LS4 blades keep breaking ... best alternative?

[JONES199 6]

My kid has busted two LS4 blades in a week.  One in each skate.  He doesn't want Step Steel as he has had them in the past and found it too difficult to get in and out of the standard holders.  What would be less likely to break LS5 or Tydan blades?

[strosedefence34 175]

LS3 if you want to stick with Bauer

[JONES199 6]

Looking to stay with the taller blade.  He boots out on the shorter ones.

[JONES199 6]

Thanks much.  Size is 254.  I need to do some research on Massive, Byonic and Flare.

[VegasHockey 1280]

1 hour ago, JONES199 said:

Thanks much.  Size is 254.  I need to do some research on Massive, Byonic and Flare.

http://www.bbyonic.com

https://massiveblade.com/

https://flareskateblade.com/

Obviously , there is Step Steel and Tydan as well. 

Edited October 22, 2018 by Nicholas G

[strosedefence34 175]

3 hours ago, JONES199 said:

Looking to stay with the taller blade.  He boots out on the shorter ones.

LS3 and LS4 are the same height. 

[darkhors 88]

I know you said you had issues with Step being tough to get in, but I can't express how impressed I've been with my Blacksteel (I also use Edge holders). It really is a great product. I'm not against massive or tydan, but you can find Blacksteel for cheaper than both of those if you look around.

[stick9 890]

Should be noted, if you go LS3, you will need to have them profiled. The heels and toes are brutal. I found the LS4 to be much more playable out of the box.

Also, are you sure you're getting the updated LS4 and not the old LS4 that had breakage issues?

[JONES199 6]

The blades are always profiled so not an issue.

[JR Boucicaut 3799]

16 minutes ago, stick9 said:

Also, are you sure you're getting the updated LS4 and not the old LS4 that had breakage issues?

That steel never saw the light of day aftermarket-wise.  

[JONES199 6]

I am not.  One blade that broke was original to the skates purchased in June 2018 at Pro Hockey Life.  The other set where purchased in August 2018 from a shop in New England that is very particular. 

[JR Boucicaut 3799]

Have you checked the mount?  Like...how did the steel break?  

There's quite a few factors, but just want to eliminate all of them as much as possible.  Step can be tough to put in (so is LS3), Tydan and Byonik are easier in that regard; Byonic is a bit taller than LS2 but not the tall steel you're looking for.

 

[JONES199 6]

One was in the left skate the other in the right so I don't think it's a bad holder.  One was a passed puck the other he has no idea.  The kid's away from home so I need it to be easy to put in.

[VegasHockey 1280]

Bauer should replace them under warranty if they are less than a year old. They have always been good to me about such. 

[JR Boucicaut 3799]

It’s been 90 days since last year. Used to be a year. 

Tydan and Step both do 1 year. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

22 hours ago, JR Boucicaut said:

It’s been 90 days since last year. Used to be a year. 

Tydan and Step both do 1 year. 

Are you sure? I think steel.amd holders are still under 1 year. If not, can you link me to such. 

[mojo122 535]

JR is correct.  1 year on the holders and 90 days on steel.  Use to be on Bauer's website before they turned that URL into an online store.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

On 10/22/2018 at 5:33 PM, JONES199 said:

One was in the left skate the other in the right so I don't think it's a bad holder.  One was a passed puck the other he has no idea.  The kid's away from home so I need it to be easy to put in.

I would get Step XL 254 black. Similar to 4 but pitched forward already and a good profile out if the box. But before you do anything get the left holder realigned. I would say 85% of my replacements are Bauer left skates. Breaking right ahead of the trigger. 

[JR Boucicaut 3799]

1 hour ago, Nicholas G said:

Are you sure? I think steel.amd holders are still under 1 year. If not, can you link me to such. 

Positive. They quietly made the change last year. 

 

[VegasHockey 1280]

11 hours ago, JR Boucicaut said:

Positive. They quietly made the change last year. 

 

So the holder is covered for one year and the steel is now 90 days. Sneaky. 

[Flare Skate Blade 0]

JONES199, if it's not too late Flare has a 1-year warranty on our steel and we are the only blade company that offers a 30-day money back satisfaction guarantee. We are confident that you will notice and benefit from the advantages our blade provides, and to date we have had very few returns!

Flare Blades were scientifically proven to provide skating benefits, namely increases in speed, acceleration, and glide turns due to our proven 21% decrease in friction. The skater is also able to turn at deeper and tighter (due to our 6 degree flared steel), and the blades are much more stable given that we are 50% wider than standard blades. We also are the same height as Step, and are made of super high quality knife grade steel.

Let me know if you have any questions!

[Flare Skate Blade 0]

On 10/22/2018 at 3:33 PM, JONES199 said:

One was in the left skate the other in the right so I don't think it's a bad holder.  One was a passed puck the other he has no idea.  The kid's away from home so I need it to be easy to put in.

JONES199, forgot to hit "Quote", please see my message above!

[CigarScott 132]

On 10/22/2018 at 8:43 AM, JONES199 said:

He doesn't want Step Steel as he has had them in the past and found it too difficult to get in and out of the standard holders.  

Once you break in the holder, Step is no harder to get in and out as stock steel. You may need to invest in a $12 heat gun to warm up the holders and dead blow hammer to get the steel in the first time but once you take them out and put them in a couple times, I don't notice a difference.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

On 10/22/2018 at 9:43 AM, JONES199 said:

My kid has busted two LS4 blades in a week.  One in each skate.  He doesn't want Step Steel as he has had them in the past and found it too difficult to get in and out of the standard holders.  What would be less likely to break LS5 or Tydan blades?

I would still be checking holder straightness 

[Leif 161]

11 hours ago, CigarScott said:

Once you break in the holder, Step is no harder to get in and out as stock steel. You may need to invest in a $12 heat gun to warm up the holders and dead blow hammer to get the steel in the first time but once you take them out and put them in a couple times, I don't notice a difference.

Maybe he could shove the runners in the freezer beforehand, and wear gloves when putting them in. I have step and standard Bauer holders, no issues swapping blades, but obviously there are sample variations.