start_today

I picked up a CCM mask on a whim. Looks like they are out of stock online in a few places, but Pure Hockey near me had a whole bunch. It took a little bit of playing with it on the couch while watching tv to figure out where to put the various straps. I have a Bauer Profile III cage. The mask has a moldable nose piece that I had to push into a “peak” so it wouldn’t press on my nose. ive only worn it once, in an admittedly slower skate, but I liked it. No vision problems at all. I honestly didn’t notice it at all while playing. Breathing was fine, but this wasn’t a game where I’m pushing myself hard most shifts. One thing I liked way better than a gaiter that I didn’t consider was not having something on the back of my neck. It felt much cooler to have my neck exposed and not covered. I have to undo cage to drink water, but thinking about it, that is probably better than pulling the mask up and down and putting my hands around my face. For fogging concerns, it might help limit that because this mask is more open by your mouth/cheeks, so air is going out there, which might keep breath away from the visor.

I was wondering if you could just put clear packing tape over the bottom vents if you are trying to reduce droplets. It’s not very sexy, but would give you more freedom for how much to cover.

Is the UA mask people mention the one I see when I google that looks like a typical mask with ear loops? Is it somehow more comfortable than a normal mask? @dkmiller3356 you mentioned lower periphery visibility. How obstructive is that for you? That was my biggest concern with that particular mask. I assume this changes person to person, based on face shape. I’ve been wearing a gaiter and one issue I’m having is that it will occasionally get loose and material will suck into my mouth. (A lifetime of allergies and deviated septum has made me a habitual mouth breather.)

In Pittsburgh, I used to occasionally play with a goalie who uses a lefty goalie stick to play righty, so that he could “handle the puck better.” As you might imagine, he was awful and handing the puck no matter what, but ever other game he’d have a slooooooooow puck slide through 5 hole because his stick didn’t sit flat.

Is the CCM one available? I keep seeing the shipping date get later and later. I feel like if I put in an hour or two of work I could make one, but....I....well, I’m just lazy.

I started thinking way more about the way my shoes fit once I learned to properly fit skates (which I learned entirely thanks to this site).

They do this for snowboarding boots and it theoretically makes life so much easier, but you still get a ton of people with oversized boots because they don’t know any better and just buy whatever is on sale online.

Ok, here is a fun game..... I have a Warrior QX3. Last night I noticed some of the graphics chipping off, and it looks like there is another design underneath. Given the limited view we have, try to guess what the stick is underneath. I don’t want to peel off more just yet, as I’m still using it, and the underneath doesn’t appear to have any grip. I had a few QX Team sticks I really liked. And it seems tech wise, those are the same as these. But, I never quite felt like I liked this stick as much as those. Maybe it was/is all mental, or maybe this is a different stick construction. Since the QX has a different kickpoint than any previous Warrior, simply putting new graphics over an older stick seems a little fishy. (I also might totally be jumping to conclusions.)

+3 on this concept. Where the weight is distributed and where it flexes might change how it feels for your whole body mechanics.

I had a Louisville shaft from the early-mid 90s I couldn’t even cut through with a hack saw. I tried cutting it to fit it in a trash can, and the saw wouldn’t bite at all.

@OldTrainerGuy are you saying they don’t have the stickers like Jrchecker saw in their skates?

Does anyone else have the retail skates and can check on this? And/or does anyone work in a shop that sells Trues? This explanation makes sense. Especially given that jrchecker said they called their distributor and other skates had similar sticker. If that is the case, is anyone else unsettled by this? Only selling full size skates and padding the length out with foam seems weird. Am I over thinking this and a few MMs don’t matter that much?

I see waaaay too many people “adapt” their tendon guard by using it to pull on and off their skate and break it, making it flexible. 🙄😂

This seems like a middle finger to hockey shops who carry their skates. I know, I know, it serves all the people who don’t live near a (competent) shop. Feels like they are taking away the only weapon small shops have vs online stores, which is the personalized fitting. So, now you get fit online and order with free returns online, and how does a brick and mortar store compete?

Does anyone but us care what skates a player uses? I assume names matter for advertising spots and curve names on sticks, but does anyone have any info on if the general hockey buying public follows player skate choices, and does that in turn drive sales?

Cue a bunch of gram counting babies lining up to switch to the nylon because WEIGHT SAVINGS regardless of actual weight.

What needs to be sealed and/or rejuvenated? I don’t have any input, but more trying to learn what is wrong and can be fixed. Thanks for clarifying! (clarinofying?)

The non-stamped eyelets is the first thing that caught my eye too. I had U+CLs with that problem, and those came out in ‘11 or ‘12.

E700 Helmet, Tron gloves, Jamie Benn tape job, Rbk skates with the tongues swapped out? (looks like epro holders and lace locks.) Dope Gretzky silver stick with a blade with like a 3 lie. I’d hang out with this guy if he’d up his glove game and lose the tinted visor.

Current thinking seems to be that it’s mostly droplets of spit that are most likely to transmit COVID, so this is acting more like a physical barrier. And, having that lack of a seal makes it easier to breathe and will help reduce bubble fogging by directing air to the sides. Being that it’s specifically designed for a high intensity sport, you can’t restrict airflow too much, or its not usable.

There’s a reeeeeeeeealy long thread on here about Makos. I wasn’t even a huge fan, but they didn’t feel like anything else and were in a league of their own for comfort.

William Nylander wears a wicked tight/short girdle. Could be that you are part of the hockey fashion vanguard, and your nephew and son are stuck in the past.

I’m kind of intrigued by the design, but between being $20 and not released for another five weeks, I doubt I’ll still be interested when it’s available. I played two pick ups wearing a thin cotton/polyester gaiter I have for snowboarding. It was ok. It limited breathing a bit, but not that much and I didn’t notice it while playing. It just got SWEATY.

Homer: Two pizzas for the price of one at Doughy’s! Lisa: But Doughy’s has terrible pizza. Homer: Yeah, but there’s two!

I’m a little nervous about the “you have to bake them to truly tell the fit” aspect, because every skate feels awesome when it’s close to fitting correctly and then baked and all soft and warm. But, I worry that once it fully cools after a few hours it ends up being too tight or not enough volume.