLX user.

Awesome news...hope the recovery goes well.

Good luck. Hope all works out for your Mom, Dad, and you.

The MLK appeared crude/unfinished in some aspects. The Mako looks more refined/finished. Early reports (granted some may based on new buyer euphoria) are favorable. Let's see what the concensus is down the line.

No excuses. Like Chippa said, find a way to make it work. This situation is much different than the previous hip one.

Your best bet is to try them on. I have heard of a couple of guys who went up 1/2 size.

Sounds like Easton wasn't really ready to launch the skate on the 15th, with some stores allocated only a single pair per size and some nothing smaller than a 7-1/2. Let's see how long it takes for additonal sizes and widths to make it into the stores.

Any comment on first day sales from shop guys seeing how much Easton was pushing the skate release on Twitter and Facebook?

That's good to know since the CCM Foot Disc showed that I had one high and one low arch.

There also a way to skate, buy sticks, and a new ride Uploaded with ImageShack.us

If you took the number of players actually wearing the skate that statistic might wind up being insignificant. Looked like Dustin was skating on Blackedge runners, so it might just be that he doesn't want to change to different steel. I currently skate on Nitinol runners which I am extremely happy with, so in my case I would be more inclined to to go with the LS2 holder with a heel lift and not the CXN holder.

Or custom made skates.

That's why I was thinking his stick was a fluke. Don't get me wrong, I was pleased with the puck feel and performance and didn't notice that any of the sticks at WF were blade heavy. I still prefer the RS, but that's my preference.

Got to try one of teammates Mako 2 last night (85 flex Hall curve). Supposedly Easton lightened up the blade on the Mako 2, but this stick seemed awfully blade heavy to me. Anomaly, or are others experiencing the same?

Got to demo the AX1 at WF and was very impressed with the way the stick loaded and released as well as puck feel. And this coming from someone who previously was not a Warrior Stick fan. Really like the protective line, especially the strapping system on the shins. Can see myself purchasing the shoulders, elbows, and shins when they come out. Also glad to hear that the DT1 construction is now live on the customizer. I can live with not having Covert graphics so long as I can can get the DT1 specs on the Zetterberg Pro.

Looking forward to the new protective equipment. Never been a big fan of Easton gloves, but I actually like the look/concept of the Mako glove.