vapour xxx vs easton synergy skates

[Bruin88 0]

ok ,i have graf 735s and they really hurt my feet and they have all year. theyve been punched out ,stretched 1mm widthwise ,insole shaved down and nothing worked. Since ive come to the conclusion that these arent the skates for me ive decided to get new skates. i want a high end skate because i have no budget and money isnt a problem but i want a stiff skates because im only 5'8 or 5'9 but im not done growing and im already 182 pounds. i want a fairly durable skate because i dont think ill be getting new skates until atleast christmas and thats only if i have to. speed is a huge part of my game so i would also like a light skate or a skate that helps bring out all the speed i have .i also want the most comfort i can get.

anyways ,last night i tried on skates and i liked the bauer vapour 30's ,they were comfy ,light and theyre heat moldable. i tried on the rbk 8k's and they were comfy ,theyre heat moldable and i loved the laceclip because i like my skates as tight as i can get them but they started to hurt my feet so those are outta the question. i also tried on the synergys(1300) and i loved them except the ankles but the guy at the shop said he fixed the ankle problem on his by lightly heating the inside of the skates ankles. i know there are durability issues with the vapours but the synergys arent heat moldable and both of those are important factors. im not sure if this is a factor in getting either of these skates but i liked my graf 502's and i have a relatively wide foot(the synergys are wide fitting and the vapours wide size feals fine)

anyways ,any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated .thanks for reading tihs ,i know its long.

[lecavalier 0]

I'd say go with the Vapor XXX's since you seem to like them a lot.Also,I thought Bauer fixed their durability of the Vapor XXX's?

[Sven 1]

One question besides the thread, is this inside heating (ankle area) possible with every skate without ruining it?

I own a pair of vapor vii's

[Bruin88 0]

have you tried heat molding? the only reason why im doing that on the synergys if i get them is because they arent heat moldable and the ankles are a bit weird so lightly heating will help form the ankles to my ankle without wrecking the composite outsole

[lee92 2]

are you sure the reeboks aren't heat moldable? i don't ever remember hearing that. and heating up the inside padding of the skate, i don't think would necessarily ruin the skate any, as long as it's not extreme heat for a long period of time. it'd just soften up the inside padding and help break-in...similar to putting hot wet socks on and sitting in your skates for a while

[Bruin88 0]

i didnt say the reeboks werent heat moldable ,i sed the synergys werent ,i just dont like the reeboks because they started to hurt my feet

[JR Boucicaut 3809]

i know there are durability issues with the vapours but the reeboks arent heat moldable and both of those are important factors.

:)

[Bruin88 0]

oops i ment the synergys arent heat moldable ,sorry

[Edge 0]

If both fit your foot fine then you have kind of go on what you see. You are probably already aware of the Vapor's skating feel, but if that shop has the synergy demo program, i'd give that a shot. They feel much different than vapors on the ice, so i'd make sure you like it. It takes some getting used to. Out of those two, i'd go Synergys, but my feet have a lot of pain in Vapors. <_<

[Bruin88 0]

do you have a wide foot?

[Edge 0]

yes. flat feet also.

[Bruin88 0]

my feet are wide but not flat

does anyone know anything about the synergy test drive? how much? what model? hidden costs? catches? how long you get them for?

[Edge 0]

It's free...not sure how long you can have them, but i'm sure you have to give them a credit card number or something to make sure you dont steal them. And I'm pretty sure you Demo the 2004 model skate.

[Bruin88 0]

is there much of a difference between the 04 and 05?

[Edge 0]

Yeah, the liner is much different, the toungue is different...

But you get the basic idea of how the skate feels on the ice.

[lee92 2]

i've tried the synergy skates on at my lhs, and they fit perfect on my feet, but i'd never get them. i don't think i'm big enough to wear them, because when they're all laced up, i find it extremely difficult to get any forward flex from the boot. i don't know if that was an issue with you or not.

[Bruin88 0]

how much do you weigh lee?

[lee92 2]

i'm about 5'9-5'10, 170lbs

[Bruin88 0]

im about the same height and 182 lbs so i might have an easier time with the skates. i have very strong legs though so that could help too

[Edge 0]

Yeah, they are a little too stiff that way...i dont use the top eyelits though on any skates.

[Bruin88 0]

i use all the eylets but i tie my skates very tight

[CBJ 0]

i believe this was mentioned before, but the synergy skates are extremely stiff and very hard to flex. I'm about 6'2 right around 200 lbs and i can't really flex those skates. Now i have a co-worker who is 6'3ish and about 250 and he loves them. He however is big enough to actually flex those puppies.

*side note* I talking about the first generation of synergy skates. I haven't had a chance to really check out this years line of synergies...although i would assume they are fairly similar to last years in stiffness. I know they have changed the padding/material in the skate because they were having problems with the padding around the ankle. It was digging into peoples ankle and cutting them up pretty badly.

As far as the XXX's go, they are nice skates. They improved the liner compared to that of the XX's but other than that they are basically the same skate.

just my 2 cents

[Edge 0]

this year's model Synergys are pretty improved. I believe they have a lower cut boot so that would mean they wouldn't be quite as stiff.

[JR Boucicaut 3809]

The cut won't do anything to the stiffness.