Tour Beemer

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

Open

[LickerLongTail 0]

Background - 5'11 190, regular heel, wide forefoot.

Skate size - 9D

League - Men's League, Top Division(highest level, some Rhi players)

Fit- The fit of this skate is awesome. Its is very comfortable out of the box even with out baking them. The stiffner package is excelent for a top end model. It reminds me of the Mission D1c only the forefoot area is stiffer and very stable. I was concerned about the skate breaking down and losing it feel, but it has kept its feel and stiffnes after playing lots of games and pick ups. The tour guys were not joking when they said this was a skate built to last and im impressed. In the Liner department this skate also rocks. It has what Tour calls Mega-Soft quilted liner with EVA foam packets which is nice feeling and has remained soft all this time. The skate also has a wider fit then last yrs Tour skates. I have been skating in a D1c EE skate and im now in a Tour 9D. This may give you an idea of the footbed fit, but its always best to try on a new skate if you can. The Beemer boot is also low cut and may take some getting used to, but it should not be a very big deal in the long run. All in all this is the best skate I have ever owned for Roller Hockey. Rating-10/10

Chassis/Wheels/Bearings- The Beemer comes equiped with the Hum'er Pro Frame by Labeda. If you are not familiar with this frame it uses all 80mm wheels instead of the 72/80 mm setup of the HiLo frame. The skate keeps the same hight as the hiLo setup by using what Tour calls DPS or Direct Power System. This is a cavity in the front portion of the outsole allowing larger 80mm wheels to be recessed into the skate. I did not feel like it took any time to get used to the new setup and I love it just as much if not more then the HL setup. Top end speed is better and I dont notice a loss of starting power or turning agility with the larger wheels, and speaking of the wheels this frame comes with Labeda Dynasty Pro( Labeda's #1 indoor wheel) and Bevo abec 7 bearings. Both are excelent for speed and grip. I am anxious to try some other high end wheels like RR hornets or Revision's and see how they work with this great new frame. Rating-10/10

Weight- This is not a light skate at all. Its not something I notice while playing, but its not very light the first time you pick it up. I would rather have a skate that had a good stiffner package and that fit well then a "light" skate that fell apart after a few skates. Rating-9/10

Protection- I have not taken any hard shots while in these skates, but I have taken a few wicked slashes and not felt anything. I think if I took one in the tounge then it would kill but anywhere else I think the skate could hold it own. Rating 9/10

Durability- Excelent. I have been looking for a pair of skates that would hold up to Tournament and high level play for awhile. I think my search is over finally. The frames are tanks, the boot has remained solid and stiff and the stitching and everything else is going strong. Lets hope it stays this way for a long time.

Rating 9/10

Intangibles- While this is my first pair of Tour skates I have to admit I was skeptical about buying them. Questions like "how will they hold up" or "I wonder how the quality is" were all answered. If you have never owned a pair of Tour skates then this may be the time to consider them. I have been a loyal mission skate user for a long time, but after being "disapointed' with the 950's and sick of making "custom" skates, Tour finally came along with a skate that meets and beats all of my expectations.The only bad thing I have to say is that Axles for the Hum'er are hard to find and are expensive. You have to order them thru Tour and there like 2 bucks a piece, but this is by no means a determining factor for me when I got these skates. Rating 9.5/10

Concluision- This is the best pair of skates I have ever used. I am very pleased with the quality of this skate. It takes everything u expect from a high end skate and delivers the goods big time. The Hum'er frame, the Labeda Dynasty wheels and Bevo abec 7 bearings, the Mega soft liner with EVA foam packets, and the high end stiffner package all rolled up into a fantastic skate that will be worthy of all your skating wants and needs. All I can say is Thank You Tour and keep up the good work. Final rating 9.5/10

Edited March 8, 2005 by LickerLongTail

[tryandstopme 35]

Background - This review will be coming from a noob perspective as opposed to the previous review by LickerLongTail. I previously played inline hockey in a pair of Roces aggressive stakes with Labeda Milleniums on them. I'm 5'11 and 185 lbs.

Skate size - 7.5 D

League - C level beer league

Fit - Outstanding. I have small and narrow feet and I was worried about the wider toe area in the Tours, but this wasn't an issue. I can get the toe area nice and snug. For the first 5 or so times skating in them I would lace them up and skate around a bit and then tighten up the lower laces again. After about the 6th skate, I could get them as snug as I needed on the first shot. I was worried that I'd have floppy ankles after using a rigid stiff hardboot, but I found that the Beemers gave me all of the support that I needed in all the right places. Didn't have to bake them, and they were comfortable out of the box. No chaffing or rubbing, no blisters.

Rating- 10/10

Chassis/Wheels/Bearings - The Hum'er frame looks and feels solid. The one piece axles are a snap to change/rotate wheels. I was using a rockered setup on the hardboots using spacers and the transition to the flat 80mm setup took some getting used to but the gains in stability and stopping were very noticeable. The loss in manueverability on pivots from forwards to backwards skating was noticeable, but once I made a few adjustments on my technique, I preferred the flat setup. The fact that the Beemers are close to 2 pounds lighter per skate than my Roces hardboots made that transition alot easier as well I'm sure. The wheels are nice and grippy and seem to be holding up very nicely. I can't tell the difference in bearing performance from the ABEC 5's that I was using before and the ABEC 7's that came with these skates. Seem about the same to me.

Rating- 10/10

Weight - I came from an aggressive style hardboot skate that weighed 4 pounds per skate. The Beemers feel light as a feather to me, but my viewpoint is a bit skewed since I can't really compare it to another hockey skate. My rating is totally relative.

Rating- 10/10

Protection - I play in a pretty laid back C level beer league so I can't really comment with any authority on this.

Rating - n/a

Durability - The skates have been great. Since I'm pretty much a noob, I don't really put too much strain on the skates and don't really put a skate truly through its paces or push its limits. I play 2-3 times a week so they do get used pretty often. The performance and stiffness of the skates hasn't deteriorated in the slightest and wheels still roll. Thats pretty much all I ask for.

Rating - 10/10

Intangibles - I skated for a season and a half on my Roces hardboots that I got basically for free and in the meantime saved up my money to put towards a good skate that would last. My main concerns were durability/comfort and they had to be 200 bucks or under. The skates that I had access to from friends that fit into this category were the Beemers and the Mission 5500. Both skates felt great, but in the end the Beemers edged the 5500's out because they just felt a little better on my feet.

Rating - 10/10

Conclusion - Epuck.com has the Beemers on closeout for $199.00 and thats a whale of a deal for a skate that was the top of the line model for 2005, so I ordered them up and with shipping wound up spending about 205 bucks. I'm extremely happy with the skates and highly recommend them.

Final rating - 10/10