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If those “other guys” offered a good product, someone would say so. There’s not a hidden gem craft stick maker who’s just in it for fun and happy to make and sell qualtiy sticks at a fraction of a price. Save the $75-$100 you’d spend on curiosity and spend it on a better stick. Or, upgrade your steel or or a fancy cage or a new bag. Donate it to You Can Play or some group that supports marginalized athletes. Literally anything but some knock off fly by night company that you know in your heart is a crappy product.

CCM isn’t a company who posts a lot on this board. There are a few people who will post in very specific threads that they are active in for a specific time period. If you have a concern, you’re better off contacting them directly.

You said “As I continue to play and improve.” How long have you been playing? At some point, this is more about technique and practice than about finding a blade to do all the work. Eventually you’ll find a blade that makes nasty 30 foot saucer passes, but you won’t be able to make a hard accurate 10 foot pass flat on the ice. Find a blade that is generally available that allows you to mostly do what you want. That additional output is on you, not equipment. The illusion of this site (which I love) is that if you just spend enough and buy the right stuff your skillset will suddenly improve without you actually doing any work.

Ask teammates. Lots of people have them lying around. And/or ask your local shop if they have any sitting in the back. How many do you need?

Are you saying 40% of your customs are True, and 35% are CCM? Or, am I misreading what you mean? What’s the other 25%?

Can anyone verify these wildly unrealistic deals that are too good to be true? The misspelled spam email I got felt kinda dicey, but I don’t think you’re allowed to lie on the internet. I have some money to burn. Just made a sweet deal with a disposed Nigerian prince, and he’s about to wire me a bunch of money now that he has all of my banking info.

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.

I kinda feel like you are burying the lead, which is a Darren Dreger custom stick. Anyone have a lead on a pair of Elliotte Friedman MIC Franchises?

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.

Oh, you didn’t know?

Cool they they’ve found a way to add branded technology to jersey collars. Seems like an area that was holding back the game. Hopefully we start seeing the new TitanLite nameplates soon. Heard they are supposed to shave off some grams and decrease wind resistance.

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.

Current 1X is the best looking Vapor series in years. Judging by that shot, it was a blip in the trend that loves cheap looking gradient graphics.

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?

Hey team...topping an old thread here. Anyone have any feedback on Massive blades? I see them lumped in with Step and Tydan, but I can never tell if that’s just because it’s another aftermarket option, or because it’s a good aftermarket option on par with those two.

Haha, I’m definitely waiting for the post that says “True tracking system said my skates were delivered two weeks ago, but they just arrived today and are silver instead of black.”

Sprung, Kor, Miken, Mako Skates... Maybe Sparx and True/VH should be paying us NOT to make long involved threads dedicated to their product...