Dave P 18 Report post Posted December 2, 2019 I'd never heard of Blade Tech before.....just got a random e-mail about them. At first look seems like some of the same ideas as Marsblade, anybody have thoughts about this? Are we headed for the era of spring loaded blades? Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VegasHockey 1280 Report post Posted December 2, 2019 6 hours ago, Dave P said: I'd never heard of Blade Tech before.....just got a random e-mail about them. At first look seems like some of the same ideas as Marsblade, anybody have thoughts about this? Are we headed for the era of spring loaded blades? Dave BladeTech has been around for quite a long time. The idea is similar in a way but not exactly the same. Marsblade is basically building a suspension into the holder allowing the steel to shift with the weight of the player. They control the movement with a carbon fibre torsion bar that's installed into the holder. The stiffness of it and the range of motion are all adjustable. BladeTech is instead introducing steel that allows movement, the steel runner can "flex up" into the holder and which can provide a bit of leverage, decrease impact force, and in theory it will "spring back" releasing stored energy. IMO, these are both very much version 1.0 products. They both have good ideas on paper, but there is design flaws in both currently when you are playing at a very high level of hockey. I imagine Marsblade will be releasing a new version in the next 12 months that will be significantly lighter and more simple in design, and it will allow for greater movement. Currently only the heel of the holders technically have "motion." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giltis 116 Report post Posted December 3, 2019 (edited) The original BladeTech used a proprietary holder design and had a spring if I remember correctly. The Current one doesn't and uses a thinner portion to rebound. The current BladeTech seems pretty popular for what it is where I live (way behind Step and Byonic). I was thinking of putting them on my Outdoor skates as I'm hoping it acts as a dampener against all the bumps and ridges. Edited December 3, 2019 by Giltis Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VegasHockey 1280 Report post Posted December 3, 2019 17 minutes ago, Giltis said: The original BladeTech used a proprietary holder design and had a spring if I remember correctly. The Current one doesn't and uses a thinner portion to rebound. The current BladeTech seems pretty popular for what it is where I live (way behind Step and Byonic). I was thinking of putting them on my Outdoor skates as I'm hoping it acts as a dampener against all the bumps and ridges. While I think the quality of their steel (BladeTech) is fantastic, especially the DLC coated blades, I didn't "feel" anything at all when I used them. Same with customers who we ordered them for. The steel does sharpen amazing and hold a great edge though but it's a little heavy. If the price was less than competitors I would carry them in store. I would highly recommend Flare steel. They work amazing for outdoor ice. https://flareskateblade.com/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giltis 116 Report post Posted December 3, 2019 (edited) 5 minutes ago, SkateWorksPNW said: While I think the quality of their steel (BladeTech) is fantastic, especially the DLC coated blades, I didn't "feel" anything at all when I used them. Same with customers who we ordered them for. The steel does sharpen amazing and hold a great edge though but it's a little heavy. If the price was less than competitors I would carry them in store. I would highly recommend Flare steel. They work amazing for outdoor ice. https://flareskateblade.com/ I absolutely would love to try Flare for both indoors and out. I even have someone in EDM that wants to ship me a pair as a gift, but having spoken to the sharpener that I go to, he half-refuses to sharpen them. Maybe I'll just stick with Step, I dunno, it's not a big rush for now. Edited December 3, 2019 by Giltis Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VegasHockey 1280 Report post Posted December 3, 2019 11 minutes ago, Giltis said: I absolutely would love to try Flare for both indoors and out. I even have someone in EDM that wants to ship me a pair as a gift, but having spoken to the sharpener that I go to, he half-refuses to sharpen them. Maybe I'll just stick with Step, I dunno, it's not a big rush for now. They would sharpen them just the same as any other steel. You can even do it on a Sparx. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giltis 116 Report post Posted December 3, 2019 I get that, my sharpener doesn't. One of the many reasons that I'm tempted to get a Sparx. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VegasHockey 1280 Report post Posted December 3, 2019 1 minute ago, Giltis said: I get that, my sharpener doesn't. One of the many reasons that I'm tempted to get a Sparx. Man, that would drive me nuts. There has to be more than a single guy in your area that sharpens though, right? The good news is with Flare you don't have to sharpen them often. You could probably get away with getting two sets and just sending them out. I would sharpen them for you for free. lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giltis 116 Report post Posted December 3, 2019 He is probably the only good sharpener in my immediate area. The best in the city is a bit far from me (45 mins). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites