Rocket Skate: 2013

Monday, July 15, 2013

Six Pieces of Hockey Gear You Didn't Know Could be Repaired

Gear breaks. That's just part of hockey. There's good news though. Not everything which breaks needs to be replaced. Hockey is expensive enough without having to buy new skates every time a rivet pops loose. Here's a look at some things that you might not have realized Rocket Skate can repaired. One of the best things about getting your gear fixed in our shop is our quick turn around time. Many repairs are same day, most are done in two days maximum. We're also happy to give you honest advice on whether it's better to retire Great Grandpa's hand-me-downs than to repair them.

Busted Stuff on your skates
Unfortunately there are a lot of things that break on skates. We all know it isn't fun spending a lot of money on a new pair or breaking them in. Fortunately there are a number of things on your skates that can be repaired. Most people do know that eyelets and rivets can be replaced, but did you know that you should fix both of these as soon as you notice a problem? The longer you wait on these two issues, the worse and more expensive the repair becomes. Here are a few items on your skates that you might not realize can be fixed.

1. Tendon Guards
The tendon guard is a pretty important part on your skates. It's that funny piece sticking up in the back which keeps people from cutting your Achilles tendon (hopefully). While I definitely don't recommend playing with broken tendon guards, I personally go a step further and wear the excellent, Swiftwick hockey socks which feature cut-resistant protection. However, we can fix broken tendon guards as well. We've got a new process that works great and is very affordable at only $29 a skate. These require sewing your lining back in place, so the turn around time on this is typically 24 to 48 hours.

Here is how NOT to fix your tendon guard. Our process won't have people wondering if pirates fixed your skates.
In fact, my bet is that no one will even know they were repaired when we do them.

2. Broken Holders/Runners
I've heard of people replacing their skates because of a broken runner or blade holder. If you spent $50 on low end skates, this might be the logical way to go, it's never the only choice. Replacing runners is the most common repair we do here. Sometimes we're swapping out one that broke from a shot. Sometimes they old blades have just been sharpened so many times that there isn't enough steel for them to perform properly any more.

Once in a while we get a pair of skates with blades so worn down that they won't fit on the sharpening equipment anymore. Honestly, if you've gone that far, you've been skating rather poorly for a while. There comes a point where the blades are so short that it's impossible to take a sharp turn without that boot thingy they're attached to hitting the ice. When a skate boot hit the ice, it is generally quickly followed by a skater hitting the ice.

The good news is that most skates over $200 have holders which will take new runners. If you see one or two screws securing the blade in the holder, the blades are replaceable. But don't panic if you don't see them; it doesn't absolutely mean they aren't. Some Bauer holders use hidden screws which go through the sole of the boot rather than the sides of the holder to secure the blade.

If you have a broken holder, typical replacement cost is approximately $35 including installation. Holders are a pretty quick replacement. We try to have these done in a hour (as long as we don't have a bunch of other repairs on our plate). Most Bauer, CCM and Reebok sizes are in stock. We can even retrofit holders if you have an older skate with a discontinued holder or an off brand skate.

Runners are only sold by the pair. We stock all popular brands of runners. Standard stainless runners cost from $54 to $69 (depending on model). Our prices include installation and sharpening. There are a number of special order upgrades possible on runners, including lightweight Titanium runners, Black Carbon coated steel for reduced friction and Polished Stainless for a mirrored appearance. These vary in price. Runners can generally be installed while you wait as this is a pretty quick process.

3. Skate Tongues
A bad tongue on a new skate or a worn out one on an older one can make you crazy. There's probably nothing worse that your skate can do to you than give you lace bite. If you've ever had it, you know. If you haven't, imagine the top of your foot turning red, puffy and so tender that you don't even want socks touching it.

Replacing tongues is a relatively simple process. We remove the old ones and hand sew in a new pair of high-quality, aftermarket tongues with 48 ounce felt (that's nice and thick). If you bring us a pair of tongues, it's $29 labor. If we supply the tongues you're looking at $79 total. Turn around time is typically a couple hours on these.

Protective Gear
Protective gear is prone to breakage as well. Fortunately, we can repair most of what goes wrong with it as well.

4. Gloves (Goalie Gloves too!)
We also offer glove repalming and repair at Rocket Skate. Glove repairs are generally completed in 24 to 48 hours. We'll let you know when you call or drop them off how long it will be, then toil furiously to make sure we make that deadline . . . OK, we'll only toil furiously if that's what we need to do to make the deadline.

Player glove repalming
Most people have heard of glove repalming, but few really seem to know how well this works. Repalming a glove entails the removal and replacement of the entire palm of a glove, as shown below.

While gloves can be patched if you have small holes, a true repalm will replace entire fingers, palm, and thumb portion where the stick comes in contact with the stick. For most players, only the top hand needs to be repalmed. If the rest of the glove is in decent shape, a $29.99 re-palm will generally double the life of it.

We use reinforced, clarino palms at Rocket Skate. These are a spun polyester material with the feel of thin, glove-suede leather but a significantly greater durability than natural leathers can achieve. So repalmed gloves feel like new too (on the palm side anyway). We do include minor gusset and padding repair on gloves while repalming them as well. And of course we will let you know if they will require any additional charges before we start the work.

Goalie blockers
Blockers come out great when they get repalmed. Repalming isn't even really the most accurate word for a goalie blocker. Goalies get an entire new glove attached to their blocker. Like the player palms, we use clarino goalie gloves which have an awesome combination of durability and feel. Traditional blockers cost $44.99 to repalm. TPS style blockers with padded fingers (similar to those on a player glove) are $64.99.

Goalie Catch gloves
Fixing a catch glove isn't quite as straight forward as other gloves. Frankly, no two seem to break the same way. We do offer re-lacing, reinforcement and all other repairs. Most repairs on trappers will be done in a couple days. However, we might have to order materials in the proper colors for major repairs, so it's best to swing in for a quote and turn around time.

5. Pants
Pants wear out. It might be because you sit on them. Hopefully it's because you're playing hockey in them through. Here are some of the common ailments we can cure in hockey pants.

Suspender buttons
Buttons are a pretty easy repair. We can do these while you wait. They only cost a few bucks a pop. ($4 if you want to get specific). Of course having your pants fall down in the middle of a game would be priceless.

Belts
Belts are another pretty quick repair most of the time. The main thing to remember is that you shouldn't take your old belt out if you have an internal belt system like most new pants use. As long as you leave the old belt in place, this is another on the spot repair most of the time. Some pants do have sewn in belts which will require an overnight visit to the sewing machine.

Sewing
We can also fix ripped seams in your pants as well as patching of worn out areas. We do stock 420 denier nylon and pant crotch material in black so most pant repairs can be completed in 24 to 48 hours.

6. Straps
Gear straps are a pretty common repair as well. Velcro and elastic wears out. It's just something that Velcro and elastic does in general. Typical strap repairs run $5 to $10 a strap. Your new straps will be custom fabricated to fit your gear. Whether it's elbow pads, shoulder pads or shin guards we can keep them alive a little longer with a new set of straps. This repair will take 24 to 48 hours normally.

We also repair and replace goalie leg straps. We stock several types of leather leg straps in the shop. Most leg straps are not sewn in and can be changed in a few minutes. This style of strap runs $10 including installation. Sewn in straps are generally repaired by hand in the store. These take thirty minutes or so and cost $15 to replace.

Conclusion
If you've got broken gear, the odds are good we can fix it for you. I've listed some of the common items we fix here, but we've fixed everything from horse blankets to putting new knee cups on shin guards and augmenting shoulder pads. We love a good challenge once in a while. Feel free to swing by and try to stump us.

The prices in this article are effective as of July 2013 and may change slightly as material prices increase.

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Find us on the web at www.rocketskate.net

Friday, May 17, 2013

Understanding Sticks, the categories

Prepare yourself!
Years ago I wrote an eight or ten page dissertation on picking out a hockey stick. It was generally well received with only a couple people calling me names in their comments while dozens of others sent me chocolates. So you might be asking two things at this point: First--did people actually send me chocolates for my review? Second--why am I writing a new article on picking out a stick if the last one was so good?

In answer to the first question, nope, no one sent me chocolates, nor did they call me names. However, over 180,000 people did read it and it remains to this day, the second most popular article in sporting goods ever published on epinions.com. For those of you who are scoffing at my mere second place ranking or wondering what amazing bit of writing was more popular than my stick buying guide, well . . . it was the skate buying guide which I also wrote.

To the second and even more intelligent question, the answer is pretty simple. First off, I wanted to write a paragraph that displayed both how amazing and how arrogant I am (nailed it!). Second, and more importantly, a lot of things have changed about sticks since I wrote that article nine years ago.

But if I can be serious here for a moment (I'm not asking permission, I'm apologizing for my normal lack of ability to do) I've also had an epiphany about how to make picking out your next stick a lot easier. This epiphany is pretty much what I'm going to cover in this article.

In the previous article I discussed three types of sticks: wood, two-piece and one-piece. I'm not even going to spend time on wood sticks or two-piece sticks. The wood stick is practically extinct with only two major brands still manufacturing them. The two-piece is definitely in serious decline as well. However, I still think there are three stick categories, all within in the composite stick market. That will be the focus of this article.

I'd like to say that my epiphany came to me in a dream, or on the thundering voice of God, but for some reason, it came to me in the shower. Oddly, I wasn't even thinking about sticks or hockey. I was still actually half asleep and wondering if I'd already put shampoo in my hair or not. Suddenly, it dawned on me that there are three categories of composite sticks: economy, durability and performance.

Economy Sticks
The first category of one piece sticks is what I call the economy stick. These are your sticks which range in price from approximately $40 to $80. Almost every stick in this price range has the same ingredients of 10% carbon fiber and 90% fiberglass. By comparison to the more expensive sticks they are heavy and not as well balanced. They are however, still much better than the antique wood stick.

When composite sticks first hit the market, you needed to drop at least $150 bucks to get one. If you were using a good ol' piece of lumber made from Aspen and hickory, the prevailing thought was along the lines of, "I could get five or six sticks for that price!" It made sense that wood sticks were still hot selling items with that sort of price differential. However, I've got entry level one-piece sticks on closeout in my shop for $34 right now. Prices just keep falling on the lower end composite sticks. Suddenly a $29 wood stick doesn't make sense.

Even the worst composite stick is likely to outlast the best wood sticks on the market. If you're still pining for lumber you should consider making the switch (feel free to bean me in the head with a puck for that pun, I deserve it). Sticks in this category are going to be the heaviest of the composite sticks. However they will typically be lighter than wood sticks. Some models might lack feel on the puck. However, they should all shoot a little better than their wood counterparts.

These are the best choice for new players as well as old players who are transitioning from a wood stick. New players shouldn't spend a lot on their sticks until they figure out what curve works best for them. Old curmudgeons who still want wood will have less to gripe about when their newfangled contraption cost about the same as the old one.

Durability Sticks
Part of my epiphany came with the destruction of the most expensive stick I'd ever owned. As a defensive player with a mediocre shot ( and yes, I might be giving myself a lot of credit calling it mediocre), I still enjoyed the feel of my $175 stick. I did not like how it split in two when I blocked a hard slapshot with it. I realized that while the durability category didn't feel as nice or perform as well as the really high end sticks, they had a nice blend of performance and longevity . . . perfect for a player who likes to block shots as much as taking them.

Sticks in this category typically run from about $90 to $140. There is a pretty wide variety of construction options here. More importantly, this is where the manufacturers start keeping the composition of their twigs to themselves. Sticks in this price range are going to feature top secret combinations of carbon fiber, graphite and aramid as their main ingredients. Some might have a bit of fiberglass, but you're going to find significantly better materials in this class.

As a rule the weight of these sticks will be significantly lower than in the Economy selections. Some brands are offering true-one piece sticks in this category (as opposed to the norm of a bonded one-piece which is actually built like a two-piece but permanently assembled). Most sticks will have a middle of the road 3k construction blade, but some will feature a 12k or even pro quality woven construction, which makes the blade significantly more durable.

These sticks are going to perform better than economy sticks and last longer than performance sticks. For my personal style of play which features the, "I can block that shot and I don't care if it hurts," method, these are the only best choice. They also go well with the, "I don't shoot well enough to justify a $200 stick" part of my game.

Performance Sticks
In a price point that is constantly trending upward, the performance stick should have GPS with advanced goalie avoidance software built in. It doesn't. Sticks in this category, ranging from $150 to $250, probably won't make you a better player. However, when you pick one up for the first time, it's hard not to emit some sort of sound expressing your surprise at just how good it feels.

With impeccable balance and exceptionally light weight, these twigs can make people wonder someone filled their current stick with lead or concrete as a prank. The blend of lightness and balance makes for quick puck handling and effortless poke checks. If you're vain, it also has the possibility of making your teammates jealous of your super expensive stick.

The performance category often features new technology, such as extra long tapers for better pop on quick shots, holes to make them more aerodynamic (yeah right) or shafts designed by golf club makers. Blades are going to typically be woven for maximum durability and stiffness. Multiple densities of foam in the blade will allow for great puck feel without loss of shot power.

If you can afford a performance stick and have a high level shooting ability, owning one isn't going to hurt your sniper skills. The downside of these is they simply don't seem to hold up quite as well as the mid-level sticks. So unfortunately the price you pay is higher and the quantity will be higher in the long run as well. Still for elite level snipers with quick hands, these are a great choice.

Winding down
The first part of making your decision comes down to determining your needs as a player. It's a lot easier to figure out your price range when you know what you're looking for a stick to do. Certainly there is a bit of overlap sometimes. Often you can find an older model stick priced down a full category. It's not always the case, but it might mean that if your needs don't fit your budget, you aren't going to always have to settle. There is even some blending of categories with brands that are offering higher features at more reasonable prices.

Your helpful hockey shop employees can certainly help you narrow down your search further, but hopefully this article has pointed you in the right direction to start your search.

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Why new skates almost always feel weird

Just what is muscle memory?
I spent a fair amount of time talking to a customer today about muscle memory. It was clear when I was done that that they didn't get it. Hopefully I'm a better writer than orator, because I'm going to try to make sense of it here.

While in skating we tend to call the adaptation to new skates or adjustments to old skates muscle memory, the more clinical term would be gross motor skill. Essentially we have two sets of motor skills which we use to complete physical tasks: gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Let's quickly talk about what fine motor skills are and be done with that. Tasks such as writing, feeding ourselves and getting dressed involve the use of small muscle groups and hand eye coordination. These are fine motor skills. Another term for this is manual dexterity.

Gross motor skills, on the other hand are things that we do with minimal thought. These are actions such as standing, walking, even jumping and kicking. While fine motor skills require a conscious thought and planning, gross motor skills happen pretty much automatically. These are almost as automatic as breathing and blinking the normal person.

How does it factor into skating?
Unless you were that rare mutant individual born with metal blades protruding from your feet, skating wasn't exactly natural when you first started, remember? But now that you've been doing it for a while it's developed to something that's pretty much as simple as walking. Don't get me wrong, it will always take a lot of thought for a figure skater to launch and land a triple axel or a hockey player to carry the puck through the defense with a spin move. But just going out and taking a few laps around the rink doesn't require watching your feet I hope.

This is here just in case you didn't believe that kids can
be uncoordinated at times. See, I told you!

So let's back up a second and talk about how gross motor skills and how they change. We've all seen growing kids go through crazy awkward states where they are so uncoordinated their limbs seem like their mortal enemies at times. And yes, even though I remember my young self as the acme of athletic grace, apparently we were all that kid at one point. So just what is the issue with the poor kids in this state? Simple they are growing so fast they they have to readjust their gross motor skills to adapt to bigger feet, and longer legs, arms, torsos and heavier heads (It's possible that I made up that last one).

If your skates fit properly, they are an extension of your body. This means that when you get a new pair of skates, you're essentially going to go through that brief awkward growth spurt where you need to readjust your gross motor skills. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail on what might be different from one skate to the next as I did that in two previous blog entries here. But I will point you in that direction in case you missed them. Check out - Decaffeinating the Horror of New Figure Skates and/or New Hockey Skates, tougher than your feet? if you want more info on what changes from one skate to the next.

So what should I expect?
One of the amazing things is that even putting on the same exact model and size of skate is going to often require adjustments to your gross motor skills. Skates are still primarily made by hand. As a result, no two skate boots are exactly the same. The blades, also installed by hand on every pair of skates, aren't always in the same place. This means, that while the adjustments are going to be smaller when staying in the same model and size, there will still be some.

Perhaps a better way to explain this for an adult would be to compare it to an injury. Let's say you've broken your foot. In fact let's say you've done such a number on it that the only way they can set the bones results in your foot being turned outward, off by 90 degrees from where it should point. Yes, once you've gone through rehab and learned to walk again, you look like half a Charlie Chaplin impersonator. Then after a many years go by and you're tired of people pointing their finger at you and laughing, you find someone with an actual medical degree who can fix your foot so it points the proper way. The adjustment to walking on your foot which now points in the proper direction might take less time than it did after the first injury, but there will still be an adjustment. Your gross motor skills would take weeks, or even months to re-map your newly aligned foot and walk naturally.

While it looks painful, this is actually a new exercise class
combining yoga and pairs skating.

On skates we balance on a blade which is a mere eighth inch wide for hockey or three sixteenths inch wide for figure skating. The tipping point between your foot being neutral and off balance can be as little as half the width of that blade. Think about that. If your blade is off by a mere sixteenth of an inch it could mess up your skating. Further, the older we get, the less adaptable we become to these changes. I'm chalking it up to the fact that we haven't had a growth spurt for a long time, but I'm guessing there are other factors involved.

The Verdict
Don't get frustrated if your new skates don't feel perfect right away. Anyone who has bought a few pair knows this is the case. Just like you'd have to adjust if I replaced your feet with a different pair (not that I'm qualified or interested in doing that) you won't entirely have to re-learn how to skate. Sometimes the gross motor skill adjustments will be slight and this is typically how it should be. However, even slight adjustments can take weeks to make. It took six weeks before my last pair felt natural on my feet, but I did switch skate brands.

If the adjustments are serious you're probably going to need some help from your friendly pro shop staff. Blade alignments can help both figure skaters and hockey players. Sometimes it's just a matter of shifting the blade. Of course if you bought your skates from us, we're going to take care of getting that fixed for you. If you bought them elsewhere, we can help with that too, it just isn't included in the price.

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Find us on the web at www.rocketskate.net

Friday, February 8, 2013

Ten mistakes you didn't know you were making by buying your skates online

Buying Skates on the internet is a great idea right?
Recently, a customer showed up in my shop with a pair of skates he had purchased online. I try not to take it personally when people do this and it's usually easy enough. I don't mind losing a sale to price once in a while. The economy is crap, we all do what we have to do to get by. However, In this case, I was appalled. He attempted to save $26 by buying online. But what he really did was purchased a much lower level skate ($100 cheaper retail price) with none of the services I include for free on new skates and saved exactly TWO dollars.

The simple fact is, unless your nearest hockey shop is in another state, there's only one reason to buy skates online--price. I'll be honest with you, sometimes that's enough of a reason in itself. But that's the exception rather than the rule. If you're trying to save twenty or thirty or even fifty bucks, you're at risk for shooting yourself in the foot. If you found a pair that's on closeout at a hundred bucks or more off retail, it might be a good deal.

The following is a list of ten things that just may go very badly for online skate purchasers

1 - Those aren't the skates you tried on (assuming you tried some on)
The single most important factor in purchasing a pair of skates is fit. It's a simple premise, if the skates don't fit right, they aren't comfortable, they don't work properly, skating is a miserable experience. While most skates in the same model and size are going to offer a very similar fit, no two skates are exactly the same. The problem here is that much of the skate assembly process is still done by hand.

I had a customer years ago who came in, tried on a pair of skates and decided that he wanted to mull it over before making the purchase. He came back the next day and I grabbed a pair in the model and size he'd tried on the previous day. Once they were on his feet he told me, "There's no way this is the right pair, the top of the toecap feels like it's cutting into my foot." In fact he tried on the second of the three pair and had the same sensation. When we got to the last pair in his size he said they felt great and bought them.

Figure skaters have known for years that you cannot order skates online. While they are all similar, no two pair fit exactly the same.

2 - Those aren't really on clearance, they are defective
We've all heard the saying, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is." While most brands of skates are on a redevelopment cycle, not all of the skates on sale are there because they were last year's model. One of the problems with the hockey industry is that they are notoriously cheap when it comes to R&D of new products. The end result of this means that the majority of product testing falls in the lap of unwary consumers. It also means that skate brands typically have leaders and losers.

A common deal a few years back was a free high end stick with a pair of skates (which were heavily discounted). Here's how that deal translated:

People bought the skates and weren't happy with them.
People bought the stick and weren't happy with it.
Major retailers realizing they were carrying a bunch of inventory that people hated asked the manufacturer to help them out with the garbage they produced.
Manufacturer, pressured by their biggest dealers made them a nice offer to keep them happy.
Retailer bundled two horrible products into "the deal of the century"
Unwary consumer got stuck with two products they were unhappy with for a low price

The only way to make sure you know exactly what you're getting is to buy it in person.

3 - Sneaky Skates
The big online retailers have enough buying clout to order SMU (Special Make Up) and Limited Edition skates. These essentially are skates that are produced in such limited runs that only the biggest two or three online retailers sell them. The problem with these skates is that the online retailers control all the information and pricing on many of them. While most of the Limited Edition skates are in the brand catalogs, the SMUs are always going to be a skate that you cannot see in person.

Often these skates cut corners and lack features that you would expect to see in the price point they are being sold in. There's no way to know until you get them. While the price might seem good, be prepared for disappointment.

4 - You don't understand the real price
The individual I mentioned at the start of the article had been looking at a pair of closeout skates in my shop that were marked down to $85 below retail cost. We spent a fair amount of time talking about skates, fitting him the proper size and discussing the bonuses he'd get by buying them from me. A week later he showed up with a pair of skates that were $26 cheaper online.

Somehow, he forgot that every skate we sell include the first three sharpenings which come to a $24 value. So, in reality he saved only $2 on the purchase price. We also throw in the heat fitting with skates we sell which is normally $19. The most important detail he failed to understand is that we stand behind what we sell with lifetime boot punching, free blade alignments if required and free labor on customization such as heel lifts. The online retailer was done helping him with his skates the moment they put the shipping label on the box. Even worse, he was duped into buying a model with a $100 lower retail price, so rather than saving $2, he bought an entry level skate for the same price he would have had an elite level skate.

So remember you get $43 worth of free services right up front when you buy skates at Rocket Skate. Down the road, you're going to get our support to make sure that your skates fit and work properly for as long as possible.

5 - Murphy's Law
Sometimes skates just aren't put together right. The case of another customer who bought a pair of high end skates online comes to mind. When he came to me looking for them, he asked if I could match the price. On the particular skates he was interested in, I couldn't even come close to the online closeout deal he found of about $100 below wholesale. I told him he should take that deal online.

When his skates arrived he struggled skating in them for weeks. Eventually he brought them in to me concerned that the blade had been installed incorrectly. In fact, the entire skate had a significant manufacturing flaw; the outsole had been installed about a half of an inch off center. This put the blade impossibly out of alignment to the point where they couldn't be corrected without a serious amount of work.

He contacted the manufacturer, who told him the online retailer would have to determine if it was a defect. After sending it back to them at his cost, they shipped the skates back to him (again at his cost) claiming there was nothing wrong with them. He was left with a pair of skates that needed a repair costing more than the skates were worth as well as some headaches he shouldn't have had.

I've also had customers break a skate under warranty that I was able to repair on the spot. Sometimes the manufacturer warranties the repair sometimes they don't. But if you bought them online, you'd have to ship your skates to the retailer and wait for them to fix them and ship them back. That generally takes longer than a few hours.

6 - The two size down rule is a lie
If there's one piece of gear that has to fit you properly it's your skates. Online retailers give you a rule of thumb telling you to calculate your skate size by deducting anywhere from 1 to 2 sizes from your shoe size. Even if I hadn't been fitting skates since 2001 I could tell you there's a flaw in their guidelines--they cannot agree on a number. Aside from that consider the obvious, do you buy shoes without trying them on? Do you always wear the exact same size shoe? I don't. Further, width, instep height, arch height and foot shape are all important factors in determining which skate will fit you best.

I've fit thousands of people for skates and the only rule I can tell you is that the measuring stick is just a starting point. I've had people that had perfect fits four and a half sizes smaller than their shoe size, and people who had a perfect fit a half size smaller. The only way to know for sure is to have a professional fit you. But, don't be the guy who wastes their time getting fit so you can buy online. If you don't value the service they offer enough to at least consider buying skates from them, don't take advantage of it. Best Buy is about to close almost a quarter of their stores claiming internet show rooming as the issue; think how much harder it must be on the small business you rely on to sharpen your skates.

7 - Blade alignments
Even when a pair of skates is put together right for the average person, it doesn't mean that they are going to work for every person. I've seen enough feet in my lifetime to tell you there aren't two the same (even on the same person). Thus, a pair of perfectly set up skates might not be perfectly set up for the individual using them.

What does that mean? It means you might not have to pronate (that's the horrible feeling that your ankles are too weak to keep your skates from tipping in). For most people pronating is the result of either wearing skates that are too big or lacing them too loosely. However for about 10% of hockey skaters, it's because their skates aren't set up properly for their feet.

We can fix that and if you bought skates from us, we'll do it for free. If you didn't, it's $50.

8 - Customer support
If you were considering two electronic products at pretty much the same price, customer support might be the major determining factor in the decision. I just picked up a new cell phone at Best Buy even though it was a few bucks cheaper on Amazon. Why? It was worth it to have them migrate all the data and apps from the old phone.

Skates can be as big a nightmare as electronics if you're on your own breaking them in. The difference is that electronics give you mental distress when they don't work while skates give you physical pain AND mental distress when they don't work. Most people need a little more help than they get from just a heat fit. Skate buyers average 2 to 4 punches on new boots (punching is an isolated boot stretching technique which customizes the fit of the boots).

Four boot punches is going to set you back $20 to $40 for skates purchased elsewhere. Of course there is no guarantee that four punches is going to do it. I had a young skater who came in so frequently that she would have spent over $200 in boot fitting services had she not bought the skates from me.

I've also helped people by adjusting the pitch of their skates on new boots. Pitch is the angle of the skate boot relative to the ice and it's one of the most difficult things to adjust to when switching skate brands. It's pretty easy to correct, but if you didn't buy the skates from me, it's going to set you back $26 instead of $10.

9 - The same price isn't as good as our price
Rocket Skate can special order most skates priced over $450 and match the prices on the internet. We can fit you for the skate you're interested in and have them here in less than a week. Add in our $42 worth of free services, professional fitting, the assurance that your skates will be comfortable and our support for the life of the skates and tell me who has the better deal now, us or them?

10 - Because it feels good
So let me see, we have better value, better service, you know what you're actually getting, we're going to take care of fitting and warranty issues and we actually care if your skates work for you after you've paid for them. If for some reason that isn't enough, maybe you should just buy them at a small local retailer because it's just feels better to do. The odds are pretty good that your friendly hockey shop owner isn't in the business for the money. If he is, I feel sad for him. Personally I do this because I love what I do. If I was in it for the money, I would have boarded up the shop a long time ago. Don't get me wrong, it's hardly lucrative but I don't love it enough to move into a cardboard box when things go bad.

If you feel good supporting a faceless out of state corporation that actually does make a lot of money selling hockey gear, by all means, do spend your money there. Personally I feel much better spending my money a small businesses who provides local jobs and outstanding service to their customers. I like keeping my cash in the local economy when I can. I don't mind that my sales tax supports local programs either.

Here's another bonus for you. Did you know that the first 10% of all Rocket Skate profit goes to charities that feed the hungry, help people afford housing and take care of orphans? Probably not, since we don't talk about it much. We don't do it so we can brag about it, we do it because it's the right thing to do. I'm talking about it now because you help us to continue doing it with your patronage and feel good about that too.

So what's a skater to do?
You'll have to figure that one out. You can gamble on the possibility of a better deal on the net or you can have a conversation with your local small business owner. To me it comes down to who you want to trust. I'd personally pick the guy who is going to see you regularly and sharpen your skates. I'd pick the guy who you've known for years over the voice on the telephone.

The bottom line is that no one is going to work harder than Rocket Skate to make sure that you have the best experience in your new skates that you possibly can. If you do the math, our prices are almost always better than the online shops. Bring in your best deal and if it's really that good, we'll let you know that you should take it. But at least do yourself the favor of checking first.

If I can leave you with some math, here is the deal the guy from the first story ended up with by trying to save $26:

Rocket Skate Deal - Total price $275 +tax

Elite level skates ($359 retail value) - $275
New Skate Sharpening - Free
Two sharpenings for later - Free
Heat fitting - Free
Boot punching - Free for the life of the skates
Peace of mind - Free

Deal he took - Total price - $307 +shipping

Recreational level skates ($249 retail value) - $249
New Skate Sharpening - $12
Two Sharpenings later - $12
Heat fitting - $19
Boot Punching - $15/average
Peace of mind - unavailable

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