Bauer Mach Set - Initial Impressions & Long Term Review

[Teezle]

30 minutes ago, RedX said:

Did you opt for the traditional palm? The Hyperlite version I have has the updated Bauer palm. 
 

The customizer I used on the retailer's website only had options for the Mach palm (in regular, XL, or int sizes). If you choose the Vapor 2-Piece on the Bauer website's customizer, your only options are the Hyperlite palm (regular, XL, or int sizes). Interesting, but I don't think it matters much either way; the palm is just as comfortable as the Hyperlite one I had before this.

[ZeroGravitas]

On 6/1/2022 at 7:22 AM, RedX said:

Did you opt for the traditional palm? The Hyperlite version I have has the updated Bauer palm. 
 

 

On 6/1/2022 at 7:56 AM, Teezle said:

The customizer I used on the retailer's website only had options for the Mach palm (in regular, XL, or int sizes). If you choose the Vapor 2-Piece on the Bauer website's customizer, your only options are the Hyperlite palm (regular, XL, or int sizes). Interesting, but I don't think it matters much either way; the palm is just as comfortable as the Hyperlite one I had before this.

So the Excel customizer that I have shows a different palm comes if you select the 2PC blocker.

The regular Hyperlite blocker has the "Vapor Hyperlite Palm" but the Vapor Hyperlite 2 Piece blocker has the "Vapor Hyperlite 2 PC Palm".

The Tech Pack/spec code for the XL version of the Hyperlite is BAU-CUS-VAPHLBG-001 while the Tech Pack/spec code for the XL version of the 2PC is BAU-CUS-VAPHL2BG-001. So Bauer's front-facing systems aren't clearly showing that there is a slight difference in palms.

[Hooker]

For those that don’t order a boot strap, how do you carry your pads?   Using the elastic toe ties seems like it would stretch too much…..

[ZeroGravitas]

11 minutes ago, Hooker said:

For those that don’t order a boot strap, how do you carry your pads?   Using the elastic toe ties seems like it would stretch too much…..

You could opt for the CRS straps, and put in the boot clip (circled below) using the screw, nuts and the T-shaped leather strap and and use something like the Kenesky pad carrying strap. Clip each end of the pad carrying strap to the pads' boot clips and you're good to go.

Just skip putting the actual CRS strap on the other side.

Edited June 9, 2022 by ZeroGravitas

[Yzueblin]

@ZeroGravitas did you feel pads are the same size ? 
 

When i Watch thé video of hockey reviews guys he seem to say to use one size below with the tune fit+ 
 

how is the sliding with the new calf surface ? 

[Hooker]

16 hours ago, ZeroGravitas said:

You could opt for the CRS straps, and put in the boot clip (circled below) using the screw, nuts and the T-shaped leather strap and and use something like the Kenesky pad carrying strap. Clip each end of the pad carrying strap to the pads' boot clips and you're good to go.

Just skip putting the actual CRS strap on the other side.

Thanks for the tip!

[Teezle]

12 hours ago, Yzueblin said:

@ZeroGravitas did you feel pads are the same size ? 
 

When i Watch thé video of hockey reviews guys he seem to say to use one size below with the tune fit+ 
 

how is the sliding with the new calf surface ? 

I think they are talking about the stock version of the pad, which has the 125 degree boot (steeper). This will cause the pad to sit higher overall, so you may want to size down when going from Hyperlite -> Mach (i.e. if you're a Medium in Hyperlite, go Small in Mach).

Both @ZeroGravitas and I ordered our Mach set with the 100 degree boot (same boot angle as the stock Hyperlite), so the boot break to knee height is basically the same between the two. They feel taller in the thigh rise because of the less curved shape and stiffer thigh portion (with the stock flex; you can custom order whatever flex you like). I have not yet had a problem with the thigh feeling "too tall".

[ThatCarGuy]

Here’s to hoping I like my Mach set as much as these 1X pads. I had 2S for a bit and I actually like 1X more. Hoping I didn’t make the wrong decision ordering supreme instead of vapor pads. 

[maxtm30]

59 minutes ago, Teezle said:

I think they are talking about the stock version of the pad, which has the 125 degree boot (steeper). This will cause the pad to sit higher overall, so you may want to size down when going from Hyperlite -> Mach (i.e. if you're a Medium in Hyperlite, go Small in Mach).

Both @ZeroGravitas and I ordered our Mach set with the 100 degree boot (same boot angle as the stock Hyperlite), so the boot break to knee height is basically the same between the two. They feel taller in the thigh rise because of the less curved shape and stiffer thigh portion (with the stock flex; you can custom order whatever flex you like). I have not yet had a problem with the thigh feeling "too tall".

The Mach have a stock 120 deg boot VS 125 on UltraSonic & previous supremes.

The Mach also have a deeper boot channel VS ultrasonic and Hyperlite (flat). I think they fit much closer than they used to with prior release. I don’t sell gear anymore but I went XS in all releases from 2s to ultrasonic and they played similar enough. Supremes felt a bit taller but not enough to feel like I needed to size-down.

End of the day, Mach should fit a bit taller, but not a full size. Adding a bit of toe slack can help alleviate the difference.

[ZeroGravitas]

14 hours ago, Yzueblin said:

@ZeroGravitas did you feel pads are the same size ? 
 

When i Watch thé video of hockey reviews guys he seem to say to use one size below with the tune fit+ 
 

how is the sliding with the new calf surface ? 

The knee feels the same size, but the thigh definitely feels taller. I am having some trouble closing the five-hole with the straighter profile.

The calf surface on mine is more of the Ultrasonic style instead of the stock retail shape. I don't notice much of a difference over Ultrasonic, except I think these may slide slightly worse? I am coming back from Covid and a hiatus of about 6 weeks so I could just be out of shape.

[Yzueblin]

15 minutes ago, ZeroGravitas said:

The knee feels the same size, but the thigh definitely feels taller. I am having some trouble closing the five-hole with the straighter profile.

The calf surface on mine is more of the Ultrasonic style instead of the stock retail shape. I don't notice much of a difference over Ultrasonic, except I think these may slide slightly worse? I am coming back from Covid and a hiatus of about 6 weeks so I could just be out of shape.

It’s funny you talk about the sliding I test a large Mach set yesterday and I felt the same way 

 

they didn’t slide like my 2xpro and my Brian’s slide better than the new mach 

 

 

[ser33]

 

in my experience of using it concurrently for a couple of months, the 1S glided better than the 2X pro. noticeably better it seems to me that Bauer is moving in the direction of more wear resistance of the skin than improved gliding and each subsequent iteration of the skin glides worse

[Hooker]

Order placed yesterday!  14-18 weeks delivery... hopefully earlier!!

[ilyazhito]

22 hours ago, ser33 said:

 

in my experience of using it concurrently for a couple of months, the 1S glided better than the 2X pro. noticeably better it seems to me that Bauer is moving in the direction of more wear resistance of the skin than improved gliding and each subsequent iteration of the skin glides worse

Interesting. How does the Mach compare sliding-wise to a current Brian's or Vaughn pad? 

[ZeroGravitas]

I have six or seven skates in the Mach. Switched back to the Ultrasonic for a game on Saturday and oh my goodness.... the sliding was so much better with the Ultrasonic. I felt so much more mobile with the US versus the Mach, likely because of the pad's stiffness, profile and lack of calf bracket. For whatever reason, I feel more planted and stuck on the ice with the Machs - I wonder if it is the heavier weight/stifness of the plastic that makes up the Mach bracket.

Loaned the Machs to a buddy who is also currently in Ultrasonics - he also noticed that the Mach does not slide as well as the US.

Since I have my Ultrasonics back, I will try to put some comparison pictures up in the original post.

[maxtm30]

5 hours ago, ZeroGravitas said:

I have six or seven skates in the Mach. Switched back to the Ultrasonic for a game on Saturday and oh my goodness.... the sliding was so much better with the Ultrasonic. I felt so much more mobile with the US versus the Mach, likely because of the pad's stiffness, profile and lack of calf bracket. For whatever reason, I feel more planted and stuck on the ice with the Machs - I wonder if it is the heavier weight/stifness of the plastic that makes up the Mach bracket.

Loaned the Machs to a buddy who is also currently in Ultrasonics - he also noticed that the Mach does not slide as well as the US.

Since I have my Ultrasonics back, I will try to put some comparison pictures up in the original post.

I’m starting to feel that whatever is causing the issue is likely linked to the build of the custom pads. A common, significant performance downgrade would’ve been notice earlier in product dev cycle. My theory is the NHL calf wing + new skin combo. The geometry is significantly different and the weight distribution is most likely affected a great deal. So the sliding will feel different with both calf wings.

Anxiously waiting my set, you can expect my feedback after a few skates in here. As well as glory shots of the set of course  

Edited June 20, 2022 by maxtm30

[ZeroGravitas]

1 hour ago, maxtm30 said:

I’m starting to feel that whatever is causing the issue is likely linked to the build of the custom pads. A common, significant performance downgrade would’ve been notice earlier in product dev cycle. My theory is the NHL calf wing + new skin combo. The geometry is significantly different and the weight distribution is most likely affected a great deal. So the sliding will feel different with both calf wings.

Anxiously waiting my set, you can expect my feedback after a few skates in here. As well as glory shots of the set of course  

Thing is is that the calf seems super similar to the Ultrasonics, which slide like a greased up fat guy at a water park. I'll take a deeper look today to see what's different, but if the calf is largely the same, it must be the skin that's causing this?

But that said, I haven't spoken to anyone who has the off the shelf pad...

How many weeks along are you?

[maxtm30]

8 minutes ago, ZeroGravitas said:

Thing is is that the calf seems super similar to the Ultrasonics, which slide like a greased up fat guy at a water park. I'll take a deeper look today to see what's different, but if the calf is largely the same, it must be the skin that's causing this?

But that said, I haven't spoken to anyone who has the off the shelf pad...

How many weeks along are you?

This week is the 8th one!

Even if the material and geometry are the same from ultrasonic. The skin is new. Plus, this new skin and the mach bracket were both designed alongside the CSS calf plate and pillow. This geometry being different changes how your weight is distributed and affects sliding. The calf plate being bumped put feels like it was designed to shift most of the weight in motion to the leg, and then to the knee+core when static. With a less pronounced bump (i.e. the butterfly assist from UltraSonic) less weight is shifted back, so more weight on the less slippery sl1d3r skin. This matches 1 to 1 with the feedback + physics of the problem.

Asked a friend of mine who tested the retail pad and he felt sliding was on par with his hyperlite set. 
 

IN BOLD : Taken out of context, this would be quite hilarious. I guess a goalie’s custom set is like a baby

Edited June 20, 2022 by maxtm30
Typo, joke at the bottom added

[ZeroGravitas]

1 hour ago, maxtm30 said:

Even if the material and geometry are the same from ultrasonic. The skin is new. Plus, this new skin and the mach bracket were both designed alongside the CSS calf plate and pillow. This geometry being different changes how your weight is distributed and affects sliding. The calf plate being bumped put feels like it was designed to shift most of the weight in motion to the leg, and then to the knee+core when static. With a less pronounced bump (i.e. the butterfly assist from UltraSonic) less weight is shifted back, so more weight on the less slippery sl1d3r skin. This matches 1 to 1 with the feedback + physics of the problem.

Asked a friend of mine who tested the retail pad and he felt sliding was on par with his hyperlite set.

I went and took some pics just now. The pad with the white calf is the Ultrasonic. The material on the US calf landing definitely seems different - feels more plasticky - a lot like the retail Mach's calf landing. The white calf feels a bit slicker to the touch compared to the black knee. Al the literature I'm seeing seems to say that both the knee and calf are CORTechST, though. Meanwhile the red knee landing and red calf on the Mach feel like the same material.

Bbased on your friend's thoughts - I suspect that is the reason behind the sliding difference.

Shape of the calf and construction seems to be pretty much the same. The ankle protection at the bottom is slightly different. The picture makes it look like the Mach's calf plate is attached slightly differently, but they look and feel the same.

Ultrasonic has a removable (velcroed) gray calf pillow.

Mach is stitched in, and bigger.

1 hour ago, maxtm30 said:

This week is the 8th one!

...

IN BOLD : Taken out of context, this would be quite hilarious. I guess a goalie’s custom set is like a baby

100% intentional

That's awesome - you should be getting them in a couple weeks!

Edited June 20, 2022 by ZeroGravitas

[Chenner29]

1 hour ago, ZeroGravitas said:

I went and took some pics just now. The pad with the white calf is the Ultrasonic. The material on the US calf landing definitely seems different - feels more plasticky - a lot like the retail Mach's calf landing. The white calf feels a bit slicker to the touch compared to the black knee. Al the literature I'm seeing seems to say that both the knee and calf are CORTechST, though. Meanwhile the red knee landing and red calf on the Mach feel like the same material.

Bbased on your friend's thoughts - I suspect that is the reason behind the sliding difference.

Shape of the calf and construction seems to be pretty much the same. The ankle protection at the bottom is slightly different. The picture makes it look like the Mach's calf plate is attached slightly differently, but they look and feel the same.

Ultrasonic has a removable (velcroed) gray calf pillow.

Mach is stitched in, and bigger.

100% intentional

That's awesome - you should be getting them in a couple weeks!

It looks like the binding between the inside medial shin and the calf wedge sticks out a bit more on the Mach when compared to Ultrasonic

The same area looks to be raised on the knee block as well

[RecoveringGoalie1]

IMO, from playing around with the Mach on the ice outside of game play, its the skin that is the X factor here. I've tried sliding with my weight on different parts of the pads (i.e. being more knee heavy, more calf heavy, trying to be balanced, etc.) and the 'drag' feels like it's the skin being an issue rather than pad construction and bindings. Of course this is entirely unscientific testing from me, but that's my lean from my experiences with it.  There's something 'wrong' with this new skin that has increased the drag.

Tempted to demo a pair of retail / stock Mach's to see if there's a difference.

[maxtm30]

4 minutes ago, RecoveringGoalie1 said:

IMO, from playing around with the Mach on the ice outside of game play, its the skin that is the X factor here. I've tried sliding with my weight on different parts of the pads (i.e. being more knee heavy, more calf heavy, trying to be balanced, etc.) and the 'drag' feels like it's the skin being an issue rather than pad construction and bindings. Of course this is entirely unscientific testing from me, but that's my lean from my experiences with it.  There's something 'wrong' with this new skin that has increased the drag.

Tempted to demo a pair of retail / stock Mach's to see if there's a difference.

Most scientific test to do is to test the retail pad and compare. 

[Yzueblin]

6 hours ago, maxtm30 said:

Most scientific test to do is to test the retail pad and compare. 

I’ve used the demo retail pads and seriously its awful how they slide. My jrz jenpro slide better 

I’m thinking to order hyperlite pro custom pads with all the suprême option. This way I keep the Vapor sliding surface 

[wvuviv30]

I wonder if throwing on some "sliding" polish if it would help.

[ZeroGravitas]

7 hours ago, maxtm30 said:

Most scientific test to do is to test the retail pad and compare. 

I've consulted the Hockey Gods and They have told me that you are to be the one who shows us the Way.

32 minutes ago, Yzueblin said:

I’ve used the demo retail pads and seriously its awful how they slide. My jrz jenpro slide better 

I’m thinking to order hyperlite pro custom pads with all the suprême option. This way I keep the Vapor sliding surface 

The buddy of mine that borrowed my Machs is now thinking of doing the exact same thing.

3 minutes ago, wvuviv30 said:

I wonder if throwing on some "sliding" polish if it would help.

There's a thread on here where people are using some 3M tape on the inside edge of their pads - I'm thinking of giving that a try. I skate tomorrow and Thursday. Hope to have it applied by Thursday so I can report back.