My "award" for best money spent on new gear....

[gemini8026 1]

Rec player.   On ice 2-3 times a week in the competitive divisions.   Nothing fancy, but love to play and try out new sticks and gear.  Owned 3 or 4 sets of pro stock skates the last few years and settle don 1n's 2 years ago.  Like the boot.  Have gone through 3 sets of LS4 steel.  Cracked on me every time.  Keep a spare pair of LS3's for backup.  Bought and sold every stick/curve I could find, and Ive never had a game changing experience with new sticks.

The other day I broke my LS4 steel on a hard pass off the feet.  Great, another 100$ :s

My local hockey shop Al Andersons had a young guy who said they had a few pairs of Step Steel black that were no longer being produced and he suggested I go with them or just use my LS3 steel and keep the one spare LS4 blade I had.

I worked some overtime recently so I had a few bucks burning a hole in my bank account.  I told him to toss in the Step Steel Black into my 1n's and I would try them out.

Im on my 5th game with them so far, and I couldnt be happier.  Im not sure if it is the extra blade, the radius, the "bite" if thats a thing, or whatever.  But I feel more blade contact, and it gives me more confidence in my turns and I feel I have more power throughout my whole stride.  The ice at my local ASHL facility SUCKS, as they are very busy and do not flood enough or let the ice sit after floods to let it settle.  But with these skates I have more confidence to dig into hard turns.

Once in a while I enjoy comign to the forums to read whats going on with gear so I figured I would toss out a quick post to anyone who hasnt tried this stuff out yet.  Compared to the Bauer Steel, i notice a positive difference!!  

Oh, and after 5 skates, they still have a great edge on them.  I am curious to know when I will need to sharpen!

 

 

 

 

[VegasHockey 1280]

2 minutes ago, gemini8026 said:

Rec player.   On ice 2-3 times a week in the competitive divisions.   Nothing fancy, but love to play and try out new sticks and gear.  Owned 3 or 4 sets of pro stock skates the last few years and settle don 1n's 2 years ago.  Like the boot.  Have gone through 3 sets of LS4 steel.  Cracked on me every time.  Keep a spare pair of LS3's for backup.  Bought and sold every stick/curve I could find, and Ive never had a game changing experience with new sticks.

The other day I broke my LS4 steel on a hard pass off the feet.  Great, another 100$ :s

My local hockey shop Al Andersons had a young guy who said they had a few pairs of Step Steel black that were no longer being produced and he suggested I go with them or just use my LS3 steel and keep the one spare LS4 blade I had.

I worked some overtime recently so I had a few bucks burning a hole in my bank account.  I told him to toss in the Step Steel Black into my 1n's and I would try them out.

Im on my 5th game with them so far, and I couldnt be happier.  Im not sure if it is the extra blade, the radius, the "bite" if thats a thing, or whatever.  But I feel more blade contact, and it gives me more confidence in my turns and I feel I have more power throughout my whole stride.  The ice at my local ASHL facility SUCKS, as they are very busy and do not flood enough or let the ice sit after floods to let it settle.  But with these skates I have more confidence to dig into hard turns.

Once in a while I enjoy comign to the forums to read whats going on with gear so I figured I would toss out a quick post to anyone who hasnt tried this stuff out yet.  Compared to the Bauer Steel, i notice a positive difference!!  

Oh, and after 5 skates, they still have a great edge on them.  I am curious to know when I will need to sharpen!

 

 

 

 

Bauer steel is bleh, STEP, Tydan, Flare, Byonic, RamonEdge, or just about any other aftermarket brand is much better. Good decision 🙂 

[gemini8026 1]

I do have one curiosity though.  The guys told me NOT to hone the edges, and he gave me a piece of leather to rub on the edge which I wasnt sure about.  Anyone have anything they recommend for burrs and such ?

[VegasHockey 1280]

5 minutes ago, gemini8026 said:

I do have one curiosity though.  The guys told me NOT to hone the edges, and he gave me a piece of leather to rub on the edge which I wasnt sure about.  Anyone have anything they recommend for burrs and such ?

A rubber gummi stone, wood, or a leather hone works. No need to use anything abrasive as you'll damage the DLC coating. 

[stick9 891]

Your experience sounds more like it's the profile and less like it's the actual steel itself. The stock Step profile and contour is very playable.

I've skated on LS2, LS3, DLC coated LS3, LS4, LS5, Fusion Edge, Tydan & Step. The Fusion and LS2 were pretty terrible. The real standout has been the LS5. I'd rank it above the Step, Tydan and the coated LS3. The glide on the LS5 is far and away better than the rest. I thought maybe it was just me until a teammate said the exact same thing after switching. Value wise, LS3 is where it's at. 

I picked up a Blacksteel honing kit on eBay for the LS5. Came with a special Stone and a thick leather towel.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/274050767317

Edited January 29, 2020 by stick9

[JimmyTheDriver 36]

20 hours ago, stick9 said:

You experience sounds more like it's the profile and less like it's the actual steel itself. The stock Step profile and contour is very playable.

I've skated on LS2, LS3, DLC coated LS3, LS4, LS5, Fusion Edge, Tydan & Step. The Fusion and LS2 were pretty terrible. The real standout has been the LS5. I'd rank it above the Step, Tydan and the coated LS3. The glide on the LS5 is far and away better than the rest. I thought maybe it was just me until a teammate said the exact same thing after switching. Value wise, LS3 is where it's at. 

I picked up a Blacksteel honing kit on eBay for the LS5. Came with a special Stone and a thick leather towel.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/274050767317

Is the profile/contour of "stock Step" different that the manufacturers stock steel?  I have the CCM XS holders with Speedblade XS1 Black steel.  The replacement Step would be a different profile/contour?  I had always thought it was the same - just different materials.

[stick9 891]

7 minutes ago, JimmyTheDriver said:

Is the profile/contour of "stock Step" different that the manufacturers stock steel?  I have the CCM XS holders with Speedblade XS1 Black steel.  The replacement Step would be a different profile/contour?  I had always thought it was the same - just different materials.

Hard to say, depends on the steel. I know both LS3 and Step come with a 10 foot radius but the overall contour (shape of the blade) is much different. The LS3 has a lot more meat at the toe than Step. When I was using LS3 I had to have the toes shaved then profiled. The Step was fine right out of the box, just sharpen and go.

[JimmyTheDriver 36]

2 minutes ago, stick9 said:

Hard to say, depends on the steel. I know both LS3 and Step come with a 10 foot radius but the overall contour (shape of the blade) is much different. The LS3 has a lot more meat at the toe than Step. When I was using LS3 I had to have the toes shaved then profiled. The Step was fine right out of the box, just sharpen and go.

Interesting, thanks!  I’ll have to order a set and match them up to my new CCM steel.  

[darkhors 88]

23 hours ago, stick9 said:

Your experience sounds more like it's the profile and less like it's the actual steel itself. The stock Step profile and contour is very playable.

I've skated on LS2, LS3, DLC coated LS3, LS4, LS5, Fusion Edge, Tydan & Step. The Fusion and LS2 were pretty terrible. The real standout has been the LS5. I'd rank it above the Step, Tydan and the coated LS3. The glide on the LS5 is far and away better than the rest. I thought maybe it was just me until a teammate said the exact same thing after switching. Value wise, LS3 is where it's at. 

I picked up a Blacksteel honing kit on eBay for the LS5. Came with a special Stone and a thick leather towel.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/274050767317

I would strongly disagree that the LS5 is better than any of the aftermarket steel. It's definitely the best steel Bauer makes, but that's not hard to do when the rest of your steel is hot garbage. The LS5 sharpens decently well and doesn't burr too much, but it still doesn't hold an edge as long as Step, Tydan or Flare. The blacksteel hone and leather strop is where it's at for any coated steel.

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

My "award" for best money spent on new gear has gotta be my own skate sharpener (first a Blackstone X01 and now a Sparx).  It is so nice to get consistent sharpens for the family whenever I want.  Well worth the money spent.

[Leif 161]

15 hours ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

My "award" for best money spent on new gear has gotta be my own skate sharpener (first a Blackstone X01 and now a Sparx).  It is so nice to get consistent sharpens for the family whenever I want.  Well worth the money spent.

Yup, Sparx here too. Next best purchase is top end skates. 

However, my best money spent award goes to skating lessons which are massively improving my skating. 

[218hockey 50]

I've got two sets of LS5's. I only purchased the second set because that's what the 2S Pro's came with. In hindsight I wish I would have initially sold the LS5's and purchased two sets of Massive Blade Black steel. Sooooo much better.

[asgoodasdead 74]

step steel is always worth the money. i've thrown them in 3 pairs of skates at this point

[gemini8026 1]

Well that didnt last long.  Got about 4 skates in on them and then a random pass off the blade completely destroyed it.  My luck this year has been ass!  Dont think they have any more in stick either :s.  

[psulion22 402]

IF you keep breaking steel, it's likely because your holders aren't mounted correctly.

[gemini8026 1]

Im going to get them to check this (holder issues).  I went in but they had no replacement step steel black.  Im curious if there is by chance something in the holder that is causing a pressure point!  They have a set of Marsblades on display at the counter and I may need to try them out instead 😄  Except for 400$ installed, Ive already wasted enough money this month.

[asgoodasdead 74]

damn, i've broke a runner once in my entire 24 years playing hockey

[gemini8026 1]

Just call a call from LHS.  No step steel in stock OR at the supplier.  So I literally got to skate on the blades 4 times, REALLY LIKE THEM, and then have them break and be told there is no replacement.  the local shop can only replace them with LS5 or lower so color me disappointed. Bummer

[Sniper9 530]

Whatever you get will just break again at the rate you're going at. The common denominator is looking less likely like a random steel issue. I take passes off my skate all the time and have never broken step Steel. Or any steel in the last decade, ls2 and ls3 included. 

[z1ggy 81]

So this sounds like your 4th or 5th broken steel on this skate.... your holders are probably misaligned, putting stress on the blade and then once a big force like a puck hits it... snap. I've had multiple pairs of step for years and years now, not a single issue. 

[Giltis 116]

I would at this point to eliminate all factors, switch to a CCM holder 4.0 or XS.

Then if there were any misalignment, that should resolve it. Not to mention the fact that Stepsteel will now be available to you in the future.