Easton Mako Skates

[Ps12 11]

I dont think their website lists cxn runners.

I emailed noicing about jr sizes They advised they have cxn step blacksteel in sizes 4 and 5.

[chromechaser 5]

bought a used pair of the original Makos for my son and had them fitted at our local hockey shop. They have been great performance and fit wise. He loves them. However, the thin layer of padding around the ankle bones have almost completely flattened out and it is leading to medial ankle pain. Any solutions for this? Re-bake? hit the areas with a heat gun? Any advice would be appreciated.

On the first page of this thread I see that home baking is 16 minutes (8 per side) but I didn't see any reference to temperature. A video on easton's website said 200 * F. Does that hold for home ovens as well if i decide to go that route?

Edited November 9, 2014 by chromechaser

[louierev07 31]

bought a used pair of the original Makos for my son and had them fitted at our local hockey shop. They have been great performance and fit wise. He loves them. However, the thin layer of padding around the ankle bones have almost completely flattened out and it is leading to medial ankle pain. Any solutions for this? Re-bake? hit the areas with a heat gun? Any advice would be appreciated.

On the first page of this thread I see that home baking is 16 minutes (8 per side) but I didn't see any reference to temperature. A video on easton's website said 200 * F. Does that hold for home ovens as well if i decide to go that route?

Pretty sure I did 10 mins at 200F (it was on the box). It says to do less if you're using a home oven, but it definitely isnt enough if you do it that way (pretty sure they are just protecting themselves from people burning with an overly hot oven). I think MLX skates were 8 mins on each side - so maybe thats where they are getting that from.

But I would still recommend being cautious - maybe your oven is hotter than others or something else. You can rebake these as many times as needed, so if they aren't perfect just do them again. Try it for 6 mins, see how pliable the material is, if its still not enough do another 2-4 mins.

EDIT: I took a picture of the inside of the box of my mako 2 a while back incase I ever needed it. These are for the mako 2, but im pretty sure its the same for mako 1 since they are the skates pictured here:

http://imgur.com/a/8gIrZ

Edited November 10, 2014 by louierev07

[chromechaser 5]

Pretty sure I did 10 mins at 200F (it was on the box). It says to do less if you're using a home oven, but it definitely isnt enough if you do it that way (pretty sure they are just protecting themselves from people burning with an overly hot oven). I think MLX skates were 8 mins on each side - so maybe thats where they are getting that from.

But I would still recommend being cautious - maybe your oven is hotter than others or something else. You can rebake these as many times as needed, so if they aren't perfect just do them again. Try it for 6 mins, see how pliable the material is, if its still not enough do another 2-4 mins.

Thanks for the advice. I found another video on the MLX's and followed that. 8 minutes per side at 200 and it worked perfectly. Unfortunately, it didn't fix the ankle padding problem so it looks like we back to the drawing board for new skates.

[louierev07 31]

Thanks for the advice. I found another video on the MLX's and followed that. 8 minutes per side at 200 and it worked perfectly. Unfortunately, it didn't fix the ankle padding problem so it looks like we back to the drawing board for new skates.

This is what Easton told me to do with my mako 1 before I sent them back for warranty

it is not very typical that this type of irratation would occure so long after purchasing but we feel the following will resolve the issue

Can you please take a heat gun to the area, and heat it locally and "flip out" the collar right there. Be very careful not to melt the plastic in that area. The roll outward has to be drastic. Retain the shape by cooling it quickly in the freezer.

If possible, heat the skate at the heat molding temperature, place a large ball, or other large and hard object to re-form the entire collar opening. We would suggest something larger like a softball. Somethign that would allow the walls of the boot to hug the ball.

Again, cool it by putting in the freezer.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if anything further.

If they didnt take mine back, I would be happy with just putting some tape around my ankle in that area. I shaved that part of my ankle, and would wrap one piece of stick tape around where it rubs.

Give Easton a call and maybe they can try to "fix" yours. If they do. once they have them, try to call and request that they give you the mako 2 as a replacement since the ankle rubbing is a huge issue for you.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

I skated without the neoprene sleeve on my ankle a couple weeks ago. Big mistake. It's still an issue for me. At least the fix is easy (5 seconds to slip the sleeve on).

Edited November 10, 2014 by OptimusReim

[Cosmic 178]

This is what Easton told me to do with my mako 1 before I sent them back for warranty

If they didnt take mine back, I would be happy with just putting some tape around my ankle in that area. I shaved that part of my ankle, and would wrap one piece of stick tape around where it rubs.

Give Easton a call and maybe they can try to "fix" yours. If they do. once they have them, try to call and request that they give you the mako 2 as a replacement since the ankle rubbing is a huge issue for you.

I tried this approach, as my ankles have been chafed to the point of what appears will be permanent discoloration in the chafe area. Easton was of ZERO help. They just said I was past warranty, and some mumbo jumbo about how it was too late (when the skates were only between the 6-9 month old period. IF you have a contact in the warranty department that can help me, then I am all ears, as the chafing has not stopped for me.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Cosmic

[syinx 139]

I dont think their website lists cxn runners.

I emailed noicing about jr sizes They advised they have cxn step blacksteel in sizes 4 and 5.

Must be something wrong with their e-mail servers, I can't seem to get an e-mail through. I'll post on their Facebook page. Thanks a lot!

[goodguy 7]

Does anyone know the stock specs on the ES4 Steel (aka Mako runners)?

I am replacing my sons steel on his Makos and can't find too many shops which have the ES4 steel in stock.

They DO have the Mako Step Steel, but from what I understand Step has different stock specs (less pitch than ES4 ?) and slightly larger radius (10').

i want to replicate the ES4 specs (due to my players having success with ES4) in Step Steel but what are the specs? (I have heard 3 degree pitch and 9' radius, is that right?) wouldn't a 9' radius lead to instability or so I am told, very few NHL'rs use 9' and want more blade on the ice for speed? I can see 9' for agility but seeing as the Mako comes out of a speed skating heritage, you would think that more steel on the ice (larger radius) would be a good thing? Seems like Easton went totally to agility (radius 9') at the cost of speed/stability or am I reading that wrong?

Is there a way to measure pitch and radius at home? or at least pitch?

I also heard that when a runner gets below 10mm of steel height left, it should be replaced.

EDIT: Step Steel Rep confirmed their steel comes in a 10' radius.

Edited November 10, 2014 by goodguy

[jimmy 194]

Must be something wrong with their e-mail servers, I can't seem to get an e-mail through. I'll post on their Facebook page. Thanks a lot!

We have 238 and 246mm in stock in Blacksteel.

[AfftonDad 88]

I had a guy at an LHS (he reads MSH and can chime in and go on record if he wants) who I trust who I had "measure" the stock Mako steel (NOTE: THIS IS THE STEEL ONLY) using Blackstone profiling equipment. He said in his assessment he put it approximately halfway between +1 and +2.

QUESTION FOR THE PROFILERS OUT THERE: Can you put the knob "in between" clicks to get a +1.5?

Edited November 10, 2014 by AfftonDad

[goodguy 7]

has anybody seen any youth travel or high school kids use this skate? my area is pretty wealthy and i've still only seen the skate once. bauer seemed to be on over 90% of the kids

I have seen a few AAA players wear the Mako. Not alot.

My 13 year old wears it and loves it -truly has improved his skating.

The issue is the marketing. Bauer just seems to be the defacto standard for skates right or wrong.

Spoke with a industry insider guy today who thinks very highly of the Makos and not very highly of the Bauers. No he does not sell skates per se but something that goes into/onto skates = deals w/OHL and NHL teams quite a bit and not a huge fan of Bauer quality?

My younger son went to Makos from Reeboks (night and day Makos are much better), other son went from skating on Kor's for a few years to Vapor 7.os to Apx's and seem to do fine (guessing he could do a bit better in Makos but would hate to take the huge leap of faith at this point - maybe?

[JR Boucicaut 3795]

I had a guy at an LHS (he reads MSH and can chime in and go on record if he wants) who I trust who I had "measure" the stock Mako steel (NOTE: THIS IS THE STEEL ONLY) using Blackstone profiling equipment. He said in his assessment he put it approximately halfway between +1 and +2.

QUESTION FOR THE PROFILERS OUT THERE: Can you put the knob "in between" clicks to get a +1.5?

I can try it but just worry that once you hit the wheel, it's going to pop back to 1.

The issue is the marketing. Bauer just seems to be the defacto standard for skates right or wrong.

I'd believe this comment if Easton didn't run a single marketing campaign around the Mako skate...but that certainly wasn't the case.

[chromechaser 5]

The issue isn't the mako bumps from chafing. He is getting bruising on his inside ankle bones because the padding is flattened out. Basically just hard plastic shell against his bone. I think they are just too packed down as re-baking didn't help. Found a pair of supreme one.8 on clearance so we'll try those and look at the mako ii next year when the prices come down a bit.

[Monty22 832]

The issue isn't the mako bumps from chafing. He is getting bruising on his inside ankle bones because the padding is flattened out. Basically just hard plastic shell against his bone. I think they are just too packed down as re-baking didn't help. Found a pair of supreme one.8 on clearance so we'll try those and look at the mako ii next year when the prices come down a bit.

If you go back a few pages, there is a lot of info on the padding "settling" and leaving areas with no padding. This was one of the revisions addressed in the Mako II.

[flyers10 57]

Had a chance to take a demo pair out this morning. Although demos were half size to big had no issues with the outside ankle rubbing that I got with the very first skate on my Mako I's. Might be grabbing a pair.

[gogovs 10]

Hockeymonkey.com has the Mako on clearance for $460. I received an email with a promo code "MMESTNMAKOHS" to take additional $110 off. Total with $15 shipping was $365. The code should be valid for another 2 hours.

[SpideyDiG 8]

Update on my Mako 2's.

I've had them since July now and used them for 2 months but now I have switched back to my old Graf 707's. Reason is that the Mako 2's just didn't feel like my Grafs. I didn't have the agility and stability like my old skates. At first I wasn't sure why this was happening, was thinking they were opening up too much and had some negative space inside my boot. I have size 10.5EE and was thinking maybe I should of gotten the regular width instead. But after reading more posts on here I'm thinking it might be the steel runners as I never did anything to them, just got them sharpened with FBV. I thought they were okay at first, but after 8-10 skates they felt different, but maybe it was there all along as they are new skates and I wasn't used to them. So I was thinking I will have to sell them, but maybe I should try getting them profiled first and maybe this will solve my problems. I did originally get my Grafs profiled many yrs ago but don't remember what I got. So maybe it's the 9' radius isn't good for my skating. I have a 2nd pair of ES4 steel and could send them to NoIcing store if they will ship back to Canada. Any help or suggestions would be very helpful.

Edited November 12, 2014 by SpideyDiG

[syinx 139]

Noicing managed to accomodate my CXN Runner needs really well and have an extremely reasonable shipping rate back to Canada. E-mail them up or contact them via Facebook and work with them to get what you need.

[sticktime 12]

Just had the blade profiled, if that's the correct term, ground down to a neutral pitch to mimic the nexus 600's that I learned to skate on. I had been skating on the mako 2's for about two months now, and while I could do everything I wanted, I just quite couldn't get used to the elevated feeling of the steel in the back. I just felt like I was skating on high heels.

So, I've had two skates now at stick and puck and I've quickly noticed two things: 1. I feel much more "stable" when doing everything, 2. The tradeoff that I don't feel that ease of skating as did prior, meaning getting going and keeping going just feels so different, so much so that I'm like I want the pitch back!

Maybe I could get replacement steel and have them profiled again but splitting the difference?

Oh yeah, one other annoying thing that developed a few weeks ago even before I had them profiled and is still present - like one of the prior posts above about the skate pressing on the inner ankle, so does mine and it hurts. Use two Elite gel pads there and it did alleviate some pressure but it's still an issue.

Any thoughts on that also?

[flip12 714]

So, I've had two skates now at stick and puck and I've quickly noticed two things: 1. I feel much more "stable" when doing everything, 2. The tradeoff that I don't feel that ease of skating as did prior, meaning getting going and keeping going just feels so different, so much so that I'm like I want the pitch back!

My thought: it could be strange to skate on that aggressive pitch with a short radius. The CXN comes radiused at 9' I believe, while Bauer and CCM are both 10'. Graf, which is more forward pitched, like the CXN, comes with an 11' stock radius. I know exactly what you mean about feeling like you're skating in high heels on that pitch, but I also know what you mean about it feeling more restricting or sluggish to be less pitched. I haven't been able to skate on an aggressive pitch with a long radius recently, mostly because I've been dealing with getting the right boot first, but I will go back to a similar setup to Graf's stock when I get the chance and the spare money. If what you want is that ease of skating feeling from the forward pitch, plus more stability, I'd say go back to the aggressive pitch, almost all the way if not all the way, but just get a longer radius on your blade which will give you a larger blade/ice contact area and thus more stability.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Agreed. I increased the radius when I had my runners profiled to eliminate the forward pitch.

[louierev07 31]

Just had the blade profiled, if that's the correct term, ground down to a neutral pitch to mimic the nexus 600's that I learned to skate on. I had been skating on the mako 2's for about two months now, and while I could do everything I wanted, I just quite couldn't get used to the elevated feeling of the steel in the back. I just felt like I was skating on high heels.

So, I've had two skates now at stick and puck and I've quickly noticed two things: 1. I feel much more "stable" when doing everything, 2. The tradeoff that I don't feel that ease of skating as did prior, meaning getting going and keeping going just feels so different, so much so that I'm like I want the pitch back!

Maybe I could get replacement steel and have them profiled again but splitting the difference?

Oh yeah, one other annoying thing that developed a few weeks ago even before I had them profiled and is still present - like one of the prior posts above about the skate pressing on the inner ankle, so does mine and it hurts. Use two Elite gel pads there and it did alleviate some pressure but it's still an issue.

Any thoughts on that also?

If I really didnt like the cxn holder and runner, I dont think Id mess around with altering the pitch. I think it would be a much better idea to just swap holders out for one you like. When debating this same thing a while ago, I realized there is even more to a blade than the radius and the pitch (toe, heel, etc). So even if you take a cxn runner and try to profile it down to a more neutral pitch, now you are dealing with a blade shape that possibly wasnt intended to be used with that pitch.

Im pretty happy with my Makos with the cxn holder, but I think sometime in the future, I might give tuuks a shot to see how I like them again. The whole reason I switched from vapor to mako was because the forefoot was too narrow and I was going numb from wearing them. I adapted to the forward pitch, and I think I prefer it to tuuk, but that could also just be because I was in a much better fitting boot.

Its an easy swap if you are going to do that. All the holes line up, so no new holes have to be drilled. I cant imagine getting charged more than 20-30 bucks from a pro shop - unless you wanna do it yourself with tnuts and bolts.

[z1ggy 81]

Just picked up a brand new pair of Mako 2's!! Things feel great. Little pressure on my right forefoot because I am slightly wider on that side, but I think I can punch that out a bit with out any problems. Hopeuflly I adjust to the pitch and different skate feel quickly. Makes me nervous people on here saying they don't like it, or they could never get used to it.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Nothing to be nervous about it. If you don't like it, it's an easy fix.