We have the solution

Simps Skate Shop has introduced a service that disinfects and deodorizes bacteria infested sports gear worn in hockey, football and lacrosse. These sanitizing services are also able to clean fire fighters bunkers and police officers bullet proof vests as they use this process as part of a hygiene regimen that also extends the life of their gear. The Fresh Gear C35 machine forces ozone, with high volume and velocity, straight into the gear, penetrating deep into the dense padding and hard to reach places like gloves and skates. Thus enabling ozone to kill up to 99.99% of the bacteria lurking there.

The patent-pending process takes 20 minutes to sanitize and deodorize the equipment. Eliminating nasty odors and leaving the gear smelling fresh. Ozonation is a widely used method of eradicating bacteria in drinking water, food preparation, hospitals and health care facilities.

Is your equipment putting you at RISK

North America is faced with a looming epidemic of infections caused by a deadly bacteria known as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Recent studies published by JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), have found that infections caused by MRSA appears to be more prevalent than previously believed. It is being found in schools, locker rooms and in high contact sports. “We estimate that 94,360 invasive MRSA infections occurred in the United States in 2005; these infections were associated with death in 18,650 cases,” says the JAMA article. For additional information on where Fresh Gear services are offered and what you can do to prevent MRSA infections, visit www.FreshGear.ca

How much bacteria is generated after each use?

Significant bacteria is introduced to our clothing or sports gear each time we sweat. However, what we do with the gear after we sweat into it can be an even greater contributor to bacteria buildup. What storage conditions contribute to rapid bacteria cultivation? Bacteria thrives in warm, wet and dark conditions like hockey bags and locker rooms. Washing the pads with a “pressure washer”

would only add more moisture to the gear and toxic black mold may result.

How can you reduce the risks of these infections?

(1) CLEAN REGULARLY: NATA (National Athletic Trainers Association) official direction is to clean athletic clothing after each use and clean protective sports gear REGULARLY. To be safe, we recommend sanitizing your gear every 6 weeks or 15-20 uses. Ask about the Ultimate Clean Package It provides UNLIMITED cleaning for 1 full year.

(2)AIR OUT YOUR GEAR

We recommend drying your equipment in a cool, dry and well ventilated location after each use. Get it out of the equipment bag! That is probably the worst place for your gear.

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I have wondered what is causing this to happen. We all know that hockey is an expensive sport. With registration, ice time and equipment. You need to be dedicated and committed to the sport for your child to play. I am going to be asking for  your ideas to help me come up with ways to Grow this Amazing Game. We all love it and have a passion for it.  So that every child who wants to play gets to play.

I play hockey with a group of people on Monday nights in Lasalle. We do not keep score or have refs. We just have fun score goals make mistakes and enjoy being out on the ice. We play with a few people who have never played organized hockey before and make some pretty big  etiquette mistakes. They truly love the game. I bet if we asked them they wish they would have played all their lives but circumstance prohibited them from playing. It would be my dream that a  bunch of kids could start playing right now with the same passion as these guys play with. I am asking as a passionate hockey fan that we do all we can to eliminate these circumstances so that all kids that want to play can play.

I do not have all the answers. Heck I do not know if I even have all the questions.

I would be looking for some feed back from any of my readers. Please pass this on to anyone you think might have some influence, ideas financial contributions or just the same passion to make this everything it can be.

The blade will feel slippery on the lower edge. If you can believe the human body can compensate for this two thousands of an inch fairly easily but as the skate is farther out of square it becomes signigicantly more difficult to compensate.

Skating straight ahead will be fine if the inside edge is the higher edge however if you tried to turn either left or right it will be difficult. If you are outside edges are high starting out or trying to skate straight ahead will be difficult. Turning will also be difficult in this case because you will only have one skate working for you during your turn. This difficulty becomes compounded when each skate is different. It would be further compounded when what I like to call blade roll when at the front the outside edge is high and the back inside edge is high so the skate is even acting differently front to back.

Square blade sharpening is very important to all skaters beginner to uexpert. This will help make your trip to the arena more enjoyable. These extra compensations will tire you out and have you thinking about your skates instead of your skating experience. It is very import to us at simps skate shop that you have an enjoyable time every time you go to the rink. It is important to us that you get our best skate sharpening each and every time.

For years skate sharpeners used a dime or a quarter to check whether a skate was square. They have know for years that it is important they just did not know why. Now you do.

The Maximum Edge quick square is a tool designed to measure how far out of square the skate is. Every skate that leaves Simps Skate Shop is checked both front and back to ensure that the blade is square. This is step six  of the Maximum Edge Performance Standard. This is  a seven step process to ensure that the skating public getting a Maximum Edge Skate Sharpening will always be the same no matter where it is done.

Have fun and play hard.

Your friendly skate consultant

Jeff Simpson

Co owner Simps Skate Shop

A true composite stick will be made of a very high content of graphite. A three hundred dollar stick will have around ninety five percent graphite. It will have very good balance. This means that the blade is not significantly heavier than the shaft. Today, stick companies have advanced the way the stick works. For example Warrior wraps the graphite differently to get better results.  The have even created sticks with two kick points one very high in the shaft and one down at the bottom. Some companies are using different flex points gradually up the stick. Creating more stiffness at the top and more flex/ whip at the bottom. Sticks are no longer acting the way a wood stick would react. Generating more power with less energy.

It does take a while to zone the stick back to start shooting accurately again. This occurs because of advances in the blades making them stiffer. Some companies have gone to reinforcing the hozel (the point where the blade and shaft meet) to reduce torque and create more power transfer. This means the blade stays in position longer and more energy is transferred to the puck. This making your shot harder.

Some companies have tried different ways to make the graphite feel more like wood by putting foam in the blade to help with vibration dampening. This will give the stick better feel.

Some players do not like the feel of a smooth stick so the have added a grip or tackiness to the stick side so once your shoot the stick does not turn into your hand opening the face of the blade and causing your shot to become less accurate.

Hope you have found this useful

Until Next time

Jeff Simpson

Your Skate Consultant

Dec 12th- I headed into the world junior orientation camp on December 12th. Going into the camp I was pretty nervous, but I was also very excited. Arriving at the airport in Regina was pretty cool. We were welcomed by all sorts of media representatives from all over. It was pretty overwhelming, but at the same time I felt honoured to be there. Once we left the airport we headed right to our hotel to get settled in for a few days.

Dec 13th- on the 13th we had our first ice time bright and early. We arrived at the rink around nine in the morning, where we had to be fitted for all of our new equipment. That night was our first chance to put an impression on the coaching staff in the red and white game. I was nervous heading into the game but once I got a few shifts out of the way I settled right in. I was playing on the team white, along with teammates Greg Nemisz, Taylor Hall and Ryan Ellis. We ended up winning our first game 3-2 over the team red.

Dec 14th- tonight we had our second big game of camp, another rematch of red vs. white. After the first game the night before, our team was feeling more confident heading into the contest. You were still able to feel the nervous energy around the rink as all of the players had heard rumours of cuts being made after the second game. I knew that tonight had to be my best game or that it could be my last for team Canada. Fortunately the game went very well. My line of Greg, Taylor and myself ended up having a great game, combining for ten points as team white won 6-4.

Dec 15th- unfortunately everyone didn’t make it through the night. This morning was the first set of cuts from team Canada, luckily I made it through. Among the first players cut were Tyler Seguin and John Macfarland of the OHL. Tonight is the last chance to impress the Canadian coaching staff as there is only one game left in camp. We are playing the University of Regina’s CIS team. The game didn’t go as planned. We didn’t play as well as we wanted to and ended up losing the game 5-3. Tonight not many of the players are going to get much sleep and the final cuts come in the morning. I was up all night going over the final roster in my head just hoping that I would be on it and be able to get a chance to represent Canada at the World Junior tournament.

Dec 16th- I made the team!! This morning I didn’t receive the dreaded phone call from the coaches to pack my bags and come down for a meeting. Instead, I got the knock on my door that I was waiting for all night from the ass. coach. Finally one of my dreams had come true. I am getting the chance to represent Canada at the world juniors for the first time. Today might have been the busiest day of the entire tournament. The entire team was overwhelmed with media throughout the whole day. This might have been the greatest news that I have gotten in maybe my entire life.

Dec 17th- 19th – on the 17th, we moved out of our hotel for a few days and headed to the RCMP Depot camp in Regina. Here we would participate in many team building activities, which would build and strengthen us as a team. Our first objective was to move into our dorms. Little did we know that the entire team would be living under one roof, in one big room with 25 beds? This seemed to be a little rougher start to the trip than we had planned, and I think most of the guys were wishing that we had never left the hotel. The second objective during our stay was to meet the ever so hated staff sergeant. Our first encounter with the staff sergeant was in a small gym where he immediately began yelling at us. This tall skinny man with a huge hat and a huge mustache entered the gym and began shouting out orders. We then figured out about 30 seconds to late that he wanted us to line up from tallest to shortest. Apparently we took too long and we had our first set of push ups on the day. We ended up marching around this gym for two hours, and still didn’t seem to have done anything right. The staff sergeant was still yelling at us by the end of the day. Our second day at DEPOT was packed with activities. We had our first practice as a team, but the thing everyone was most excited for was we were going to get a chance to shoot some guns. We were lucky enough to be put through some police training activities where we had the chance to drive simulation police cars and shoot some fake hand guns. Next we went to the range to have a little contest. The top eight shooters on the team would be able to shoot a machine gun. The first round of shooting was with a 9mm handgun. I ended up moving on into the second group, where I was able to shoot a semi-automatic rifle. This was definitely one the highlights of my entire trip. On our third and final day at DEPOT, our team had to lead all of the troops in a parade. We had been practicing for it during the last couple of days. Everyone seemed a little nervous before, but we pulled it off with only a couple of little mistakes. This was our final task of team building before we left DEPOT and headed back to our hotel for a few pre-competition games against Sweden, Finland and the Czechs.

Dec 20th – Today is our first pre tournament game against Sweden. Everyone is very excited and really looking forward to it. I myself and a little bit nervous about the game, but I can’t wait to get on the ice. We are also wearing our new green Canada jerseys which are really cool. We ended up playing great and winning our first game 6-3. This was a huge boost for our team’s confidence as Sweden was ranked favourites to win the tournament. Dec 21st- After our big win against Sweden, we are heading to Calgary for a tilt against Finland. It will be a pretty cool game as we get a chance to play in the Sattledome, home of the Calgary Flames.

Dec 22nd- Tonight is another tough challenge for our team. We are facing Finland, who always has a solid squad. As we were getting dressed for our morning skate, Jerome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf came into our room to talk to us. They both had their experience at the World Juniors and shared them with our team. Of coarse when they walked in the room went completely silent. It was an honour to be able to listen to these two guys share their stories with our team. Heading into our game tonight, we are feeling very confident after our big win against the Swedes but we know that we can’t underestimate the Fins. The game was a battle, the fins play the same hard and intense style of game that we do. We weren’t about to back down to a challenge though, and ended up winning the game 4-2. After the game we had to catch a flight and head right back to Regina and play the Czech Republic tomorrow night.

Dec 23rd- Last night was a very late night. After our game we headed to a restaurant to eat and we were supposed to fly out immediately after, but our flight was delayed an hour due to a storm. We didn’t get back to our hotel until 3:30 am and we had a game tonight. Unfortunately I am not playing in the game tonight due to an upper body injury. All the guys seem pretty tired after a very late night, but I know that they will not give in tonight and I’m sure that we will come out with another win against the Czechs. While I was sitting out during the game, I had the chance to meet Pierre McGuire and Gord Miller. It was pretty cool getting the chance to meet the guys you see every day on t.v. I was also sitting with team Canada’s head scout Al Murray. We pretty much just sat, watched the game and talked hockey stats the whole time. We ended up winning the game 3- 2.

Dec 24th- Christmas Eve. After a successful pre-tournament record of 3-0, we finally have a day off. It’s Christmas Eve, and everyone is very excited about Christmas. Since no one is home for Christmas, the Saskatoon Blades owner invited us all for Christmas dinner at his ranch. We had a very good home cooked meal, which we hadn’t had in a very long time and headed back to the hotel for our team Christmas. Once back at the hotel, Hockey Canada had set up a Christmas for the team. It was almost like being home as we received a bunch of great gifts. Santa and one of his elves even showed up to hand them out to the team. It ended up being one of my greatest Christmas moments, and one that I will never forget.

Dec 25th- Christmas!! Today is Christmas, and we are only a day away from the start of the tournament. Tomorrow is the opening game against Latvia. This morning is a little bit different than every other Christmas I have had. Obviously I am not at home for it so it’s a little sad, but on the other hand it’s also one of the greatest Christmas’ that I will ever remember. Everyone is a little nervous for the game coming up, but also very excited. Dec 26th-Jan 5th- we have our first game of the tournament tonight, everyone is a little tense around the hotel. As the game got closer and closer, I began getting more and more nervous. Once finally entering the arena my nerves started to calm down a bit. And once we hit the ice I felt right at home and the nerves seemed to disappear. The game ended up fairly lopsided, we won 16-0. Our next game is against the Swiss. They will definitely be a harder challenge, but one that we cannot look past. They have two players that will be participating in the Olympic games this year for Switzerland. This game was a little closer, we still managed to come out on top 6-0. At this point in the tournament we have tons of confidence. We haven’t let up a goal yet and we have been rolling through the competition. Although we still have our toughest challenges ahead.

We have our toughest test of the tournament coming up against the Americans, but first we play the Slovaks. They have a good team and will be tough to play against. During this game, my spitfire teammates and I will be playing against one of our own teammates Richard Panik. The game against the Slovaks went very well. Every game our team is becoming better and better. We won 8- 2, Panik scored one of the Slovakian goals.

This is the game that everyone in Canada has been looking forward to. We are playing the Americans on New years eve. Every year during the tournament this is the biggest game. Heading into the game I don’t really know what to expect. I know the crowd is going to be louder than ever, and that there will be millions of people watching all over the country. We know the Americans have one of the best teams in the tournament and it will be our toughest test to date. The game was very close. We were down 2 goals late in the game. We came back and tied the game to send it to overtime. I’ve never heard a louder building in my life. It was one of the greatest feelings that I have ever experienced. No one scored in overtime so the game was headed to a shootout. I’ve never been more nervous during a hockey game than I was at this point. I was confident in our shooters and our goalie. Jordan Eberle was up first. He scored and we were up 1-0. The Americans tied it up 1-1 after their first shooter. Next up was Nazem Kadri. He scored again to give us back the lead, 2-1. Next up the Americans tied the game yet again. 2-2. Our third and final shooter was Brandon Kozun. We took the lead right back. 3-2. Now all we needed was a stop to win the game. Our goalie Jake Allen came up big and made a huge save. We won the game 5-4 in a shootout. This was one of the greatest games that I have ever played in.

We have successfully got through the round robin 4-0. We earned ourselves a buy to the semi finals. Now that we have earned a semi-final birth, it will be nice to get a couple days of rest. We are not sure yet of who we are going to be playing, but it is between the Russians and the Swiss. Everyone thought that the Russians would have a sure win, but team Switzerland came up with the biggest upset of the tournament and pulled off an overtime win. Now, heading into the semi finals with our confidence at an all time high, we are not going to let the Swiss get in our way of what we came here to do. We are only one game away from the finals, and winning the gold medal has been our goal since day one. We have already played and beaten the Swiss in the round robin, but we know that this game will be completely different. This game there is a spot in the finals on the line. We knew that if we played the same style of game that we have been playing all tournament long that we would come out on top and find ourselves in the gold medal game. That’s exactly what we did and we won the game 4-2. The Gold medal game With a big win in the other semi final matchup, we play the Americans in the finals, a rematch of New Years Eve. To this point in my young hockey career this is definitely the biggest game of my life. I have always dreamed of playing for team Canada and winning a gold medal, and now it’s right in front of me.

This is the matchup that everyone wanted to see in the gold medal game. it is arguably the biggest rival in hockey history, and it always seems to be a great game against the Americans. I was more nervous than I can ever remember before the start of this game. This will be one of the games that I will remember for the rest of my life. The Americans jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. We knew that the game was going to be a battle, and we dug ourselves a whole early. Before the end of the period we got one goal back, scored by Luke Adam and headed into the first intermission down 2-1. Going into the second period down one goal we knew we were going to have to pick up the pace of the game. Half way through the period we tied the game 2-2. This was a huge confidence booster and gave us a chance to take our first lead of the game. The game has been back and forth all night so far. Both teams have had great scoring chances, and the Americans have already switched goalies. After two periods of play the game was tied 2-2. Heading into the third period tied up at two was good. All we had to do was win twenty minutes and we were the champions. But things quickly turned in the third and we found ourselves down two goals yet again. Now we have changed up goalies, as the Americans did earlier in the game. it was going to be a battle to get back in the game, but we were a confident group. Late in the game Jordan Eberle once again came up huge a scored back to back goals. Once we had tied the game the crowd erupted. I have never heard a louder building in my life. At this point we had no doubt in our minds that we were going to win the game, but we would have to do it in overtime. Early in the overtime period we had a three on one. Surely I thought we were going to score and be champions. There was a slap shot from the wing and a huge rebound popped out and turned the Americans back the other way for their own three on one. Sure enough after a great chance for us they turn right back with one of their own. John Carlson headed down the wing, took a shot and sure enough ended the game. The Americans were gold medalist, and we were bringing home silver. This might have been one of the worst feelings that I have ever felt. It sucked. I will always remember the time that I spent playing for team Canada at the world junior tournament. It will be something that remains with me for the rest of my life. I made many new friends and met a lot of great people while I was there. Even though we didn’t come out with a gold medal, it will still be one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Adam Henrique

A CCM skate blade whether  it is in the Prolite 3 holder or an EPRO holder it will fit in to either holder. The bolts are external and are easily tightened. The bolts can break if you over tighten them. It also will gently wear the hole that the bolt slides through causing a very subtle movement which may cause a clicking sound when you walk. If your bolts are tight they may click forever. They are safe and are not going to fall out. It may cause a small (very small) dip in performance. It is not worth the approximately 60 dollars it would cost to fix the problem. The E pro holder is one of the better holders on the market and will treat you very well for the life of your skate. The prolite 3 is an older holder that has been removed from production. It will soon become extinct.I had a gentleman call from Ohio the other day looking for one. I recommended that he switch his blades to an E pro that it would well be worth his investment.

The Graf blade is an interesting set up as it tightens from the rear of the skate with a long screw. It is essential when trying to tighten a Graf blade that you support the plastic at the point where the screw meets the blade if the bolt is seized or you over tighten it a major issue may occour. The blade will rotate putting pressure on the plastic holder pushing it out of shape. The plastic at this point is fatigued and weak and may no longer supp0rt the blade. This holder may now be ruined and it will cost approximately 30 dollars to fix. You will have to tighten this blade often as it only has the one bolt and it gets a lot of play especially in the larger sizes. This is not one of my more favorite holders. However, it does just take a little bit of regular maintenance to keep it secure. The Graf holder has a flaw that causes it to fatigue near the base where it mounts to the boot. It is essential that this be kept dry as the plastic if it stays wet or damp constantly becomes saturated and weak.

Bauer how to tighten and what to look for. These holders seem to recieve the best response from skaters. Skaters who wear this holder put it on every other companies boots. The have 3 generations of blades from the origional TUUK holder which is almost 25 years old. The second generation which is the TUUK plus.  Still the most popular blade on the market soon to be passed by the TUUK lightspeed. This is coming on most of Bauers new skates. They have tried different things over the years which have not faired well going with stiffer plastics and different colour.( Black makes you appear slow.) The scouts may not pick you up. This holders blades are attached inside the holder and can be reached through the inside however you cannot see what is inside. We recommend taking the holder off getting all new hardware. This insures that do not stretch and weaken the plastic. It also ensures that the bolts are not rusted and break or the blade falls out.

The Easton holder has been through a couple of generations but mostly with the bolts system holding the blades. They do seem to have solved that with the latest version. They tried graphite blades which were very light but way to stiff making it very difficult to skate on.

All holders when left wet for extended period of time will fatigue. The also age if left in the light and if they are old plastic holders tend to fatigue and weaken around the 10 year mark. They will begin to break this can be on a hard stopping motion a puck shot or passed into the blade are. These are all easily replace it generally takes about a half hour and will cost approx $30 to $35

The running theme of this blog has been about skate maintenance and leaving your skates wet is a personal pet peeve of mine. So a little extra care and concern.

The mission pitch holder is all but extinct with Bauers purchase of Mission.

Until next time

Take care play hard and have fun

your friendly skate consultant

jeff

The alignment of skate when proper will look like a straight line from the blade all the way through the back of the boot right up through the tendon guard. If you hold the skate with the tendon guard against your stomach with the bottom of the blade facing away from you, pointing towards the ground,  is the best way to check blade alignment. The blade should be facing right at the center of your body. If it is pointed towards your left or right shoulder the alignment is off. This is a good way to check it at home. We use the  Maximum Edge Alignment gauge at our store  to check skates. It is a very accurate tool that measures how far the skate is out in degrees.

The number of degrees that a skate is out tells us how much correction, if any,  is needed. We would generally not correct the skate that is one to one and a half degrees. The human body will naturally compensate for this minor misalignment. Some skaters have more difficulty compensating. In such cases we would align the skate to zero. In an ideal world i would like to see every skate aligned to zero but it maybe work that really is not necessary.

If a skates alignment is out  2 to 3 degrees. This should be fixed. This is a easy and inexpensive repair that can have a significant effect on each skater. If a skate is tipped inside by 3 degrees that indicates to us that the skater would be catching the inside edge by barely moving this foot. However when he tries to use the outside edge he would have to over rotate the foot beyond where it needs to be just to get the other edge to engage the ice. This is causing the skater a lot of energy, concentration and compensation. He could be using that energy to chase the puck, to pass or shoot the puck. We would at this time recommend getting an alignment done to have the skate operate properly.

The bad news comes when a skate is 4 to 5 or even more out of alignment. I have seen skates as many as 7 degrees out of alignment. These skates I would say have a major defect and that new or used skates need to be purchased. The manufacture defect is so flawed that skate is now defective.

Some stores around the country not just in Essex county are altering the skates alignment. This is based on that stores judgment of how the skater is walking in the skates. That is for another blog. You do not walk in skates. A walking stride has 3 points of contact. With a  skating stride there is no heel strike so that means you only have two points of contact. Another story for another time. We believe that tipping of a skate blade should only be done at a doctors request. The people who work in stores are using this as a way to make it seem that they are doing something special for your child. They will tell you that there is something wrong with your child’s foot. I will tell you that i do not think there is anything wrong with your child’s foot. We do however need to ensure that the skate is in proper alignment. We make the boot proper and the body handles the minor compensations to make the boot work for them.

In a very small amount of times maybe one percent we should slightly move the blade inside to help young beginner skaters learn to use the edges. This is done  so that it allows  the body to develop the ankle. This is usually a temporary fix that lasts maybe one or two seasons at the most.

until next time

keep having fun and playing hard

your friendly

skate consultant

jeff

It affects  your Sharpening. A hockey coach I once worked with said to me.” you cannot make chicken soup from chicken poop no matter how hard you try” . So if the quality of steel you are working on is poor it is difficult to get the best possible skate sharpening. So when purchasing your next pair of skates give just a little extra thought and ask the question is this good steel. A cheap quality steel is going to rust. Probably quickly as it is going to have a high carbon content. It will probably also have a nickle coating(used to prevent rusting).  Some companies use such cheap steel that they actually coat it in a copper and then nickle so that it sticks. The copper is so soft that it actually takes a longer time to sharpen your skates. This nickle coating can flake making it impossible to get the perfect edge on your skates. With some delicate and dedicated work we can put a good edge on it. These generally come on a recreational skates with what we call a milk carton holder. The plastic blade holder is made of a slightly stronger version of the same plastic used in milk jugs. The companies have begun to actually make this the blade of choice in higher levels of skates in order to increase the profits that they make.

Do you take care of your EQUIPMENT? The next grade of steel maybe for you Good quality carbon steel is way better than the cheap nickle coated and much better to sharpen( Carbon dents rather than chips)and gives a better appearance. It is carbon and it will rust if not taken proper care of. This is great steel to sharpen and to skate on. MY PERSONAL FAVORITE however it is definitely higher maintenance and not for those who do not take care of the equipment

Chinese Steele? This is the next step is the steel currently being used in Easton and Graf skates. It is a different make up of steel with a high carbon content and is a poured rather than a rolled steel. It tends to pit if left unmaintained. It is not fun to sharpen but fine to skate on. These pits look like a small animal had a snack on your blade sides.

The KING of the CLASS! This is our good friend stainless steel. The top of the line, the best and what everyone of us loves. My only problem is this isn t your dads stainless steel. It still has a some content of chinese steel this is rehashed and recycled steel. It is still the best but not pure stainless and will still rust if left unmaintained.

I work with these steels all day every day. I can make all of them work for you. I wanted to let you know that steel is not just steel. The person sitting beside you in the dressing room may have better steel or you may have better steel but he takes better care of it. It can make the difference of how long you are in the skate shop. It may make the difference of who plays and who does not.

If you have any questions please feel free to CALL 519-916-5145

Until Next time

Jeff

Your friendly Skate Consultant

People buy skate laces all the time and really have no idea how that decision at the counter may affect how they play.

WARNING: DO NOT TIE AROUND YOUR ANKLE.This greatly reduces ankle rotation. Which is an essential part of the skating stride. This may have been the way your dad tied your skates when you were a kid or you are tying your kids skates now. This is COSTING YOU SPEED AND ACCELERATION as you are not allowing the foot and ankle to work to the maximum potential.

WANT YOUR SKATES TIGHTER? Wear wax laces they dont relax like cotton laces do and stay tighter on the foot. They will be harder on the hands but will definitely do the job of keeping the foot secure inside the skate without having to wrap it around the TENDON GUARD.This is a NO NO.

LIKE YOUR SKATES TO HAVE MORE FLEX? This is easily accomplished with a cotton lace. Easy and soft on your hands and will allow the extra flex and rotation. To allow the full rotation of the ankle. It allow allows for a more comfortable fitting boot.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS. Leave the top eyelet unused. This will allow you to keep it as tight as you want and still allow for more ankle rotation. Use appropriate length laces. Too long you can trip and cut them to short you cant get them tight enough. REPLACE LACES when they are wearing out. Nothing worse than being the guy who bums laces in the dressing room. It also is never the correct size always too long or too short.

DO NOT BE THAT GUY

Sometimes the reason a skate lace is breaking is because of aggressive play and getting stepped on this is a cost of doing business. However sometimes it is caused by a broken or damage eyelet it is an inexpensive and quick repair. Take a look at where your laces are wearing.

Until next time

Your friendly skate consultant