I bought my NBH Vapor XXII's from Cyclones and the guy there said they were bakeable so I went ahead and got them baked. Keep in mind baking only helps with the break-in, you can't fully break in skates just by baking.

As for buying skates from Sportchek I'd stay away unless you're really confident in what you're buying. Skates are the most important piece of equipment and I'd much rather get fitted by a guy who's actually played hockey for years and sells gear everyday for a living than some average sporting goods employee who's only watched it on TV or played on the street.

Lots of great advice in this thread. I have flat feet, and my current pair of skates are Bauer skates from Sportchek. BIGGEST mistake ever cuz they're not comfortable at all. I thought I just had to break them in, but no improvement whatsoever!

Next time I won't cheap out, and get skates from a real hockey store.

just a heads up, but i have flat (pronated) feet and the EE eased some of the pain from having the arch in the boot of my D vapors. actually, i even needed superfeet insoles to get some more of the support back because it felt too unsupportive with the wider boot.

as for the XXIIs, im mistaken- its only the XVIs that arent.

hope everythings going good with the boot fittings and hope you find the right fit :thumbsup:

the last time i bought hockey gear online none of the shit fit me it was way bigger than the usual

I just got rbk 5k white pumps off hockey monkey... havent tried them out but would you guys recommend me having them baked?
also newb question... do you sharpen new skates?

Which places do you guys shop locally? Which shops carry a good variety of equipment at the cheapest prices?

+1 for Superfeet insoles. They come with a 60 day warranty so if they're not working out for you, you can return them and get a full refund.

As for baking skates, it's not a necessity. It helps with the time needed to break in the skates but there's nothing better than actually sweating in them to break them in. New skates are very dull right out of the box so you'll need to sharpen them.

I only go to Cyclones to get them done, Tobi's the only guy I get to service/repair my gear. I haven't been to other shops just because they're too far for me to get to. And stay away from Sportchek for sharpenings!

ive gotten sharpens from cyclone and the hockey shop, and prefer cyclones. as for sport chek, i think it's already been beaten to death- just dont do it if you care about your life LOL :eek:

as for other equipment- i must say that i was very pro-cyclones before going to the hockey shop. all i could say when i walked inside was W O W. way more selection than my local cyclone and comparable pricing. they price match as well so its not a big deal. but the selection is omg. only store that ive been to that has more shaft and stick selection. mmmm one95 shaft 77 flex :D

its just too far though, but very accessible as its right under surrey central skytrain. just make sure to watch where you are and dont hang out near the station for too long :cry:

I endured the rushhour traffic and made the trek out to The Hockey Shop. First thing, WOW! I couldn't believe the amount of stock they had.
I ended buying a pair of skates, pants, and shin pads and the prices weren't too shabby. I'm sure I could have found them cheaper online but their service was worth it's weight in gold and plus I ended up getting some pro-return pants that were wayyyyy better in fit, comfort, and protection that any of the other crap that was being passed off as hockey pants.

Just an FYI, I ended getting a pair of CCM Vibe's in 7 1/2 E. After baking them and fitting them, they were so comfortable. The most comfortable pair of skates I have ever owned.

Hockey Shop > Cyclone for sharpening from my experience.

That's great to hear! That's my exact experience with THS. For everything but sharpens, it will probably be my first destination.

Good to hear...now you can see why i go all the way there for my stuff.

Unlike M3thods, getting sharpenings there is my first priority...just like all my other stuff. .

I don't know how the skate sharpening is, but the job they did on my skates feel pretty good. Will have to wait till sunday night before I play again.

The one thing I noticed is that THS has people that play hockey. When I got my foot measured, the guy knew right away not to waste time with me trying on any Bauer skates because of my low foot arch.

just picked up an OPS nikebauer one70 off hockeygiant for $60 shipped!:) can't wait!! only thing i don't like about THS is there sharpening, i was never a big fan of it. even their contouring wasn't that great. ice level redid my contouring and it was way better. i always preferred ice level for my sharpenings, but it really comes down to type of skater you are and what kind of sharpening suits you best

for all you east vancouver rs'ers theres a shop on nanaimo and broadway beside where the esso/7-11 was. It's a new store and the owner seems pretty nice. Decent sharpening job so you dont have to go all the way out to surrey or west van.

By any chance do you play for Wilson's group in Richmond on sunday nights??

Mainland Athletics.
It is where the old IDA pharmacy was, right on the corner of 8th ave and Nanimo.
Owner use to play for Grandview, so he know's what he is talking about. Nice guy, went to high school with him.

No, I play at BWC on sunday nights. I am also playing Div 5 in Ice604 for fun this year.

Ahh...i think i have played that session twice. Is it Ken that runs it??? i forgot the name...

Yeah, Ken Lo runs it. :thumbsup:

the amount u pay on shipping you may as well buy it at cyclone

This depends on how you ship. Most big online hockey companies offer free shipping within the continental US over a certain amount. This would also include Point Roberts, WA, which is a little road-trip past Tsawassen. Most often you'll pay the taxes of what you declare, which is WAY less than most UPS shipments.

If you ship to Point Roberts like the previous person mentioned you will save tons. I bought my Vapor XXII skates at Cyclones was $300+tax. A friend of mine was just starting out hockey and bought the same skates with a complete set of middle of the line gear and it ran him $500ish + duty and taxes. So for $200 more than what I paid for my skates I could've already bought another set of gear. There's no way you can buy everything except for skates locally for only $200, even if you buy all the entry level gear at Canadian Tire.

I was in the market for a some new elbow pads so I decided to drop by Mainland Sports on my way home from school. My first impression was the store was really small. Since it was such a small store they didn't really have much selection... I wanted to try on some elbow pads size small and he only had 3 models to choose from.

But the store owner was helpful and knowledgeable and it's a ma and pop shop essentially (his wife and kid were there too.) He also coaches minor hockey for the association I used to play in as a kid so I decided to buy some ONE90 elbows from him.

I know I could've gotten them for cheaper online but don't forget to support your LHS. I'm going to bring my skates in next time for a sharpening. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

I think I've said this before but I'll say it again.
The owner, use to play for that association, his yournger brother played as well. In fact, I think he might have played for their Junior team back in the mid 90's.