TrojanGoalie

I think you made the right decision. The jump between 2x and Hyperlite seems to be much greater than what we will see between Hyperlite gen 1 and gen 2. As I said in my piece, the only new feature is the calf, but I don't see this really being any different than what was on gen 1 when it comes to performance. Both gen 1 calf and gen 2 calf wraps should perform similarly on the ice. I will never knock Bauer for pushing innovation, but I just do not see how this will change performance between gen 1 and gen 2. Not to tangent, but sometimes I enjoy the solutions True/Lefevre comes up with. Instead of building a bracket into the pad or the CCM DRS knee system, Lefevre decided to use a nylon Carey Price strap. This strap creates a firm anchor point for the knee block, and in turn the knee block will not move when driving down into the butterfly. All systems achieve the same goal, but CCM and Bauer are definitely over engineered.

You are probably correct. Wish they would just put "adjustable arms."

What do they mean by removable arms for customizability? Will Bauer allow for a goalie to pair small arms with a medium chest for the same price? If so this sounds like a headache for retailers. I feel like this feature is good but sounds more like an option for custom orders which is already offered. Chest looks good; I am currently in gen 1 and like it. Curious to see the change in calf plate stiffness with the gen 2 pads. I have gen 1 pads and the calf plate does not really move despite lacking a bracket. To add, when gen 1 is strapped the massive calf pad pushes against your calf and limits the movement of the calf plate. This literally saved my first shot of the game from being a goal last week haha. I love how Bauer pushes innovation but this may be overengineering. The calf bracket makes more sense for Mach users as those are usually strapped looser and I believe Mach has a smaller calf pad than hyperlite. Will definitely check them out on release but happy with my gen 1s. Would love to see the changes they made with the Konekt. After making the top strap tighter last fall, the Konekt has led to so much less goalie madness, specifically skate madness. I was talking to my goalie partner about no longer having the anxious feeling in the back of my head of whether my skates were tied well; same fit every time with the Konekts. Maybe my madness has lessened over the years but I feel very content with my current setup. I really hope they allow for a tighter fit stock so those who have my issue do not have to mod their $1000 skates. Realistically, the only piece I will probably pick up is the stick but also hoping that gen 1 sticks go on sale for a steal. I am still glad that there are changes for gen 2. My goalie partner pulled the trigger on some gen 1 w/ digiprint because he said that a rep said almost nothing was changing on gen 2. I would say these are all great features and if you got some older pads this is the best "hybrid" pad available on the market.

I got my CCM Eflex 1 done by Dennis a long time ago. I believe is was around $175 back then but it has probably changed. I will say he does such a great job. Recently upgraded to a Bauer Mach glove. The Mach closes good but nothing compared to the Factory Mad CCM glove. If your glove closes terribly it is definitely worth it, but because my Mach closes decent I have not thought about getting it modded by Dennis. I also recommend getting his floating T, which will cost a little extra. My one its gripe with the Mach is the T is super weak and does not maintain its shape. The Factory Mad T keeps its shape, even now. Also, it may be cheaper if you just have Dennis replace only the T, but if you are going to ship it to him you might as well also have him get your new glove closing great.

I feel like these either work or they don't. Personally, I knew that these skates weren't going to provide enough lock down above the ankle because my foot is very slim. The mod was not that difficult. I really enjoy getting my skates on in 5 minutes and the flex they give. If you have super wide or weird shaped feet, there is no other option than custom. If you have fairly average feet and want the flex/ease of putting on, get them. I understand that these were marketed as a stock custom option, but at the end of the day the foot last is made for average width feet. I do feel for those who got them thinking the new plastic material would form to their wide feet. I knew whatever issues I had with them I could remedy, but if I had width issues I would probably have to sell them. My advice would be to proceed with caution if you have pretty wide feet, based on the feedback I have seen from those who have wide feet. The skates should still feel pretty comfy before baking (that was my experience).

I do not have a photo but will tell you my process. Need: Sharpie, preferably silver (something you can see because the strap is black). Drill with multiple size drill bits. I do not remember what size drill bits I used but enough so that the bolt that attaches the buckle could pass through. Step 1: Mark the hole for drilling. I did this by taking the buckle and sliding it over to match up with the last hole Bauer gives you on the strap. Next, take your sharpie and mark where the second buckle hole matches up on the strap. You should now see a mark to where you should drill. Step 2: Drill with Smaller Drill Bit I started with smaller drill bit so that I could get an initial hole. To get a solid drill, I recommend laying the strap on a flat stable surface that will not get damaged from drilling (I just put my strap on concrete and made sure not to ruin my drill bit). Step 3: Drill with Larger Drill Bit Be careful on the drill bit that you choose. You do not want to go too big because then the screw will move around. Go smaller than you think because you can always drill the hole bigger. I proceeded to drill and try to shave the hole bigger. I did this until the bolt could fit through snuggly. Step 4: Repeat on other skate. Hope this helps.

I just took this step and no complaints. Feels the same as my stick tape hack. I am sure that Bauer will make aftermarket parts in the coming years if Konekt is here to stay... but for the moment drilling the hole is the best way to get a tighter fit above ankle. These aftermarket parts will only be available if Bauer allows the bolts to be removable. Currently, the top buckle is not removable. Besides the hinge, I am hoping future models will include removable screws and make the customizing a lot better. I also hope Bauer understands that some users need a tighter fit and provide a way to solve this (even Bauer adding the extra hole on the strap would suffice).

I think there will be a divergence between soft skates and stiff skates. We already see Bauer doing this with the Pro versus Konekt skate. See my review of the Konekt, but I always missed the flex that I got from my Bauer One100s when I was a kid. After that skate, skates by Bauer got so stiff and while they still worked for me, I missed the tiny amount of flex that the One 100s gave me. I am now finding that feeling with the Konekts. The flex will decrease support so you will have to be more mindful of where your feet are in relation to your legs. I am no D1 athlete, but I do play ACHA D2 hockey and have some fitness that lets me utilize the flex of the skate without compromising my balance. It will be interesting to see what NHLers stay in these skates. These are the top athletes and I wonder if they see more performance benefits from flex over the support and efficiency that stiff skates provide. I would love to eventually go back to a traditional skate (probably a custom True) and see the differences that I find between a stiff skate and the Bauer Konekt. However, I am in love with Konekts and feel the transition back would be difficult.

Konekt Skate Review after 3 months of use. Growing up I always struggled with skates. I would usually suffer through using smaller skates as the performance was best (great heel lock) but would also kill my toes. Fast forward to now, my foot is done growing and the skates I had performed well but still gave discomfort to my toes because they were 6Ds and hockey size is a 7D. After selling my old skates, I saw Bauer Konekt as a great investment because I liked the idea of custom features at retail along with a consistent fitting because of the new use of ski buckles. Custom skates were definitely an option I was considering, but I liked that I could get a similar product in one day. I decided to get Bauer Konekt as soon as they dropped. At the store, I tried on a 7D. This is because this is the smallest skate size they make. Luckily, they fit great (I was worried I may be closer to size 6.5D and they would feel big). From there I purchased the skates before baking (yes, you have to buy before baking if there was confusion regarding that). During the baking process, they felt great, but I found strap above the ankle to be looser than I expected. Leaving the store I was excited and worried as to the tightness above the ankle. Some videos I have seen have talked about wanting this area looser than we would typically do with a laced skate. I disagree, as the goal of Konekt was to get fit above the ankle very tight and allow the skate to utilize the built in flex. If the upper strap is already loose then the flex hinge will not be utilized to what was intended by Bauer. Back at home my skate madness went into full effect. I tried the skates on more, and realized my heel lock was compromised due to the above the ankle strap not being tight enough. At this point the skate strap was as tight as Bauer would allow me. I reached out to a Bauer rep and they basically said there was nothing I could do to increase the tightness. I had already purchased the skates, and besides the tightness issue the skates felt great, especially in the instep area of my foot. for the instep strap, I barely do it up, and rely on the top strap providing the heel lock and support. However, because my upper strap was not tight enough, I had to come up with a solution. My first idea was to drill a new hole in the upper strap to move the buckle over more (equaling a tighter fit). However, I was afraid of voiding my warranty and the Bauer rep warned against that haha. My next idea was to use high density foam or something that I could sandwich between where the strap and skate contact to create a tight fit. By sandwiching something in between, tightness could also be achieved. Unfortunately, I was not trying to buy HD foam or looking to destroy old gear for this hack. My last idea, and much simpler, was to wrap the hell out of the upper strap with hockey tape. The downside to this was making the skates look more hideous than they already are haha, especially because all I had was white tape on a black/gray skate. Luckily, my hockey tape hack worked. I achieved my goal of increasing tightness above the ankle. The performance was incredible out of the skate. I have never had a skate with both great comfort and great performance. Although I have never owned custom skates, there are other features that separate this skate from custom options. The first is the ankle flex, which has improved my deep stance. My teammates noticed it as well, where I can hold my ground for longer before butterflying for breakaways or in close shots. Some say this can be achieved through not lacing the last eyelet on a laced skate, but I always found that decreasing my heel lock. My skates have been used for 3 months and I seriously have no complaints after performing my hack. The truth is it seems like not that many others have suffered the same issues with above ankle tightness (I guess I got tiny thin ankles). One thing to note is the hockey tape has degraded after 3 months of water and sweat, causing some issue with getting my buckle actually done up. Because of this I was planning on removing the old tape and repeating the process. Three months of this hack have not caused any damage to the skate whatsoever. However, at this point I knew I loved the skates and planned on using them for as long as they last. I decided to try drilling a new hole so that the buckle could be moved over and make the ankle tighter. After removing the tape, I drilled a new hole in each skate strap and moved the buckle over. I tried the skate on with my hockey skate socks post hack to see if the tightness felt similar to my hockey tape hack. I honestly could not tell a difference but we will see after my first skate with this new hack. Drilling new holes does not compromise the strength of the strap at all (it has to be strong material because of the stretching force being applied to it during use) but it may void the warranty; however, it seems the only warranties are for the instep strap and buckle. If I still need it tighter after my first practice, I will probably use a combination of the new drilled hole and hockey tape hack. In conclusion, I highly recommend these skates for utility, performance, and comfort. I love getting my skates on in 5 minutes and they immediately feel great. Before, my skate madness had me wasting 10-15 minutes on getting my laced skates tied up to where performance was good (skates would feel slightly uncomfortable). For performance, some say pushes are less powerful because plastic creates more energy loss than composite. I have even heard some say the hinge flex decreases t-push energy. This may be true but I doubt any will notice; we have also seen a sort of 180 where NHL goalies went from the stiff True one-piece to now giving the flexible Bauer Konekt a go so take that for what it is. As said earlier, my crease movement has improved as I hold my edges longer before butterflying. Lastly, comfort has been incredible for me. I know some with wider feet have had comfort issues. Personally, these have never caused discomfort and I like the lack of any lace bite. The stock footbed is whatever but it is molded well to my foot and comfortable. I tried the skates early on with Superfeet and they felt less comfortable so I suggest against that. Some future plans (probably next summer) I have for these skates. Upgrade the steel to Bauer's more premium options and possibly use Bauer's speedplates for new footbeds. I will probably also rebake them around this time and may replace the inner skate liner if it begins to show high wear. If you have any more questions I would be happy to answer.