TGN Deep Dive: Bauer Konekt Skates

[kudot]

3 hours ago, RecoveringGoalie1 said:

Worn them a dozen times and will never go back to regular skates again. I've noticed a significant reduction in hip strain while playing with them, and that doesn't take into account the performance improvements of being able to T push faster and get deeper into a stance to challenge a shooter in tight without going down too early.

Of all the new gear I've picked up since I've returned to the net, these are the first that have really blown my mind in terms of raw performance over a prior generation of equipment.

I was pleasantly suprised that these skates reduced any hip pain I was getting.  I guess the ability to lean forward really does reduce the stress on the hips.  I may even try going back to a stiffer pad if my hips dont hurt!

[Wrbsti15]

I tried the skates on again at home with my super feet and was getting discomfort in the lower arches of both feet.  Not sure if I’ll have to use the stock insoles or maybe rebake with a shim on my arch area. 

[XCVII]

Based on the mixed responses I'm seeing here and other places online, this is just the first step in the evolutionary process of laceless skates. It's the first of it's kind and there's probably improvements to be made. CCM and others will probably try to do their own version too.

While I'm excited to get a pair, I think I'm gonna wait for the next generation.

[Wrbsti15]

9 hours ago, Wrbsti15 said:

I tried the skates on again at home with my super feet and was getting discomfort in the lower arches of both feet.  Not sure if I’ll have to use the stock insoles or maybe rebake with a shim on my arch area. 

Seemed the discomfort was more when I was sitting. When I was standing and walking around they felt much better. I may need to do a rebake with shims on my lower arches and on top of my foot. 

[BadAngle41]

4 hours ago, Wrbsti15 said:

Seemed the discomfort was more when I was sitting. When I was standing and walking around they felt much better. I may need to do a rebake with shims on my lower arches and on top of my foot. 

If it only hurts when sitting... maybe the answer is... skate. The only way that solution doesn't work is if you find yourself at the end of the bench with a backup towel on. 

Somewhat kidding... they shouldn't hurt at any point. I'm sorry to hear you're struggling with fit. I'm hoping I'm part of the silent majority of those who have picked up this skate and not had any issues, and not the outlier.

[Wrbsti15]

19 minutes ago, BadAngle41 said:

If it only hurts when sitting... maybe the answer is... skate. The only way that solution doesn't work is if you find yourself at the end of the bench with a backup towel on. 

Somewhat kidding... they shouldn't hurt at any point. I'm sorry to hear you're struggling with fit. I'm hoping I'm part of the silent majority of those who have picked up this skate and not had any issues, and not the outlier.

I’m really hoping that’s all it is and I’ll be fine. I think I have the buckles in a good spot so we’ll see. If not I can try a rebake with shims 

[Wrbsti15]

Got my 1st skate in tonight and felt great. The first few minutes took some adjusting but they felt pretty natural. I did not have any pain on top of my feet. I did however have some discomfort in my lower arches throughout the game. It got a tad better as time went on but still discomfort in that area. I almost lost my balance once just due to how the flex is. I’m hoping the arches get better. My toes also felt close to the end of the line but didn’t feel cramped. If the arch issue continues I’m hoping I can use the shims in the arch area and that will solve the problem. 

[jerd31]

Had my first skate in my Konekts with my profiled LS5G steel- SAM profile, 9/16", felt so much better than the stock steel.  I'll probably go to 1/2" next time- I was at 7/16" on SAM profile with my old CCM's.

I've also noticed my quads are more sore than usual with Konekts- I guess the ability to flex also means more quad activation.  Either that or I'm just out of shape- probably a bit of both.

[Wrbsti15]

4 minutes ago, jerd31 said:

Had my first skate in my Konekts with my profiled LS5G steel- SAM profile, 9/16", felt so much better than the stock steel.  I'll probably go to 1/2" next time- I was at 7/16" on SAM profile with my old CCM's.

I've also noticed my quads are more sore than usual with Konekts- I guess the ability to flex also means more quad activation.  Either that or I'm just out of shape- probably a bit of both.

I do like mine but I get pain on top of feet and lower arches. Seems to get better as the skate goes on. My ankles were a tad sore the next day.  I might try to rebake. I’m using super feet comfort and have tydan steel Sam profile at 5/8”

[jerd31]

3 minutes ago, Wrbsti15 said:

I do like mine but I get pain on top of feet and lower arches. Seems to get better as the skate goes on. My ankles were a tad sore the next day.  I might try to rebake. I’m using super feet comfort and have tydan steel Sam profile at 5/8”

I use my Road Runner inserts and have minimal pain, which has reduced with each skate so I'm assuming it's just the typical new skate break in process.  Overall they're pretty comfy ~5 skates in- no complaints here!

[Wrbsti15]

1 minute ago, jerd31 said:

I use my Road Runner inserts and have minimal pain, which has reduced with each skate so I'm assuming it's just the typical new skate break in process.  Overall they're pretty comfy ~5 skates in- no complaints here!

Did you use any shims when baking? 

[jerd31]

Just now, Wrbsti15 said:

Did you use any shims when baking? 

Nope

[Wrbsti15]

Just now, jerd31 said:

Nope

I used the toe sleeves and shim under the lower buckle. I might rebake and put the buckle where I actually have them now and try the shims in the arch 

[RecoveringGoalie1]

Anyone find that they need sharper blades on the Konekts? Typically get mine done at 1/2 inch and felt like I'd gone up a hollow to a 5/8 or 7/16th instead.  Read somewhere that because the blade makes more contact with the ice you may want to go to a sharper hollow than usual for a similar feel - any feedback on that front? Debating moving up to 3/8th on my next sharpen.

For sole pain - have you tried superfeet insoles? They made a significant difference for me as the stock insoles have awful arch support.

[Desert Tendy]

Just purchased the Bauer konekt and have wide feet coming from a true custom.  During the baking  process the skates felt snug and I did not have any hot spots.  I played my first game last night and the flex was amazing. It really is a game changer. Now for the bad news…I had 2 major hot spots below the ankle on both on the inner and outer foot for each foot.  The skates hurt like hell by the end.  My Trues did not have one hot spot.  I’m going to rebake with shims and see how much I can widen the exterior boot.  Also your foot does slide a bit due to no laces.  I’m going to try to crank them down next skate.  More to come…

Edited September 16, 2022 by Desert Tendy

[Wrbsti15]

3 hours ago, Desert Tendy said:

Just purchased the Bauer konekt and have wide feet coming from a true custom.  During the baking  process the skates felt snug and I did not have any hot spots.  I played my first game last night and the flex was amazing. It really is a game changer. Now for the bad news…I had 2 major hot spots below the ankle on both on the inner and outer foot for each foot.  The skates hurt like hell by the end.  My Trues did not have one hot spot.  I’m going to rebake with shims and see how much I can wide the exterior boot.  Also your foot does shirt a bit due to no laces.  I’m going to try to crank them down next skate.  More to come…

I’m having arch and upper foot discomfort. Tried messing with the tightness. I can’t go too loose on bottom strap because it feels like it’ll pop off easy. Might need a rebake with arch shims 

[goalieThreeOne]

Drove 5 hours to the closest shop that was trained on fitting Konekts. Stopped in Friday afternoon and they spent an hour with me going through the fitting process. Shoutout to Jordan at Pro Hockey Chesterfield. Fitting was exactly like it was described earlier in the thread except they didn't have the toe sleeves. Didn't think a thing of it and left. Tried them out at a public skate and my toes were on fire shoved against the end of the skate. Went back the next day and asked and apparently a customer had walked off the the toe sleeves a week ago and a new one was on order. Well that didn't help me that day since I'm heading back in the morning. So we improvised by cutting off the top of a sock, folding it, and shoving it into the end of the boot. Pure agony. But after it was done, there was just barely enough toe room to feel comfortable. I had expected this since I'm an 8.25 and an 8.5 and was previously wearing size 9 retail boots and then size 8.75 custom boots.

If you're dealing with arch pain, I want to mention three things I did to help:

1. If your issue is not so much pressure but cramping, try rolling the bottom of your feet over a tennis ball or lacrosse ball to loosen things up. I previously had to do this in my custom skates  until I got used to them

2. Since many people in Konekts might be moving to a new footbed size, you might be tempted to replace in the insole with something that corresponds. In my case we tested a pair of size D superfeet which go to 8.5 and the arch didn't line up. I had previously been wearing size E which are size 9 and those arches fit perfectly. So all I did was buy a new pair of E's and the store trimmed them out for me and VOILA. Superfeet doesn't mention this fact at all on their material, so you might consider going into a store and actually trying them out to make sure the arch portion lines up and trim it from there, even if it doesn't "match" your boot size.

3. Finally, I see a lot of folks talking about the lower buckle causing pain. My advice on that is to not be afraid if it seems like it's loose. My first skate was pretty painful and I had a red mark across the top of my right foot and cramping in my arches. I loosened that buckle by a whole step while twisting the strap back in at the same time and today's skate had no pain. And while it felt loose, I don't see that as a problem, because that lower buckle is going to be covered by the boot of the pad and the calf wings on either side. What this also does is give you enough room on the forefoot to stretch your feet a bit inside the boot and relieve any arch cramping.

The forefoot issue was something I kind of expected since I have a really low instep, but comparatively high forestep (height of your foot past your arches). Basically a retail Baur Fit 1 or 2 wouldn't work.

As for performance, these things are slick. You don't notice the flex until you do because it feels natural. I have a little extra exhaustion in my quads, because the tight top strap is keeping me from bending my ankle to the side, a bad habit I've developed. Pushes are FAST. I did not expect this result, but I think the flex in the ankle is allowing me to keep the whole runner planted during a push instead of just the front of the runner. The ergonomics are insane.

My only gripe at this point is that my elastic toe ties (Monster/Bauer) don't stay put and they are sliding down past the toe. This messing with my pads coming back to center on both legs. I'm surprised this is happening considering they're essentially the same design that Bauer is using on their latest pads. I will either use the skate lace suggestion mentioned earlier in the thread, or I will shorten the elastics to bring back the tension and just leave them wrapped around the front of the holder instead of over top. I also might experiment with putting some grip material like a player glove patch kit that adds some friction to keep them from sliding down.

All in all, it's a good setup for me. But I also think that these skates will not be the magic bullet for everyone. I think you have to go in expecting that just like retail skates, they're made for the middle 90% of feet and that if you have feet that are oddly proportioned, these won't solve that. If you're in that boat, I suggest going full custom because that option is not too much more than the retail cost of Konekts. My prediction is that either the buckles or the moldable liners will make its way to the senior line during the next cycle and that will be a good option for those whose issue is not proportions, but rather things like hotspots, bumps, and burrs.

And yes my team did chirp me for wearing "rental" skates.

[mr_shifty1982]

On 9/16/2022 at 12:04 PM, Desert Tendy said:

Just purchased the Bauer konekt and have wide feet coming from a true custom.  During the baking  process the skates felt snug and I did not have any hot spots.  I played my first game last night and the flex was amazing. It really is a game changer. Now for the bad news…I had 2 major hot spots below the ankle on both on the inner and outer foot for each foot.  The skates hurt like hell by the end.  My Trues did not have one hot spot.  I’m going to rebake with shims and see how much I can widen the exterior boot.  Also your foot does slide a bit due to no laces.  I’m going to try to crank them down next skate.  More to come…

You have customs, I would never even spend that money on a new skate.  I have my ccm customs and not even going going to go there, but hopefully it works out.

Are your Trues falling apart at all?

[A.YOUNGoalie13]

@Wrbsti15 how long did yours end up taking to get to you?

[Desert Tendy]

Got a good deal on the Bauers and the Trues are showing wear.  The Bauers flex was another big driver. If I can get rid of the hot spots it would be well worth.  If not I’ll put them on sideline swap.

[jerd31]

Trying to come up with a cleaner solution to keeping prolaces in place on these.  I took a 1” wide piece of hook velcro and taped it inside the boot running down the toe and left about 1.5” sticking out between the boot and liner, then took a 1.5” piece of loop velcro and stuck it to the back of that piece.  I’ll sandwich my prolaces on either side of the velcro to keep them in place.  
 

[Wrbsti15]

16 minutes ago, jerd31 said:

Trying to come up with a cleaner solution to keeping prolaces in place on these.  I took a 1” wide piece of hook velcro and taped it inside the boot running down the toe and left about 1.5” sticking out between the boot and liner, then took a 1.5” piece of loop velcro and stuck it to the back of that piece.  I’ll sandwich my prolaces on either side of the velcro to keep them in place.  
 

I’m using the skate lace method. 

[jerd31]

11 minutes ago, Wrbsti15 said:

I’m using the skate lace method. 

That’s what I have too but the skate lace dangling around bothered me.  I’m weird.  

[Wrbsti15]

Got the black liner in today.  

[A.YOUNGoalie13]

Has anyone else’s lower buckle “loosened”? Will send a video if that doesn’t make sense