Custom Bauer 2S Pro Skates

[Mroy31]

Quick recap. I asked around to find a shop that would still be able to do a custom skate order with my previous specs. No scans needed, didn't want to wait until sometime in 2019 and possibly pay a few hundred dollars more. The big stores basically just said no custom until scans in 2019, but the Bauer website live chat "fit expert" confirmed any retailer still has the option to submit an order the old way. 

Went to a local shop that works with all the local minor league and university teams, talked to the owner about the things I wanted changed from my old specs, he had a couple of suggestions. We confirmed the price ($999 CAD), he called his Rep to confirm a couple of available options and we got the order in before the holiday factory shutdown.

The turnaround was unbelievably quick, I think it was about 3 weeks. I can only assume it was a combination of timing and maybe some other factors I'm not aware of, since my 1S pair took about 7-8 weeks (as quoted) in the spring that year. 

I'll post exact specs when I get the sheet from the shop, but here are most of them:

Left size: 8 7/8

Right size: 9 3/8

Extended outer wrap to cover more of my ankle when flexed forward 

Black eyelets with extra megabix for reinforcement

Plus one sized toe caps

Arches and toe box stretched to fit my feet

Tongue is 2S with extra felt and stiff insert. Will confirm specifics because my last tongue was apparently a Reactor tongue, but all I asked for was extra felt and to extend it, so maybe it's got a different name on the spec sheet. 

LockFit Pro liner with Pro Clarino as well. Will have to look at the spec sheet to clarify. This was one I said just give me the best available combo of grip and durability.

Standard LS 5G+ steel

Retail stiffness (2 out of 4)

Added Speed Plate 2.0 insoles

So here they are, arrived Christmas eve and picked up today. First skate is Saturday. 

Above is the updated liner along with the Speed Plate 2.0. The material below the lock fit material is the pro clarino, one of the recommended upgrades vs. the 37.5 liner in my 1S. It does look like the retail skate has the same grey material, so I'll confirm on the spec sheet if they did anything different (my original ask and biggest reason for upgrading was for the stock LockFit liner). Below are some comparisons to my 1S with Tydan DLC blades

The LS steel looks marginally shorter than the Tydan, don't expect to notice much of a difference on the ice because of that. The visual height difference is almost neglible. Also, the 2S skate above is 1/2 size bigger than the 1S and the slightest angle change can make one look taller. 

And finally, the custom code on the inside, which I assume corresponds with the stretching of the arch/toe box (then the obvious size and toe cap size). I just think it's a cool detail. 

[TheGoalNet]

Is that liner different than retail? Mine have the same combo of black at the ankles then a brown below the ankles 

How are the speed plates?

[Mroy31]

My feeling is that it's not different than retail. I asked for the retail LockFit liner right off the bat, then there was some uncertainty if the custom shop actually had it or not (sounded similar to Lefebvre's pro shop not having Speedskin at first). Pro clarino was another option for an upgrade to grip and durability, I think the 2S might just have that material or a similar one at retail, not entirely sure though. I left it in the store owners hands so we could get the order in before the Bauer shop shutdown for the holidays. I knew I'd either be getting exactly what I was expecting, or the pro upgrade version, so wasn't too concerned. I'll confirm when I get the spec sheet. 

Speed plates have slightly more cushion with an LD memory foam, but they're not plush by any means. There is less of a heel cup than the 1.0 version, but I don't think that was something providing a whole lot of stability (not like superfeet). I took some other pics that I'll post too of the new speed plates. 

[Mroy31]

@TheGoalNet is the material in your liner brown or grey? Or basically the same thing after a year of use?

99% mine is just the stock liner, but still a MAJOR upgrade from the 37.5 liner in the 1S

[TheGoalNet]

4 minutes ago, Mroy31 said:

@TheGoalNet is the material in your liner brown or grey? Or basically the same thing after a year of use?

99% mine is just the stock liner, but still a MAJOR upgrade from the 37.5 liner in the 1S

Yeah, it’s greyish brown and I don’t wear socks... def stock 

and agreed, people sleep on the liner as a major upgrade. It’s a way better skate

feel good so far?

[Mroy31]

I've only had them on to bake them and stand in the store a bit, so I don't want to get ahead of myself, but yes they feel very good so far haha. First ice time is Saturday

[TheGoalNet]

14 minutes ago, Mroy31 said:

I've only had them on to bake them and stand in the store a bit, so I don't want to get ahead of myself, but yes they feel very good so far haha. First ice time is Saturday

Yeah, I noticed instantly out of the box. I remember thinking, “this are way more comfy”. 

They’re like a 1S-S to me to borrow an iPhone analogy. Not a revolutionary release, but the liner, steel, and tongue make a noticeably better product 

[Mroy31]

47 minutes ago, TheGoalNet said:

Yeah, I noticed instantly out of the box. I remember thinking, “this are way more comfy”. 

They’re like a 1S-S to me to borrow an iPhone analogy. Not a revolutionary release, but the liner, steel, and tongue make a noticeably better product 

That was definitely a bit of a theme with the 2S line, but I think several years or at least iterations down the line people will hopefully see this stuff a little more for what it is and have moved past the "it looks too thin/ugly, look at those wear spots and DENTED FOAMS" mentality. 

If 2S had come out first, I think the public perception would be a bit different. But that being said, there were so many new things in the 1S line that it would be asking a lot to have done all that and gotten everything perfect 

[Mroy31]

Had my first skate in these last night. Was pretty surprised at how different they felt from my 1S. It reminded me of the feeling I had when I went from my old old Supremes to the Vapor XXX's, it felt like I just had blades attached to my feet. So much so I had to dig out @TheGoalNet's 2S impression thread to double check the weight. Since I had Tydan steel on my 1S, I was actually switching to a lighter boot and lighter steel, so that checked out.

Will have to swap out the laces, the stock ones are so soft that they stretched out a tiny bit over the hour and twenty minute icetime. But even with that and with the internals not being broken in yet, I could tell it was locking my foot in place much better. 

One last comment on that. I sprained my left ankle pretty badly back in September, one of those injuries that takes forever to get past the last 5% of healing. With the slightly looser laces and the flex of the tongue I was actually able to flex my ankle in the skate boot far enough to feel the slight pain I still have at my end range of forward flexion. The fact I could do that and still have my foot locked in place has me VERY excited about getting these broken in over the next few weeks. 

[Mroy31]

@TheGoalNet where'd you end up with lacing your skates?  Did you do any tricks other than waxed laces? 

I swapped out the stock laces for some Elite brand laces I normally use (not waxed). Then switched from those after I noticed a burr on one of the eyelets that snagged the lace (the shop smoothed that out no worries).  Now I have a set of Howie's both waxed and not waxed. 

I'm pretty close to dialed in with the non waxed but wondering if the waxed will fix my last bit of an issue. 

I do them tight at the first 2 eyelets, just snug the rest of the way until the last 3 and then tight again. The problem is that for any skate longer than 50 minutes, they start to feel pretty loose by the end. Half of my icetimes now are these 80 minute shinny sessions a local group puts on. 

[TheGoalNet]

28 minutes ago, Mroy31 said:

@TheGoalNet where'd you end up with lacing your skates?  Did you do any tricks other than waxed laces? 

I swapped out the stock laces for some Elite brand laces I normally use (not waxed). Then switched from those after I noticed a burr on one of the eyelets that snagged the lace (the shop smoothed that out no worries).  Now I have a set of Howie's both waxed and not waxed. 

I'm pretty close to dialed in with the non waxed but wondering if the waxed will fix my last bit of an issue. 

I do them tight at the first 2 eyelets, just snug the rest of the way until the last 3 and then tight again. The problem is that for any skate longer than 50 minutes, they start to feel pretty loose by the end. Half of my icetimes now are these 80 minute shinny sessions a local group puts on. 

I use waxed Elite. I skip the 3rd eyelit from the top. 

I started doing that with 1S and it minimized the ankle friction I was expiriencing. 

I’ve done it with 2S and never had an issue. 2S skates are as comfortable as or more comfortable than any other skates I’ve had. 

Let me know if you need any pics 

[Mroy31]

Hm ok. My issue is more at the midfoot I think. I'll give the waxed laces a go, maybe less slack will be what I need

[TheGoalNet]

Full scan and custom myBauer coming for 2X Pro & 2S in June with gear launch 

[Chenner29]

@Mroy31

thanks for posting this. I’m not sure how I missed it - then again it was the holiday season when you got these. 

Looking forward to reading more about these. I do like what I’ve seen out of the 2S skate so far. 

[beansbats]

Thank you for the all of the information, I will be considering these for my next skate.  I also like the fact that they were made in Canada.

-steve

[Mroy31]

Here's a weight comparison. Removed blades, same length of laces on each, the 1S have speed plate 1.0 and the 2S have speed plate 2.0.

The scale isn't so precise to go past whole grams, but there is something weird with the 1S that I haven't got an explanation for yet. 

2S Left size 8 7/8: 815g

2S Right size 9 3/8: 819g

1S Left size 8 7/8: 800g

1S Right size 9 3/8: 778g ?! 

I weighed them multiple times, checked for any parts resting on the floor or the front of the scale, tucked laces in... Will try again later, but, I dunno. Less ankle padding in the one skate by mistake? 

[TheGoalNet]

I didn't weight both skates, but my 2S booths are like 2% lighter or something than 1S. I weighed them for a previous video.

I wonder if this was a quality control issue?

[Mroy31]

If I just think about it from a feature perspective, I would actually expect the 2S to be slightly heavier than the 1S equivalent just based on the added cushion.

Maybe there's something about my extended outer wrap that has a bit more weight to it, so more of a heavier material makes up the couple % pts difference? 

I can probably chalk the 778g skate up to quality control like you mentioned. 

[Mroy31]

@TheGoalNet figure I should weigh the insoles later, that might make up the difference as well

[TheGoalNet]

1 hour ago, Mroy31 said:

@TheGoalNet figure I should weigh the insoles later, that might make up the difference as well

Mine was stock vs stock with the runner removed. 

[Mroy31]

Continuing this from the side thread in the 2 piece true review thread. 

Took my skates in to get looked at by the shop. 1st issue is a skate puncture that I assume I did myself trying to slam my feet closed on a shot through the fivehole. On the one hand, they're under warranty and the one guy at the shop says he's seen skates get redone for less. On the other hand, it's not necessarily a factory defect, so we'll see what they say. 

The second issue is that I'm wondering if the holder on the left skate is misaligned a bit. I've been battling with that skate for a few games now. I feel like I have to work harder to hold that edge, sometimes when just walking from the room to the ice or back that ankle will wobble like I'm on some fashion show runway, and when I stand straight up my left heel wants to slip out. 

I've tried tightening the laces more for more ankle support, but the right foot has had zero issues and is arguably looser. @Chenner29suggested maybe the holder is pigeon toed a bit, that would explain most of my symptoms including the quad/groin strain after my last skate. (but I've also been pretty lazy with between games fitness lately so...)

The shop took pictures and sent them off to Bauer to see what they think. They thought the toe on the left holder looked maybe a tiny bit off, but weren't quite sure. I noticed the position off a bit on the left skate vs the right skate of you look at the bottom boot plate, but both boots are custom and different sizes so that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

[Mroy31]

Got my skates back from the custom shop today. Retailer called their local Rep, he couldn't see anything wrong with the skates but couldn't confirm there wasn't anything wrong based on what I was experiencing. So they went back to the custom shop in Quebec for closer inspection. 

I think they just decided since they were under warranty, I was having trouble with the left boot and with the damage to the other boot, they would just redo the boots.  Same holders, laces, speed plates and blades, but all new boots. 

Got them baked and fitted again today, will be a little while before I get them on the ice again, but happy to have them back and not to have to live with that skate puncture