matix218

I agree with this, I am still in x7.0s (had x:60s before and have a pair of x90s in reserve) and I tried on the newer curve based vapors and I needed to drop from a 7 (my size in the x7.0s) to a 6.5 (2x). It seems on the curve composite skates the sizing is approx .5 down compared to the older top end tech mesh skates (x:60, x7.0, x90). That also means you will need to get used to a different blade length in some cases (example, the size 7 skates are 263 and the size 6.5 skates are 254). I know some people are more picky about that than others but still worth noting.

Helmet: Bauer 4500 (black) with CCM FM480 (white) Shoulders: Sherwood classics Elbows: Bauer one75 Gloves: Bauer one95 (black and white) Pants: Bauer TotalOne girdle with Vapor shell (black) Shins: RBK 9k Skates: Bauer Vapor x7.0 with custom felt NXG tongues and Speedplates Sticks: Intermediate Easton Stealth CX 60 flex

If you can find a pair of the Easton Stealth S17's they would be perfect for you. They had a super narrow heel area (with amazing heel lock) and a wide enough forefoot that most EE with users could easily fit in their "R" or "regular" width. They may be tough to find though. What size are you?

Updated some gear: Helmet: Bauer 4500 black with white ccm fm480 cage Elbows: Bauer one75 Shoulders: Sherwood classics Shins: Reebok 9k Gloves: Bauer one95 Skates: Bauer Vapor x7.0 with Speedplates Pants: Bauer TotalOne girdle with Bauer shell (black) Sticks: Easton Stealth CX intermediate 60 flex x4

Updated list: Helmet/cage: Bauer 4500 w/ CCM fm480 Shoulders: Sherwood classics Elbows: old Nike/Bauer supreme mid range ones, not sure the exact model Gloves: Bauer one95s Girdle/shell: Bauer TotalOne girdle with Bauer Nexus shell Shins: Warrior Franchise Intermediates Skates: Bauer X:60 LE's (old top of the line) with SpeedPlates Sticks: CCM Tacks 1st gen Retail Tavares 75 flex

Yeah I agree, I get what he is saying about any company that builds an expensive product taking pride in the appearance of their work but seriously you are comparing a glossy perfect Italian sports car that you will never bring out in the rain, will stay in a heated garage and only be driven to car shows on 70+ degree sunny days to a piece of sports equipment that is going to be smacked with sticks/pucks/metal blades etc every time that you use it? All I know is every retail pair of "pristine perfect skates" (which btw sometimes still had glue smears and messed up stitching from the factory) looked like it had way more defects than "a few excess glue smears" after literally the first game I played on them. Skates are only going to look pretty before they are played in 1 time, after that its all about performance and durability, I could care less about glue smears if they perform as advertised.

Just curious, What happened that caused you to lose $800 on custom skates? Did the person that measured you for the customs make a mistake or something? I thought the whole point of customs is they are built around your foot measurements/requirements?

Helmet: Bauer 4500 with white RBK fm480 cage Shoulders: Sherwood Classics Elbows: Bauer one75 Gloves: Bauer one95 Pants: Bauer Total One Girdle with Bauer Vapor Shell Shins: RBK 5k Skates: Easton S17 with CCM Epro Holders/runners Sticks: CCM U+ CL Tavares 85 flex

I for one have owned quite a few pairs of skates over the many years I have been playing ice hockey. I thought it would be fun to see what some other member's favorites have been and share what mine have been. Post your top 5 favorite skates of all time (they can either be based on ones you have owned or even wanted to own). Mega/Bauer Air 90: I only owned the Bauer version but they were probably the most comfortable (slipper like) skates I have ever worn. The air pockets in the ankles were more comfortable to me than the memory gel/foam ankles in most other skates. I loved the black/gray look of them as well. Easton S15/17: Only owned the S17 but I loved the bare-bones super lightweight approach easton took with these skates. I am still currently skating on my S17's and I have a brand new pair in reserve for the day that my current pair is too beat up to use. I know people had some durability issues (specifically s15s) but I love the weight/performance of this skate and I always thought that the bare carbon boot sections looked really nice too. CCM 952 (Kevlar) skates: This was the pair of skates that I skated in for the longest period of time of any skate I ever owned. The fit and comfort were perfect and they had a perfect blend of stiffness and forward flex. They were also very protective with that DST wraparound sole (although the one thing you could claim as a negative from that same feature is that it added a lot of weight to the boot). CCM 352 skates: More of a nostalgia thing for me than anything truly special about these skates. They were my first "real" pair of decent quality skates and I was so proud to be skating on "Tacks". I thought the heel wedge looked super cool at the time and these were the skates that I truly learned how to be a "good" skater on so they carry a lot of memories for me. CCM Vector Pro and Vector 10.0: Loved LOVED this boot. Still using a Vector 10.0 boot for my inline hockey skates because I love them so much. Would probably switch back to them for ice if I could find a new pair in my size (which I always am searching ebay for haha). I love the shape of this boot for my foot and if I drop down 1 eyelet they had the perfect mix of support and forward flex that I have ever found. Lacelock was also awesome feature on these skates (I know reebok still offers this but I am not a big fan of the heel lock I get from Reebok boots). Def one of my favorite skate boots of all time. What about the rest of you guys? Please be sure to post reasons as to why a certain skate made your list to make it more interesting!

You got one100 limited editions for 50 bucks new??? What the heck, i dont even wear bauers but i would buy them at that price just to hang on my wall or sell haha

Just did the exact same thing to my Easton S17's to fix pretty much the same issue (i was getting the abrasion a bit further up, directly above the "ball" of my ankle. I have skated in them 3 times since and they are absolutely perfect now, no pain at all. Hopefully this fix does the tricks for you Mako guys as well!

Sticks: ccm u+ cl's (85 flex tavares) Skates: Easton s17 (silver) size 7.5r with ccm epro holder/blade size 271 Helmet: Bauer 4500 Cage: white ccm fm480 Shoulder pads: Sherwood classics Elbow pads: Bauer one75 Shin pads: Reebok 5k Girdle: Bauer totalone Shell: Bauer vapor Gloves: Bauer one95

Wow Simon, you are becoming a custom skate whore!

I think a medium or a small would both be fine because as far as I have heard they have the same wheel-base, the only difference is the positioning of the mounting plates. My 7D Boss SEs came with a Small Vanguard just for reference but at 7.5 it may jump up to a medium. Im sure skating wise they would feel identical since the wheel base is the same it just may be trickier mount one of them (of course unless you actually hold that specific skate's outsole up to both it would be hard to know which sits more flush).

Those Axioms look really nice especially with that black LS2. I bet you get a lot of people in your league asking what the heck skates you have.

Updated equipment: Helmet: Bauer 4500 (black) with jofa FM480 Chrome cage Shoulder pads: Sherwood Classics Elbow pads: Bauer one75 Girdle: Franklin THT Pro Pants: Bauer Vapor x-lite shell (ice), Syven Pro Pants (roller) Gloves: Bauer Pro Stock One90's (gray) and Farrell HG300's (black) Shin pads: Rbk 5k Skates: CCM U+ CL (ice), Mission Boss SE (roller) Sticks: 3 x CCM U+ CL Tavares (Regular flex)

That is probably true, although I dont see anything or hear anything about these skates that leads me to believe they are not a good product. But it is always easier to give them to someone who is just going to rave about how awesome the (FREE) product they got is rather than giving them to an expert like JR or one of the other equipment gurus on MSH who are actually going to critique the product with a larger basis of knowledge. To be honest if I had not just gotten a pair of U+ CL's I would have gotten a pair of MLX's just because I am that curious to see how they are, but i can not justify spending the money to try them after just spending $550 for a pair of CLs (which I do like very much btw).

I so wish i could test a pair of MLXs for free just because i am so curious as to how they feel on the ice. Nice skates btw, they are not the flashiest or fanciest skates but they do look to be quality.

Awesome! Good to know we dont have to go all the way to bristol if we want a mount done.

Simon those vapor 40s look nice, where did you end up getting them converted?

UPDATE: Shins: RBK 4k Elbow: Old Bauer Supremes Shoulder: Sherwood 5030 classics Girdle: Franklin THT Pro Shell: Bauer Vapor X-Lite Helmet: Bauer 4500 Cage: Jofa FM-480 Chrome Gloves: Farrell HG300 Pro Sticks: 3 x CCM U+CL (Tavares) Skates: CCM U+CL (Just got them on Saturday!)

Product: CCM U+ Pro Reloaded Skates Height: 5'9" Weight: 150 Foot Size: 9 (in regular sneakers) Foot Type: Narrow heel and midfoot, slightly wide forefoot (near the pinky toe) Skate Size: 7D Level/Use: Mens A League and whatever other hockey I play (Pickup/fill in/etc) Previous Skates: CCM 952, CCM 1052, CCM Vector Pro, CCM U+ Pro (originals with Rocket Runner) Fit: I used to wear a 7.5D CCM (in my older models such as the 952 and 1052s that I had) but with my last 3 pairs of CCM i moved down to a 7D (I feel that their new toe cap is slightly longer and my toes just feather the toe cap if I have a size 7 which is how I like them to fit). I can not stress enough that these skates absolutely must be heat moulded if you want to see how they fit because they have absolutely no shape to them until they are heated. If you try them on in a shop straight out of the box you will really wonder how anyone could skate in these things. As for baking these skates that can also be somewhat complicated. After learning from the previous U+ first gen. skates that I already owned, I opted to bake these at home. My old U+'s were originally baked at a shop with almost no results (170 for 2 mins just does not cut it for these skates). That being said I placed them on a cookie sheet and baked them at home for 7.5 mins at 200 degrees. The materials become very soft and the sides of the skate really wrap to your foot shape. I actually baked them a second time after skating in them 3 times and after this they were even better. As of now the only complaint I have is that they are slightly narrower then previous CCM models and they squeeze my forefoot slightly but it is very slight and if it continues to be a problem I may have them very slightly stretched but as it is getting less and less noticable every time I skate I may not even have to resort to this. If you want a skate that truly molds to your foot from heat fitting and fits very closely to your foot (I skate barefoot in these and they feel like I am wearing an extension of my body) this is the skate for you, just be sure that you bake them at a high enough temp. and for a long enough time or the foam will not become soft enough to mold properly. Also you will find that the heel lock is absolutely light years better then the original U+ skates and with the new felt tongue they are more comfortable flexing forward in as well. Fit Score: 9.5/10 Blade/Holder: These come equipped with the standard CCM e-pro holder and their scallopped steel. They opted to not include the rocket runner this year due to complaints regarding them being difficult to sharpen without cracking the plastic when locking them into the sharpener (I loved the rocket runners personally and my sharpener never had any issues with them). That said the CCM standard scalloped steel is very good and I can honestly say that whatever pitch that they have their stock steel at is without question the perfect pitch for me as a skater (I have tried bauers and have always felt more on my heels and grafs feel too toe-pitched, CCMs seem to have that perfect middle ground that just works for me personally). These E-Pro holders have proved over the past few years to be very durable as well so basically there are no negatives here. Also I am so happy that CCM includes a 271 sized holder on their size 7 skates as many other manufacturers do not go up to this holder size until size 7.5/8 and I love having a longer blade so for me this is very appealing as the skate fits me length wise and I do not have to get a longer holder put on (adding total cost to the skate) as I have had done in the past. Blade/Holder Score: 10/10 Weight/Protection: The U+ Pro is one of the lightest boots on the market without question. They are very stiff on the side-walls as well and I have taken a few puck deflections off of them with no pain at all. It is amazing how stiff this boot is and that it can still be so lightweight. It is similar to Easton in this respect but Easton uses carbon fiber and CCM has their own special Foam material to achieve this level of weight/stiffness. They have also added a thicker felt tongue as opposed to the wafer-thin tongue on the original U+ skates (which I actually had switched to felt on my pair). This is more protective of the ankle and also more comfortable but it may be a tad heavier for you wieght whores out there. Weight/Protection Score: 10/10 Durability: CCM really had to improve this with the Reloaded version as one of the major complaints about the original U+'s is that the sidewall material was not at all durable and neither was the liner. I can vouch for this as my old U's have bubbles/tears in the mesh side material in many places and the liner is tearing through in a few places near the upper ankle. This is simply unacceptable for a $500 plus dollar skate and CCM has absolutely addressed this with the Reloaded model. The new Surlyn side-walls are bomb-proof and the new glossier liner material seems to be much more resistant to friction-wear as well. This skate should last a long time and still look good after many hours of hockey. The glossy finish on the Surlyn side-walls also improves the appearance of the skate in general. I have been skating in these for 2 months (about 2-3 times a week) and they still look almost brand new in every way. Durability rating: 10/10 Intangibles: What can I say, I love this skate. I think skates should be very stiff but allow for good forward flex and this skate fits the bill. I do like an aggressive flex (and i dont weigh very much) so I opted to adjust the lacing pattern by skipping the second to the top eyelet to slightly lower the flex point of the skate and the results have been very good (still very tight around the top eyelet for support but just a lower flex point for better knee bend and stance). I also got the mail-in voucher for the free U+ CL stick with these skates which is absolutely the best hockey stick I have ever used in my life. It has replaced the Bauer XXX lite as my all time favorite one piece stick. As an intangible a free $220 stick can not be beat when getting a top end pair of $550 skates. I like the look and sleek glossy style of the boot as well. They may not be quite as sexy looking as the X60 or S17 but the performance is every bit as high-end and personally I prefer the U+'s more simple look. Intangibles rating: 10/10 Conclusion/Final Score: If your feet fit CCMs and you have the budget I can not recommend this skate enough. It fits very close to the foot and molds like no other. It is durable and looks good. The blade and holder are very strong. There is really nothing about this skate that is not top-notch. CCM has really improved the quality of their flagship skate over their original U+ offering which I was somewhat disapointed with. If you can still catch the free stick deal that is just an added $200+ dollar bonus but regardless the U+ Pro Reloaded is in my opinion as good as a pro-level skate can be. Final Score: 10/10

Helmet: Black Bauer 4500 Cage: Jofa Chrome Shoulders: Sherwood Classics Elbows: Old Easton ultra lites Shins: RBK 5ks Girdle: Pro Stock Franklin THT Shell: Bauer Vapor X-lite Jock: Shock Doctor Socks: RBK Edge all black Skates: 2008 U+ pros and a brand new pair of 2009 U+ Pro Reloadeds :) Gloves: Bauer pro-stock one90s and Farrell Pros Sticks: Bauer xxx lite kotalik pro stock, Bauer one90 P88, Bauer Endure P88, And I just sent my stuff in to get a free CCM U+CL with the purchase of my new U+ Pro skates, i chose an 87 flex Tavares (Recchi)

Hey Guys, Question for anyone who has step steel on a CCM/RBK holder. I know the Tuuk LS2 and other Tuuk Step Steels are a 9' radius same as the stock steel. Is the step steel that is made for CCM/RBK a 10' radius like the stock steel or is it a 9' radius like the other step steels? Can anyone confirm who has used these? Thanks

Some new equipment since I last posted in this thread: Gloves: Bauer one90 pro stock Helmet: Bauer 4500 black Cage: Jofa chrome Girdle: Pro stock Franklin THT wrap girdle (amazing) Shell: Bauer Vapor Lite Socks: Black RBK Edge Shins: Sherwood 5030 Shoulders: Sherwood 5030 Elbows: Old Easton Ultra-Lites Skates: CCM U+ Pros Sticks: Bauer XXX lite Malkin PM9 x2, Bauer Endure Lindros