Chappie

Ah I see, so they are just re-introducing the flexlites. Some guy at a sort of LHS (not really local, but not a total hike either) told me that the vapors would be gone and a new skate was coming in it's place, I just assumed he meant the flexlites, which I knew were supposedly coming, just didn't know what they'd look like.

I'm confused, I thought, with the re-introduction of the flexlites, that the Vapors would've been phased out. I haven't gone through the catalog yet as I haven't had time, but is this still the case with the skates, or is Bauer now going to carry 3 lines?

Wow, wish I would've known that, I would've called them and see if they had any of those 5k's in my size, I love last years rbk line of pumps. :(

While thats true, I really only trust one guy to do my bakes/sharpens, and he does not carry ccm/reebok skates, which are the brands that fit my feet better, so it doesnt really balance out for me either way.

For me it's usually between 20 and 40% thought some stuff is the same at my LHS, some cheaper, but mostly a lot more expensive. My LHS had a pair of last years v8.0s left in my size and were selling it for something like 239.00 and at hockey monkey they are going for about 189.00 I believe. Also, RBK 5k's are like 260.00, hockey monkey lists them at 240.00. The biggest differences I notice are on skates and helmets. Sticks are usually similar, not that much difference, gloves are usually exact same, same for pants and pads, but there will be sales online that never come up in my LHS'. In fact, for the most part, I do not see too many sales in my LHS, but then again, unfortunately, I haven't been able to shop during gear line change overs, never had a need before. This year, however, will be different. ;)

Just got these today, got to break them in though, they are stiff as hell.

lol... if you can't fork out some money to save your nuts, why bother keeping them? I don't know though... I do understand what you guys mean by getting pissed off at people who try on skates then get them off the internet, but I mean, for someone like me, a college student who only gets about 20 hrs of work in a week and cant afford a lot: A. the only skates ALL of, if at all my LHS carry if any in my size (7.5d) are high end/top line, and B. sometimes the deals online are just too good. I got a pair of 07 vector v6.0 special editions for 131.96 from hockeymonkey, and there was nothing in my area (norristown, pa) that could match that in anyway except the bauer vapor XVI's, which did not fit my feet as well as the vectors. If I could've gotten a similar deal from my LHS, I would definitely have gone for it, especially since I wouldn't have to be waiting 6 days to get them, and I could get on the ice quicker, but bottom line is, especially with the economy right now, I can only afford so much, especially when you have to keep your usa hockey membership current and make sure you have enough money for leagues. I'd love to get in a great report with my lhs, but the best ones stock wise seem to be Center Ice in Oaks and Hockey Haven in Hatfield (if anyone from the PA area knows where that is) and it's hard to get up there on a consistent basis. That being said, I still like to be as respectful as I can with my LHS', especially because I bet it's harder to keep em going with this economy, and if I do try on skates, gloves, or anything else, I make sure to put them back and to put them back the way they were, etc.