2022 Bauer Mystery Skate - Konekt Goalie Skate

[BadAngle41]

4 hours ago, jerd31 said:

There's a goalie on reddit that's been tinkering with ski boot style buckles for skates and I have been testing them- pretty much mimicking the buckle system on the Konekts, just without the hinge system.

 

 

I was looking forward to the Konekts, but at $1k, they're in custom skate territory.

Interesting use of buckles... and with the top buckle positioned below the top eyelet I'd bet he does get better flex than you'd see out of standard lacing. As for Konekt in custom skate territory in terms of pricing... well they are custom skates being heat molded liner and boot. I know that's not what most think of in a traditional sense because they're off-the-shelf items that just get molded as opposed to bespoke one-off skates made just for your feet... but if the fit and performance are there I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a reason not to consider them custom.

[Chenner29]

7 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

$1,225 CAD. A whopping $300 more expensive than an Ultrasonic skate. 

I get that this is a new build and there's some R&D to recoup, and that the main consumer market is either guys at the top level and/or guys wanting the best of the best, but wow that's steep.

If CAD/USD gear pricing patterns continue with the skate, I'd imagine this does not go straight through currency conversion for MSRP, and they just set a price.  I'm guessing $1100 CAD

6 hours ago, Punisher Goalie said:

Both. Insoles obviously I know I can - and do - change.

It is, admittedly, quite gross. Even with drying after every session with a boot dryer, I am buying skates once a year. I've been stretching my custom FT2s too long waiting for the Konekt release.

IDK I could be wrong, but if the shell and holder are durable enough, one might be able to get away with a liner change to extend the life of the skates well beyond what one would expect from a normal skate design.

I'm not sure I have enough of these emojis and I can make an infinite number of them

[coopaloop1234]

5 minutes ago, Chenner29 said:

If CAD/USD gear pricing patterns continue with the skate, I'd imagine this does not go straight through currency conversion for MSRP, and they just set a price.  I'm guessing $1100 CAD

I'm not sure I have enough of these emojis and I can make an infinite number of them

Interesting, I've never done a direct comparison between us and ça prices

Still too rich for my blood. 

[A.YOUNGoalie13]

11 hours ago, TheGoalNet said:

I would also suggest updating the steel… 

Yes the base steel blows for how much they cost

[A.YOUNGoalie13]

9 hours ago, jerd31 said:

There's a goalie on reddit that's been tinkering with ski boot style buckles for skates and I have been testing them- pretty much mimicking the buckle system on the Konekts, just without the hinge system.

 

 

I was looking forward to the Konekts, but at $1k, they're in custom skate territory.

It is being considered a custom skate

[A.YOUNGoalie13]

13 hours ago, BadAngle41 said:

I went back to 2X Pro skates recently and not lacing through the top eyelet... it has worked well... anxious to get these on my feet and see what kind of flex range I get. Remind me of the release date and tell me when you'll be working and I'll find a reason to make it up your way to get fitted.

I’ll be sure to let you know, we have the skates in already, just not the special konekt specific skate oven and other heat molding materials yet. Not sure when we’ll get those in but I will keep you in mind when we do!

[TheGoalNet]

11 hours ago, netminder said:

Put a cowling on it and call it a day:

This type of skate tech with hinge and bootie has been around for decades

No one is arguing that. There were previously goalie skates shown in my last pic that had this concept and Bauer openly acknowledges they were the inspiration 

All of the good new boot technology comes from the ski industry, not roller blades. Skiing is a way bigger market and that is why the development comes from there.

The materials are also 1,000 times better than when the Micron goalie skates were in their heyday. Like with many innovations, the concept is not wrong... it's the available technology to execute the design and the market readiness are a big factor in something sticking.

Palm Pilot was cool, but it was too early and the average consumer market was not ready for it. iPhone was a hit because it was way easy for anyone to use, the technology was better, and the marker was more ready for it.

Konekt is the modern smart phone. Micron plastic skates are a Palm Pilot. 

[Pl99]

I’m very curious to hear the reviews on these.  I’m in a pair of original custom VH skates that are nearing end of life. My previous Bauer 2012 Pros were the most uncomfortable skate I’ve ever owned. 
 

Are you able to adjust the hinge flex on these?  If so, how?

Is there an msrp yet?

 

[A.YOUNGoalie13]

1 hour ago, Pl99 said:

I’m very curious to hear the reviews on these.  I’m in a pair of original custom VH skates that are nearing end of life. My previous Bauer 2012 Pros were the most uncomfortable skate I’ve ever owned. 
 

Are you able to adjust the hinge flex on these?  If so, how?

Is there an msrp yet?

 

It adjusts based on how much you need it to hinge. It moves accordingly. $950 usd

[TheGoalNet]

On 7/4/2022 at 11:59 PM, Pl99 said:

I’m very curious to hear the reviews on these.  I’m in a pair of original custom VH skates that are nearing end of life. My previous Bauer 2012 Pros were the most uncomfortable skate I’ve ever owned. 
 

Are you able to adjust the hinge flex on these?  If so, how?

Is there an msrp yet?

 

There is not a dial to adjust the flex profile. Lots of people have asked me about this. I do NOT see the purpose of it after using the skates. It only flexes when your ankle flexes and it's not like floppy. Anyone interested in this skate should not skip it over that concern.

With that said, I know people like stiffness profiles, so maybe it's an update to a future version of Konekt?

[Pl99]

12 hours ago, TheGoalNet said:

There is not a dial to adjust the flex profile. Lots of people have asked me about this. I do NOT see the purpose of it after using the skates. It only flexes when your ankle flexes and it's not like floppy. Anyone interested in this skate should not skip it over that concern.

With that said, I know people like stiffness profiles, so maybe it's an update to a future version of Konekt?

Thanks. This is what I was asking. 
 

Im assuming you have had a few skates in them. Are they staying in the bag permanently?  

[Desert Tendy]

On 7/7/2022 at 12:50 AM, Pl99 said:

Thanks. This is what I was asking. 

Im assuming you have had a few skates in them. Are they staying in the bag permanently? 

The Bauer konekt skate is now available for sale at Perani’s hockey world.  The fit seems a bit odd…almost pulled the trigger but I couldn’t get over the fit.

[ryan_0]

1 hour ago, Desert Tendy said:

The Bauer konekt skate is now available for sale at Perani’s hockey world.  The fit seems a bit odd…almost pulled the trigger but I couldn’t get over the fit.

 

 

What was the issue with the fit?

[Desert Tendy]

12 minutes ago, ryan_0 said:

What was the issue with the fit?

Top of the ankle I experienced a ton of pain when I flexed and it was either too tight or too lose.  I imagine once it’s baked it will get better but not sure if I want to chance it for $1k.  

[ryan_0]

32 minutes ago, Desert Tendy said:

Top of the ankle I experienced a ton of pain when I flexed and it was either too tight or too lose.  I imagine once it’s baked it will get better but not sure if I want to chance it for $1k.  

Oh ok, I think I've read some other people were having issues with the ankle fit. I wonder if this will be a common problem. 

[TheGoalNet]

10 hours ago, Desert Tendy said:

Top of the ankle I experienced a ton of pain when I flexed and it was either too tight or too lose.  I imagine once it’s baked it will get better but not sure if I want to chance it for $1k.  

The shell and the liner are thermoformable. Yes, they are NOT going to feel right out of the box. You have to trust the process and get them baked. They come with a kit that enables the shop to deal with any potential pain points in like 20 different ways.

[mossey3535]

I have 4e wide hobbit feet, any feedback from wide feet goalies? 

[Puckstopper]

I'm also interested in hearing how those with 4E+ feet are doing with these.   So far, True has been my only option to get the width I need. 

[Rogie]

15 hours ago, mossey3535 said:

I have 4e wide hobbit feet, any feedback from wide feet goalies? 

I have 2E wide feet and high arches and could not latch the lower buckle even when it was fully extended. Huge bummer. So I went to a local ski shop and had them drill out the rivet and replace the lower metal rail with a longer one that was screwed in (so it’s now easily replaceable). My local hockey shop had no idea, skills, tools, or experience in how to do this. For the ski shop it was trivial. Done to perfection in minutes.  Now I can finally latch the lower buckle across the arch of my foot and have been able to play several times in the skates. I can’t imagine going back to lace up skates now. 
 

I’ve always had trouble with the Bauer toe caps being narrow and was having fit issues with my Bauer Elite Fit 3 skates. Those issues are totally gone with the Konnekt. No more pain in the toe box area. My feet can finally lay flat even when I’m crouched in my goal stance. with Konnekt, I just have a snug fit all around my foot with no hot spots. Never had that before. Truly a game changer for me. Flex is awesome. Neither too loose or too stiff.  Feels perfectly natural on the ice. I ended up wearing the top buckle one or two slots looser than I thought I would when I fitted them in the store. They don’t need to be crazy tight for the hinge to work. I’m also in and out of these skates in seconds. Didn’t realize how much time and trouble it was to lace skates up correctly until now. Can never go back. 
 

Something important no one is talking about is that the skates run small by one size. I bought the recommended size for my feet (size 8). My right foot is 8.5 and my left is 7 according to Bauer scanner. Bauer says (it’s even printed on the box) that they’ll mold to fit my half size longer right foot and adjust to my wide feet. 100% on molding to the width but not the length. My toes are slammed against the front. I took out the footbed from the liner and compared them to my Bauer elite 8.5 and they were a full size smaller.  No wonder my toes are jammed. I’m used to have a gap so my ties don’t touch the front. That is just my preference. I had to trim down my previous footbeds to get them to fit.
 

After playing in them a few times I’ve decided I’m going to replace them with a size 9 so I can get the larger shell, liners, and footbeds. Hopefully the factory lower buckle will latch with no modification, it if not, I’d have no concerns taking these to my ski shop and having them replace that lower rail again. But  I do think the new size will be a perfect fit after heat molding.  Of course YMMV.  

[Paul Pomplun]

The skate is lightweight, the flexibility is awesome, the rapid put on and take off is good, you actually do shuffle and push better, but none of that matters if you play with constant pain all game on your soles, I gave them a good shot, used them for 6 games, baked them perfectly, but no matter what I did the pain during the game that gradually got worse was unbearable, by the end of the game, coming from True TF9's that are as comfortable as clouds this was terrible, I really wanted to like them, I really wanted them to work out, but the pain was just too much, Bauer has a lot of work to do to fix that, I have no idea why the soles feel the way they feel on this skate, it was just too much pain, I changed the insole inserts 3 different times and no change, so unfortunately I had to return them, maybe they can review that experience and adjust then I can try again in the future with a different model.

[Desert Tendy]

On 9/7/2022 at 8:33 AM, Rogie said:

I have 2E wide feet and high arches and could not latch the lower buckle even when it was fully extended. Huge bummer. So I went to a local ski shop and had them drill out the rivet and replace the lower metal rail with a longer one that was screwed in (so it’s now easily replaceable). My local hockey shop had no idea, skills, tools, or experience in how to do this. For the ski shop it was trivial. Done to perfection in minutes.  Now I can finally latch the lower buckle across the arch of my foot and have been able to play several times in the skates. I can’t imagine going back to lace up skates now. 
 

I’ve always had trouble with the Bauer toe caps being narrow and was having fit issues with my Bauer Elite Fit 3 skates. Those issues are totally gone with the Konnekt. No more pain in the toe box area. My feet can finally lay flat even when I’m crouched in my goal stance. with Konnekt, I just have a snug fit all around my foot with no hot spots. Never had that before. Truly a game changer for me. Flex is awesome. Neither too loose or too stiff.  Feels perfectly natural on the ice. I ended up wearing the top buckle one or two slots looser than I thought I would when I fitted them in the store. They don’t need to be crazy tight for the hinge to work. I’m also in and out of these skates in seconds. Didn’t realize how much time and trouble it was to lace skates up correctly until now. Can never go back. 
 

Something important no one is talking about is that the skates run small by one size. I bought the recommended size for my feet (size 8). My right foot is 8.5 and my left is 7 according to Bauer scanner. Bauer says (it’s even printed on the box) that they’ll mold to fit my half size longer right foot and adjust to my wide feet. 100% on molding to the width but not the length. My toes are slammed against the front. I took out the footbed from the liner and compared them to my Bauer elite 8.5 and they were a full size smaller.  No wonder my toes are jammed. I’m used to have a gap so my ties don’t touch the front. That is just my preference. I had to trim down my previous footbeds to get them to fit.
 

After playing in them a few times I’ve decided I’m going to replace them with a size 9 so I can get the larger shell, liners, and footbeds. Hopefully the factory lower buckle will latch with no modification, it if not, I’d have no concerns taking these to my ski shop and having them replace that lower rail again. But  I do think the new size will be a perfect fit after heat molding.  Of course YMMV.  

Can you take a pic of the lower rail both inside and out?

[SaveByRichter35]

On 9/13/2022 at 1:00 PM, Paul Pomplun said:

The skate is lightweight, the flexibility is awesome, the rapid put on and take off is good, you actually do shuffle and push better, but none of that matters if you play with constant pain all game on your soles, I gave them a good shot, used them for 6 games, baked them perfectly, but no matter what I did the pain during the game that gradually got worse was unbearable, by the end of the game, coming from True TF9's that are as comfortable as clouds this was terrible, I really wanted to like them, I really wanted them to work out, but the pain was just too much, Bauer has a lot of work to do to fix that, I have no idea why the soles feel the way they feel on this skate, it was just too much pain, I changed the insole inserts 3 different times and no change, so unfortunately I had to return them, maybe they can review that experience and adjust then I can try again in the future with a different model.

Welcome, Paul!

[SaveByRichter35]

On 9/7/2022 at 11:33 AM, Rogie said:

I have 2E wide feet and high arches and could not latch the lower buckle even when it was fully extended. Huge bummer. So I went to a local ski shop and had them drill out the rivet and replace the lower metal rail with a longer one that was screwed in (so it’s now easily replaceable). My local hockey shop had no idea, skills, tools, or experience in how to do this. For the ski shop it was trivial. Done to perfection in minutes.  Now I can finally latch the lower buckle across the arch of my foot and have been able to play several times in the skates. I can’t imagine going back to lace up skates now. 
 

I’ve always had trouble with the Bauer toe caps being narrow and was having fit issues with my Bauer Elite Fit 3 skates. Those issues are totally gone with the Konnekt. No more pain in the toe box area. My feet can finally lay flat even when I’m crouched in my goal stance. with Konnekt, I just have a snug fit all around my foot with no hot spots. Never had that before. Truly a game changer for me. Flex is awesome. Neither too loose or too stiff.  Feels perfectly natural on the ice. I ended up wearing the top buckle one or two slots looser than I thought I would when I fitted them in the store. They don’t need to be crazy tight for the hinge to work. I’m also in and out of these skates in seconds. Didn’t realize how much time and trouble it was to lace skates up correctly until now. Can never go back. 
 

Something important no one is talking about is that the skates run small by one size. I bought the recommended size for my feet (size 8). My right foot is 8.5 and my left is 7 according to Bauer scanner. Bauer says (it’s even printed on the box) that they’ll mold to fit my half size longer right foot and adjust to my wide feet. 100% on molding to the width but not the length. My toes are slammed against the front. I took out the footbed from the liner and compared them to my Bauer elite 8.5 and they were a full size smaller.  No wonder my toes are jammed. I’m used to have a gap so my ties don’t touch the front. That is just my preference. I had to trim down my previous footbeds to get them to fit.
 

After playing in them a few times I’ve decided I’m going to replace them with a size 9 so I can get the larger shell, liners, and footbeds. Hopefully the factory lower buckle will latch with no modification, it if not, I’d have no concerns taking these to my ski shop and having them replace that lower rail again. But  I do think the new size will be a perfect fit after heat molding.  Of course YMMV.  

Welcome, Rogie!

[ThatCarGuy]

2 months of heavy use later and I still love them. However I definitely need to go through with punching an additional hole in the ankle to help tighten it down. I genuinely believe these skates help me make saves that I wouldn’t make normally and rotate on the post better for back doors than thought possible. 

[ZeroGravitas]

Other one popped off today.

 

Edited September 21, 2022 by ZeroGravitas