Holder Pitch

[OrrSmith 4]

I measured the height of the toe and heel of the Easton CXN, Bauer Edge, and the CCM +4 holders and the CXN is 3/4" higher at the heel while the other two are 5/8" higher at the heel than the toe.

If there are a bunch of players who always get a 1/8" shim under the heel of the Bauer holders, why doesn't Bauer make a second holder at a 3/4" higher heel as an option for those players?

[jonesy9020 77]

Because at least 85% of youth and rec players (a large majority of the market) don't know what pitch is, and and it would cost more money to tool up and make molds for a new holder than it would be worth in the return they'd get out of it. It would also make the stocking process more complicated for retailers and make buying decisions harder for consumers. Bauer's thinking (if I'm right) is provide a one size fits all option and let people adjust on their own from there.

[OrrSmith 4]

Because at least 85% of youth and rec players (a large majority of the market) don't know what pitch is, and and it would cost more money to tool up and make molds for a new holder than it would be worth in the return they'd get out of it. It would also make the stocking process more complicated for retailers and make buying decisions harder for consumers. Bauer's thinking (if I'm right) is provide a one size fits all option and let people adjust on their own from there.

Because at least 85% of youth and rec players (a large majority of the market) don't know what pitch is, and and it would cost more money to tool up and make molds for a new holder than it would be worth in the return they'd get out of it. It would also make the stocking process more complicated for retailers and make buying decisions harder for consumers. Bauer's thinking (if I'm right) is provide a one size fits all option and let people adjust on their own from there.

Because at least 85% of youth and rec players (a large majority of the market) don't know what pitch is, and and it would cost more money to tool up and make molds for a new holder than it would be worth in the return they'd get out of it. It would also make the stocking process more complicated for retailers and make buying decisions harder for consumers. Bauer's thinking (if I'm right) is provide a one size fits all option and let people adjust on their own from there.

I completely agree with your point but the 15% that would exercise that extra pitch holder option also spend $800 on their skates. It would be nice to see that they can service that need for the amount of money spent on the skates.

[chippa13 1844]

Adding heel lifts is a fairly inexpensive and easy to complete adjustment. If Bauer produced this second set of holders then they've got to decide how many of each skate they need to produce with them versus the normal holders. Shops would have to figure out not just how much of each skate/size to bring in but also how much of each pitch. It would be a headache for all involved.

[flip12 729]

Adding heel lifts is a fairly inexpensive and easy to complete adjustment. If Bauer produced this second set of holders then they've got to decide how many of each skate they need to produce with them versus the normal holders. Shops would have to figure out not just how much of each skate/size to bring in but also how much of each pitch. It would be a headache for all involved.

Precisely+ the way I look at Bauer's skate decisions is all about defending the market share they've so overwhelmingly cornered. With that perspective, it makes more sense for Bauer to make their boots and holders appeal to the conservative side of the market. Not to say that Bauer isn't progressive in the choice of materials they use and things like that. When it comes to winning the first impression of a buyer, it can help to appeal to what that person is already familiar with. For the tinkerers that will strip their skate down to fine tune the fit, the solutions are readily available, and, I imagine, as has already been suggested by Jonesy9020 above, it would just be too darn expensive to produce something at industrial scale that isn't even an unsolved problem.

The flip side of it explains why Easton would be so willing in to invest everything in a different kind of skate and an aggressive holder to go with it. As a company, they floundered when trying to steal some of Bauer's market share with their earlier boot lines (not in the least due to durability concerns). It makes more sense to compete by the so-marketed 'think different' approach.

[fbvnyc 12]

I dont see many guys with heel shims.

[flip12 729]

Where are you looking?