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Fwiw, the guy we talked to at the Bauer Experience store today said intermediate skates come with XS and senior with 0. He seemed pretty knowledgeable and competent. Seems like there may have been misinformation given out early, but this is one more data point for size appropriate profiles.

Is RBZ stuff even remotely available? And it seemed like people were generally disappointed with the updates to the QLT versus the RBZ.

...I’m weirdly excited about seeing what a Euro Tip is. [No spoilers!!!] This is way more intriguing that what yellow and black color way the new supreme stick will have, or some made up new technology like “dual lie” that is actually just rocker.

A lot of people seem to like the STX RX3 line for light and form fitting. I have shoulders, shins, and elbows in the 3.1 models and like all of them. I haven’t weighed them, but they don’t feel bulky. Elbow have a three piece design and shoulders have multiple pieces attached to be flexible, and I feel like both of them sit close to my body and articulate with my movements. Shins and elbows have great wrap, and fit well on my skinny limbs.

Depending on how mobile you need it to be, a big melamine tile from Home Depot with pledge sprayed on it is a great option. Pucks slide great, and it’s probably less than $40 after taxes. But, if you’re trying to move it indoors to outdoors on a regular basis, it is unwieldy and heavy. I cut mine down to two smaller pieces. I stand on one piece and shoot off of the other. Works great!

Has anyone tried on or used the 3S Pro? Is it similar to the 2S level skates? My wife is updating from the 2016(?) s180, and 3S Pro seems like it will be the most similar because of the Curv.

@PBH & @psulion22 are the “recent” Supremes just shorter in length, or is the width reduced too?

Is there anything tricky about resewing cut thumb loops? Just get a piece of leather and speedy stitcher and have at it?

As someone who grew up with the rise of pop-punk on the radio, i see “Ska Boots” and i think of bright colored Doc Martens with black & white checkered laces.

Think of all the money you saved by not playing for a year. You owe it to yourself to spend some of that on new gear. 😄💸

I’m between sizes as well in most S-M-L sizing on anything. I essentially need the L length, but M fit. And in most stuff, I’ve found I’m happier in M. For shoulders, an L on me rides up, and I have to pull it down. Buuuuuut, that’s me. Does a friend/teammate/acquaintance/tinderhookup have a pair of S you could wear for a game or two? Much easier to decide once you’ve worn both, but it’s also a mindgame because different pads fit differently. If the M feel good, stay there. A lot of the differences are negligible, and sounds like you’re mostly concerned because of Bauer’s chart, as opposed to them being uncomfortable. At the end of the day, you gotta go with what’s in your heart and what feels right to you. —— My solution would be to buy a pair of S used somewhere, then sell the pair that you don’t want, then buy an upgraded pair because now you know for certain what size you need, and you spend a whole month overthinking selling and reselling and buying and end up in pretty much the same spot, but $150 poorer because you also bought a pair of gloves, because you could get them shipped for free along with the shoulders.

Much love to the MSH communal brain.

Is there a way to visually identify what a palm material is? Seller wasn't sure when I asked them.

Guys in the NHL lose an edge and go into the boards hard on their own, or get tripped and land on their shoulder, or someone else loses and edge and slides into someone else. It’s not so much skating skill as shit happens.

That’s an interesting idea, how much say do EMs have about safety vs just doing what is requested for feel.

Please buy those so your kid can have have that CCM logo that they quit using before he was born.

Given how college players wear their stuff, I think the weirder thing is that the other kid’s cage isn’t two sizes too big.....

I’ve had the Elite Walkable soakers for like 10(?) years and love them. I always felt like regular terrycloth soakers ripped through at the toe after a few months. Elasticity is still fine after all this time. These things are tanks. And have treads! Because they are slightly bigger, I never lose them. They don’t get balled up or fall in small spaces. ive never walked through a parking lot, but have used them for those insane rinks that have concrete floors in locker room bathrooms. They are stable to walk in, and I don’t worry at all about blade damage or the soaker wearing through. I don’t actually walk on them all that much. Make sure you are getting the correct ones. Elite makes a soaker that is beefed up compared to normal soakers that is very well made, but I wouldn’t want to walk on a hard surface on them. To me, they both look the same in photos. They cost more, but I would have worn through cheaper soakers multiple times by now, and probably lost some. I’d recommend them to anyone who is buying new soakers for any reason. ——— Fwiw, Boston has a few rinks with “no bags” rules. At one, I’ve been told by staff, they are only enforcing it for kids (not my rules, maybe not logical, just sayin). Also have changed in my car at a few places, and walked in in shoes, and put on skates inside. I haven’t seen a rink that forces you to do skates outside.

I forgot that Crosby came into the league hosing a wooden blade. Somewhere in my house I have one of his ugly gold rbk sick kick shafts with a Sherwood blade in it.

How does not flexing protect against hyper extension? Does the joint create a potential weak spot, whereby the thumb could be pushed backwards (not arguing, but just trying to understand)

STX elbows and shins have this as a built in feature. It wasn’t something I felt anyway about when I bought them, but love it now. It’s the forearm strap on elbows and the strap above the calf for shins. Rather than just pulling the two sides together, it provides a full wrap and does a good job keeping it locked in place.

What’s the incentive for modern gloves that don’t have flexible thumbs? I bought a pair of CCM HGTKXP and the thumb is straight and doesn’t move. Beyond “some players like the way it feels,” is there a specific reason someone might want the straight thumb? To me, it feels slightly less protective because the glove doesn’t stay flush with your thumb, and it’s just less comfortable. Usually there’s a trade off where something is less comfortable gives you clearly more protection. But, this doesn’t seem like an obvious improvement.

Gotcha. Sorry for giving obvious advice. 🙃

If you can’t elevate your shots consistently with a p88, don’t spend money on new sticks and curves, find someone who can coach you for a few hours on how to shoot properly. I’m not trying to be condescending, but not getting the puck up consistently, you just need to practice. A new curve might cover that for you, but it’s going to leave some other glaring hole in your game. Shooting a ball wit a 28 or 92 seems downright wild. I feel like it would fly out of the rink on everything.

Little late here, but have there been any low pressure conversations with the kid about his performance in games vs practice and what he thinks it might be? Not a coach, but I work with kids with lots of different learning styles and personalities. As adults, we are often trying to solve problems for kids and remove obstacles and all that without ever just sitting down and actually getting the child’s honest take on the situation.