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Which XS tongues did you try? They have a normal, a thin, and an extra thick... if you tried the thick one maybe see if you can swap them for the standard or thin to try out?

That also explains why I have to have rivets tightened/replaced so frequently on my FT4 Pros, guess they need to find a better coating to use in those areas where metal will be anchoring.

Warrior girdle shells run a little shorter, if you want pro stick there's a seller on SLS with a bunch of the "new" pro stock Warrior girdle shells which run much smaller than they used to, so if you were to get a L in that it would prob fit more like a medium length wise. With CCM shells (PP90/PP9K) I've found little consistency in sizing, I have about 7 or 8, all medium, and maybe 2 are the same, the rest are shorter/longer/wider/etc., it's a crapshoot. The Tackla girdle has nice kidney pads so you'd even be fine with a pant shell rather than a girdle shell, the pant shells are usually just a little more roomy/boxy so if you sized down in that it might work out well length wise and have enough room.

Was at Pure Hockey yesterday and took a look at the FT6 Pro elbows and shins... the FT6 Pro elbow pads are really nice, slight strap changes from the FT4 Pro but aside from that the changes appeared cosmetic to my untrained eye (I was hoping to find a pair of FT4 Pros on clearance but ended up ordering a pair direct from CCM today). The shins didn't impress me much, the knee area didn't seem to have much padding (like most retail pads) and the top flap not being removable seemed a bit odd.

If it's the identical steel swapped to the new skate/holder then maybe it's just the newer boot with more stiffness creating the feeling of a sharper edge? Maybe the old holder was worn and the steel was sitting ever so slightly off so it felt less sharp? I'm just coming up with theories but my bet is the stiffer boot has your foot in a better position and therefore the steel is contacting the ice a little different and feeling a bit sharper.

You could always coat the metal with plasti-dip or something to avoid metal on metal contact and protect the blades, or just put some electrical tape over the edges of the tool... anything to avoid metal on metal and you should be good.

In my experience, last night, this would've been super helpful since trying to pull the steel out of my skate between shifts, while it was wet and cold, was not an easy task. No matter how much I wiped the steel trying to dry it, it was still slippery (also bending your foot up in awkward positions really doesn't help with your leverage... I managed to get them swapped but man that tool would've made the task wayyyy easier). edit: I don't have Edge holders, I have XS, the Edge tool prob would've made my life easier if they worked on XS and I had one.

two words... speed holes.

It sits away from the chin a bit, but from what someone mentioned, sounds like it would regularly hit and cut your chin lol. The new Wargate thing is the same idea, a cage that sits away from the chin with no chincup, just much uglier than the cateye.

If it's more than $20 I'm not interested 😂 I got the sheet of vinyl off Amazon for about $15 to play with, to me it's a low level concern so I'd rather spend my money on other gear.

I put CF vinyl on my FT4 Pros after seeing someone post on here with pics of theirs (vinyl was automotive vinyl off Amazon). I was going to just do the red strips first but after realizing how much of an absolute PITA it would be to get the lines to match with all the slight curves on the boot I just covered the whole bottom area (which was still a pain). Honestly it looked good but after a few games got some nicks and scratches and looked worse than the Nascar graphics so I pulled them off. Here's a pic I cropped down since you can kind of see where they chipped off on the inside and you can also see how I didn't get a perfect cover of the grey/silver near the heel. Also I felt the outside of the skate was too plain now, needs a CM logo at least lol. Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr

preference preference preference. There are some traditional girdles out there that you still step into and are just fully elastic/stretchy, Warrior makes one and some Tacklas can still be found, I think True might have one too. CCM has a hybrid where you step in but have adjustable thighs that have not only height adjustment but have a strap that goes around the thigh. Then Bauer has a whole wrap style where the girdle opens up fully like a butterfly and you just wrap it around your body. Some people like the traditional style and some like the wrap style, once you decide what you like you can go from there. Most girdles will offer more mobility and lighter weight compared to traditional pants but may have less padding in certain areas. Also, girdles are great because you can mix and match shells and collect shells that will match any team you're on lol, all girdle shells will fit all girdles, they simply slide on like shorts and secure with some combination of velcro closure and/or a belt, no need to actually attach to the girdle. Personally I could never get into the full wrap style, I tried a couple of Bauers and they never felt good and I didn't like how I had to put the on (I started with old grey Coopers then a black Cooper, then a Tackla, then a couple of Eastons... there was no wrap stuff back then lol), the Bauer ones (MX3 era) never felt very protective to me. I then had a 9K for a while and loved it until I started wearing a CCM Super Tacks which is perfect for me, it has great adjustability but retains most of the traditional feel, also it's super protective and pretty lightweight. The Jetspeed seems like a simplified version with less adjustments so I guess that would be my recommendation for something you can probably easily find at retail (it probably fits like the Super Tacks... small, so I would def try one on if possible).

*SOLD* Selling a pair of 13" CCM HG12's I picked up a couple of months ago to wear while I waited for another pair to get re-palmed. Black 13" with standard thumbs, shot blockers and palms in excellent condition with no rips or anything. Shot blockers can be easily removed with a seam ripper or X-Acto. Cuffs have small #4's on them and palms have small #2 on them (guessing this was the player's second pair). Overall they're in awesome condition, I just don't need an all black pair. Shot blockers are not in exact same spots on each glove and cuff sits higher on right one, I didn't notice at all once I put them on and played and after comparing 3 other pairs I found nothing is exactly the same on any of them lol, this one was just more noticeable. Asking $100 + shipping in US (should be $15-$20 anywhere in US shipped Priority, willing to ship to Canada at buyer's expense). Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr

Just got my HG12's back from ITR and I'm psyched.... I went with goat palm with Kovi style digi overlays and airknit mesh gussets (my old gussets were worn through on a few fingers so since I had to replace them anyways I figured I'd go with something different). They feel awesome, can't wait to try them out tomorrow night. Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr

Not bad! I enjoyed it, esp the part about the face protection... never would've imagined someone using a football cage or lacrosse helmet 😂 My one gripe... how can you talk about T-Blades and not mention how they sound?! Also not have a clip of how they sound... that's a big miss 🤣

The CCM Pro I have has a thick waistband, feels like more fabric than elastic to be honest, and now that I compare with the Warrior it was way too big for me around the waist. The Warrior has really nice elastic and fits me really well and even feels like it keeps the cup in place better as a result where as the CCM let the cup kind of float away from the body when I hunched down/squatted. here's a couple photos side by side, first showing the basic shape/size of the cup part (the CCM has more fabric over the hard internal piece but they're the same size, and also mine is 2-3 years old so it's worn a bit), and also a closeup of the elastic bands side by side. Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr Untitled by Jon Schusteritsch, on Flickr

It's weird, I actually have a Profile III and it's listed as "Titanium" but I think that's just the color description. I picked it up last year and didn't realize the shape was so different than the Profile II and I hate it lol, never worn it because I can't stand the look (it's closer to the Reakt shape than the Profile II) and it fits slightly different than the Profile II that I'm so used to.

Thought I'd bring this back to the top as I just received a Warrior Alpha Pro jock (because I was curious and couldn't resist lol). I found a seller in the US on ebay, I watched the item and he sent me an offer a day later for $15 less than his asking price so I jumped on it. I got it today and haven't worn it yet but first impressions are the cup is the same shape/size as the CCM Pro but it's not as beefy. The inner hard material is flexible if I really squeeze it where as the CCM Pro barely budges, also the top "flaps" where the waistband attaches is thinner and more flexible. I'm not too concerned as the CCM is literally built like a tank and I have no worries about how protective the Warrior is but thought I'd mention it. I got the Warrio in S/M since they have 2 sizes, I'm about a 31" waist and this appears it'll be nice and snug (the CCM I have is so stretched out it barely has any elastic which is odd since it was always big/loose on me), I got the one with the garter straps attached so the snug waist will help keep things up. I'll test it out on Sunday night and report back.

I would go to a store with your helmet and see what size cage works best for your face since they all run a but different. You can proib just hold it up to your helmet and place on your chin without actually attaching it to check the size. Personally a large Bauer works for me, CCM med is too small and CCM large too big... just be like Goldilocks and find what works best lol (oh and for reference my helmets are size small, helmet size and cage size have nothing to do with one another).

That looks like the stuff he used. His has the red backing so my guess is his was 3M automotive doublesided adhesive tape (or plain 3M doublesided heavy duty tape), it's flexible and can withstand cold temps.

There's usually not much difference year to year. They change the model #'s and some graphics usually and some descriptions of materials, but honestly if you can get the older model on sale that's your best bet usually. At your experience level chances are you won't notice any of the differences when actually using the skates... you'd probably have to jump up 2 levels in the skate lineup to feel a real difference since they usually get stiffer and lighter and have different ankle foams as they get more expensive. As far as pricing on the yet to be released models, you'll just have to wait since they don't really announce that stuff too far in advance.

They've done a great job with marketing and pricing which is why I'm guessing so many teams just seem to defer to them at this point. Like I said, I'm hoping to sway any of my teams to 5ivehole for next time we need jerseys, hopefully I can convince them.

I've been on way too many teams that use Mens League Sweaters and can honestly say I hate them. While they might look great, their sizing is out of whack, the body is good but sleeves will only fit if you don't wear elbow pads and have toothpick thin arms. One team I sized up on the body so I don't have to wrestle the sleeves over my elbow pads as much and now the body just swims on me, can't win lol. I also have a couple Tron jerseys from another team and they are not the greatest either, less quality that MLS but cheaper, good bargain choice I guess. The jerseys that MSH had for Summerfest last year were really nice, 5ivehole sports I think they were called, really nice quality and fit. I'm trying to convince some of my teams to go with them next time they need jerseys.

Gotcha. I was just comparing level to level (2nd from entry level to 2nd from entry level) which I thought made sense but it seems Bauer doesn't always make sense to me lol, it seems harder and harder to understand all the nomenclature and lineage year after year.

Looks like the X3 will be the new entry level and X4 one step up which would be the "new" X3.7. Looks like they added some Curv composite and a different set of steel (Pulse SS vs LS1, I have no idea what the difference is as I'm a CCM guy). The X4 does appear to be slotted in at the same level as the X3.7 was so I'd guess that's the newer version.