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TGN Deep Dive: Bauer Konekt Skates


TheGoalNet

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On 7/25/2022 at 6:36 AM, ThatCarGuy said:

Konekt will not be on any websites as far as I know. It will be available exclusively at retailers because the skate must be baked properly. 

 

On 7/25/2022 at 5:40 AM, Puckstopper said:

7/29 was supposed to be the official launch date, so my guess is Friday. 

Hoping this one is true I was planning on using my Bauer U to get them

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On 7/25/2022 at 6:36 AM, ThatCarGuy said:

Konekt will not be on any websites as far as I know. It will be available exclusively at retailers because the skate must be baked properly. 

So thanks to you, I ran out and bought a pair today. It makes perfect sense not to offer this online since they absolutely need to be baked and fitted by someone who knows what they are doing. Bummer not to save as much money as I would have with our Bauer University discount. I'm big on trying something before I knock it so here we go!

On 7/26/2022 at 10:37 AM, TheGoalNet said:

Bauer sends a kit, I believe each box will have the toe sleeves and all the pads for punch out assistance.

If by box you mean skate box, I don't think this is the case. I believe Bauer sends one set of heat protective gloves, toe sleeves, shim pads, cooling packs and a refrigerator to each store - at least that's the case at my store. There's nothing in our Konekt boxes except the skates and liners.

We thought one of our employees mistakenly left the toe sleeves inside another customer's skate but found it in time to get them on my feet before my skates came out of the oven.

10 hours ago, Jeffgtx said:

Hi, would the baking process with the liner etc allow someone who isn;t quite a 7 to wear a 7 without swimming in it?  In other words, do these run small compared to Bauer supreme?  Thanks.

Depends on other characteristics of your foot, too. I scanned in as a 7 using the Bauer foot scanner, which has a Konekt sizing option under the Goalie scan option. The 7 liner felt comfortable but I could not get my foot into the 7 boot as it did not have enough volume for my instep, a common problem I've had with Bauer for a long time. I sized up to a 8. The 8 liner felt a little long, but after baking, it felt as if my toes were perfectly at the end of the skate.

Even my True Customs have maybe a half-size too much room in toes, so this felt really good. Volume-wise, it was still fairly tight, but I bought them and will see how they are on the ice. For science.

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1 hour ago, A.YOUNGoalie13 said:

@ThatCarGuy pretty sure they will be on Bauer’s site, they want their money

They also don’t want to deal with customers complaining their home oven melted their skates because they’re too far from any hockey shop. From my understanding konekt won’t be the only retailer exclusive product from bauer this year. That said I did here rumor of an epp for the skates @ZeroGravitas . No idea when it goes into effect though. 

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1 hour ago, ZeroGravitas said:

We thought one of our employees mistakenly left the toe sleeves inside another customer's skate but found it in time to get them on my feet before my skates came out of the oven.

Can’t wait to see how many pairs of those toe sleeves we go through. 

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7 hours ago, ThatCarGuy said:

They also don’t want to deal with customers complaining their home oven melted their skates because they’re too far from any hockey shop. From my understanding konekt won’t be the only retailer exclusive product from bauer this year. That said I did here rumor of an epp for the skates @ZeroGravitas . No idea when it goes into effect though. 

I see where your thoughts are coming from but I think they’ll come with an instruction manual. Bauer doesn’t want to miss out on a potentially revolutionary product’s sales.

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1 hour ago, A.YOUNGoalie13 said:

I see where your thoughts are coming from but I think they’ll come with an instruction manual. Bauer doesn’t want to miss out on a potentially revolutionary product’s sales.

From my understanding Bauer is also losing money on every single pair of these skates which is why they sent out such small batches. Most likely there will be a replacement in a year or two that’s made of traditional foams and a cheaper thermoplastic. All of that is purely hypothetical but if that’s the case the first generation of konekt is the nicest. 

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28 minutes ago, ZeroGravitas said:

Website for retail store employee education on Bauer products.  Completing all the modules gives your access to discount codes.

There's a ton of store employees on here, it seems!

Isn't there a pretty substantial discount on it?

I wonder what the minimum is. Like, can I just work in my rinks pro shop for 2 hours/week to get access? 

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34 minutes ago, ZeroGravitas said:

Website for retail store employee education on Bauer products.  Completing all the modules gives your access to discount codes.

There's a ton of store employees on here, it seems!

Ahhhh thanks very much. 

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11 minutes ago, Soca said:

Isn't there a pretty substantial discount on it?

I wonder what the minimum is. Like, can I just work in my rinks pro shop for 2 hours/week to get access? 

I work at my store one shift a week, sometimes two and that's enough. It may depend on your store rather than your full-time/part-time status.

3 minutes ago, A.YOUNGoalie13 said:

Depends on the store, last I heard pure hockey employees don’t get access to it

That's crazy to me - they're one of the biggest hockey retailers in the US. Didn't Pure also buy the Bauer Experience retail locations, too? Seems like they would be really cozy with each other.

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For you retail guys, is there a good way of going about finding a retailer that's properly trained and equipped to do proper fittings? The pro shop near me is too small to deal with something like this. So I'm going to have to find a retailer to travel to to get fitted and I don't want to drive 5 hours and find out the shop I'm at doesn't know what they're doing.

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3 hours ago, Jeffgtx said:

Where are you guys finding these In Stores?  Every place near me I call says “this fall”.  

You in the States? Perhaps try the big box stores like Monkey and Pure?

3 hours ago, goalieThreeOne said:

For you retail guys, is there a good way of going about finding a retailer that's properly trained and equipped to do proper fittings? The pro shop near me is too small to deal with something like this. So I'm going to have to find a retailer to travel to to get fitted and I don't want to drive 5 hours and find out the shop I'm at doesn't know what they're doing.

If they're selling the Konekt, they will have the proper equipment (gloves, shims, toe sleeves, cold packs).

IMO, call a store and ask to speak to a manager. Tell him or her that you're looking to buy the Konekt but you're making a long trek and want to see if the manager can set you up to have a fitting appointment with his best skate fitter or most knowledgeable goalie employee. You can feign some ignorance and say that you heard it's a whole process to get the skate fitted and you want to make sure it's done right. If you're comfortable, make the appointment.

Your profile shows you've got Bauer skates so I don't think you'll have a difficult fit process. Someone like me whose high instep has always forced me to look at other brands might need more time to try on different sizes and make sure of the shims.

That said, the actual baking process is pretty straight forward as outlined HERE.

7 hours ago, ThatCarGuy said:

From my understanding Bauer is also losing money on every single pair of these skates which is why they sent out such small batches. Most likely there will be a replacement in a year or two that’s made of traditional foams and a cheaper thermoplastic. All of that is purely hypothetical but if that’s the case the first generation of konekt is the nicest. 

I was wondering why Bauer even opted to give us the stainless steel when Bauer's top two Supreme player skates for 2022 (Mach and M5 Pro) require customers to buy the steel separately. That stainless steel might be worth about $20-30 dollars to Bauer's gross margin but every little bit adds up...

Edited by ZeroGravitas
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39 minutes ago, Jeffgtx said:

Yes US. And it’s the big boxes who don’t seem to know. Just like jerd in the earlier post. Doesn’t seem imminent. 

My local big box has it on the wall for sale. It's been up there with a price tag for at least two weeks. It's one of the two I mentioned in my post.

I know some Pure locations have next to no goalie gear - maybe that's why the staff at that Pure don't know, because they weren't going to get any in the first place? I believe if a store is stocking Konekts, Bauer will send all the fixtures and tools out to them. But if the store isn't allocated (not sure if that's the right word) any Konekts, it makes sense they wouldn't have gotten anything by now since the official launch is supposed to be tomorrow.

Not sure if that's the case with Monkey locations though - they're not as ubiquitous as Pure stores. I've been to two locations and they both stock a good amount of goalie gear.

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