Marsblade Ice Holder

[YesLanges 127]

5 hours ago, JR Boucicaut said:

Or you can just pay the shipping and participate in our Prosharp Project...and not get the same profile that everyone gets from that place.  But definitely work on the holder first, as that's the profile you're used to at the moment.

I never knew anything about it. In the meantime while I see about working things out with Marsblades, I have a set of steels about ready for sharpening. What would you recommend for 288 mm steels to try to improve my straightaway speed if I'm currently very comfortable on 8'/13' with aggressive forward pitch (FBV 95/1)? (Curious why the chart goes by skate size and not steel length.)

[VegasHockey 1280]

6 hours ago, YesLanges said:

I never knew anything about it. In the meantime while I see about working things out with Marsblades, I have a set of steels about ready for sharpening. What would you recommend for 288 mm steels to try to improve my straightaway speed if I'm currently very comfortable on 8'/13' with aggressive forward pitch (FBV 95/1)? (Curious why the chart goes by skate size and not steel length.)

 

[YesLanges 127]

Thank you. The reason I asked is that I already reviewed that chart and it goes by skate size. My skates are size 10, which is right on the line at the high end of one profile, but (I believe) 288 mm steels could also go with a larger skate. So, I'm asking which profile corresponds to 288 steels, because I can't imagine that boot size is a more reliable determinant than steel length. Likewise, I'm asking those with more experience, such as yourself, which first option they might go with based on my interest in increasing speed if I'm very comfortable on my current 8'/13' with fwd pitch, because your experience trumps my flipping a coin to decide between a triple and quad radius. Thanks in advance for any input.

[Coldclay 53]

FWIW my son's Sz 263 Marsblade holder weighs 380g each.

We're waiting until after this weekend's State finals to install the Marsblade on his pair of CCM FT1, then we will post a review, but only after at least 3-5 hrs of ice time, in order to give it a fair assessment.

His current Sz 7 CCM FT1, with Massive Blade and Speed Plate 2, weights in at 826g.

Edited March 14, 2019 by Coldclay

[JR Boucicaut 3793]

22 minutes ago, YesLanges said:

Thank you. The reason I asked is that I already reviewed that chart and it goes by skate size. My skates are size 10, which is right on the line at the high end of one profile, but (I believe) 288 mm steels could also go with a larger skate. So, I'm asking which profile corresponds to 288 steels, because I can't imagine that boot size is a more reliable determinant than steel length. Likewise, I'm asking those with more experience, such as yourself, which first option they might go with based on my interest in increasing speed if I'm very comfortable on my current 8'/13' with fwd pitch, because your experience trumps my flipping a coin to decide between a triple and quad radius. Thanks in advance for any input.

Send an email to proshop@modsquadhockey.com and we'll discuss next steps for the program.

[Deke 3]

On 3/13/2019 at 5:14 PM, YesLanges said:

The only potential positives were: (1) they seemed to promote a noticeably-lengthened cross-under; (2) I was surprised that they felt a little more stable skating backwards than my usual skates. (3) It's possible that they facilitated a slightly sharper turn, but that could also be that they were freshly sharpened. I'm going to see whether I can cut as sharply on my regular steels on Friday after a few passes with a my edger, just for comparison, because I was consciously testing how sharply I could cut yesterday, which isn't something I normally do. (4) A few times, my lead outside edge caught the ice in a way that felt like I might be able to work on a cut-stop or front-foot brake-turn, which isn't something I can normally do; so I'm also going to test that on my regular skates for comparison. That's it for the positives, and I'm being as generous as possible.

@YesLanges I am in the "adaptation" phase with these as well. My case is probably the opposite of yours where I feel close to going out the back on tight turns and digging in the heels too much in the process. I can say though that when I don't over do it I totally feel that very efficient finish that the testers talked about and can move right into crossovers without losing much speed at the transition. In my case, I'm going to try a pitch adjustment to see if I can keep myself in the sweet spot. Lengthened strides and a more solid outside edge are other pluses that I'm feeling. The final Marsblade product is different from what the pro testers skated on now that the toe is fixed. My hunch is that the pitch on the steel may be a bigger factor than it was then since the rocker only goes one way. You mentioned aggressive pitch in your setup. I don't know how much that is or how the Lange boot may affect that, but I would think it is possible that you could have too much pitch. Just a thought.

All four of your positives indicate more stability so I'll bet you are getting more of the 13' radius of your profile on to the ice than you are used to. (1) a lengthened cross-under, especially if it's coming from the outside edge is awesome. More out of each stride. (2) going backward, the Marsblade rocker is allowing you to basically reduce your pitch, making backward feel good. (3) I'm not sure the Marsblade would necessarily increase the sharpness of your turns but the rocker can make the finish more efficient by not digging into the ice as much. You'd lose less speed and transition smoother. (4) See (1). It sounds like more blade on the ice equals a more solid outside edge. All of those sound great to me if you can adapt them into your style and take advantage of them.

I kinda think you should spend some more time adapting, maybe when you don't have league play to worry about. Just have fun exploring what it will do.

 

[YesLanges 127]

Thanks, Man. I'm thinking that my aggressive forward pitch might actually be the main reason that I'm not feeling too far back on my heels, which seems to be the most common negative comment from others. Agree regarding stability. I'll try the fix that Per sends, but I'm thinking that as between reducing the amount of pivot (which undermines the main purpose of the whole design concept) and keeping that same pivot but adjusting the profile, the latter would be preferable. If the fix doesn't work (and maybe even if it does), I think I might try reducing the 13' in case the pivoting is just putting me more onto the 13' part of my blade than I need to be to keep my mobility. Ideally, if these things are going to work for me, I'd rather maximize that pivot and take full advantage of the design concept but just find the right profile for them if it turns out that the right profile on conventional steels just aren't the right profile for me on a pivoting blade. 

Re. the Lange boot, I really don't think that's a variable in this equation. For one thing, it's the same boot I'm already using and it's the same profile that already works for me with conventional steels. (The boots would be more likely to be a variable if I didn't already have a profile that works for me with regular steels on the same boots.) For another (and probably, more importantly), the bottoms where the holders actually attach is no more or rigid than the bottoms of any other skate boots. So, I think I'm no different from any other user in that I'm just comparing the MB to what already works for me with regular steels on the same exact boot.

 

Edited March 15, 2019 by YesLanges

[Marsblade 23]

8 hours ago, Coldclay said:

FWIW my son's Sz 263 Marsblade holder weighs 380g each.

We're waiting until after this weekend's State finals to install the Marsblade on his pair of CCM FT1, then we will post a review, but only after at least 3-5 hrs of ice time, in order to give it a fair assessment.

His current Sz 7 CCM FT1, with Massive Blade and Speed Plate 2, weights in at 826g.

I'd be happy to send you the components I've described earlier to be able to adjust the rocking movement. So you can play around and test different setups to allow an easier transition. Would you like that? //Per

[Marsblade 23]

5 hours ago, YesLanges said:

I'll try the fix that Per sends, but I'm thinking that as between reducing the amount of pivot (which undermines the main purpose of the whole design concept) and keeping that same pivot but adjusting the profile, the latter would be preferable.

Reducing the movement doesn't undermines the purpose of the concept as even a small movement makes a big difference. All skaters are of course also different and prefer different settings, just like with sharpening. So looking back, it's obvious that you should be able to set the amount of movement. Also, even if you in the end prefer the amount of movement you have now, if you would have had the possibility to add movement step by step it's likely that you wouldn't have had the initial frustration and bad experience. Hope that makes sense. //Per 

[YesLanges 127]

Thanks, Per. I hope you're right and I'll try your fix before I start messing with my profile. Not looking forward to that at all. II'll be on my regular blades in a few hours and I'm going to try to be more aware of where it feels like my weight is distributed for comparison to help me understand what might be accounting for the difference the next time I'm back on MB.

[Marsblade 23]

Sounds good @YesLanges. Shipping out the components now, I'll e-mail you the tracking info. //Per

[Deke 3]

12 hours ago, YesLanges said:

Thanks, Man. I'm thinking that my aggressive forward pitch might actually be the main reason that I'm not feeling too far back on my heels, which seems to be the most common negative comment from others. Agree regarding stability. I'll try the fix that Per sends, but I'm thinking that as between reducing the amount of pivot (which undermines the main purpose of the whole design concept) and keeping that same pivot but adjusting the profile, the latter would be preferable. If the fix doesn't work (and maybe even if it does), I think I might try reducing the 13' in case the pivoting is just putting me more onto the 13' part of my blade than I need to be to keep my mobility. Ideally, if these things are going to work for me, I'd rather maximize that pivot and take full advantage of the design concept but just find the right profile for them if it turns out that the right profile on conventional steels just aren't the right profile for me on a pivoting blade. 

Re. the Lange boot, I really don't think that's a variable in this equation. For one thing, it's the same boot I'm already using and it's the same profile that already works for me with conventional steels. (The boots would be more likely to be a variable if I didn't already have a profile that works for me with regular steels on the same boots.) For another (and probably, more importantly), the bottoms where the holders actually attach is no more or rigid than the bottoms of any other skate boots. So, I think I'm no different from any other user in that I'm just comparing the MB to what already works for me with regular steels on the same exact boot.

 

Another thought about the Langes, well not the boot itself, the original holders may be pitched differently than the Marsblade. Even though you had the steel done the same there could still be difference.

Regarding profiles I would seriously consider taking @JR Boucicaut offer on the Prosharp project. A Quad might be fun to try.

[YesLanges 127]

Thanks, Deke. I'm not using the original Lange holders...using semi-modern Icetek holders and removable steels (2 screws). I responded to JR via email.

[Coldclay 53]

9 hours ago, Marsblade said:

I'd be happy to send you the components I've described earlier to be able to adjust the rocking movement. So you can play around and test different setups to allow an easier transition. Would you like that? //Per

Per, yes I would like to take you up on the offer, just in case... I sent you an email with my info on the kickstarter@marsblade and we look forward to try out the holders after this weekend's State final...

[Marsblade 23]

16 hours ago, Coldclay said:

Per, yes I would like to take you up on the offer, just in case... I sent you an email with my info on the kickstarter@marsblade and we look forward to try out the holders after this weekend's State final...

Ok great. Can you please send me an e-mail at per@marsblade.com with your info and Backer ID as well. I'm for some reason not able to access the other e-mail. //Per

[Marsblade 23]

 

Just wanted to share some of the good feedback we have received from Kickstarter backers to balance the negative comments here in the thread. //Per

 

[ParabolicActivity 48]

If there is a player in the NHL using this technology, there is definitely something there. Kronwall isn't trying something out during NHL games. No one is fucking around during an NHL game. As far as I can tell STX still hasn't even gotten their "PureGrip" shaft to the NHL. I would definitely say that seeing #55 wear them took me from being a doubter to someone who would experiment with it for sure if it was affordable for me.

[Giltis 116]

On 3/23/2019 at 12:51 PM, ParabolicActivity said:

As far as I can tell STX still hasn't even gotten their "PureGrip" shaft to the NHL.

I think Michael Grabner and Trocheck are using it, among others.

[ParabolicActivity 48]

16 hours ago, Giltis said:

I think Michael Grabner and Trocheck are using it, among others.

Pics?

[Giltis 116]

9 minutes ago, ParabolicActivity said:

Pics?

Getting a bit off topic, but yeah a quick google search shows.

https://imgur.com/a/VeyxQsV

[VegasHockey 1280]

On 3/23/2019 at 9:51 AM, ParabolicActivity said:

If there is a player in the NHL using this technology, there is definitely something there. Kronwall isn't trying something out during NHL games. No one is fucking around during an NHL game. As far as I can tell STX still hasn't even gotten their "PureGrip" shaft to the NHL. I would definitely say that seeing #55 wear them took me from being a doubter to someone who would experiment with it for sure if it was affordable for me.

No offense, but Kronwall is quite old and is more known for his physical presence than his skating skills. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

2 hours ago, Giltis said:

Getting a bit off topic, but yeah a quick google search shows.

https://imgur.com/a/VeyxQsV

There is more than a few players using STX in the NHL. Not sure why people think otherwise. 

[flip12 712]

19 minutes ago, Nicholas G said:

No offense, but Kronwall is quite old and is more known for his physical presence than his skating skills. 

But his particular brand of physical presence is open ice hitting rather than simply being big and mean like Derian Hatcher or Chris Pronger, simply because Kronwall's not big and he actually is a good skater. It's just usually what happens when he skates into your space that catches viewers' attention. Still it's only by incredible skating that those open ice hits happen.

[ParabolicActivity 48]

Nick are you saying Kronwall is saying "well fuck it. I'm old. My best skating is behind me. Let me just rock this prototype for no reason"???

[VegasHockey 1280]

1 hour ago, flip12 said:

But his particular brand of physical presence is open ice hitting rather than simply being big and mean like Derian Hatcher or Chris Pronger, simply because Kronwall's not big and he actually is a good skater. It's just usually what happens when he skates into your space that catches viewers' attention. Still it's only by incredible skating that those open ice hits happen.

I'm just saying that if maybe known for their skating prowess was wearing then I might be more impressed....