Catalogue Review 2015 Bauer Hockey Catalogue

[AIREAYE 248]

Why? Because you disagree with the strategy?

[tpedersen3118 58]

When will the new Speed Plate insole be available? I have tried Superfeet and CCM insoles with little luck.

[Neo5370 132]

Why? Because you disagree with the strategy?

Pretty much. But it's not just my opinion. Look at the two posts before mine. Bashing another company is a petty marketing strategy. Combine this with their early failure to know their consumers they have a pretty bad record.

Also, marketing is one of the few things that we as consumers get to judge since it is our interest they are trying to gain. If we don't like it and we don't buy their product, it's a failure. I don't know how much warrior sells but I've read on here that it's not much. And there are no more russians i.e. inno users to push their product. I remember an old inno ad where roughly half the redwings were using inno. That was a good ad.

[AIREAYE 248]

Fair enough, on the flip side though, I've found that majority of people who have voiced their opinion seem to find it amusing. It also gets people like you to talk about it, which, whether you like it or not, could be considered a good thing for them.

[Neo5370 132]

That's true. It did get my attention.

[CTB 32]

It may have new mentionss before but with the 1X they're transitioning away from the Intellisense flex point profile?

[jonesy9020 77]

While Warrior initially may have missed the mark on their marketing strategy, this tweet doesn't fall into that category. They're having fun with the fact that they released a stick with the same characteristics and almost exactly the same acronym several months earlier. I think it's pretty smart, especially with Bauer claiming to be such an innovator in the industry.

Sidenote: while the Dolomite, Mac Daddy, Nipple Grip, etc. were kinda over the top for hockey, I think it helped people notice the products, which they then toned down to fit the hockey market. I actually wonder if they would have survived had they not gotten a foothold with some of their more outlandish designs.

JW: Is there any substance to the suggestions being bandied about that Bauer contract players are using Warrior repaints? I know repaints within a brand are a thing (e.g. a TotalOne painted to look like an APX2, Mako painted to look like a V9, etc.) and I know in the past there have been rumors of interbrand repaints, especially when Easton was pioneering OPS with the Synergy and some of their top players were clinging to wood twigs, but I haven't heard of cross-brand repaints recently.

Edited February 3, 2015 by jonesy9020

[AIREAYE 248]

It may have new mentionss before but with the 1X they're transitioning away from the Intellisense flex point profile?

Correct, streamlined story with the ultra low-kick.

JW: Is there any substance to the suggestions being bandied about that Bauer contract players are using Warrior repaints? I know repaints within a brand are a thing (e.g. a TotalOne painted to look like an APX2, Mako painted to look like a V9, etc.) and I know in the past there have been rumors of interbrand repaints, especially when Easton was pioneering OPS with the Synergy and some of their top players were clinging to wood twigs, but I haven't heard of cross-brand repaints recently.

There is absolutely no merit to that rumor. That stemmed from that one tweet by Warrior.

[chippa13 1844]

The reason that you don't hear about cross-brand repaints is because no hockey company would let another paint over one of their sticks.

[markush 12]

What about stiffness of the 1x skate vs. the APX2? Really think the APX2 was a great balance between stability / support and still maintaining a certain feel of the boot. I am a bit scared the 1x might be too stiff - when boots tend to get stiffer and stiffer. Glad if someone can provide feedback.

Anyone already tried the MX3 protective (shoulder & shin guards)? Would be interested to know if Bauer improved the problem of quite considerable weight added dring use (swett) - they have a highly capable technology with 37.5 so eager to hear about that.

Any insights / feedback on that?

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

Attended the Bauer tour today.

Got my first look at SpeedPlate.

Fitting was easy, however one of them got a bit creased - so you'd want to really open up the boot when you put them in.

I baked both then skated with one in and a Superfeet yellow on the left boot. I felt a pretty telling difference - the left boot had some play; as in my foot was moving around a bit. Also felt a bit of pain right above the heel bone and on the arch.

These are all pains I feel with conventional footbeds. The right foot felt much differently - it felt seamless. My foot was locked in well. Put the left one in and that pain I felt went away.

Since I had to remold the SpeedPlate because it creased, I took it back to the store and decided to have a bit of fun with it.

[lukejameslarson 5]

Any chance we can see the goalie portion of the catalog?

[kovalchuk71 212]

You all are going to be VERY pleased with the Vapor sticks this year. Every model from the $59 up to the 1X is quality. The X800, which is a $129US price point comes in at 479 grams (P92, thanks IceWarehouse.com for the weight) and feels like a top end stick. For reference, by DT1LT weighed 470g (Yakupov 75 Sr). I was blown away when we got our stock in the other day. I think it's the balance that really takes these sticks to another level.

Ill even go on a limb and day the X800 will be the best selling stick this season. It really feels THAT nice.

Edited February 8, 2015 by kovalchuk71

[AIREAYE 248]

Yeah the sticks are nice this year. They made an effort to improve weight and balance throughout the line. Same story with last year's MX3 Supreme line.

[kovalchuk71 212]

Yeah for sure. The Supreme 170 is our best selling stick for that $110 price point. I just think the X800 outdoes it.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Maybe I'll try my first Bauer stick, then.

[Neo5370 132]

You all are going to be VERY pleased with the Vapor sticks this year. Every model from the $59 up to the 1X is quality. The X800, which is a $129US price point comes in at 479 grams (P92, thanks IceWarehouse.com for the weight) and feels like a top end stick. For reference, by DT1LT weighed 470g (Yakupov 75 Sr). I was blown away when we got our stock in the other day. I think it's the balance that really takes these sticks to another level.

Ill even go on a limb and day the X800 will be the best selling stick this season. It really feels THAT nice.

I haven't seen these in person but you've read my mind. I've got my eye on this line. The x700 at 498 grams for $99.99 per IW is amazing. And $30 more for the X800 w/ an all 3k carbon shaft, very nice. Glad to see bauer giving us budget conscious folks some love.

Edited February 8, 2015 by Neo5370

[kovalchuk71 212]

I haven't seen these in person but you've read my mind. I've got my eye on this line. The x700 at 498 grams for $99.99 per IW is amazing. And $30 more for the X800 w/ an all 3k carbon shaft, very nice. Glad to see bauer giving us budget conscious folks some love.

Just got off the rink with the X800. My thoughts:

VERY low quick release. I like that a lot. Stick has a good amount of pop too. Plays significantly whipper than the last gen Vapor series, which I prefer. The stick is also very balanced. Now for the bad part.....

The puck feel is atrocious. It's just about non existent. There were multiple times where I had to physically examine my blade because I thought it was broken. It just feels numb. If you have problems with looking down at the stick when you have the puck, this is going to make it worse. There were 2 or three times where I tried to load the puck off of the toe of the stick, but it wasn't where I thought it was and the puck ended up getting flubbed. I felt the same thing when handling the 1X. It seems like they're going back to the X:60 like blade (all ping and nothing else)

Bottom line is that it's a very nice stick for the price, but the Nexus and the Supreme have it beat by miles when it comes to puck feel. Could it be that it's the $129 stick and that's why it doesn't feel so crisp? I don't know, but it's not a good sign. Looks like Bauer took materials away from areas in order to make it lighter. I'll take a stick with a quality blade that's slightly blade heavy over something that feels like a marshmallow.

FWIW, my favorite stick I have used lately is still the STX Stallion 500.

Edited February 8, 2015 by kovalchuk71

[sbecks72986 51]

kovalchuk haVE you tried the True A6.0 yet?

[kovalchuk71 212]

kovalchuk haVE you tried the True A6.0 yet?

I have not.

[z1ggy 81]

I'm assuming the new P28 curve is a clone of the E28/W28?

Also, if I read correctly, the new top of the line LS4 steel will be on the 1X skate? I believe in the opening post I saw that this will come stock as a 10' radius. That seems kind of odd given that the Vapor line has always been the "agility" focused skate. I could see that on the Supreme/Nexus line focusing on power, but it seems kind of out of place on the Vapor line.

Am I mistaken? I know somebody used to a 9' radius like I am could just get it profiled, but it seems a little weird to me.

Edited February 10, 2015 by z1ggy

[AIREAYE 248]

Yes and yes. Bauer is assuming more people who know what they want for profiling will continue to do so for their steel, so the stock radius, which is rather inconsistent as it is out-of-factory, is of less consequence.

[z1ggy 81]

Interesting. So is this a way for them to save money then? By essentially having less QA over radius length and profile? I could maybe see that on the top end stuff, because as you say, most of us get a profile to what we like anyway. But in the future if LS4 got put on the middle level skates, that could be somewhat of an issue.

Either way, make no difference to me, I'm in Mako 2's and don't plan on switching :-p

Interested in the 1x stick though now that they will have a E28/W28 clone. Is the P28 going to come standard in lie 6 though? Most of the time, like for p92, if it comes in lie 5, it will specifically say so on the order form. There's no option to chose L5 on hockey monkey website that I see yet, unlike the choice for L5 on the p92 like on the APX2. Mainly I'm trying to figure this out because the true 5.5 lie is just a touch too high for me, I'll have the really hard passes squirt under my stick from time to time. I naturally carry my hands a bit lower. Currently in a Sakic clone, but I really prefer the E/W28.

[AIREAYE 248]

Your QA point may be bit of a reach. There may be certain discrepancies but that may within their margin of error. I don't think it should be a factor.

P28 AFAIK is a direct clone of E28. Don't worry about the lie numbers, everyone measures them differently. With that, I don't think there's a 'true 5.5' or whatever.

[z1ggy 81]

I'm sure QA is just the same. Just odd to me that the stock steel on a Vapor skate will be 10'. The less uneducated people may not realize it, or wonder why their Vapors feel different than they ever did before.

Yes I know that. I usually don't ever go try a new brand of stick with out trying it out in person, and comparing it to what I currently use. I assume that Bauer Lie 6 is probably pretty close to the standard Easton Sakic/Hall of 5.5. Regardless, I've pretty much been using Warrior now for the past 1.5yrs, and will probably just stick with them, but the new 1X stick does look enticing. I had a Bauer XXX many years ago and liked it a lot. It just wasn't that durable which is why I made the switch to Easton... Then switched to Warrior when I went through a few Eastons pretty quickly, too. Haven't had any of my Warrior sticks break on me yet.

But anyway sorry, back on topic.