Mission Axiom T9

[sdcopp 1]

Mission Axiom T9 size 8D – 6 months usage

Reviewer intro/specs/previous skates used: 5’10” 210lbs 31 yrs old, experienced skater playing in intermediate to advanced level leagues and club teams. Med-High volume foot, Avg-Narrow heel, Wide Forefoot. Alkali CA9, Mission T9, Revision Vanquish, Mission Commander SE, Mission Boss Black

Fit: Wide forefoot, average heel, high volume. The boot is lower cut than most providing an increased range of motion. The liner and ankle pockets provide a comfortable feel with socks, but the material is slick enough that I wouldn’t want to go barefoot in them for fear of slippage. The tongue is a nice thick felt that conforms easily. The newer last being used is a good catch-all fit for those of us with higher volume and wider feet, though the molding capabilities aren’t on par with some high end ice boots or the new Alkali skates. I also wouldn’t have minded a lace bite guard as I did experience some issues early on while breaking in the skate. (9/10)

Chassis/Wheels/Bearings: Magnesium Vanguard Hi-Lo, Rink Rat Hornet Splits, Mission Swiss. While there’s nothing groundbreaking about the Vanguard chassis, there’s nothing wrong with it either. The Hornet Splits felt slightly different to me as they don’t have quite the bouncy feel I’ve previously experienced on Hornet wheels, but the feel is good all the same. The wear on them is as good as I’ve ever gotten out of RR wheels, which has been pretty good. The Mission branded Swiss bearings are solid out of the box, again a nothing special but nothing terrible either. Overall a solid package below the boot (10/10)

Weight/Protection: The weight is among the lightest on the market, no complaints. The protection afforded by the boot is very good; I can only recall one clapper off the toe box that was a stinger. (10/10)

Durability: The durability is pretty good, the tech mesh outer is a fairly tough customer when it comes to pucks and scrapes for indoor play. (10/10)

Intangibles: Mission always has a very signature look about their skates, and while some didn’t like the graphics I like them a lot. The build quality is back to top notch, I experienced outsole separations on two pairs of the SE line and have had no issue on the T9s. The lower cut of the boot combined with the higher volume fit makes going from on the balls of your feet to digging in with your heels very fluid and comfortable (10/10)

Conclusion: If these are the right fit for your feet, they’re a very good option. It took a very good skate in the Alkali CA9 for me to sideline these, and had the LTR opportunity not presented itself I would still be in these skates without any issue. I was really disappointed in the SE line which led me to the Revision skates for a while. Had the VQ2 skate made it to market I probably would’ve stuck with that line, but the T9 removed any doubts I had about Mission quality being compromised with the Bauer acquisition. The T9 is an excellent entry at the top end skate market (Total score 9.8/10)