goodguy

Zenkai

Do you still like these.. wondering if they were a special build as I don't see on their site. My son has occasional groin issues & wondering if moving to something like this would help. Doesn't look like they wrap under the groin area though. How did you determine the right size? The issue is, he doesn't like the garterstraps & cup thing... just tried some Zenkai hockey compression shorts but the cup pouch was an afterthought as it pushes cup between thighs and uncomfortable. His CCM jock compression doesn't compress that much and cup moves all over. So still looking for options. Can't seem to find a good option that checks all the boxes.

My son just picked up the UltraSonic Supremes (w/stock Q0 blade). He will be skating on them in a day or so, fingers crossed he can keep the speed and agility he had with the Mako II's he has been using for years with great success. He tried the Vapor 2X pros, they were very similar fit to the Ultrasonics with FIT1 sizing (I know the FIT 1 is supposed to be the Vapor Fit and it pretty much was but not exactly, couple slight differences) but the Supremes just felt perfect for him & the Vapors had a touch more wiggle room in toebox and just a bit less snug. Interestingly, he skated in a 9 in the Mako's (admittedly probably a half size too big but worked well) and fit into a 7.5 Vapor 2X Pro, but in the UltraSonics, size 8 felt best. He put his usual 5/8 hollow on them but wondering if now is the time to switch to FBV (don't want to throw too many variables at once and he's gonna be playing in Canada so don't want him to be searching for FBV even-though the team EQ manager probably has the capability, I would think).

Same boat - son has been absolutely speedy playing AAA in Mako 2's but now needing to switch for Junior A want to keep the speed. Previously bought a pair of Trues thinking they would have aspects of the Mako. NOT - nothing is like a Mako, people were commenting about "whats wrong with his skating" when he switched to the Trues ... yikes, went back to Makos ASAP but now cant find them anymore...real bummer as he just flys in Makos. Trues are bulkier and bigger all around - yes more protective than Makos but I wouldn't call Trues a speed skate or having Mako qualities. But then again not every player is trying to go that fast. Just wondering whats skate is gonna work? I would liken Makos to a Formula 1 & Trues to Nascar

those are interesting ... they look like an evolution of the Mako2 with some possible improvements. The quarter package on the 2 gets cut and torn.. this would solve that. It looks like a possible Mako 3 prototype but hard to tell without seeing more pics and knowing if shell is carbon fiber or other.

Son #2 is a 10.5 in sneakers. Uses a size 9 Mako. Son #1 is a size 12.5-13 in sneakers. Uses a size 11 Mako. Ordered from Facebook, Montreal guy (used to be a Mako rep).. received my skates no problem (although had to drive to across border to a UPS Store in Windsor to pickup as he wasn’t comfortable shipping Canada Post to USA ... no big deal for me). He’s trustworthy.

Tried to do this without success. Blade pitch, spacers between holder and heel, even so far as to cutting slits in the tendon guard ribs for more rearward flexion (don’t do this). Nothing really worked. Just a different skate... stiffer, heavier. I personally gave up on the notion of the True ever “feeling like a Mako” just because they share some common origin.

Big thanks to althoma1 for the heads up. Thanks a million 👍👍👍👍👍

Anyone have a shipping (receiving) contact in Windsor ON as to not run into any customs hassles ...lol maybe spitfires eq manager .. JR?

My story was: Son loves his Makos and does quite well with them agility and speed wise. Thinking the Trues would be “similar”, got a pair and he just didn’t perform even close to the Makos. The Trues are great skates but not in our situation. I am looking for alternatives but nothing jumps out... I guess I can cross Bauer 1S’s off my list ...lol No doubt, this post will get a bunch of “Trues are just fine... you don’t know what you are talking about...” responses -but- in my case, it just didn’t work. I am hoping to get him back on the Trues for a couple open ice skates and see if we can’t get used to them. They are probably the most comfortable skate he has been in though. I just think the Makos has a great balance between stiffness and flexibility to really allow a more natural skating motion. I was totally skeptical of them at first but noticed and immediate and obvious speed and skating improvement.

I feel your pain as my son is pretty dependent on the Makos now ...lol ... will let you know if I find anything. Q: Give me your feedback on the M8’s vs MakoII. Any negatives re performance, durability, fit, feel? How he performs in Them?

Discovered they are a low end M3 skate... maybe something they never produced.

Hey, thanks a lot for forwarding the info.. Intriguing but would be worried they are unfinished or a bit odd since they are experimental.. I wonder how similar to Mako 2’s? I will contact the guy and ask. Thanks again. 👍👍👍

Cool.. it is amazing how different people adapt. My son said he was bummed the Trues felt more “clunky” because they were incredibly comfortable. Maybe it’s just him. He also prides himself on his speed so he didn’t want anything that felt slower (to him). Maybe it’s just a time/getting used to them thing?

The Trues we own don’t have a comfort edge but it hasn’t been a problem. True might add a custom edge for you?? The Bauer’s I’ve seen most people skate in seem to not wrap the ankle and have some space between above ankle and boot ... if the boot isn’t form fit well there can be some play and the leg/ankle slops around hitting the boot upper edge. Not sure if that’s the case but if the boot is form fit well, doesn’t seem the boot upper edge should be a problem.

Yeah, that didn’t work for us. I don’t agree the True can be profiled and/or adjusted to perform like a Mako. Two totally different skates. I had profile changed to match total forward leannof the Mako (including heel shims) and it still didn’t skate the same. The Mako has much more flexion forward and at the tendon guard which allows a very full stride and push. The True acts like a traditional skate, is much more stiff/durable and heavier. If you think you can make a True feel & perform like a Mako, I just don’t think it’s gonna happen.

I’m not gonna give em that much credit. Pure Hockey has been selling limited sizes for $399 for a long time now. I just find that rarely do in-rink pro shops (in non-traditional hockey markets) follow industry pricing trends. You usually have to blow a thick layer of dust off their gear to even see what it is ... and it’s almost always way disco’d and full retail. Unless it is a chain with multiple locations and maybe a web presence, they usually (but not always) have old gear and old prices (especially skates).

Called the Las Vegas shop and they had the Makos but they wanted full msrp for them (less 10%). I tried to explain, they were disco and most shops clearanced them years ago but they wouldn’t listen ... you know how these in-rink pro shops are... still selling EQ50 sticks for $249 ..lol 🙄 Need a pair of Makos but not sure if I need them for $600+

Don’t think there is carbon fiber under toecap. Bottom edge of toecap is a major weak point and cracks eventually. I removed holder and epoxied some fiberglass across toe bottom overlapping up side of toecap a bit. Ugly but it worked for a while until that cracked. Thinking the loose rivets problem leads to a twisting of the carbon fiber bottom which can cause/accelerate the cracking/separation at the toecap. Seems ultra important to dry Makos out and consistently check the rivets for tightness.

Not insinuating anything. Yes, NHL is the highest level ... but they also can demo many many skates in short order at no cost and find what works best. They have ice time to demo and test and equipment managers to refit make changes etc (and it is their fulltime job). Like I said, at a high level (especially in the highest level ... NHL) you can’t afford to get slower. For many, they like the True (even with some tradeoffs) as it improves their particular game. For a player who has to buy their own skates, maybe their being scouted for NCAA/OHL, etc.. they can’t afford to spend $1000 on a mistake mid season ... you sorta have to know as you have limited games/showcases to make stats, be seen... you can’t be off for two weekends (8+ games) and end up with zero points because you were getting used to new skates that didn’t work ... that’s a huge part of your season. Each player is different and some can adapt to any skate.. some are more picky. If a skate is a detriment, you just can’t stick with it like you could if your playing rec hockey. I would hazard a guess that the players trying to make a name for themselves as “one of fastest skaters”, are not going to choose a heavier clunky skate.... A stay-at-home defenseman (if there is such a thing anymore) might prefer it. Let’s face it, at the NHL level, they probably could skate on old leather skates and still look great. For those trying to get there, the wrong equipment has a bigger impact. That all being said, loved the True skates and really wanted them to work as they are well made but they just didn’t work in our case.. maybe if we had more time to adapt to them but we tried them for 2 weeks and people were asking “is he hurt? He looks different...” not saying Trues are bad, I’m saying Makos were that good (in our case).

Had JR change True Steel profile to match the Mako he was used to. Still felt a bit more on his heels.. added some shims between boot heel/holder & still did not like the feel of the Trues (sitting in the basement). I think you can mimic the Mako pitch, but you still don’t have the same weight, flex, extension. I even tried working the True tendon guards to be more flexible to the point of putting small cuts in the ribs of tendon guard... nothing really worked. My original idea was a VH skate & Mako skate would have similar design pedigree... they are totally different. From everything I have seen buying, watching, fitting many many skates over the years, there just is no equivalent for the Mako and it’s unique (athletic vs most other skates/stiff boxy) design. That being said, I have to move him to something currently produced eventually and that might be a CCM As1 (but I don’t want to pay $1200 to find out).

Any ideas on good replacements for Makos which will preserve speed and agility?

I will give my sons feedback after moving to True’s after skating Mako 2’s for many years. Very comfortable, feel very solid, but heavy and clunky and not as agile/fast as the Mako’s. I guess if you are more looking for durability and comfort, the Trues are solid skates but on high level teams you cant afford to get slower. One slow game can change your spot in the lineup, your stats, your season and your next season. Depends on the level and type of player you are. He’s back to using the Mako’s until we can’t find them anymore.

Thanks a million for this info!!

You need 2 square driver bits (a t-handle set usually comes with the skates or you can buy at a hardware store)... Proper steel is either Easton ES4 runners (hard to find) or Step Steel for Makos (google mako step steel). JR has profiled Step Steel to match the stock ES4 pitch/profile for my sons skates a few times. I was gonna spring for step blacksteel but for $150... not sure if its worth it. I think your your best bet is Step Steel.