start_today

Shoulder patch looks a lot like that the weird bear/wolf Bruins shoulder patch of the 80s. Having the city name and team name feels like too many words. Maybe they could up the ante and white on white print the teams Wikipedia entry, the way the Slovak team did their national anthem for those Olympic jerseys. These would be mediocre adult league jerseys. To me, it’s super limp for an NHL jersey.

TLDR; Fire/BFD is the Hydrox to FBV’s Oreo. Similar, but fundamentally and demonstrably not the same, and most people prefer Oreo. This blog post from Sparx does a decent job of explaining the differences of ROH, Fire/BFD, and FBV. Blade master BFD appears to be the same as Fire. https://blogs.sparxhockey.com/hollow-shape-and-depth In an old post, JR explains BFD as being kind of the half way point between ROH and FBV. BFD came first, but wasn’t a big enough difference from ROH, so people didn’t go for it, and it was essentially shelved. Once Blackstone FBV got popular, Blademaster pushed the BFD to play catch up. So many acronyms!

There was a similar product called Oggie Grip a few years ago. Their version was an arc, as opposed to the hard angle of these. And, it was rubber and plastic, instead of wood. The argument was it could help with stickhandling because of the way it offset your top hand. If you google “oggie grip” you can find the old threads on here. They also said their buttends were more flexible, and would allow the top of the stick to flex at the top hand, similar to what I think the Bauer G3 shaft does.

If other 3rd party companies “can expect letters,” why are they able to sell their Edge runners in the US, but Step couldn’t, and was confined to Canada? Was that a choice Step made to try to play by the rules? Sorry if I’m getting into the weeds, the behind the scenes business issues of all this stuff intrigues me.

I’ve never fit skates for anyone but myself, so I don’t know anything about uneven feet, and I don’t know much about the mechanics of skating. Just asking informationally as a lay person trying to learn and understand... Do you need the same size holder on each skate? Two people in this thread mention holder size vs boot size, and if they would match up. Couldn’t you just have a 288 holder on the sz 10 skate and a 306 on the size 12?

Why is it other companies (Massive, Bladetech, etc) can sell replacement runners for the Edge holder, but Step can’t? Did those companies work out a licensing deal? And, did Step refuse to pay that license, or Bauer wouldn’t even offer it to them?

I love the idea of Johnny Suburb pestering his parents to buy him the new $350 375g super lite air maxxx stick, then turning around and demanding that he now needs an additional heavier training stick. None of the info I can find on these mentions their weight or flex profile. Same flex profile as your “game stick” seems like it’s at least as important as curve. If you want a heavier stick, can’t you just buy a $50 stick from Walmart or Canadian Tire?

I can’t beleive the number of people in locker rooms I overhear who say things like “I can only use Bauer sticks, everything else is garbage” or “Bauer is the only company whose skates fit right.” So much long term brainwashing and group think that Bauer puts out product that is on such another level. They have a brand loyalty that no one else does.

I have a pair of medium HP31 that I really like. They are a traditional “boxy” fit. Not tapered. Honestly, more protection than I need or have ever had, but I don’t notice the weight or heat (if there is any of either to notice). I remember weighing them when I got them, and they weighed the same as the L warrior DT2 pants I had. I wear them with the zipper open to add the extra length. I’m 6’2”, 185, 32” waist. Before this, I’ve always worn L pants with the waist cinched super tight. It’s more comfortable having the better fitting waist.

Did you buy the steel new or used? Brittle steel can result from a bad sharpening job where they overheat the blade.

When VH was doing the tracing method, they were much less known, essentially a niche product, I imagine most people who bought them knew what they were getting into and understood the realities of custom skates, what they can and can’t do. Now, with all the advertising and displays in stores, way more people have access without as much context for how custom skates are made and the processes involved. I assume True are getting a lot of people who expect “I’m paying a lot for these and they are custom skates. They will fit and feel like sneakers and everything will be 100% perfect out of the box and all of my hockey issues will be solved.” And none of that is true. Even custom skates need a tweak here and there. People expect them to be a panacea for all of their issues, and that can’t be the case with something as complicated as skates, so you’re going to see people whining and complaining without taking meaningful steps to make adjustments.

Is that reddit post from someone in particular that we should pay attention to? Not trying to sound snarky, but there are enough up and down votes in this thread from users that we know In my experience, reddit boards are full of HOTHOT takes where everything is either the absolute best or the absolute worst and very little nuance, or just straight up poor information.

One problem is that you are thinking that less stiff skates are “down-spec’ed” and that being less stiff somehow equates to less quality.

For those of us who don’t know the finer workings of True skates, what exactly is wrong? Thats where the tongue connects to the skate, right? Did the stitching rip, or is the material physically broken? What needs to be cemented and restitched?

I recently picked up a pair of medium hp31. I believe those are in the same line as the hp30 & 35s. 31s might specifically be for CHL or other similar leagues. I’m 6’2”, with 32” waist in most dress pants. M with the extension zipper fit fine. It sometimes feels tight around my stomach, but good on my hips. I’m not sure about the double belt and 2 piece pant. It’s a lifestyle I’m not familiar with, but I’m getting used to it, as long as I’m not consciously thinking about it, they do the job. They have a traditional boxy fit. I put my pants on after skates with no problems at all. I don’t know the exact weight, but I’d say 3ish pounds. When I weighed them, they were the exact same weight as my large Covert DT2 pants. These few like they run a little warm, but it’s also been kinda hot since I got them, so it might just be me adjusting to summer hockey.

What do you all like better about the U shaped opening? I feel like the straight opening zipper is easier to access the cavity of the bag, and I don’t have to actually zippier it closed, as the top of the bag holds everything in. Also, I’d worry that the bend of the U creates more places for the zipper to catch or break. That might not actually be logical.

I never would have thought about it if someone else handnt pointed it out, but light colored bags are better for finding stuff. Black and navy bag interiors are great at hiding stray socks and jocks. I’ll never buy a bag with a dark interior again. That being said, that silver Easton bag is...noticeable. If you ever get a flat tire on the way home, you can definitely put that out and people will see you in the dark.

I got annoyed by all the dubious marketing hype and improvements that are essentially “but this one goes to 11.” But, even if I’m disenchanted by the marketplace, I still like staying on top of things and being aware of what’s available. I enjoy the minutia of this site and knowing what’s new and sexy, even if I personally don’t want to buy it Also, I’m at a point in life and hockey where I’m pretty happy and content in a good way. I think when I’m not in a good place mentally, I tend to “chase” and fetishize material things, which ultimately buying don’t make me all that happy anyway. We’ve all seen guys on here who obsess over a particular thing- “what if I switch from a p88 to a p92 and cut the length by 1/4” and go up 5 in flex, will I be better at taking off camber snapshots from the wing?” Nothing is gonna make that person happy (or better). There’s a certain zen to just giving up and having fun playing with your $100 stick and 5 year old skates, and not needing the latest and greatest.

Why isn’t every blade max height? Is it just something people never thought about?

I’m 6’1”, 185, 32-33ish inch waist. I’ve worn in large Easton’s and now large Warrior DT2s. I always have to cinch the waist super tight. Same as you, I feel like M+1 would be ideal, but I always give up looking and just buy an L. It all depends on where your height is too... my hip to knee might be longer than yours.

Plus, I imagine Step or other aftermarket steel are extra inexpensive for ls2s, since it’s outmoded tech. Ditch the fusion, which is reguarded by pretty much everyone as the worst possible steel choice.

There was a long unwieldy custom Bauer thread for a long time, when they were the main custom game in town. Theres a long unwieldy Mako thread. A long unwieldy Base thread. There was a long unwieldy Sprung thead in the roller section. We have typically been served well by keeping specific info about a product in one thread. If I’m new to a product, I’d rather have it all in one place, than have to fumble through a million small threads with 4 posts. If the product cycle weren’t so quick now, you'd see long threads on sticks and skates. Products disappear too quickly to build up more involved threads and discussion.

For what it’s worth, I always had trouble finding skates that fit. For a while I was in ccm skates that were probably too wide, but good enough. Makos fit me great, and were the most comfortable skate I ever wore. But, all good things come to an end. Empires crumble, Cliff Burton dies, skates breakdown. Since this summer, I’ve been wearing Vapor X800s, and im REALLY happy with them. I think skates today are so much more mailable during baking, people that have had trouble finding skates have more options because making those fine tuning adjustments are easier. Im not saying there’s always an option for everyone, and, as has been noted, nothing really fits like a Mako, but it’s always worth trying on new things. Im kind of annoyed by companies rolling out a new updated skate line every year, but, in some cases there are changes in fit, so a make or model that didn’t work 5 years ago suddenly works now.

My wife and I drive from Boston 45 minutes up to No Icing once a month, because they are the only place that does a reliable FBV. That plus a fancy espresso from Benson’s, it’s not a bad trip.

Is their “regular” steel worth getting, the non-DLC stuff?