Powerfly Holders

[skates73 3]

It's rounding towards a year and a half since the Powerfly holders have come out.  Is there a consensus as to whether these are actually good and here to stay?  From what I hear it has very mixed reviews.

Some say they can't feel any difference.  Some say it's noticeable different and they don't like it and switched them out for the old LS Edge.  Only a few (i've heard) say they are actually better or an upgrade.  And a few said they didn't like the runners that come with the new holder, which is weird because I'd assume they're pretty much the same as the Pulse and Pulse Ti.  I do recall LAST year that I heard quite a lot of guys did just switch the new holders out for the LS Edge.  Not sure if people have warmed up to them now or if it's going to get phased out because I'm still hearing very mixed reviews.  

[mojo122 535]

What's your sample size?  

I'm not getting negative feedback in my area.  

Those that are telling you they don't like what is the reason?

Fly TI is the same as Pulse TI except for the geometry.  Fly X isn't polished like LS Pulse was.  

[skates73 3]

3 hours ago, mojo122 said:

What's your sample size?  

I'm not getting negative feedback in my area.  

Those that are telling you they don't like what is the reason?

Fly TI is the same as Pulse TI except for the geometry.  Fly X isn't polished like LS Pulse was.  

Not a big sample size from people I spoke with.  Maybe 15.  But a few of those people also tell me they've heard the similar trend from others.

Mostly it sounds like it's too stiff and just doesn't "feel right" for those who don't like it.  But, as I said, some don't even feel a difference.

As far as last year, I just remember hearing about guys switching out the Powerflys for Tuuks early on when the Hyperlite 2s came out.  Maybe saw that online somewhere.  Seemed like NHLers were seen with the Hyperlite 2s but with the Tuuks on them.

It's kind of why I wanted to ask the question here.  Im wondering if a larger sample size would indicate it's actually largely well liked.  Or maybe "meh, no difference".  There just seems to be not nearly as much opinions out there on the internet regarding the Hyperlite 2s as compared to what the Hyperlite OG had.  There were a lot of opinions of people loving the OG hyperlites with some hating the tongue. 

Edited September 1 by skates73

[mojo122 535]

17 hours ago, skates73 said:

As far as last year, I just remember hearing about guys switching out the Powerflys for Tuuks early on when the Hyperlite 2s came out.  Maybe saw that online somewhere.  Seemed like NHLers were seen with the Hyperlite 2s but with the Tuuks on them.

I know of a couple of customers who swapped out holders because they had multiple sets of profiled Pulse TI and factored the cost of new holders and the swap over that of new steel and profiles.  

PowerFly holder is definitely stiffer, more so in the front tower, but I haven't experienced anything negative on the ice over the 18 months I've been on them. 

[GoalForFun 176]

While having a larger sample size is always good, I don’t know if MSH has enough technically sound skaters that would be able to give you an accurate assessment lol

It would be like asking the hockeyplayers subreddit their thoughts about the on-ice Marsblade. Based on the initial impressions of those who got the holder, you’d think it was the best technological advancement in skate technology since boots went from leather to composite, and now look how many people are actually using it.

Edited September 12 by GoalForFun

[skates73 3]

15 hours ago, GoalForFun said:

While having a larger sample size is always good, I don’t know if MSH has enough technically sound skaters that would be able to give you an accurate assessment lol

It would be like asking the hockeyplayers subreddit their thoughts about the on-ice Marsblade. Based on the initial impressions of those who got the holder, you’d think it was the best technological advancement in skate technology since boots went from leather to composite, and now look how many people are actually using it.

Point taken 🙂.  It is interesting to see that even now, in the midst of NHL training camp over a year since the Powerfly's been out, that I'm still seeing so many NHL players using the LS Edge holders. 

[JR Boucicaut 3795]

On 9/12/2024 at 4:16 PM, skates73 said:

Point taken 🙂.  It is interesting to see that even now, in the midst of NHL training camp over a year since the Powerfly's been out, that I'm still seeing so many NHL players using the LS Edge holders. 

Do understand that in most cases, the NHL adoption rate is driven by convenience, not performance.  

[skates73 3]

2 hours ago, JR Boucicaut said:

Do understand that in most cases, the NHL adoption rate is driven by convenience, not performance.  

Interesting point, I would have thought it would be the other way around.  Performance over all else.  I'd imagine for them, it'd be simple enough to just get their equipment guys to change the holders in and out to test out in practice or even the offseason.  My assumption was that most of them have already tried the new Powerflys and for some reason did not want to switch.  But I suppose, reflecting on your comment of convenience, the mindset for some is, "if it ain't broke...", and they haven't even tested out the Powerflys, possibly.  

[GoalForFun 176]

The flip side of my comment is that pros are so good that they can excel with just about any gear and incremental changes don't affect performance as significantly as you would see in another sport like Formula 1 which is dependent on fractions of seconds.  Now, will they be able to articulate the differences they feel between the two holders (as is the type of feedback that you're looking for)? Absolutely. But would their performance be significantly different enough to compel a pro to use one over the other?  Probably not, but there are many players who are superstitious about their gear and almost never change anything.

See: Crosby and McDavid are two of the best skaters of the salary cap era and they skate on old CCM tech.

 

Edited September 17 by GoalForFun

[Hills 712]

On 9/17/2024 at 10:17 AM, GoalForFun said:

The flip side of my comment is that pros are so good that they can excel with just about any gear and incremental changes don't affect performance as significantly as you would see in another sport like Formula 1 which is dependent on fractions of seconds.  Now, will they be able to articulate the differences they feel between the two holders (as is the type of feedback that you're looking for)? Absolutely. But would their performance be significantly different enough to compel a pro to use one over the other?  Probably not, but there are many players who are superstitious about their gear and almost never change anything.

See: Crosby and McDavid are two of the best skaters of the salary cap era and they skate on old CCM tech.

 

Lots of pros make awful decisions though and their thoughts shouldn't necessarily matter. Like pro goalies that take a sweet stick to a fresh sharpening job to "finish it off"

I'd say Crosby and McDavid are prime examples of "newer gear isn't necessarily better." We've seen Bauer go from full composite outsoles to a mix of plastic and composite outsoles. So sometimes their ideas of upgrades might not really have the positive effect for everyone. If I could go back to an FT1 or earlier stiffness skate I would in a heartbeat.

[mojo122 535]

I would just add that updated models are driven more to the retail market than the pro level.  Looking at sticks and skates ,we are now seeing tweaks to the top line models and not what I would call any groundbreaking.  Take the Bauer X5 Pro and M50 Pro skates.  Basically a reskinned 3X Pro and M5 Pro with the new PowerFly holders.