JR Boucicaut

It was expensive and a lot of shops did not invest in the machine. My last shop in MI had a ton of them with busted motors and whatnot. There was a rink that had one sitting there after the tenant left and they called me and gave it to me as long as I was able to pick it up, which I did.

Seriously, both of you, it's getting old.

Gilroy just got his, I fitted him in the locker room at the MSH DC skate.

Are you trying to drop a hint? LOL I'd do them for ya.

It was for a laptop. Yeah, I'm good...

Had that happen to me 3 wks ago. Hard drive ended up dead. Bought a new one. CD-ROM died when I installed it. Waiting for a new CD-ROM.

Bob Allen from Maximum Edge. I still use an M-E Icon holder when I'm working at my LHS.

BM did not invent that holder. Maximum Edge had it first, and that is why you see the three-dial holder as well as the Quick Square now sold by BM.

Easton Stealth S19 Flex: 85 Curve: Zetterberg Non-grip Height: 6' Weight: 240 Postition: RW/C Time-frame of use: Since June 2009 Aesthetics: Easton has always done a very good job in this department. However, I cannot comment on the actual S19 graphics as I was given a mule (S17 graphics as I received the stick before the S19 graphics were released.) N/A Weight and Balance: Weight is very good on this stick - it is lighter than the two sticks that I had been reviewing in the same timeframe (Warrior Dolomite HD/Bauer Supreme ONE95) however a tad bit heavier than the Ballistik 52 Caliber that I had been using as well. However, being a tad heavier than the last stick is not a knock at all, as I am not necessarily a fan of ultra-light sticks. Balance is very good on the S19 - did not bother me one bit. 9.5/10 Blade: Easton has tweaked their blade from the S17 (which seemed to be a major complaint amongst S17 users. Most complained of blade softness after a few uses. Adding multiple ribs and multiple grades of foam to the S19 blade has seemed to help in the past three months in which I have used the stick. 10/10 Shaft/Flex: Coming from using rounded handles for 7 years, there are few sticks out there that make me happy. This isn't one of them, but that's okay. Obviously my personal preference isn't everyone's, but for review purposes, I dealt with it. (I won't be knocking any points from the overall review for this.) Another of the complaints coming from the S17 was the flex rating. Most users felt that it was flexier than advertised - which is a direct result of the shaft geometry. Easton rectified this by using their pro stock flex profile, and that was the first thing I noticed - it played to the flex. Unfortunately there's still a bit of extra lag receiving hard passes or cranking one-timers, but it is better than in the past. However, I haven't experienced the wet noodle effect, and that is key. 9/10 Stickhandling and Passing: Adding dual-density foams (top part is structural/bottom part is solid) has helped with the pinginess of Stealths past. I was not experiencing any issues whatsoever stickhandling or passing BLADE-WISE and spare one small chip that happened at the beginning of the review, it has been an easy blade to adapt to. 9.5/10 Shooting: It shoots hard, it shoots true. By far the best aspect of the stick. 10/10 Durability: Since June, I haven't had any structural damage to the stick, spare surface scratches to the elliptical taper and below my hands from slashes. 9.75/10 Conclusion: The Stealth S19 is a marked improvement from the first iteration of their Elliptical Taper concept. I believe those who used the S17 should be pretty satisfied with the S19 because their concerns have been addressed. Thanks goes out to Mike Mountain and Mark Hughes of Easton Hockey for providing me with information as well as the stick. It is always appreciated. 9.62/10

Once again - the FBV isn't the patent in question here. It is the method on how it is applied to the wheel, which is what Blackstone patented and the original patent applicant couldn't accomplish.

It only moves a couple of mm.

Problem is my hose is 1"... I found a solution. It sags a bit because of the end of the hose, but it's on there and it sucks. I'm good :)

I can't seem to find any that work. I just got a .5" coupler thinking that it would fit over the X02 pipe and into the 1" hose. Not working. I'm sanding down the inside trying to slide it into the x02 pipe.

For those who have X01/X02s, I just got a vacuum for mine. Measuring the diameters of the hose, the hose is a 1" and the X02's pipe is 3/4". Were you guys able to find a reducer that fits?

Old bridge - New bridge - Ah, the irony in the shapes. Thanks for playing.

Same here, but I always get that one guy trying to slip one through.

Now imagine being in FL, and that guy leaving his funky skates in his trunk for a week. Gets so hot you can squeeze the quarters together.

Ugh, I know that smell.

The bottom line is that sticks are designed to flex and release. Flexing a stick into the ground doesn't allow the stick to release. You shouldn't have to make concessions for some parent whose child was acting stupidly, regardless of the fact they have a Centurion or not. In my stores, I had signs detailing what flexing sticks in store would do. All I had to do was point to the sign.

No, the edges are 75 as opposed to 50

RIP Captain Lou Albano

Not sure if you guys have been following but David Perron has settled into a FBV hollow. We were talking about it before the regular season started about how he wanted to try it so he asked me quite a bit of questions about it. He skated on a 1" ROH so we all agreed (him/Blues EQM/me) that 90/50 would be a good starting point. I had warned him that he would feel a bit of lateral slide at slow speeds/full stop as you aren't as deep in the ice. He tried it and loved the glide but had a genuine concern which really doesn't apply much to us non-professionals and that was being pushed around in the crease and being able to hold his ground. Luckily Blackstone is doing custom shapes for pro teams and he was able to get on an 80/75.

AMEX doubles the manufacturer warranty. I've told that to people when they buy OPSs with one.

t1tan - wow, just wow. That's how they roll, man, that's how they roll.