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Prostockhockey, while not a scam and gives you what you order, and will answer specific questions about sticks if you contact them, does advertise and awful lot of stuff as “straight from the pros,” but seems to be things that they just order directly from the manufacturer. They can also be brutal on shipping prices.

I assume for a lot of shops that have Sparx the person who buys it and implements it goes all in all the “super duper easy!!!” marketing lingo, then just plug it in, maybe calibrate it once, never clean it, and train people with “put the skate in the skate hole and press the button. Rub that rock on it when you’re done. If you get an error message, turn it off and on until it goes. Don’t forget we increased the price of sharpenings $2.”

This feels like a solution in search of a problem. Were there a bunch of interface problems on the previous gens? The buttons on all the ones I’ve used are pretty simple and direct.

New advertising talks about Bluetooth. If this were being released 6 months ago I 100% would assume it’s an April Fools joke. Why does my skate sharpener need Bluetooth? There’s apparently a new fancy laser thing to improve alignment, but mostly seems like they added racing stripes and fins and increased the price.

I’ve seen that blade master link but a) looks like they won’t sell to US buyers b), like I said, I don’t know where to start with sizes. Are hockey skate eyelets not standardized? After a lot of googling I haven’t found anything that says “buy size X.”

Is there an important difference between the bigger eyelet press like you see in shops, vs a small handheld one? Is the press that much more better, or is it just that those are quicker and smoother so you spend less time? And, for people who replace eyelets at home, do you have a recommendation for where to buy them in bulk? Quality and cost seems to jump around a bit. I’d prefer a seller in the US so I’m not paying international shipping costs.

Do you need a super specific color and design? You should be able to find some prostock M that are +2. I’m 6’2” and wear mediums with the zipper open and they are fine. Have you tried other brands and models?

Nooo, but the guy who makes money by shilling the product told me it was the best! Why would he over exaggerate?

I grew up in Pittsburgh and moved to Boston. I proudly rep multiple cities with awesome townie accents.

Do you guys stockpile sticks you like in case the government passes legislation against one piece sticks? How do you all have so many 3+ year old sticks you’re planning to use again?

There’s a difference in dimensions between a junior and int stick. If you are comfortable with the way the junior feels in your hand, give it a try. A higher flex doesn’t automatically mean more power. It means the stick will rebound more when flexed, IF you can flex it correctly. If it’s too stiff you’re actually gonna lose power on your shot.

Shout out to anyone from Pittsburgh who doesn’t even blink when things are randomly pluralized or possessive because that’s just how we roll. “Yinz got onna ‘em Spark’s machines that do the fires?”

More so than the original Jetspeed blade where people could barely handle pass because it was so pingy and reactive?

No one is disagreeing that “the real data” says you can get a great sharpen on a black stone from a super profesional and experienced sharpener and that it’s noticeably better than a Sparx. People are saying having a consistent 95% quality sharpening from Sparx is better than sometimes getting a 99% sharpening from a black stone but also having the very real risk of getting a 50% sharpening. I’m not going anywhere where I MIGHT get a really really good sharpening, or, if that person is off for the day, I’ll get a high 16 year old who is texting with one hand while sharpening and jerking off with the other and only pretends to change the wheel to the hollow I ask for. And frankly, at most places, that second option is what’s standard. There’s no reason to chase a potentially marginally better sharpening when it’s such a small incremental improvement, over knowing exactly what I’ll get with a Sparx, even if it gets an A- grade instead of an A+. It sucks that an automated at-home sharpener is taking away a skill set and job. I really value the relationships I’ve had with skate sharpeners. But, those people I trust are so few and far between. Way way way too many hockey stores, large and small, have shown they don’t have the dedication or time or money to put toward providing a consistently premium sharpening. I live in Boston, which is a HUGE hockey market. There’s no one around who does FBV by hand that I trust. There is a shop who uses Sparx machines and the guy really loves what he does and pays close attention. I go to him and get a fire sharpening. It’s consistent and feels great. At 43, having transitioned to ice from roller at 28, my NHL window is probably lower than a 50/50 shot at this point, so I’m happy to just have a good sharpening where I know what I’m getting.

Hespeller had an offset blade. It didn’t have as many curves and joints, it just jotted “back” and inch so the puck and blade were behind the shaft. It was like 20 years ahead of its time, considering modern shooting techniques that are all about getting your hands in front of the puck. .

“You can have any color model T you want as long as it’s black.” It’s cheaper and easier to make and stock 3 curves than it is 10. Better for the companies producing them, better for the stores selling them. As much as I love to armchair CEO these companies, they are the ones making millions of dollars marketing a fantasy to players. I love to think “they’d make more money if they just ______, but kinda hard to argue with the financial results they produce. Absolutely nothing Bauer, CCM, Warrior, True, Sherwood do has anything to do with producing better equipment or player experience or hockey as a culture. They are just businesses selling widgets and we are widget consumers. The computer that manages the hedge fund that owns Bauer does not care if a small percentage of players would like a heal curve option, or if families are getting priced out of playing. My tinfoil hat is 10g lighter than last years model, plus, it has these cool holes that increase pop and improve air flow. It is not available in a pm9.

Funny how people are using a dremel to widen the channel on the Powerfly holder, but the Edge holder channels widened just by skating on them for a year. 😬

What do the Easton core socks look like? I have an older pair of Eastons that are gray with a red logo. In my memory they aren’t especially thin, so maybe a different model. I’ll give them to you, if you want a pair of lightly used socks (but washed) that were too small for me.

I started wearing contacts as an adult in my 30s. Originally I wouldn’t wear them to play. I started to, but would have to give myself 30 minutes before the game to get them in, and I had a whole set up with towels over everything so they wouldn’t fall in the sink or on the floor. Same with coming home, but it wasn’t as bad. And, I legit had some tantrums and big frustrations that made me feel like a little kid. It’s weird to poke your eyeball, and the whole process is just sorta hard to do until you get the feel. After a few weeks, i got better at it and better at it and it became such a non-thing. So, this is me just encouraging you to re-try contacts, and allow yourself the embarrassment of sucking at putting them in and taking them out for a few weeks.

I’m curious what happened that he’s able to mold so many new curves. Other companies charge you a new born child for molding a new custom curve, and this dude rolled out a ton of new options that are mostly just slight variations on things already available.

The materials and and technique to do this just seem like a lot. If it could be done, you’d have to essentially take apart all the fingers, and add and sew new padding and new materials. For the cost and effort, you’d could probably just buy another pair or two. I once heard a shop employee talking about having the tip of his finger essentially explode when it poked through the gusset and he took a randomly placed hard slash. Like Methot getting slashed by Crosby a few years ago. Those two stories disabused me of the idea of wearing gloves where my fingers are too long for the gloves.

If you can find them, I like the last iteration of STX surgeon elbows. I have long skinny arms, like medium circumference and large length. These are the first elbows I’ve had in a while that feel like they fit me correctly. I’ve had them I think going on 3 years and they are holding up fine. I thought the sleeve would be a deal breaker for me, but I don’t even notice it or think about it.

Woof. Those sound like the names if you could order knockoff profiles from AliExpress or Tron the same way you can order knock off sticks. “I got the Velvet profile on my Steep steel that I have in my HockeyStickMan BlackOut Skates. I am certain they are all just rebranded Bauer stuff, I got such a good deal.”

Oh man, for highschool years these were my go to blades for asphalt roller hockey with a ball. At that time, I don’t think i knew they made different curve options.

Just found out True has TC2.5T which is their p90TM clone. Doesn’t seem to be much info/advertising on it. I think a good number of sellers don’t realize what it is, and just list it online as a TC2.5. Even the name bar says “Marner,” which is the name on the TC2, so it’s confusing AF. Would be easy to miss if you’re glancing through a stick rack. Bought one for my wife on sale on SLS, and we were pleasantly surprised when it was the p90TM clone and not just a 5 lie p92.