Vapor XXXX Skate

[Chadd 916]

Open for review

[TBLfan 25]

NBH Vapor XXXX skate

Reviewer stats:

6'1, 240. Strong skater, powerful strides.

Fit:

My past two pairs of skates were Tacks. The wider toebox on the new Vapor line made it possible for me to actually use Vapors, much to my surpise. I previously tried the XXX and couldn't stand up in them for more than a few seconds, these were comfortable out of the box. I baked the first pair, didn't bake the second(warranty return, details below). The second pair has felt more comfortable again, much to my surprise. The boot isn't quite deep enough for me, I'm on the border of failing the pencil test. This led to some issues with forward flex. I have solved this by skipping the top eyelet and lacing outside-in, as opposed to my inside-out along the top eyelets. Fit of course is subjective, try these on for yourself.

9/10

Blade/Holder:

LS2 steel is decent, holds a good edge but not for very long. Jimmy speaks highly of STEP steel, I may eventually make the change but I'll still get 4-6 icetimes out of a sharpening on average(3/4"). Coming from Tacks, I needed to get a profiling job, I requested for the equivalent of a 2mm heel lift based on feel... Very close to mimicing my Tacks but not quite, I think the magic number is 3mm. The LS2 holder is beautiful, nice and stiff, very responsive.

9/10

Weight/Protection:

Weight on these are great, nice and lightweight. Protection is good but not great. The toecap is solid but there is a spot just behind the toe cap on the inside that hurts like hell when you get hit with a puck. I volunteer coach adult beginners, during a scrimage I blocked a shot from one of these beginners and it hurt like hell, glad it wasn't a slap shot. Besides that ONE spot, the skates are solid and protective. Only felt maybe 2-3 shots that hurt in almost a year in the skates.

8.5/10

Durability:

These are proving to be pretty durable. You'll still find the infamous "Vapor cuts" around the boot but it doesn't effect the structure of the skate. The laces are holding up very well considering I undo the top eyelets everytime I take off the skates. Holders and steel are still in great working order. Besides puckmarks, the "vapor cuts" and some tongue fraying, these are good as new.

10/10

Quality Control:

In my first pair the outsole started separating in less than 3 icetimes. Having a closer look it seemed that there was a mis-sewn seam that cause the outsole to be stressed to stay flat along the bottom of the boot. Also the left holder seemed to be slightly off center. My second pair has been great. The outsole doesn't show the slightest sign of separating after months of use. The holders look and feel dead on straight. I'm going to give it a 5 out of 10 rating based solely on the fact that I've had one pair that was bad and one that was good. Take that rating with a grain of salt.

5/10

Intangibles:

The skate looks great, in my opinion. The colors flow throughout the entire boot, to the holder and steel right on through to the laces.

10/10

Conclusion:

If the skate fits, wear it. These skates have been very good for me. So far the skates have been plenty durable for me and the perform as good as they look. Very responsive skates.

FINAL: 9/10

[adcool17 0]

Bauer Vapor XXXX 10.5 D

Time – 6 Months 3-4 times a week

Height – 6,1

Weight – 215lbs

Previous Skate – Bauer Supreme Comp 10.5 D

Fit: These skates fit very comfortable right out of the box for me. I did find that I was in between a 10 and a 10.5 so obviously I did go with the bigger size, because I think the 10s would have been just a little bit too small even if I did try to stretch them later. I did like the width and length of the toe box. I have calluses on the outside of each of my big toes. They are not rubbing as much as they did with my supreme’s, and were they connected the boot to the toe cap is just short of where my calluses began. I baked these skates once and still I found the tongue to be very stiff out of the box, but once broken in it is very comfortable and effective and provide a better overall fit. At first the higher cut of the vapor boot was annoying, as my ankle wasn’t allowed to move as freely as it once did. I did incur some rubbing on the outside of my ankles but after some skating and adjusting how I tie my skates (how tight/loose to find the perfect balance) that problem is gone and I believe I am a better skater because of it. Overall it did take some tinkering but now that I got everything worked out it feels amazing. 8/10

Blade/Holder: I do find that the steel holds its edge very well. No more or less than the regular Stainless that came on the custom plus of my Supremes. What I do like about the holders is how the puck reacts when I take a pass in the feet. I find that they don’t bounce or rocket off but have a very dead feel and just kind of roll to the blade of my stick. I found with my custom plus that they did rocket off and notice that some of my friends that had the epro and razor 2 holder have a similar reaction. I do feel like I can feel the edge of my skate a bit better on the LS2 holder then the custom plus, which has help in cornering and transitions/pivoting in my skating. 9/10

Weight: These are by no means as light as the S15 or U+, but still pretty light especially coming from my Supremes. 9/10

Protection: I didn’t really get to see how durable these skates are until about month 5 were I had a CIS training camp/tryouts. I was blocking shots, taking sticks and other skates, and I was really surprised in how protective they were. In terms of blocking shots you can feel them when they hit, but no significant pain was endured, and there were some pretty hard shots. There are cuts and marks on the outside of the skate, but those are all cosmetic and none affect the performance and is a part of the game. 10/10

Durability: The outside of the skate has some marks and cuts on them as mentioned above, but again none affect the performance. The holder and steel are holding up as well, though the steel will have to be replaced soon. The laces right at the top have ripped through the tongue, but that is mostly because of my aggressive skating style and have very little to do with manufacturing. The liner is starting to rip right at the top close to the top eyelet, and the more I wear them the more the liner starts to give away. This is the only part of the skate I am worried about not holding up. I am pretty sure it is just from the tongue rubbing the liner when I skate. The same thing happened with my Supremes but not nearly as bad or as quickly as the XXXX did. 8/10

Intangibles: I really liked the look of the skate, everything flows. They just look fast sitting on the wall!!! 10/10

Conclusion: The skates felt good out of the box, but once I got skating on them I did have to adjust to the differences in the cut, and stiffness of the skate. Now that I feel they are truly broken in they are an amazing skate, and looking forward to the new Vapor line coming out in the spring. 9/10

[MLSman 22]

Nike/Bauer Vapor XXXX custom 9D

Time - 3 months 2-3 times a week

Height - 6' 2"

Weight 160 lbs

Previous skate - Vapor XXXX retail

Fit: Custom skate...enough said. I used the regular last, because it fit the shape of my foot. I just wanted some extras: +1 stiffness, grip liner, reinforced eyelets, One90 tongue with thicker black felt. The retail boot was a little roomier in the midfoot, due to my narrow appendage, but the One90 black felt tongue solved that issue. Needless to say the fit is perfect. Won't score here, because any boot that is custom fit will feel perfect.

Blade/holder: Is it me, or do they use better steel on a custom boot than the retail boot? The LS2 steel on my custom boots hold an edge better, and are a lot less prone to nics. I find that I have to sharpen them once every 4-5 skates, whereas the retail LS2 steel required a sharpening once every other skate. The LS2 holder is still my favorite holder. It holds up extremely well, especially with my propensity to get in front of shots as a defenseman. 10/10

Weight/protection: This is not the lightest boot, but is not a brick. The +1 in stiffness doesn't seem to matter...we're probably looking at a difference of a few grams. Protection is top notch. I have blocked a few right off the toe and the anterior ankle with little to no pain. I would say that there is a balance between weight and protection, and this skate is the perfect balance of the two. 9.5/10

Durability: My two pair of retails began to break down after a year at the ankle. I attribute that to the fact that I had to crank down on the laces and wrap the ankle to get the fit I like. With the custom boots, this is no longer an issue, as the tongue and fit have eliminated the negative space. After 3 months, they look brand new. With the reinforced eyelets, double stitching, and fit... these will last a few years. 10/10

Intangibles: A custom skate....nothing compares to it. 10/10

Conclusion: If you think the retail boot is a great boot, a custom is like no other. Made in Canada, top quality craftsmanship, and attention to detail. This will be a fun season wearing a boot that responds to every command my foot provides.

I would give this boot a 10, but some may complain about the weight. I will give it a 9.8/10 to be fair.

[Kezetto 0]

Nike Bauer Vapor XXXX 8.5D (Retail)

Time: Around 4/5 months 3-4 Times a week

Age: 15

Weight: 10 Stone ish

Hight 6'0/1

Previous skate: Nike Bauer Vapor XXII 9E

Fit: Like others had sayed right out of the box the fit was just amazing so good i was debaiting weather to bake them, my last skates XXII's as a Mid/High range skate felt so uncomfitable and i felt no comfort atall comparing to the 40's straight away feeling so much better than the 22's would ever feel, the padding on the 40's made the skate feel more compact with your foot and the result of that gave me more control on the ice. My last skates were half a size biger so that drop of a half size make a world of a diffrence. After a session on the ice of just skating to see how the skate felt i decided to get the skate bake and ohh boy am i gald i did that, right after they felt so much better and more enclosed giving me that sense on security that i wouldnt hurt myself. After a while i staterd to notice little things for instance the toe cap to me felt like it was to big, as in hight, i felt like i could move my toes too much and i hate that because its giving me less control of the front of the blade. Aswell another problem developed after a while with the area around the toe. on my outside of my felt big toe the end of the toecap dug in and started giving me alot of hard skin and pain after a while on the ice which started to distract me alot, but on the opisit foot it was completely the opisit problem it was too big so too much movement. overall the fit is nice on your foot but there is a few problems. 7/10

Blade/Holder: When i first steped on the ice with the 40's and started skating i felt like it had more of sharper edge, but it was funny because i have the same hollow and everything that i did with the 22's. Also i find that the steal hold up maybe about the same but i never really got the chance to run down the steel on the 40's as i did with the 22's because i like to sharped the skates alot and keep the steel sharp (i get them done once a week). Now with the holder both skates had the same holder so its hard to compare but they were beth verry good i had nice and tight turning circles. As what happens with time and ware there a few chunks and cuts into the holder which is normal so that was good also there was no bends or nothing so thats good. 9/10

Weight: The 40's are a nice light skate but there is lighter skates on the market they are not so light where it feels like your floating on the ice but there nice so you know there still there but maybe they could have been a little lighter. My friend had S15's and the weight diffrence is remarkable 40's feel like a sack of patatos comapres to the feather light S15's. 8/10

Protection: The boot itself is a nice stiff boot which i found quite hard to push in and upto now the boot is still holding up and being as stiff as ever. The other night while in pracitce i took a shot to the skate around the top of the ankle, the shot wasnt really hard but i still felt it like just a knock so i was pleased that i had no pain and no further problems after it. 9/10

Durability: Like what happens after time using skates for ice hockey they get a little bit beat up, for instance couple of cuts across the boot, slices into the toe, cuts and chunks into the holder and scatches into the steel but these skate are made well and i have not notices anything negative from anything the skate is still performing and amazing as ever. After a while while my left lace started to breake and it eventually ripped but that was from me probably from crossovers but it was nothing serious.

the boot itself is holding up good no sticking has came undone (despite some careless stiching). the linner has held up aswell, no ripping or cuts the only thing if anything is on some parts its starting to go like burshed leather near the top but its not noticeable only if i inspect the skate. 8.5/10

Intangibles: I really like the way the skate looks its like a sleek look to it which looks good it almost makes the ksate look verry mean and it just wants to go fast. All the colours match and no clashes instead they all flow together and make this skate and eye catcher. i like the way they matched the holder with the skate by puting the red little logo on it, good thinking. 10/10

Conclusion: Alltogether the skate is a verry good looking skate and it also performs as good as it look. When i first tryed it on i loved the feel it felt good, nice and snug. The only problems for me was some of the issues of the toe area which still hurt whenever i skate for a look period of time. Also the weight of the skate if quite high compared to other high end skates but it isnt really a big problem overall im going to give the skate a 8.6/10