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Lester8

Bauer Supreme TotalONE - Lester8

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I'm a small player in a large national sporting goods retailer. Once or twice a year, a small group of us gather to spend a day at a rink with Bauer for an introduction to their new products. In the most recent session, they provided TotalONE skates, 9900 helmets, X:60 gloves and a complete array of sticks for us to experiment with. After we attempted the skating/handling/shooting stations set up across the ice, names were drawn randomly for a shot accuracy competition. In the five targets of a shooter-tutor were envelopes assigned to various prizes. At my turn, with two targets left in play, I shot high blocker. In the envelope was the most generous give-away I could never imagine. For hurling a six ounce chunk of rubber into the air, I was awarded my very own pair of TotalONE skates. For the whole experience, a big thank you to Bauer, Mike, Andrew and Shawn specifically.

Normally, I'd spend months scrutinizing an item for an equipment review, but life demands don't allow me to commit the time or concentration. In similar fashion, I don't get to check out MSH as much as I used or would like to. So it was suggested to me that I try the long-term review format and give small, regular updates on my experience. Additionally, the time frame of the review keeps it more relevant overall. For my first LTR, I will seek to reclaim cut out more time for MSH. My previous skates are a pair of Synergy 1500Cs, though I've primarily skated Supreme otherwise. I recently picked up the X:60s but have given them very limited use. Up to this point, my TotalONEs have been baked and skated in an hour of open ice.

While deciding size, I narrowed down to 7.5 2E or 8.0 D. In the 7.5 2E, I felt for the first time a firmness at the back of my heel that I can only describe as early signs of haglund's deformity. In my 1500Cs, my ankles were allowed to pronate, so bones below my interior ankles extended and accumulated calcium. It was exactly this firmness on my heel bones in the 7.5 2E. I opted for 8.0 D. After difficulties with pronation in my 1500Cs (size 8.5 reg), I have been a strong proponent of Superfeet. Plain and simple, less slop and no pain. The heel cup keeps everything aligned. Foot and ankle bones stay in place, giving my feet stiffer handling; I can lace tighter, resulting in a fixed foot-to-blade relationship. When I demoed the TotalONE, I started with the stock footbed and felt a sharp drop of the boot bottom just forward of the heel. After swapping in my Superfeet, the area seemed smoothed over. I've designated a fresh set of Superfeet Yellow for my TotalONEs.

Baking the TotalONE was interesting. From three years of skate fitting experience, I've learned it is the first minute after the oven bell where the majority of forming effects occur. Since it is recommended that the reflex inserts not be baked, I practiced removing and replacing the tongue inserts just to be sure they I could insert them swiftly. After wrestling through the process a few times, I realized it would allow a lot of important heat to dissipate, and decided to form the skate with no insert so as to achieve optimal boot forming results. Simply dropped in Superfeet, put on UA liners and laced. A noticeable change in depth resulted from just one bake--The bottom of the eyelet rows went from complete vertical to flush with zero relapse. While cooling on my feet, I didn't detect any length gain but I began to feel pressure in the Haglund area on both heels--Reassuringly, there's been no aggravation to these areas since. I was very surprised by the ankle pads in the TotalONE. Out of the box, they have a contour that puts most baked skates to shame. After baking, look again, the dimples have become even deeper! The contours were deep to start, and the foam impresses better than anything else.

When I first got into my X:60s and skated on the stock profile, I felt a steep drop whenever I rocked forward. It's been a long time since I profiled my 1500Cs, but it turns out I had the Tuuk Custom+ set to 11' +2 degrees. I ended up keeping the stock angle on the X:60s and flattened to 11' and that brought a more familiar feel. I cut my TotalONE's LS2Fusion to 11' without hesitation. I've cutting my skates to 90/75 FBV for the past year and kept with it for these skates. Mount, rivets, everything is flawless. Even the runner access holes are dead on.

First skate was intentionally light. Switched to wax lace. Only been on LS2 a handful of times prior. Open ice, plenty of room to experiment. I had my doors blown off. Just a pure Supreme skate. Instant stability when planting. Smooth flex in every direction. Turn over in pivots are just butter. Totally free movement, and I'm a long, slow stride type of skater. The tendon guard rests nice and even against the leg. I can lean against the Comfort Edge and there's no cutting or digging, just support. Stiff Reflex Tongue insert gives a supple, low-ankle push--Not that high slice like lace bite. I'm 175lbs and 5' 11. It's a nice push back, not out of control. I can't quite put my finger on it. Crouched down, there's not a lot of side-wall cave in, and the flex tenses gradually. Only when the ankle is relaxed does the tongue really take over. I'll have to consider what's going on there further for sure.

Off the ice, there was a little moisture under the Superfeet. The skate liner was totally dry. Still soft and supple. Had a little squeezing and cramping in the right foot, calf tightened too. I felt my right heel sit a bit forward, and the lacing pattern was a tad wider than the left. Went back to the store to rebake that skate the same day.

Next Skate: Sunday.

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Late Thursday night, I filled in for a mens league C game as a forward. It would mark the end of a long, hard day so I was hesitant to dress at all. I figured I would either play unusually well, or snap and make hockey headlines. It relieves me to report that I played relatively unreal.

As is, the tendon guard on the TotalONE is near vertical, add to that a slight flexibility and you have a wide range of ankle movement. On the follow through of a one-T in the third, I extended the toe of my back foot to the point of strain in the calf muscle. With my poor nutrition in mind (nothing but a Domino's pizza for the day), my lower legs were drained. I usually make the distinction that Supremes (and skates of similar cut) free your lower leg muscles. Whereas Vapors and the like require power generation from the upper leg muscles. My experience so far has reinforced that stance.

At speed, I felt slightly back on my heels through turns. I'm not eager to cut steel off the LS2 Fusion, but I may decide to create more forward lean since the boot permits me rock back. I should mention that sharpening was relatively simple with the FusionLS2. On the aluminum section, the black paint strips are actually quite thick and proud, so the the steel sits a slightly high on the anvil. The stripes peel with honing, so it shouldn't interfere much longer.

I've found I can't start up as well in the TotalONEs as I can in the X:60s. I don't launch as soon, leap as far, or gather as much speed. The result (or return to form) is a bit of a let down, as the Vapors were leading me to believe my skills were continuing to broaden. The question I keep getting is which skates do I like better. I can't deny that each has unique advantages, but so far the TotalONES match my skating style best.

Next game is Sunday, and I fully expect to return to defense.

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First game in my TotalONEs and my regular position. Going in, my body was aching and it took me 3-4 times longer than usual to dress. To put it in context, I had a store inventory count Saturday night and worked all day Sunday, on top of a challenging week. There was a point in the third where I thought one more shift and I might collapse.

Conditions considered, it would be difficult to notice improvements in energy transfer. But one thing that stood out was my approach to the bench. I found I had too much speed, so I'd either stop hard or fly through the door. Not just once or twice, but every time. Slightly round edges will contribute to glide, but there was an increase in glide on the initial skate that I had chalked up to a pristine sheet of ice. I'm intentionally stretching out the initial sharpening, whereas I sharpened my 1500Cs for each game regardless of real wear. With the LS2 Fusion, I thought to see how well they hold an edge. Three hours in and I'm not quite desperate to sharpen.

Now, not to roll my own reel, but one stand out play a couple shifts in lead to my first goal of the summer. Trying to escape the puck from our zone, chipped off the near boards. Saw my winger tied up, so I went to receive my own pass. The first steps of my take-off weren't disappointing, but they weren't amazing either. What's noteworthy was that I built speed in just a couple strides and lead a clear cut two-on-one.

Better endurance in the lower legs. Overall, my performance is as dialed in as it's ever been. I've been out of regular play for a while, so it's been a long road back. The limiting factor were my lungs and a pounding headache. This time around, I didn't strain my lower legs much at all.

One change up with the skate was a switch from 96" to 84" laces so I didn't have the knot hanging all over. Less than the length change, there is significantly more wax on the 84" for reasons I cannot account. Both sets are Elite wax laces. Tying up the 84" I can feel the lace tense sharply and grip against itself firmly, more so than the stock lace or the 96". Also, looking at the boot, it seems the eyelet rows are reverting to their original unbaked position. I've been very careful not to leave my skates in the my steaming hot car all day. So it appears the boot has a bit of memory. Sitting firmly and back in the boot, but only when I'm lacing up do I experience pressure behind the heels.

On moisture, I made it a point to flip out my footbeds right after the game and found barely two drops of water under each.

Looking to skate tonight after work. Possibly hit the ice once more later this week and back to game action Sunday. Hope to be better rested and prepared.

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I went out for a 2-hour drop-in Monday night. Mixed caliber, average pace, nevertheless I got some quality time in my TotalONE skates.

I made it a point to utilize full leg extensions and found them very rewarding. There was steady power generation at every point of the stride. Start to finish. Constantly propelling like a shark in the water. The range of motion this boot allows is so smooth. The movement in the ankle is totally free, and the foot is very secure. There was no appreciable break-in in regards to the skate's stiffness.

The boot is holding up well. No signs of premature wear. By now, the skates have seen enough use for those self-destructive areas to show. I'm looking for signs of rubbing, shredding, pulling, binding, but no components interfere with any other. Only the gold stripe printed on the tendon guard lining is rubbing off.

Still on initial sharpen.

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Still on the first sharpen. Still not desperate to sharpen. 90/75 FBV. I think it was with a walnut wheel. I never use fineshine, I find it can hide a bad finish. Plus I have to dress more often. Plus it gunks up the head. Plus it costs money. So I try to go without it and let the steadiness of my hands stand on their own.

Played Sunday. We got ahead early this week, so I tried to focus on perfect defense. I noticed I could reach way out with cross-unders. As if stretching further than I've ever extended. I stayed completely balanced and stable on the inside foot, while the glide foot pushed on and on. No collapsing of the boots, no edges digging into my leg, no creaking sounds, no side tracking. It's like fool proof skating.

Cross overs and start ups feel balanced but sluggish. I felt hoppier in the X:60s. In the Vapors it was like move your feet or fall. One of the glaring differences is the boot lean. The tendon guard of the x:60s pushes against my calf firmly. I'm limited in my toe snap so I immediately compensate by contracting my quadracep muscle. It's a springier stride mechanic with quick hard push offs and short glides. I'm constantly at the some limit of the skate's range of motion, but the stops and starts are phenomenally aggressive. The Supremes are less demanding, as if cruising at a steady RPM.

So far the TotalONE boot is holding up well. I'm not the biggest guy and I'm certainly not punishing my skates. But it's reassuring to see that the skate is adequately engineered. I'm trying to find a fault in the design. Whether it's signs of the Reflex insert cutting laces, or the comfort edge wearing thin. There's just nothing there. The ankle pads have retained their impression. The tendon guard is holding on. Outsole is secure. Toe cap is solid.

The discovery curve on this skate is leveling off, but I'm not positive I've covered everything. I'll continue to monitor the skates along all the lines I've touched on above. If there are any concerns or areas I may have overlooked, reply or PM and I'll be happy to address them in the next post.

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I was invited to a Friday night 2-hour shinny. It was average paced. A lucky thing happened in the dressing room when a friend asked for my sex wax. While searching through my bag, I found the pouch of reflex tongue inserts. This presented an opportune time to try the X-stiff inserts. Up until this point I had been skating on the Stiff inserts.

Lacing was noticeably different because there was an unexpected change in the skate's volume. Reflex tongue inserts differ by number of layers of alive composite (The same material you see on the boot quarters). Mid is one-ply, Stiff is 2-ply, and X-Stiff is 3-ply layered. Resultantly, X-Stiff is the thickest tongue insert, as you will see if you are ever tasked with installing them. I couldn't have imagined the insert thickness altering the skate's volume, as I'm still relatively bound to the yesterworld of standard and fixed tongue pads. After I laced, but before I stood up, I could feel more pressure along the tongue (flat pressure, not the edge of the insert). I probably should have compensated by lacing looser because after the skate my right foot felt crushed. It was like going back ten years and breaking in my old Supreme 5000s. I am beginning to suspect that my right foot may be slightly wider than my left, and this may account for the difficulties I am having on this side.

Besides the tongue becoming thicker (making the skate narrower), I enjoyed the X-stiff inserts. The boot overall felt firmer. As if having my ankles taped, there was more support, or resistance, or responsiveness. It was a tighter performance tune. The boot felt closer to my leg. As if the padding became thicker or inflated. There was even less negative space. So when I began to lean in any direction, there is tensing from the very start. On the Stiff inserts, there was free movement before the boot began to store "relflex" potential.

I'm probably going to keep the X-Stiff in for the game tonight. Looking at the Stiff inserts after I removed them, there was a healthy curve left in their shape. Considering the limited use put to them, frequent replacement may be recommended.

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One thing I forgot to cover was the fatigue from Friday's skate. My lower legs and knees were aching the entire day after. Fighting against the x-stiff inserts really took a toll. Even on Sunday, with the x-stiff in, I noticed my toes dragged when I stepped in and out of pivots. The x-stiff is definitely pushing my toes down more, but I'm sure I'll learn how to get the blades to clear. It's a bit of a jump going from stiff to x-stiff, because with one there's free movement and with the other there's none. I would like to see what a "stiffer" insert (between stiff and x-stiff) feels like, but I will have to settle with wearing the x-stiff down.

Sunday I made sure to lace loosely and there was no foot pain on the right foot. I want to limit the heat exposure and avoid heating the skate again, so I'm hoping it's worked out. I measured my foot widths and it was my left foot that came up wider. I guess my right side splays more under force. Because I didn't pull as hard on the laces, the overall tension and boot feedback I experienced on Friday was slightly reduced.

Great top speed with the x-stiff inserts. Even backwards, it's as if I've worked on it with a trainer. Still not explosive, but there's drastic speed accumulation at every point of the stride. I feel connected to the ice and leveraging all over the place. Still no second sharpen. Edges are round, but not nicked. I didn't say it only has to be sharpened once, but...

I'm finding more and more moisture under the footbeds with each skate. Still only a few spots of water, but the trend is on the incline. I don't know if its the liner functionality decreasing, ice blowing in through the vents, or more sweat or all of the above. I guess the Superfeet are/have been doing a lot to pull moisture away as well, so it's durability will play a factor.

Been handling the puck well in my feet, but no pucks to the boot yet. Like my sticks, I keep my skates away from hazards on and off the ice. A few minor nicks to the toes and sides to speak of, but otherwise well looked after. No mashed eyelets or rivets. Stitches are solid. A little silver rubbing off the tendon guards. Skates are like new.

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I caved sunday and sharpened the skates. A customer wanted his skates sharpened even though I didn't think the skates were in need. He says to me he'd rather have it done while he's here than skate off and wish that he had. I didn't want to have that discussion and end up missing edges for my game. That said, it was a humid day, so very inconsistent ice.

Still fighting through the x-stiff inserts. A little on the stiff side and a little more breaking in to go, but I am loving the drive into the ice. It feels like there is a lot of blade on the ice all the time. I never get caught flatfooted or bottomed out. There's always some push stored in the skate. It's not really killing my legs anymore, but I can feel those muscles working/resting on the bench.

More and more moisture under the toes of the superfeet. I suspect there's penetration around the mount plate of the holder and water is seeping in through the ventilation in the outsole. Maybe I'll tape over the holes next time.

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