SolarWind

Small feet, still size 13 youth, last size before junior sizes where replaceable blades become available. I could try to swap a holder and upsize but it’s too much hassle since he’ll outgrow these skates by the time spring hockey ends. And yes, most tourneys have 2 games per day, lots of opportunity to roll your edges when blades clash at the boards etc…

Sparx is perfect Nick, no complains. But wife had no interest taking on the flight, it’s too big for carry on and checking it in is like extra $50 each way. Hence the comment - have no choice but to leave the safety of home sharpening and wonder into the wild world of random sharpeners lol

Hi, My little guy is doing travel hockey now so I have to expand beyond the comfort of home sparx sharpening lol Are there any reputable shops that are open on weekends in Edmonton and Toronto that you’d take your own skate for sharpening where you can trust the edges will be level and the existing profile won’t be altered? thanks!

thanks Nick! what about youth Bauers? like the new X5 pro?

Does the same comment apply to elbows/shins also? The pro version has all sorts of cut outs on it for supposedly better ventilation so I'm curious if it actually works or just a marketing gimmick?

I searched but couldn't find the answer: Does anyone know what's the stock blade profile is for the new CCM youth skates like ASV & FT6 pro? Some sources say it's 10' neutral, some say it's 13' and I can't find anything official from the vendor so any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

I'm still on the fence on this one: for a decade I shore by the grip liner Bauer puts in custom skates since it held up well, dried up fast and most importantly did not develop any FUNK! Personally I never had any issues with slippage but of course over time the liner detartrated in high wear spots. for custom Trues the overwhelming consensus was to go with Clarino mainly due to it's durability and how grippy it gets when wet, but just as my experience with Clarino in the past (One95 skates were the last I had Clarino in) despite drying up my stakes after every skate, and even spraying them with febreze they have develop the very familiar funk that just won't go away 😞 I skate in socks too, so that is definitely my biggest pet peeve with Clarino as compared with GripLiner.

Hi Nick, I’ve been trying to get hold of you for the last few weeks, was wondering if something happened! Could you please ping me re Flare? Thanks! K.

Few years ago mods would have merged this thread with about a 100 others we had on this topic lol bottom line is - to each his own! There is no hard and fast answer since it depends on a player (not just skating style and level but height/weight/strength/femur length etc), playing style (contact plays big role calling for extra stability) and of course the model of the skates. The only general rule is that if you are unable to bring ur knees over your toes then your ankle articulation isn’t sufficient for proper shin angle. Otherwise I personally skates both with top eyelet done and undone, but in custom true they are allowing me to go as low as my ankle flexibility allows even with the top eyelet laced up. even top players like Barzal flip flop - from dropping the top eyelet to lacing all the way And taping ankles!

I was wondering about Sparx? Looks like they only run bundles as their way of doing sales, but these bundles are set in stone, so if a particular ring that's included in the bundle is of no use then tough luck... Would have been much better if a bundle allowed to select rings. Also looking @ their Edge Checker I'm curious if it works with Flare? Edge Checker – Sparx Hockey

Thanks for confirming! Since they aren’t cheap do they ever run sales?

Does anyone know if Sparx Skate Sharpener can handle Flare’s extra width and angle of the runner? I originally thought they don’t offer shallow enough rings but upon another search I found 1&1/8 and 1&1/4 so that’s good.

I personally disliked the blade on Ultrasonic, it’s nothing like previous Supremes which had dull blades. Ultrasonic is pingy so hard passes bounce where is with the trigger there is no bounce at all, just a dead stop since the blade is more dull. Not to the extend One95 blades were but certainly better that APX and ultrasonic’s

haven't used vapor for a while but Trigger 6 pro is awesome! the blade isn't pingy, def a lot more forgiving that ultrasonic and shoots Way better!

Is there a reason the catalogue states “shell stiffness level - moderate”? Or does it only apply to retail models?

If it's stiffer laterally then it might be a great skate to check out... Are they going to offered as customs sometimes in the summer? re MAX - is it still heavily forward-pitched comparing to EDGE? even the original Shift was pretty tall so how much taller can it be?!

How does the boot compare to TF customs in terms of stiffness and the boot wrap Nick? Also how does the Max holder compare with Edge? btw it took me several months to fully adjust to Flare because it actually exposed a flaw in my technique, which somehow I could get by with traditional runners. My issue was that I wasn't pushing directly against the blade on cross-unders, so it must have been the extra glide that Flare provides or the 6 degree gap the angle creates, buy the blade was just sliding back on me. Once I've noticed it and adjusted I was sold - Flare feels awesome in terms of glide, added stability, stops are smoother, and now cross-unders feel more stable also. Maybe it's just me but Flare seems to benefit from perfect form & mostly benefits aggressive skating style, which is why a lot of novice skaters try and don't see any benefits of Flare...

Someone who owns an LHS please correct me if I’m wrong but given the current shortage of skates (anything pretty much) stores Really frown upon someone reducing their valuable stock just to try things out…

A search would help, lots of posts on this topic actually. Even the total custom program for CCM is nothing comparing with True since true is built inside out based on the scan of your foot, vs CCM just does a press over the mold of your foot (supposedly). At least that was my personal experience since my customs didn’t even fit right and were Killing my feet, vs with Trues there was zero break in and since day 1 it feels like I have nothing on my feet how well the skates fit!

So what happens when you don’t get it to that balance point? Does it require any adjustment from the skating dynamics used on regular blades? I’m curious if the 6 degree flare makes it a bit harder to get a bite when rolling edge to edge?

My dry-land stick is 2” shorter I’m going to try shooting in skates off-ice, see if it mimics it better

I’m sure my technique could use refinement, so any tips on how to increase the convergence rate between dry land and on-ice shooting would be appreciated. Kick point does have some correlation to MY technique since with all other things being equal (length, flex, curve) the mid-kick loads up much better on-ice than low-kick. I’ll try to take videos and compare but was just hoping someone could point a few things that might contribute to the loading issue…

I'd really appreciate if someone could help me solve this "mystery": On ice I've always used mid-kick sticks since to me they were easier to load and produced decent shots. I've given low-kick sticks many tries before, but never could figure out how to get good velocity out of them - on ice. Recently I came across a dirt cheap near new APX stick in 77 flex, so I got it for off-ice goofing around and shooting. After cutting it down ~ 2" from my usual length (to account for skate height) it's ~ 85 flex. Off ice it quickly became my favorite sticks - shots are quick and velocity is great. So I took it on ice and in my hands it sucked the same way all low-kick sticks sucked before. Of course it's easier to load sticks off ice due to more friction + more stable surface to shoot from, but damn the difference is night and day?!! What could I do to even it out since I would like to make the low-kick perform on-ice the same way it performs off-ice. Is it just my shooting technique? I do shoot with hands in front and weight transfer, and I'm 5'11", 190 lbs so 77 flex sticks even cut down don't feel stiff. Thoughts?!

I though that blowing that fastest skater race would get him thinking twice about the new boots… as the saying goes “if it ain’t broken…”

Wonder if his enjoyment might taper off after losing the fastest skater event? His time was the worst in years, and his strides were choppy and not confident. First time I saw him gliding in corners vs running through them, so whatever benefits the new AS boot is supposed to bring aren’t apparent so far…