Bauer Supreme TotalONE

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

*I will be doing a full LTR on the skate, however, will field any questions in the Initial Thoughts thread.

As some of you know, Bauer went to great lengths to get them to me by the MSH Skate, which was really appreciated.

I pulled off of them in the Skate and went back to FL and profiled them and figured out that not only that, but since I was such in a rush to get out on the ice (not to mention I did not have my socks (thanks NorrisContender for lending me your socks) I didn't get them tight enough, and my feel were sliding around in them, giving me the extreme pain which caused me to switch to ONE95.

Wore them last night and left the ONE95s at home.

After so long on the ONE95, it feels awesome to have that responsiveness back.

No problems with heel slippage, no problems with foot pain (which is something I get with every skate; I am used to it, but I know the difference between what I regularly feel and what is extreme, and I did not feel extreme) and the weight difference is definitely noticeable.

Can't wait to get the stiff and x-stiff tongue inserts so that I can do a side-by-side comparison.

So from here on out, I will be posting thoughts as I wear them.

There will also be a conventional review after 60 days as well.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

Skated in them tonight.

I couldn't seem to get them dialed in right at first tightness-wise but that is to be expected with new skates (and new laces.)

Took one of the skates off and relaced it and it was fine.

I'm really liking what I am seeing so far - I am feeling increased footspeed. A couple of guys noticed it as well - it really feels light on my feet.

One thing that I am really impressed with so far is the liner (which I was skeptical at first with) - it is a cloth liner and after the skate, my skates did not feel wet at all. None of that slimy feeling that you get after removing a soaked Clarino-lined skate.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

Skated last night again.

They are getting closer to being game-ready - ironically enough with the ONE95 I had issues with the right skate, this time it's the left. Just having a little trouble getting them dialed in, but once again, the relacing helped.

I really can't wait to get the S and XS stiffeners - I want to see how that is going to be like.

Tongue-floppers - don't bother. While some may say it is purely an aesthetic feature, I prefer it because I can get over on my skates better. With this new tongue, you will get that range of motion.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

Back on the skates after a long break - we normally play Friday nights and Christmas and New Year's fell on those nights.

Have had a problem with the left skate in which I think I finally figured it out, but need confirmation.

I'm getting bad lace bite, but I leave the top eyelet unlaced. However, the eyelet orientation was tweaked on TotalONE - the top eyelet was lowered. I am thinking that this is a case in which I am supposed to lace them up fully - and I did so in the game and while it was better, I think the damage was done at least for that night.

I'm going to try to lace up full on the next go-around and see if that improves things.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

Past couple of skates have been painful.

Allow me to say why -

I kept on having this nagging pain on only one foot - and it was on the top of my foot, whenever I leaned forward on the skate. All this time, it was the left boot.

I decided to take some pictures of my foot in the TotalONE as well as my ONE95s. The reason why I was not getting that pain on the ONE95 is because the tongue has molded around the bone.

So, at this point, you'd think that I'd be trashing the Reflex tongue. But remember, it only hurt on ONE FOOT. And that is the point of these reviews - you have a problem, you contact the manufacturer, and you work out a solution.

Decided to switch the inserts around - and I totally forgot about doing it. Went to Vegas, came back, skated on Friday and now the pain was on my RIGHT foot. Left foot? Perfectly fine.

So, it looks like it is merely a case of one insert (medium) being creased. Keep in mind I'm 230lb and I play RW, which means I primarily do right over left crossovers - with the (aha!) left foot being the under foot, supporting my weight. I would need at least a Stiff insert in my TotalONEs, and a Bunga Pad lace bite sleeve for good measure.

Other than that - one thing that I totally did not notice because of the pain, is that from day one, I haven't had any pain in the skate anywhere else. I can't remember ever having that.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

Had a game last night - and yep, it is the insert. What I did last night was to pop it out and turn it around (so the button it snaps into was actually on top) and I did not have to fiddle with my skates at all. No pain in them whatsoever.

Just got a set of XStiff inserts today from Bauer - will be throwing these in next.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

X-Stiff feels very nice already.

Here are the creased Mediums.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

Skated last night with the X-Stiff insert.

Exactly what I was missing.

It stiffened up the entire skate - it felt responsive, secure and comfortable. No pain whatsoever at all.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

Approaching 4 months on the boot. I'll wrap up the review in time for the skate launch.

The boot is finally well-broken in. No problems with abrasions, loose stitching or anything of the sort.

Ever since I got the XStiff inserts and laced full up, I have felt (and been commended on by teammates) an increase in my skating ability. Where I am feeling it the most is in starts and crossovers. It just seems to be so responsive and the energy transfer is top-notch.

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

I'm coming up on 4 months in the boot.

Very slight abrasion on the inside top eyelet. Nothing I'm particularly worried about.

However, I made some changes to my setup, and so far it's for the better.

I dropped the 3mm lift for a 1mm lift (I attribute that to the enhanced range of motion, I was feeling like I was too far forward) and I went from a 9' to an 11' radius.