Disappointing gear

[60PlusWinger 82]

Have you ever been really excited about a piece of gear be it a stick, skates, whatever? Maybe ordered it without trying it first and then you finally get it, use it and think "wait, that's it?!"

I bought a Nexus 8000 last year after being jacked up about its new look and all the hype. I left my APX2 behind for it and blah. It just wasn't working out. I wanted to love it and all I did instead was beat myself up over the APX2 I got rid of for it.

[flip12 715]

Almost: I'm disappointed I didn't pursue a better fit once I switched from Bauer to Graf in the early 2000's. The 705's I got were by far the best performing and most comfortable skates I had ever owned, but in the 703 I think I would have skated much better. No one stocked it in my state at the time though.

Disappointed 2: not ordering custom Christian blades when I realized that retail patterns were not for me. It sounded like a lot of money at the time, I think around $200. But I easily wasted more than that trying to find something else that might magically work.

Disappointed overall: that MSH wasn't around back then. It would have cleared up all of the confusions due to misapprehension and ignorance I suffered from about equipment at the time.

[JimmyTheDriver 36]

Have you ever been really excited about a piece of gear be it a stick, skates, whatever? Maybe ordered it without trying it first and then you finally get it, use it and think "wait, that's it?!"

I bought a Nexus 8000 last year after being jacked up about its new look and all the hype. I left my APX2 behind for it and blah. It just wasn't working out. I wanted to love it and all I did instead was beat myself up over the APX2 I got rid of for it.

Almost the opposite. I gave up on my Total Ones for an APX2 and just never loved it. Even after a month of hatred, it still hurt to sell it on EBay. No idea why... just always wanted to like it.

-Jim

[60PlusWinger 82]

I've had that same type of feeling. When you want to like something so bad, you don't and yet you don't want to give it up either. Hell I've felt bad getting a new stick when the last one did nothing wrong for me haha.

Like Toy Story or something... Woody getting replaced by Buzz. Somebody poisoned the water holeeeee

[JimmyTheDriver 36]

I've had that same type of feeling. When you want to like something so bad, you don't and yet you don't want to give it up either. Hell I've felt bad getting a new stick when the last one did nothing wrong for me haha.

Like Toy Story or something... Woody getting replaced by Buzz. Somebody poisoned the water holeeeee

Yep. I'm currently building up a passion for CCM Jetspeed skates. I already love them in my head... but haven't seen a pair in person. My heart will be broken come Christmas when I make it a few hours to a LHS that carries them and they don't fit.

-Jim

[orelayer 4]

Graf 8035 mis-aligned holders, no heel lock and IMHO sub par construction. The overall fit was way different than advertised. I was not a new Graf user......

[x-axis 44]

I'll have to double down on Grafs. Was a long time user until shortly after the G3s. Poorly made skate. Fell apart so fast.

I switched over to VHs over a year ago and though they are the best fitting skating I have ever owned, I wouldn't say that they would last me till the end of this year or early next.

[TommyKru06 2]

The Reebok skates, 11ks and first Ribcor.

The fit was never right, now matter how hard I tried to make it work (punching, baking, praying). Luckily, it never cost my wallet much.

[SlaterC42 51]

Back before I knew any better, Bauer Vapor skates. I wanted them to fit so bad, but they just didn't have the volume I need.

[leftwinger37 43]

I'll have to double down on Grafs. Was a long time user until shortly after the G3s. Poorly made skate. Fell apart so fast.

I switched over to VHs over a year ago and though they are the best fitting skating I have ever owned, I wouldn't say that they would last me till the end of this year or early next.

1st gen G3s (with the carbon fibre outsole) were my first Graf purchase. Even though it was recommended based on my foot profile and felt fine when I was fitted, I could never get comfortable with them on the ice. My boots also broke down prematurely.

[jmiro 55]

Seems as though all my purchases lately

Sherwood under cover gloves-They are not the same as TPS.

Alkali Skates-(I know they aren't ice)

Easton S17 helmet-fits great. I know I sweat a lot but its like a river running into my face.

Warrior axlt shin guards- Yes they are light. But at the original price point I was expecting more.

[Cosmic 178]

Almost: I'm disappointed I didn't pursue a better fit once I switched from Bauer to Graf in the early 2000's. The 705's I got were by far the best performing and most comfortable skates I had ever owned, but in the 703 I think I would have skated much better. No one stocked it in my state at the time though.

Disappointed 2: not ordering custom Christian blades when I realized that retail patterns were not for me. It sounded like a lot of money at the time, I think around $200. But I easily wasted more than that trying to find something else that might magically work.

Disappointed overall: that MSH wasn't around back then. It would have cleared up all of the confusions due to misapprehension and ignorance I suffered from about equipment at the time.

What's your preferred curve type? I went through a bunch of different types of curves trying to find a nice closed toe.

[AIREAYE 248]

MX3 stick. Moving the kickpoint higher did not give me the kick and power I had hoped for from a Supreme stick, That was the only qualm though, puck feel/blade and weight/balance were top notch.

[greyskull 21]

My Graf 705 oversized. Total balls.

[jimmy 194]

Fit is not a valid reason to call something disappointing. Not all gear fits everyone. You may want a Vapor or 11k but because it don't fit, doesn't mean it's bad, it's just not for you. To me disappointing would be a skate with a runner that breaks at whim, or the stell doesn't stay tight in the holder, a bag whose zipper breaks in a month, or a stick that breaks at the lower hosel in the same spot, every time.

[EJB 488]

The original APX was disappointing for me as a payee. My son broke them at a rate that it's the only stick that I said "something else" & it's the only stick my daughter ever snapped during gameplay(she did get a warranty replacement on a V9e due to a blade issue, but it didn't snap)... And she's only 10 now, don't know how old then, 8 maybe 7?

[flip12 715]

What's your preferred curve type? I went through a bunch of different types of curves trying to find a nice closed toe.

At retail, my favorite all-time has been the Montreal P.C., their version of the Coffey. It was more smoothly curved than the Sher-Wood Coffey, though it was definitely still a hook. Puckhandling was just automatic for me with that.

I'd say the closest thing out there to it today would either be the Malkin Pro from Base or the CCM 10 (available in Europe). I actually think the 10 might be really close to the old P.C., but I'm stuck on Kovalev pro blades now: I'm just in love with the smoothness of the shooting and overall puckhandling with its huge rocker.

If I had had the gusto to do custom blades way back then, I would have just gotten the E4/PM9 with a toe kink right around 3-inches in from the end of the blade. Hell, given how well I was able to curve Christian blades at home, I should have just ordered their #1 pattern woodies and curved them myself.

Finally, the W04-Vanek is the retail curve I completely missed out on that I think may have been almost perfect for me off the shelf. As nice as the P.C. was, I just felt the pocket was a little too big and the curve a bit too smooth. I like having almost discrete steps between the sections of the blade, for overall no-look feel and passing by pointing the toe.

[Amiroo39 121]

Easton RS followed by the RSII...The S19 was amazing however.

[JSK81 400]

Every CCM stick I've tried, either horrible puck feel or very meh shot performance (or both)

Reebok elbows, I hate how restrictive they are.

[z1ggy 81]

Probably my Warrior QR Pink stick. It really didn't feel much more responsive than my DT4 LT, which was literally half the cost.

[TommyKru06 2]

Fit is not a valid reason to call something disappointing. Not all gear fits everyone. You may want a Vapor or 11k but because it don't fit, doesn't mean it's bad, it's just not for you. To me disappointing would be a skate with a runner that breaks at whim, or the stell doesn't stay tight in the holder, a bag whose zipper breaks in a month, or a stick that breaks at the lower hosel in the same spot, every time.

I get what you are saying, the original thing was "disappointing". I can certainly say I was disappointed. Especially as they fit well in store and after bake. But once I got on ice, it was much different. Therefore, it counted as disappointing for me.

If it doesn't for you, that's cool too,

[ntwusc 62]

A couple years ago I got a set of Step steel LS2 runners after my stock LS2.1 steel broke, which was the first time in 15 years playing I'd ever had a runner break. Two weeks later one of the Step runners broke, and the place I got them didn't have any more in my size, so I went back to Tuuk runners and haven't had a problem since.

[mjpisat 36]

I need some more time but possibly my HD1. I think it does what it is designed to do but I think I just got so used to my qr1 and they feel quite different. All the hype around it got me stoked.

[Burning Bear 76]

While this isn't exactly a high-end piece of gear, this was nonetheless disappointing. I bought socks in the past from Athletic Knit, only when I bought a pair in the colorway in the picture below, the stripes weren't sized correctly (the top red and yellow stripes were the same size, which is not the case on the authentic CCM made ones). Well, I decided to give a pair from SP a shot.

As you can see, the top red stripe is thicker than the yellow, which is as it should be. In all honesty, I'm probably making a much bigger fuss about it than I should be, but I feel it's my duty as a gear nut to point these things out. Anyway, you're probably wondering, "Why are you posting them in this thread then?" Well, I'll show you:

When I tried them on for the first time the other night, my heart sank. Turns out the stripe pattern as a whole is a good three inches higher than where it should be. The top should be right on/below the tape channel, but it's a good third of the way up the kneecap. If this were a cheap $10 pair you find off the racks at any store, I probably I wouldn't care so much, but since this is retired colorway that can only be found in a very finite number of places online and thus paid way, WAY too much for them, it made me want to rip my hair out. I guess I could complain to the email address on SP's website, though I'm not sure it'd do much good. This is why I'm wary of buying anything sight unseen.

[starrzkyy 1]

MX3 stick. Moving the kickpoint higher did not give me the kick and power I had hoped for from a Supreme stick, That was the only qualm though, puck feel/blade and weight/balance were top notch.

I loved the MX3 all around, looking to get another.

My only issue was durability.