Easton Mako Skates

[flip12 735]

All valid questions, but hockey players are finicky people, even those not on MSH. If he feels lighter and faster on the ice, then more power and pleasure to him. Whether or not he actually IS faster is a question that cannot reasonably be answered in a scientific setting for most rec hockey players.

One thing I love about MSH is how it's helped me cut through this kind of question. Once I found a stick that worked for me, I still had little idea why it worked, until finding this forum which helped clarify how the different pieces contributed to the greater whole, and of course, by extension, allowed for each of those components to be analyzed and modified, optimized individually. MSH is where I go to find a scientific approach to feeling good on the ice, and if icewalker_bg feels better out there, it may be due to some other reason, which, once isolated, can be leveraged for even better feeling later. As he put it, you make a few small adjustments here and there and pretty soon, you're significantly better off. If your equipment is that much better suited to your unique proportions, you'll excel beyond your previous best. That's my paean to MSH.

[icewalker_bg 126]

I am not sure what is so hard to understand and why you guys are computing so much over a simple comment that I don't like heavy skates, just like some guys don't like heavy sticks, I cant stand heavy skates. I am not going to make tests and isolate things, it is very simple, with lighter skates it feels better on my feet and in my head since I don't have to think about them.

Continue with the thread about the Mako skates now.

[flip12 735]

It's just that, the Mako's are not really that "heavy" are they? They're not the lightest out there, but they're close. They'd also feel a lot lighter if Easton had a similar product to Bauer's fusion steel, right? Which skate do you prefer due to its lightness (if we just focus on that characteristic)? If you want a stiffer and lighter Mako, maybe VH would do the trick, but I'm just guessing, I don't have anything to go off of there.

[DEATHTRON 19]

I would venture a guess that they are heavier than all of their competition at their price point. Hopefully Easton gets back to trying to build the lightest skates again one day.

Zach

[flip12 735]

Bauer NXG 708 (fusion steel)

Bauer MX3 720 (fusion steel)

Bauer APX2 766 (fusion steel)

Bauer one.9 784

Bauer 190 794

Bauer Nexus 1000 810 (fusion steel)

Bauer X100 812

Easton Mako 816

Bauer X7.0 820

Bauer X90 824

CCM RBZ 830

Easton RS 844 (scalloped steel)

CCM CL 858 (scalloped steel)

Graf G75 862

RBK 20K 864 (scalloped steel)

Easton EQ50 866 (scalloped steel)

Graf G75 872

RBK Ribcor 896

I have to run off to dinner, otherwise I could add the original prices to, but the Makos fare decently well, especially considering they have removable tendon guards. Integrating into the boot should save some weight against that redundancy, I would guess. Also, if I'm not confused about it, skates that fit large, like the RBZ where an 8 (Hockey Monkey's measuring size) would fit a bigger foot, would be skewed negatively by that method. Similarly, Graf, which fit small, would be skewed positively.

[icewalker_bg 126]

I have posted a picture a few pages back of my stock Mako's 7D, one skate was 860gr and the other 870gr, not sure if the pic is still up because of the site blackout.

http://modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php/topic/61887-easton-mako-skates/?p=998031

That is with ~10 sharpenings already, must be even heavier new.

Oh well, it is what it is, I still like them A LOT, and I am sure skates will only become lighter.

[DEATHTRON 19]

Skates have been getting slightly heavier ever since Easton's s15. In a recent years, they are starting to trend downward, but as you can see, the MX3 are heavier than the NXG.

Zach

[start_today 781]

Didn't everyone complain about the quality and comfort when Easton was on the "omg, lightest skate ever" bandwagon?

[Krev 86]

Didn't everyone complain about the quality and comfort when Easton was on the "omg, lightest skate ever" bandwagon?

Yup. Can't please anyone, apparently.

FWIW, holding my Mako I and Mako II skates side by side the II is a smidge lighter which is what flip12's weight is probably referencing.

[flip12 735]

I just took those weights from Hockey Monkey, where they didn't have the Mako II weight when I checked, but what surprises me about the whole weight interest is there is no effort to compare the skates as apples to apples: we should be looking at the boots minus the weight of the steel to nullify the influence of scalloped or alumi-fused steel, and we should also subtract the weights of the holders, since those can be swapped at will as well.

[DEATHTRON 19]

You start getting into a game of "what if?" at that point. I say just measure the same size skate out of the box. That list of weights is very telling in my opinion. All around, Bauer is putting out the lightest skates from different price points and lines.

Zach

[flip12 735]

But the same foot doesn't fit the same size skate going from brand to brand or line to line--to me, if it's going to count, those ifs have to be whacked. When you look at the Bauer skates without the extremely light elements like the Supreme tongue or the old vapor tongue, the higher-tech liners, fusion steel, etc., then they're not all that much lighter than the Mako or the RBZ. I'm not disagreeing with your point, Bauer does make the lightest skates, but it's also misleading in my mind because you're comparing apples to swiss cheese then (without addressing those ifs). If Easton made a XLite Mako, with 30% lighter steel, an integrated tendon guard (exploding even), etc., then the gap wouldn't be so big in that direction. Also, a size-8 RBZ doesn't compare with a size-8 Supreme or Vapor, if I'm following what I've read on here. So even just to weigh the sizes out of the box appropriately, it would be better to weigh all of the sizes and plot them per line so you could do a better (more toward a normalized) comparison.

[chippa13 1844]

You have a case with sizing equivalents, however, stock skate to stock skate is the best way to compare weights. This site notwithstanding, most folks don't make aftermarket alterations to skates.

[flip12 735]

This site notwithstanding, most folks don't make aftermarket alterations to skates.

Very true. I forget that sometimes

[ulf 5]

does EE in an 04 easton z-air comp..translate into an EE for the mako line..and is the sizing =

Edited June 7, 2014 by ulf

[flyers10 57]

Anybody attended one of the Easten Ranger Camp session where you can demo the Mako II and new synergy stick?

[Vaun101 0]

Remind me why I'm excited to buy the Mako II's when they're released?

Team mates are like: 'you don't want those, they're weak' I weigh in at 170-180lbs so not heavy. & they copy Bauer's, get Bauer's, there's a reason everyone has them. The Mako's are copying Bauer's by being made stiffer. Bauer's will last much longer than the Mako II's.

Playing devils advocate here but humour me please - why should I spend my hard earned cash on Mako's & not one of the others?

Thanks guys for your time in answering this.

[gosinger 122]

For me: more thermo-forming than the Bauer skates, so if you can't get any Bauers to fit really right but don't want to spend the cash on custom skates, these are your best option. Or some Mako I's on discount, if you know how to avoid the "Mako bumps". Wouldn't take the stiff-ness as "copying", every top-end skate is very stiff by now.

I feel great in Bauer Vapors, but it takes multiple bakings and punches to get them "just right", so I will give the Makos a try asap.

[Chadd 916]

Remind me why I'm excited to buy the Mako II's when they're released?

Team mates are like: 'you don't want those, they're weak' I weigh in at 170-180lbs so not heavy. & they copy Bauer's, get Bauer's, there's a reason everyone has them. The Mako's are copying Bauer's by being made stiffer. Bauer's will last much longer than the Mako II's.

Playing devils advocate here but humour me please - why should I spend my hard earned cash on Mako's & not one of the others?

Thanks guys for your time in answering this.

Bauer makes good skates, but they are not for everyone (nobody makes the right skate for everyone). In fact, most amateurs don't need anything close to the stiffness of an APX or MX3. As for the copying, that's absurd. The concept is so different that anyone saying that is not someone that I would listen to. I never tell anyone what to buy, I only suggest that they try things out and then make their own decision.

[jimmy 194]

Everything Chadd said is exactly correct. Easton does not copy Bauer, and the Mako is unlike any other skate. The reason it sells so well is that it fits so well. It is by no means stiff, it may appear that way because it fits so conformed with the foot. It molds like no other skate and this is why it fits so well. Simply the best skate I have ever owned. Easton has recently offered a 30-day trial, if you don't like it you can return it to your store for credit toward a different skate. It's a no brainer to try one, plus they know once you do, you'll be hooked.

[IPv6Freely 2100]

Just buying Bauer because that's what all your friends have is an incredibly stupid way to shop. Buy what fits, not what your friends have.

[Vaun101 0]

Yup, still gonna get them, great about the 30day swap. Thanks guys

[Cosmic 178]

Beware the Bolt that holds the tendon guard to the ankle area. I took a soft saucer pass straight to that bolt, inside left skate. At the time, I thought nothing of it and kept playing. It is going on 4 weeks now and I still have a bump there. I thought that the protection there must have been weak as hell, but I called IW and spoke to Chase and he asked if it hit where the bolt was. I put the boot on, and it was a spot-on match. So, I am thinking either Skate Fenders or Shotblockers to make sure that does not happen again. I can imagine that a harder pass or a decently hard shot would have caused some serious damage, because this was not much to speak of, and has me taking too long to heal than I was planning.

Edited June 9, 2014 by Cosmic

[jimmy 194]

Here's a pic of the bolt attachment from the inside. It lays flat and doesnt really protrude and is covered by a decent amount of foam then the liner. Doesn't look like a shot in this location would damage you any more than a shot in a area without the bolt. The anchor sits pretty flush so even if there were no foam over it, it shouldn't dig into the skin.

[flip12 735]

Is it possibly more damaging due to the raised portion concentrating the pressure into a smaller point? Almost acting like a nail, even through that pressure. Plus, I can see that plastic not absorbing as much of the impulse as the softer body of the boot next to it.