Better Skates

[Shane_e_19 0]

my opinion, buy whichever skate fits you better.

P.S. - last year we had a demo with some of those eastons and half the guys from work found them to be very uncomfortable, albeit this was before they wee released and we were probly using prototype models.

[gavin 0]

Well you buy the certain t-blade that is sutable for you,

like my t-blades are high in the back then the front since iam a forward,

K we need to get some more info from you. If you don't know, ask your dad or your sharpener or whoever.

1. What brand of skates are your current t-blades mounted on?

2. What do you mean, they are higher in the back and lower in the front. Sure, many forwards prefer this, but t-blade doesn't make that an option with there holders, and there is no sharpener in the world that can sharpen a new profile/pitch into t-blades. They come with a "neutral" pitch straight from the factory, and in my experience (i have used t-blades some) the only options you can choose are radius and hollow. So unless you have heel lifts or something... you need to explain what you mean by that.

3. What is your style of play? Are you one of those superfast AAA guys? Cause honestly, I skate 4v4 with Junior A and AAA guys 2x a week and most of the AAA guys with crazy talent aren't cut out for Junior A, the ones with Grafs with t-blades and crazy wheels. Remember that your leg muscles are the biggest muscles on your body, it's not like your wrists where there are small muscles and it's not easy to go crazy with a lot of resistance. Maybe if you buy some "grinder" skates, it will have a mental effect and you will become more of a useful player. Just a thought.

My opinion: I think the One90 is fugly, but who gives a damn how many ounces a skate weighs or how "cool" it looks? If you are the superstar you claim to be, and can get skates at 1/3 the price and you are tight with shop owners and everything you have said, asked (nicely) your shop to give you a few demos to skate some drills with (if you have summer skates with your club or w/e). I would get at least 3 good on-ice sessions with each pair, in this order:

1. Mission XP

2. Mission AG

3. Graf ... G5? maybe

4. RBK 8K (I have a personal vendetta against THC but go and try them)

5. CCM Vector 10.0

6. Pro Tacks (give them a shot!!)

7. NBH One90

9. Bauer XXX (a lot of Junior A guys I know are going back to the shops wanting to go back to their XXXs. Whatever, not my cup of tea but I'm just saying that if they like XXX better than One90, maybe you will too.)

10. Easton 1500 (Ugh. But if they work better than all those other skates you skated on, then great for you)

I'm kinda jealous that you have such sweet connections. I'm in KINDA tight with a couple shops in the area here, and I'm super pumped to get a few skates on Mission XPs here next week. If you start now you should be able to demo all those skates before Junior camps start. good luck!

[blues_91 0]

Why don't any of you ask what hollow you are getting? You guys ask a million ?s about this, that, and the other thing but something as important as your hollow, your answer is "whatever?" If you take the time to read this forum, especially the Equipment forum, ask some serious ?s and get answers. This way when you make it to the Show or the Big Tent or Drop-In on Monday morning, at least the sharpener will have some idea of what you prefer and not roll his eyes and say to himself, another lunkhead without a clue! And it really doesn't matter how far you go in hockey, take the time to ask a few questions along the way. The sharpener might teach you something you didn't know.

It never occured to me to ask what the standard was because it has always worked for me, and I only get my skates sharpened at the one shop. Even if you ask ?s about hollows on this site you'll still have to try them out on your own, and I'd rather just stick to what I've been skating on for the last 8 years.

[gavin 0]

It never occured to me to ask what the standard was because it has always worked for me, and I only get my skates sharpened at the one shop. Even if you ask ?s about hollows on this site you'll still have to try them out on your own, and I'd rather just stick to what I've been skating on for the last 8 years.

But you're better off knowing the difference and being willing to change. You should skate different than you did 8 years ago. And the way you skate should affect the hollow you get. My take is that the harder you turn, the more knee bend you use etc etc, the shallower your hollow should be. A deeper hollow might make your blades feel "sharper" when you're standing totally upright, with your knees locked. But I don't want them feeling "sharper" then, I want them feeling "sharper" when my knees are bent, I'm at full speed and turning hard while going around my net.

Think about the way that the shape of your blades will help/hinder you then.

[jimmy 194]

Why don't any of you ask what hollow you are getting? You guys ask a million ?s about this, that, and the other thing but something as important as your hollow, your answer is "whatever?" If you take the time to read this forum, especially the Equipment forum, ask some serious ?s and get answers. This way when you make it to the Show or the Big Tent or Drop-In on Monday morning, at least the sharpener will have some idea of what you prefer and not roll his eyes and say to himself, another lunkhead without a clue! And it really doesn't matter how far you go in hockey, take the time to ask a few questions along the way. The sharpener might teach you something you didn't know.

It never occured to me to ask what the standard was because it has always worked for me, and I only get my skates sharpened at the one shop. Even if you ask ?s about hollows on this site you'll still have to try them out on your own, and I'd rather just stick to what I've been skating on for the last 8 years.

I use to like Andre' champagne until I tried my first glass of Dom Perignon. After that, everything else tasted like pi$$ water. Point is, how do you know there is not something better out there until you try it?