Sniper9

So I removed the protective film as it was getting a bit chewed up. But I regret it now as when I removed it I noticed how thick it was and that it probably saved quite a bit of gashes and cuts to my boot.... Wonder if true sells these on its own. For those who got their cat pros before they started putting these film on, how is your boot holding up to cuts etc.

Some people are more particular than others for sure. For me I've been on tuuks and sb holders forever. I tried the shift holders for the first time with my current cat pros. I had the shift steel profiled to my usual quad zero. It felt a touch diff but nothing crazy. I did feel like I was a bit on my heels though compared to my trues on SB holders which is the opposite of what most ppl say. I got jrz/step steel and had them profiled to quad zero and when I skated on them I felt a bit more on my toes / felt more close to my tuuk and SB holder setup. So for me it was more the steel than the holder and boot making it feel different. But this couldve been more the skate tech that profiled my shift steel vs the guy who did my jrz as I got them at different places. I have a feeling the person who did my shift steel didn't make the balance points and pitch neutral. Also I noticed on my cat pros/shift holders doing 1/2" hollow feels more like a 9/16 with my old SB holder step steel setup on my tf customs. I got 9/16" on my cat pros and it felt like 5/8. So the shift holders def causes me to require a ROH with my bite.

Bladetech does have the max version. But I would email them to ensure that's the one they send you when you order online so they don't send you the regular shift one.

I've had mine for 2 months and so far no cracking but you never know. I'm going to definitely keep an eye on mine. Even the tf pro customs which were manufactured differently had some cases of the cf at the heel breaking down.

Cat pros probably will end up weighing more only bc of added foam. The cf shells are identical.

Yes it's silicone is pretty flat but it depends how thick you layer it. It's funny you bring up the steel question. I had my shift dlc and step/jrz profiled out of box to quad zero and I noticed the jrz made me feel just a touch more on my toes vs the shift dlc which made me feel more centered. I like being on my toes a bit more but I thought that the jrz basically had a neutral pitch and 10' radius. I thought I read somewhere that the shift was also shorter on the front and higher in the heel portion of the steel making it a bit more forward pitched. But my experience seems to contradict this. Step/jrz is 10' out of box that I know. Shift max dlc is supposedly a dual 9/10 radius. I always assumed that any steel no matter what their current pitch and profile was, if profiled to say a quad zero would be a quad zero across the board. But apparently the pitch of the steel has to be set prior to the profile. Ie if you are used to a quad zero with neutral pitch and get steel that has a forward pitch, you'd need to set a neutral pitch and then profile it to a quad zero for it to match. Someone correct me if I'm wrong as this was what my uncle who is a skate tech told me. Doesn't really make sense to me as I thought the prosharp profiles are all just templates and profiling should replicate the steel shape to the template regardless of the pitch.

I never really tried step ss longer than one skate before going to their blacksteel so can't really compare it to Bauer. I did have ls3 before and I definitely needed to Sharpen it often. Probably every 2-3 skates. But I like having crisp edges allt he time. Even with my blacksteel I sharpen it every 5-6 skates where I know most ppl go 10+. Another thing to note, maybe more for the skate techs benefit is that step has better QC and tighter tolerances for their steel so they are very consistent with their stock profile, height, and cases of warped steel.

I can definitely feel the difference between stainless and dlc as the step and jrz is so buttery smooth and bite is noticeable. Does it actually affect performance? I can't really say but it's definitely at least psychological to the point where I can't go back to regular stainless lol.

I've tried; Step black dlc, pulse ti, true shift max dlc, and jrz pro black dlc You can tell the diff. Step and jrz being superior than true shift and Bauer pulse ti in terms of glide and bite. Edge retention for the true and pulse ti was pretty good though. Not an option for tuuk users, jut it's worth the $10 upgrade to get jrz and step imo. I haven't used bladetech or flare etc so I can't comment on those versions of their dlc.

My pronation isn't that bad as I've done exercises etc to correct it as best as I can for the most part and I always use the speed plates so it's hard to say. There is no skate out there that will account for pronation so if that's what you're looking for in a skate, don't bother. Stiffness will help to a certain degree but it's not a fix. And all the mid to top tier skates out there now are pretty stiff.

Foams imo can only do so much for heel lock as it's soft. I'd imagine heel lock is more to do with the depth and shape of the overall heel pocket in regards to the shell. You can prob address some heel lock issues with foams but I can't see it being long term once it compacts and wears.

Cat pros use the exact same shell as the cat 9s. Only the padding is adjusted, so I don't think you'll find much better heel lock in those. For me though I found the cat pros provide me better heel lock then my tf pro customs since the heel pocket seems a bit more shallow than the tf pro customs. The pronation also is a reason for poor heel lock as your entire for shifts due to it and causes your heel not to sit in the pocket properly. If you have pronation issues, even custom skates won't fix this. I pronate with my right foot and notice the heel lock is slightly worse than my left. But with speed plates it has helped me a lot since the arch on these insoles are firm and don't collapse at all. Aso for me the cat pros flexibility was more noticeable laterally. Forward flexion I don't really notice a diff. Both the cat pros and tf pro customs I have to drop the top eyelet bc there's so much wrap bc my ankles are so skinny that it'll feel like skating on ski boots if I lace em to the top.

I went from the SVH (tf pro custom) to the cat pros because: - cat pros lighter - cat pros more flexible - cat pros fit and finishr - cat pros cheaper Reason why I went for cat pros over the cat 9s - I liked the colors of the cat pro better (I know, not the best reason) - I have diff size feet - I wanted something more custom fit Mind you, I never actually tried the cat 9s so they very well may have fit just as well as the cat pros. But I'm pretty happy with my cat pros. They're just as comfortable as the tf pros I had and you can feel that it's a bit more flexible and lighter. The tf pros I will say feel slightly more comfy in that it felt more "padded".

Lol 77 bucks for hyperlite skates. They're probably be more convincing if the prices weren't all way too cheap. Btw consider your credit cards compromised

Honestly as long as the quality is the same I'm fine with it. I read on Reddit jrz is made in the same factory as step with same materials so ya. I've yet to use anything that matches the bite and glide of step black and jrz makes black dlc for my true skates.

Is step and jrz essentially the same steel but step is branded solely for ccm skates and jrz for aftermarket replacement for other holders, ie true, graf etc? Found that online vendors are using the names interchangeably now. https://www.binnieshockey.com/shop-skate-blades/step-steel-v-steel-for-ccm-speedblade-40-ns2dk#:~:text=JRZ are considered the highest quality replacement runner on the market today.&text=Due to manufacturing changes%2C these,branded as Step or JRZ https://www.hockeyvancouver.ca/products/step-steel-skate-runners-graf

I've seen ultra high on Amazon but I'm using amazon.ca. But not sure if you want like 200+ kg/m3 or if this 85 kg/3 is sufficient. I haven't actually purchased this but I've favorited in the event I need it in the future. EVA Foam Cosplay - 1mm (1mm to 10mm) - Black or White - 14" x 39" Sheet - Ultra High Density 85 kg/m3 - by The Foamory https://a.co/d/5suEHSx

You try speedplates. The first generation (if you can find them). They are thin and mold to your feet. Alternatively if you don't require any arch or heel support you can just cut out a thin 1-2mm high density Eva foam. Stock footbeds essentially are just foam with no orthopedic support anyways.

We're twins lol

Ccm def have their own takes on the retail curves. You can tell especially when taping the blade. Doesn't lay the same. Tc4 may be different as well but for my personal preference I prefer true and Bauers version better. It's obviously not a big enough difference for me to force myself to use Bauer or true as I'm pretty happy with ccm right now. I'd give true another shot if they got their act together with blade durability

Makes sense. First bake gives it a general initial wrap. After skating in them a few hrs, subsequent bakes really dials it in.

Ccm sticks def ahead of most in terms of durability and performance. I just wish their curves were real Bauer clones. Their p28 is good but I really like true and Bauer's p28 versions

From my experience owning all three brands. I've said it before. True and ccm are more pliable after being in the skate oven as per their respective baking instructions. Would Bauer skates get as pliable as true skates if they were in there for 8-10 mins at 180-200? Maybe. But we're going here by their recommended bake times and temp settings.

Curv is actually an outsourced patented material that isn't owned by Bauer. Just like d30 and sigmatex used by ccm

The machs have more foams inside as well vs the ones you listed. The foams are also heat moldable so that could be it as well. The machs also use 12k carbon curv which I'll admit is a better tech. The hyperlites and even the upcoming hyperlite 2 will still only be using carbon curv. Even the m5 pro is using carbon curv at a second price point and I believe the 3x is only their regular curv.