Flare Skate Blade - Anyone seen this or used it? WIder than typical steel

[SolarWind 23]

1 hour ago, PBH said:

What size do you need and for what holder? I might be able to send you a trial pair. We keep them in stock for players to test before buying. Although, there is always the Flare satisfaction guarantee.

PM sent. Thanks! 

[EKB54 0]

I have had these for about 7 hours of activity since last week.  I got them for $170 from a shop. Take that price with a grain of salt as they are for SB4.0 holders and may have been clearance priced as compared to newer ones.  Another thing is that their hollow match is a bit different (you'll see it on the case if you get an older model). I read through this whole thread and both of the journal articles that Flare base their performance claims on.

I do not notice any real difference in terms of a normal forward stride, or getting any more glide (20% as they claim).  This is probably because this research was really proof of concept stuff where they put it on a static sled setup.  I also might have some confusion about the effect of fresh, tall, steel.  I was down to about 1cm on my last set but my memory says I am about as fast/balanced/efficient as I was when the old steel was new.  Someone mentioned a difficulty/adjustment to stopping and I found this to be true.  I need to get over that little bit more to get a good shave of the ice and think I have it sorted by now. Even so, this only affects my mid-low speed stops where I am not in the habit of shifting much.  Also I cannot sense that the Flares are any wider.

These are a revelation for any sort of maneuver that carves an arc (tight turn, pivot, etc).  This includes any kind of c-cut.  Basically, you can think of it as getting more work out of how you'd typically make a cut, or taking less work for you to make a typical cut.  This is borne out in the second research too.  They did live trials with the Calgary Dinos and it was pretty random results for straightaway (1.3% avg) and max speed (1%) improvements in my opinion.  The glide turn test had 10 out of 12 players improve, so I take that to be a more meaningful 1.3% improvement than the straightaway. 
Summary: it's just a feeling of greater stability and bite when you get over onto that balance point of an edge that's carving and it's a nice kind of confidence.   

 

Edited February 19, 2022 by EKB54

[SolarWind 23]

On 2/18/2022 at 8:19 PM, EKB54 said: it's just a feeling of greater stability and bite when you get over onto that balance point of an edge that's carving and it's a nice kind of confidence.   

So what happens when you don’t get it to that balance point? Does it require any adjustment from the skating dynamics used on regular blades?

I’m curious if the 6 degree flare makes it a bit harder to get a bite when rolling edge to edge?

 

[EKB54 0]

20 hours ago, SolarWind said:

So what happens when you don’t get it to that balance point? Does it require any adjustment from the skating dynamics used on regular blades?

I’m curious if the 6 degree flare makes it a bit harder to get a bite when rolling edge to edge?

 

By balance point I mean the general weight shift that you do for turns and whatnot.  But you might be picking up on the stopping issue that I felt for a while and that is easily overcome. 
On your second and third points it is both the same and different.  Look at this image - you get more relief angle and you are actually working with a smaller (sharper) edge. I think both of these factor into that good bite feeling.

I would say I have not changed my dynamics in any noticeable way. By no means is getting onto the edge a struggle, as these are very small changes but there is a feeling of difference. 

[psulion22 402]

On 2/26/2022 at 3:55 AM, SolarWind said:

So what happens when you don’t get it to that balance point? Does it require any adjustment from the skating dynamics used on regular blades?

I’m curious if the 6 degree flare makes it a bit harder to get a bite when rolling edge to edge?

 

I found there is a very slight dead area if you are just getting on to an edge, likey due to the 6* needed to travel to engage an edge.  Much like what EKB said about just shaving the ice.  It took a very minor adjustment to learn to get past that 6* and it hasn't been a problem since my first skate with them. 

[Monty22 832]

On 9/11/2017 at 5:02 PM, Tyler55 said:

We spoke to Blackstone about making a spinner for FBV that would work with the 4.5mm bottom, but for now, we are just focusing on getting them into retail. They already have a ton of glide and way better bite than traditional steel. Not opposed to it in the future. I am curious as to what a FBV would be like on the Flare. 

Any movement on this front? 

[Monty22 832]

Came across a set of new Flare steel on SLS too cheap to pass up. I've been using 95/75 FBV for the last 9 years, and sharpened the Flare steel to 1".  Used them in a pick up last night. Transition wasn't hard, maybe a lap or two in warm ups and they felt fine. They certainly felt more stable turning and doing cut backs, and I felt more efficient with straight ahead skating (this felt more noticeable to me than the improvement in turns). I had my regular steel on the bench intending to swap them back and forth to compare, but we only had 2 subs  so I was distracted by exhaustion... So far impressions are positive. Looking forward to getting some more time on them. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

On 5/6/2022 at 4:23 AM, Monty22 said:

Came across a set of new Flare steel on SLS too cheap to pass up. I've been using 95/75 FBV for the last 9 years, and sharpened the Flare steel to 1".  Used them in a pick up last night. Transition wasn't hard, maybe a lap or two in warm ups and they felt fine. They certainly felt more stable turning and doing cut backs, and I felt more efficient with straight ahead skating (this felt more noticeable to me than the improvement in turns). I had my regular steel on the bench intending to swap them back and forth to compare, but we only had 2 subs  so I was distracted by exhaustion... So far impressions are positive. Looking forward to getting some more time on them. 

The more you use them, the more you will realize their benefits. I cannot go back to regular steel at this point. I have the new TRUE Catalyst Pro demo pair, and when I tried to use them, I felt like a baby giraffe on the ice.

The boot is impressive, and the Shift Max holder feels excellent, but they need Flare. 

 

[Westside 232]

5 hours ago, PBH said:

The more you use them, the more you will realize their benefits. I cannot go back to regular steel at this point. I have the new TRUE Catalyst Pro demo pair, and when I tried to use them, I felt like a baby giraffe on the ice.

The boot is impressive, and the Shift Max holder feels excellent, but they need Flare. 

 

How do the boots feel compared to the TF? 

[VegasHockey 1280]

14 hours ago, Westside said:

How do the boots feel compared to the TF? 

Facings on them are significantly different allowing more flexion and range of motion. 

Boot fits tighter than the current TF design due to the change in the toe cap assembly. 

Tendon guard is more flexible. 

Skate is lighter. 

[boo10 323]

2 hours ago, PBH said:

Facings on them are significantly different allowing more flexion and range of motion. 

Boot fits tighter than the current TF design due to the change in the toe cap assembly. 

Tendon guard is more flexible. 

Skate is lighter. 

Did they actually make a change to the holder or just add "Max" for marketing purposes?

[VegasHockey 1280]

On 5/9/2022 at 10:55 AM, boo10 said:

Did they actually make a change to the holder or just add "Max" for marketing purposes?

There is changes to the holder. 

[Vet88 674]

On 5/10/2022 at 3:28 AM, PBH said:

Facings on them are significantly different allowing more flexion and range of motion. 

Boot fits tighter than the current TF design due to the change in the toe cap assembly. 

Tendon guard is more flexible. 

Skate is lighter. 

Is the sizing still the same as the TF7/9 models?

[VegasHockey 1280]

14 hours ago, Vet88 said:

Is the sizing still the same as the TF7/9 models?

I think the sizing has been adjusted to reflect the same as other brands. 

[SolarWind 23]

On 5/9/2022 at 8:28 AM, PBH said:

Facings on them are significantly different allowing more flexion and range of motion. 

Boot fits tighter than the current TF design due to the change in the toe cap assembly. 

Tendon guard is more flexible. 

Skate is lighter. 

How does the boot compare to TF customs in terms of stiffness and the boot wrap Nick?

Also how does the Max holder compare with Edge?

btw it took me several months to fully adjust to Flare because it actually exposed a flaw in my technique, which somehow I could get by with traditional runners. My issue was that I wasn't pushing directly against the blade on cross-unders, so it must have been the extra glide that Flare provides or the 6 degree gap the angle creates, buy the blade was just sliding back on me. Once I've noticed it and adjusted I was sold - Flare feels awesome in terms of glide, added stability, stops are smoother, and now cross-unders feel more stable also. Maybe it's just me but Flare seems to benefit from perfect form & mostly benefits aggressive skating style, which is why a lot of novice skaters try and don't see any benefits of Flare...

[VegasHockey 1280]

21 hours ago, SolarWind said:

btw it took me several months to fully adjust to Flare because it actually exposed a flaw in my technique, which somehow I could get by with traditional runners. My issue was that I wasn't pushing directly against the blade on cross-unders, so it must have been the extra glide that Flare provides or the 6 degree gap the angle creates, buy the blade was just sliding back on me. Once I've noticed it and adjusted I was sold - Flare feels awesome in terms of glide, added stability, stops are smoother, and now cross-unders feel more stable also. Maybe it's just me but Flare seems to benefit from perfect form & mostly benefits aggressive skating style, which is why a lot of novice skaters try and don't see any benefits of Flare...

Agreed

21 hours ago, SolarWind said:

Also how does the Max holder compare with Edge?

MAX is taller, light, and stiffer.

21 hours ago, SolarWind said:

How does the boot compare to TF customs in terms of stiffness and the boot wrap Nick?

Wrap is about the same. The stiffness has been adjusted as they feel stiffer laterally, but forward flexion has been increased for better range of motion. 

[SolarWind 23]

7 hours ago, PBH said:

MAX is taller, light, and stiffer.

Wrap is about the same. The stiffness has been adjusted as they feel stiffer laterally, but forward flexion has been increased for better range of motion. 

If it's stiffer laterally then it might be a great skate to check out... Are they going to offered as customs sometimes in the summer?

re MAX - is it still heavily forward-pitched comparing to EDGE? even the original Shift was pretty tall so how much taller can it be?!

[VegasHockey 1280]

14 hours ago, SolarWind said:

If it's stiffer laterally then it might be a great skate to check out... Are they going to offered as customs sometimes in the summer?

Yes, they are stiffer laterally. There is multiple option available; retail models, a Pro model, and Full Custom. 

14 hours ago, SolarWind said:

re MAX - is it still heavily forward-pitched comparing to EDGE? even the original Shift was pretty tall so how much taller can it be?!

Yes. 

[SolarWind 23]

12 hours ago, PBH said:

Yes, they are stiffer laterally. There is multiple option available; retail models, a Pro model, and Full Custom.

Is there a reason the catalogue states “shell stiffness level - moderate”? Or does it only apply to retail models? 

[muxed 0]

Funny to see the extra edge angle required to engage mentioned here… I was just noticing this during warmup earlier tonight. For some reason I hadn’t felt it before, or at least hadn’t registered it; have been on flare for a few months now, and can’t imagine using anything else. But yeah. Was confused when I started sliding sideways a bit, and then, “oh, right, need more angle.” Weird.

[kkskate 12]

On 5/8/2022 at 2:53 PM, PBH said:

The more you use them, the more you will realize their benefits. I cannot go back to regular steel at this point. I have the new TRUE Catalyst Pro demo pair, and when I tried to use them, I felt like a baby giraffe on the ice.

The boot is impressive, and the Shift Max holder feels excellent, but they need Flare. 

 

Are the new True models shipping with JRZ blades?

[VegasHockey 1280]

On 5/18/2022 at 10:25 PM, kkskate said:

Are the new True models shipping with JRZ blades?

Yup 

[SolarWind 23]

Does anyone know if Sparx Skate Sharpener can handle Flare’s extra width and angle of the runner?

I originally thought they don’t offer shallow enough rings but upon another search I found 1&1/8 and 1&1/4 so that’s good. 

 

Edited June 12, 2022 by SolarWind

[VegasHockey 1280]

58 minutes ago, SolarWind said:

Does anyone know if Sparx Skate Sharpener can handle Flare’s extra width and angle of the runner?

I originally thought they don’t offer shallow enough rings but upon another search I found 1&1/8 and 1&1/4 so that’s good. 

 

Yes, Sparx works fine with Flare. 

[SolarWind 23]

27 minutes ago, PBH said:

Yes, Sparx works fine with Flare. 

Thanks for confirming!

Since they aren’t cheap do they ever run sales?