shooter27

Look at the way they talk about LaFontaine in his bio on the site. “Valor was inspired by HOF…” (emphasis mine). That tells you all you need to know about his level of involvement. My guess is their target market is actually scared parents that will force their kids to wear the helmet because I can’t see any independent adult actively choosing to wear that thing.

Nice work. I’m curious what your total cost of materials was vs. what it would cost to buy something similar retail.

There used to be a commercial lace extender product called 55 Flex. I believe they are out of business but maybe you can find old stock online somewhere.

Weren’t those specifically marketed for kids and only in kids sizes?

Wasn’t there an extension for the top of sticks that was angled for “better handling” at one point? Also think there was one where the handle flexed at the top of the stick. It may have been curved.

Is Fly going to be exclusive to the Vapor line or will it be coming to the Supreme line as well?

Has anyone actually exercised CCM’s 90 day satisfaction guarantee for simply being unhappy with the product (i.e. its not defective, you just don’t like the skates)? I’m curious because I’m considering buying a pair of Tacks but for 30+ years I’ve been a Bauer wearer so I’m a little hesitant. The 90 day guarantee gives me confidence to try to Tacks and if I don’t like them I can always return them and go back to Bauer’s. But, if its one of those things where they make it a huge pain to get your money back, or you only get a credit towards CCM product, or something to that effect then I’d have to think a lot harder about switching. Any direct experience stories would be greatly appreciated.

I’m pretty sure the first girdle was part of the Cooperall system, so it would have come out some time around 81-82. I believe CCM had a similar system around the same time.

I don’t know enough about the feel and kickpoint to point you to a comparable model. But, I do believe sticks back then felt a lot softer than today (I.e. a stick marked 100 back then felt a lot softer than one marked 100 today).

I’d suggest YouTube. There has to be video explainers on this trick on there somewhere. It sounds like you’ve kinda psyched yourself out about it though, just have fun with it.

I’m in the process of moving and as I’m cleaning things out I’ve found some old items (skates and sticks mostly) that still have life in them and could make for good donations. The first question is, if I’ve got a pair of ~15 year old top end skates that are barely used but need steel - is it worth donating them or is it more cost than its worth for someone to put steel in them to make them usable? Second question is, I’m in So Cal - Where could I donate this stuff?

I will maintain till my last breath that the pinnacle of elbow pad design was the old Cooper Techniflex elbows (the original 3-piece design). The key was that the elbow cap floated above the other two pieces, and the wrist guard/bicep pad vessentially formed a basic hinge at the elbow joint. The mobility and protection was fantastic. They had issues with sliding down because of the materials at the time, but with modern materials I can only imagine what they’d be like today.

There are two places I could think of around LA that might be able to do it. The first is the place in El Segundo in a shopping center by TSC. I believe it was called Rick’s at one time but they may have changed the name. The second is the place in the Rinx at Anaheim Ice. I believe that one was called Ultimate Skate, or something similar to that. I think they may have moved to the Ducks new practice rink in Irvine.

The race for the stiffest skate has been going on for ages. The original Bauer 7000’s from about ‘99 or so are still the stiffest skates I’ve felt out of the box. The felt like a brick before they were baked, and even after. I haven’t touched a new skate in about five years, but from what I recall the last top end model I touched wasn’t nearly as stiff as those old 7000’s. The material was harder, since the old ones were built with leather and ballistic nylon (I think), but actually had more built-in flex than those old one because of how many layers of materials it took to build the old ones.

Somebody (I believe it may have been DarkStar 50) posted a number of old catalogs from around that timeframe a while ago. Worth trying a search.