ricepow

Sounds like this is a good opportunity for Warrior. Pretty sure the pro stocks I have say they are made in Mexico. Lol.

Lol. Yeah, this kinda went off the tracks. At any rate, even with all the back and forth banter, as a relatively new Sparx owner I was able to take some information from this post that was helpful. The multiple people which have vouched for 1-2 passes being sufficient every few hours of ice time will surely save me money over time, so it was worth sifting through everything else for that. Several years back I purchased a Blackstone X01 and roughly learned on my own how to sharpen skates. Even once I did I found myself spending much more on spinners and grinding wheels as it required more work for me to get an even finish and even edges and I imagine my pressure application wasnt the most even, changing the shape of the steel over time. For the common person willing to drop the coin the Sparx machine is great. The simplicity, consistency, and convenience for me makes it worth every penny.

Probably not a ton of help with your dilemma, but I would go for option C and buy Pro Stocks. Lol.

www.prostockhockey.com just got some of their stuff in last week. Looks like they still have some left.

I have a set and liked how light they were initially. I'm 5'11" and floating around 200-205. I felt the need to pull the front down frequently. Maybe because I dont have a beach body. Lol. I disliked the neoprene bicept cuff. I prefer a traditional velcro one. I just picked up a set of CCM Tacks 9060 shoulder pads and found them to be a better fit for me personally. If you're interested I'm looking to sell the STX shoulders.

I have the No Icing Triple (6',8',13') with medium forward pitch on my Bauer Supreme 2S. It's the first time I have had runners profiled for me. I am quite fond of the setup they recommended. Much better than the 10' radius that came on the runners. They are quicker turning and got me off my heels.

Just received an email with a coupon code for $100 off. That just pushed me over the edge. Machine ordered. "SPARXSUMMER100" for anyone else interested.

FWIW my feet scanned at a 9.5D Vapor. No way on the Vapor, but the 9.5D Supremes fit like a glove. I typically wear anywhere from a 10.5-12 shoe, depending on the type and brand. Good luck on your purchase.

I did both at once. They both still formed and feel really good now that I've had a chance to use them. Superfeet gave me pain on the outsides of my feet and felt like my heel didn't lock as well because of the heel riser. Very happy with my new skates and the SpeedPlates.

The lowest my oven goes is 170*. I preheated the empty oven to 170*, then put the SP on a tray on the lowest shelf, furthest from the heating element in the oven. Then I cycled the oven off and on briefly on convection mode until the bars turned white. Not sure if its "right", but it worked and nothing was damaged.

Selling a pair of new Bauer LS3 288mm runners. These were just purchased from No Icing Sports. No Icing did their Triple Radius in a 6'/8'/13', medium forward pitch, and a 90/75 FBV sharpening. These have been skated on twice. Selling because I was incorrectly fitted to a 10.5 size skate and went back to a 9.5, thus different sized runners. I liked the radius and sharpening so much I ordered it again for my new skates. Really helps with getting you off your heels, sharp turns, and straight line stability. These cost $136. Selling for $110 obo. [/URL]

The preference differences are interesting to ready about. I went for a 9.5 to a 10.5 due to a poor fitting and couldn't believe the difference it made in feel on the ice. Back at a 9.5 where I should be.

I went with the 2S over the 2S Pro for a couple reasons. The price, the 2S is plenty for my level of play, I like traditional eyelets, and I didn't want or need the extra things that go along with maintaining black steel. I also knew I would be purchasing an additional set of steel, so that cost was considered as well.

I agree with the majority here. I picked up some new skates, had them sharpened, and gave em a try. Felt terrible, like you said, like I was learning to skate again. Turns out my old skates had a 9' radius and the new had a 10'. If that's even what they were anymore, as I never had the radius maintained. I reached out to a credible company and filled out their player profile form. I was suggested a triple radius and forward pitch which I ended up trying. Night and day difference and it was even better than I felt on my 9' radius. Pick someone who is credible and give it a try. Technology is amazing and the way your skates can be tailored to your specific wants and needs is unreal.

I liked my Bauer titanium cage when I was using one. I think the design and the color helped with visibility. But I really prefer a visor over a cage.