RBK 7K Pump Skate

[Chadd 916]

open for review

[B-Nads 0]

Profile: 6'3, 235, power-forward. Agressive skater, straight lines and power turns - not much dancing around.

Background: I have gone through 5 pairs of skates in the past 4 seasons. Although they were a tad narrow, I did enjoy the Mission L series. The Vectors I had broke down really quickly, and the fit was not right for me anyway. I thought I had found skate heaven in my 8090's, but I ended up trying to punch and force a pair of 9's to accommodate my foot - not to be. The latest episode - RKB 7k Pumps.

Weight: When I bought these skates, I was between them and the 972 SMU Tacks (the white ones). The 7k's were noticably lighter than the Tacks, so I elected to go that route. That is not to say, by any means, that these are a light skate. Fot the $$$, they are not much heavier than their big brother, the 9k, but lifting them compared to my old 8090's shows a pretty obvious weight discrepancy - the Bauers also seemed to shed the weight of sweat better, as I barely noticed a difference in their weight at the end of a game, while the RBK'S feel much heavier when getting off the gear. That being said, they are not overly heavy, and can be adjusted to pretty quickly.

8/10

Protection: I would rate the protection on these skates very highly. They are tank-like on the side panels, and the toe-cap deflects impacts well enough that only direct shots really give too much of a shock. The ankle support in this skate is excellent. Were I a player who wore my shin pads inside or above the tongue I would have some serious misgivings about the thickness and padding in the tongue itself, but I wear my shins over the tongue, so it is of little concern.

9/10

Fit: Word is RBK built these on the Tacks last. I would agree with that except where the heel is concerned. The Pro Tacks I tried on were a perfect fit in the ankle area. I would imagine this is done to accommodate the expansion of the ankle area in the skate from pumping the air bladders, but the heel and ankle of this boot is significantly wider than that of a Tack. This caused some problems for me recently, but they were easily solved. I had never been one to lace up my top eyelets in my skates. In these, however, lacing all the way up and putting waxed laces in to give me pressure where I want it has made such a dramatic improvement that I barely even use the pumps anymore. My foot dimensions are wide at the forefoot, medium arch, high bridge, and a fairly narrow ankle. Now that I have solved the pronation problem in the heel, these fit me almost perfectly. I won't give a numeric value to the fit, as a skate is a very individual thing. These fit me well enough that I did not get them baked.

Performance: These skates are very good for what I need. My game is not based on agility or finesse - I power in and out of corners, lock down in front of the net, and race straight lines to back-check. That is not to say these skates are not good for those other things, as one young gentleman by the name of Crosby seems to prove with ease, although a profile with a shorter radius than the stock 11 foot would help in that area. These skates also appear to have a reasonable amount of forward pitch. The holder is the normal, neutrally pitched E-Pro, but the boot itself has a toe bias - the stock set-up of these skates feels very similar to my Vectors after I had 3mm heel lifts done. The customer rep at RBK confirmed that they are, in fact, more forward pitched than the Tack line. These skates are very stable, and promote a good knee-bend. If you are in the right size, you should not get any issues with bottoming out. The only skates I ever did this in were a pair that were a size too large.

9/10

Durability: I have about 8 games and 15 outings on these skates now, and there are no noticable issues with them to this point. At the beginning I was fairly concerned with what I thought to be a leak in the air bladders. After contacting RBK about this, I was informed that the initial break-in period would see the expansion of the lining in the boot, and that might make it appear as though there was less air in the bladders. I was told to come back with the skates if this persisted beyond a couple weeks. That appears to have been the case, as I have had no such issues since. The silver RBK logo on the side panels seems to be the only area that shows any abuse, as pucks scuff it up pretty easily, but I would be content to have them all black anyway, as I prefer a traditional, black skate. There are a couple tiny cracks in the material where the achilles guard begins, but that is not a major problem - it is mostly on the left skate, which I usually stretch in some strange positions during warm-up due to an injury, so that is my own fault. The key for me is ankle stiffness, as I am a heavy, tall player, with a history of ankle injuries. So far, I have noticed no discernable decrease in the stiffness of the akles on this boot.

9.5\10

Value: At the moment, local shops are selling these for $549 CAD. That, especially considering they have the 9k Pump on sale for $499, is insane. I paid $300 to a fellow boarder for these earlier this fall. I considered that to be a decent price at the time, although I could probably pick up 9k's at that price now. Considering my Vector 6.0's cost me $300 and taxes, I would say $300 for these is a pretty good value. At release, they were $150 less than the 9k's in these parts. Considering the only real advantage the 9k'S hold over these is a slight weight difference and the option to go with white trim, which I would not opt for anyway, I'd say the value is high.

8.5/10

Overall: I think this is a very solid pair of skates. If you have a Tacks foot, and they are an option at the same price, I'd personally opt for Pro Tacks. If you need the Pump system to give you that extra little bit of lock, then I would recommend these, but only if you can get them significantly cheaper than the 9k's, which are coming down to a more reasonable price lately. The skates feel very solid on my feet, I am not afraid of taking shots in the foot, and they accellerate and corner well. I like the stock pitch and radius of these skates, so no profiling was necessary. The greatest compliment I can give these skates is that I will be very content to keep them until the point where I find a deal on a pair of 8090's or Pro Tacks in my size. Even then, I will keep these for outdoor play and shinny, and use the others for games.

8.5/10

UPDATE - I unloaded these skates not long ago - they were simply too shallow for my feet, and I was busting them open at the hinges. I have since picked up Vector 08's - a more suitable fit for my foot. The 7k's were still extremely solid, and I didn't want to ruin them...or my feet.

Edited October 8, 2010 by B-Nads

[TeamHonda401 54]

I'm 5'10" 150 lbs, rely mostly on speed and skating during games. B League/College Club Level 2-3 times a week.

Paid $230 usd for the 2011 RBK 7k skate

First Impressions/Technology--Out of the box, these skates are really flashy. The white graphics package as well as the surface finish on the boot make for a good lookin' skate. The skates are relatively light, with a good mix of style and function. The lace-lock feature has been refined over the last couple of years, as it seems like they have prefected the amount of force necessary to close and open the lock. The pump feature seemed kind of gimmicky at first, but when trying them on for the first time, you could definately notice the air bladders surrounding your ankle. They also use two different materials for the liner of the boot. They use a traditional material for the top/sides of the boot liner, but also use a slightly tackier material in the heel/achilles area. Overall I was pretty impressed with the quality so far.

Baking/First Skate--I have relatively large ankle bones, so baking skates is a must for me. I had my concerns that the pro shop at my local rink didn't put them in the oven long enough to loosen the skate up, as the boot didn't mold quite as much as I anticipated. The resulting first skate was pretty painful. There was a lot of pressure on my ankles, which led to some substantial blistering. At this point I was really worried that I had picked the wrong skates.

Second Baking/Fit--I had them baked for a second time, which produced the results I had expected from the first trip to the pro shop. I also began wearing them around the house to help with the break-in period. This really did the trick. The next time I was on the ice they felt like completely different skates. The fit was exceptional. One thing that impressed me the most was how locked down my heel was. With the tacky material along the achilles area, combined with the pump system, as well as the forward pitch of the back of the skate/achilles guard, these skates feel as stable as any I have used. The toe box provides ample room for most skaters, with only the widest foot being the exception. The instep area molds really well after baking, so most skaters should be just fine with the fit. 9/10 for fit

Protection--I have had these skates for three months so far, and have taken quite a few shots off several areas of the skate. The toe cap isn't the best I have seen, but for a $230 skate, they are more than sufficient. I was really impressed with the protection the boot offers, as even the hardest shots I come across don't phase me. The tongue has ample padding at this price point, as it has dual denisty foam as well as the felt liner. 9/10 for protection

Functionality/Performance--For the skill level I play, these skates are just about perfect. The upper has excellent forward flex, which when added to the forward pitch of the skate gives me some pretty impressive jump. The runners used on these skates are pretty solid, usually requiring sharpening after about 10-15 games. I am able to make a lot sharper cuts than I was with my last pair of skates (CCM V6). 10/10 for performance (relative to my skill level)

Durability--These skates have held up exceptionally well so far. The boot material has no signs of wear whatsoever, as pucks and sticks seem to just bounce off with no structural or cosmetic effect. The E-Pro holder is has done pretty good so far, with only puck marks to show for it. One concern I had with the lace-lock system was that it would fray non-wax laces. That has not been the case. There seems to be ample space between the c-ring and the plastic base for the lace to fit without damaging it. The pump has been redesigned this year to be more streamlined, which keeps the pump and the release mechanism almost flush with the skate. No ill effects on the pump system so far. 9/10 for durability

Overall--These skates are perfect for me and my playing style. I can't bring myself to pay more than 300 bucks for a pair of skates, and these only further reinforce that. I can get two pairs of these for less than the price of the 11k, and from how good these have been so far, I don't see the point of paying more. 9/10 overall