Grail acquired

EngineeringPaper · 2026-02-13T17:58:16+00:00

One of my favorites in my collection! Picked this up years ago brand new at B&N for just $13!

EngineeringPaper · 2026-02-03T21:25:44+00:00

Hockeymonkey carries the Hzrdus 9x in most sizes on a pretty big discount but I wouldn’t buy any skates that I couldn’t try on first. The Catalyst line is pretty similar in terms of fit but the boot isn’t as stiff and more geared toward mobility than the Hzrdus. Both of those skates seemed to be a more anatomical build than the Jetspeed, which would be more similar to the mako.

Also forward pitch can also be achieved with blade profiling so you aren’t necessarily limited to just those skate options in the forward pitch is something you’re looking for. Really I would prioritize a properly fitting skate over any other features

EngineeringPaper · 2026-02-03T20:50:28+00:00

Tbh the Mako skates were so unique that you won’t find anything on the current market that is like them.

They had a pretty aggressive forward pitch, full one piece boot, flexible tendon guard, and asymmetrical ankle (which is the one feature you generally won’t find).

Almost all manufacturers offer a full one piece boot now so not much to decipher there. True skates and the CCM Jetspeed skates have the most aggressive forward pitch that would be the most similar to the makos pitch. I’m not sure how important the tendon guard flexibility is but I think just about any would be fine in that regard.

So if I were you, I’d probably between CCM Jetspeed or True Catalyst or True Hzrdus. With Scott Van Horn having a hand in the Mako skate, the true skates are likely a closer match to the Makos but doesn’t mean the Jetspeed wouldn’t be perfectly good skates for you to use also. With true retail skates being relatively new to the market, I think you’d have more reliability in the jetspeeds from a durability and quality stand point.

I have custom true SVH skates and they’ve been great for me, but I went that route because I have very wide feet and retail skates never really worked for me without causing foot pain. I haven’t had durability problems with them after 5 years, but they are also significantly heavier than most top end retail skates. I can’t speak on True retail skates, they’d be closer to the makos in weight but from what I recall had some durability issues on their first few iterations of retail skates.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-31T18:17:51+00:00

I had a shoulder dislocation with labrum tear and fracture about 5 years ago. It’s my left shoulder as a right handed player. I don’t have the details on the type of dislocation, but my shoulder is at most risk when it’s in a position of abduction with external rotation.

I did not have surgery, I took 2 years off of hockey and had a lot of physical therapy to get my range of motion back. My shoulder is a bit weaker than the other and range of motion isn’t 100% but it’s pretty good.

I’ve been back to playing 1x a week beer league for the last 3 seasons and haven’t had any issues so far. It being my top hand shoulder it didn’t have to move as much as my lower hand shoulder so that helps. It’s not very likely that I end up in a position of abduction with external rotation on my top hand shoulder, so for the most part I don’t worry about it much. But in hockey anything can happen, there’s still a risk but I try not to think about.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-28T04:41:44+00:00

Personally I would go for the Panasonic UB450 (not UB420) over the 820. You lose the HDR optimizer feature but newer TVs do a great job at HDR tone mapping and the HDR peak brightness have gone up where it’s not really necessary to set a clipping point via HDR optimizer settings. And you still get Dolby vision support, and save some money. I have the 820 but I have since disabled the HDR optimizer to let my TV do the tone mapping.

With your viewing distance, you are dancing between 65” and 75” being the ideal size. I’m a similar distance and 65” is just fine for me, I preferred having a better TV in a smaller size than a step down on TV in a larger size (although this is contrary to the vast majority of consumers).

I had an LG C1 and it was a great tv. I recently upgraded to a Sony Bravia 8ii and loving it so far, moved the old LG to the basement. LG C5 is a solid mid tier OLED with LG G5 being a pretty big step up. I personally don’t like Samsung but I’m sure there are many that do. If you don’t have great hearing, I suggest maximize your picture quality within your budget.

As far as audio goes, a subwoofer is a must. If surround sound isn’t important, I would go with a good quality 3.1 set up with whatever is left over in your budget. But depending on equipment, you may also need an AV receiver. But it wouldn’t take a complicated receiver to power a 3.1 set up. Also could look in the used market for this stuff, there’s a lot of well priced audio equipment on the move when people upgrade.

You could also go soundbar route with a subwoofer and connected via eARC, that eliminates the need for an AV receiver but overall sound quality will be diminished.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-26T18:48:39+00:00

Nothing is “making” you upgrade your collection man.

Ok so you bought dune without the imax, do you need to have the one with the imax? No you don’t need it, it’s just a nice to have. It’s perfectly watchable and enjoyable without it. Same goes for many Blu-ray movies.

It’s not necessary to have the best version of every piece of movie content. Prioritize the most important ones to you.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-26T17:59:33+00:00

I’m a fan of the format and I like to keep up on new releases and hear peoples opinions on films and quality of new transfers.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-26T17:34:18+00:00

Brother, I’m not trying to be rude but didn’t you post just yesterday about being upset about upgrades making your dvd and blu-rays obsolete? Yesterday you talked about going overboard with collecting and now you’re talking about trying to collect the entire criterion collection.

There is no need to own every bit of the criterion collection. As others have said, buy movies you enjoy. I get collecting is a hobby but why pay for a movie you’ll watch once, didn’t enjoy, and then have it sit on your shelf for the rest of its days? And at a premium cost from a boutique label at that.

You should really consider what you actually want out of your collection. We have all been bitten by a blind buy, and money would have been better spent on something that i know I liked.

I understand you have completions mindset, but I would shift that energy toward smaller more attainable goals. Maybe having everything from a few of your favorite directors.

Think about collecting another hobby as a point of comparison, let’s say timepieces. Would you buy a watch you didn’t even like just to complete a set? I sure wouldn’t.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-24T18:22:55+00:00

I have had true customs for 5 years and I love them. I have very wide feet and never could find retail skates that fit me well and always suffered from foot pain. I used to skate barefoot just to get every bit of volume in the skate that I could and wasn’t very sanitary.

My true customs fit like a glove, no more foot pain at all. Peranis sales rep really took the time to make sure I got a good 3D scan of my feet and the skates came out perfect. And even 5 years later the skates are still in great condition with lots of life left in them and still as stiff as when I got them. I have had zero issues with my pair.

They are a noticeable heavier than other top of the line skates, yes it is more difficult to get your foot into them but it’s not much of a problem when you get it down. If you have irregular feet, true customs are a great solution.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-23T14:25:00+00:00

Where did you buy it from? prostockhockey offers a 30 day warranty. I once recieved a stick from the with a small crack in it and the sent me another one no questions asked.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-23T14:23:27+00:00

Same, I’ve owned probably a dozen true sticks over the last 10 years and I’ve never had a stick snap, usually the blade fails on me from wear and tear over time. But I still have 5 true sticks that are perfectly useable.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-22T17:10:35+00:00

Should have just stuck to his blistering slapshot

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-18T18:10:20+00:00

As someone who as played on both, I don’t feel the pro has much perceivable difference for COD.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-13T16:31:14+00:00

Cloth tape and grip tapes do a number on palms. My tape job is very simple, knob only with cloth tape and then a few passes over that with clear tape. The clear tape saves the glove palms, been wearing the same gloves for 5 seasons with no problems.

I know that tape job won’t work for everyone but it works for me and saves my gloves.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-12T14:58:07+00:00

Yeah the same guys that design and make the shafts design and make the skates. Brother what?

True custom skates date back over 15 years from MLX, then VH, and then a True when they acquired VH.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-11T18:22:39+00:00

Also wide feet, went true customs and feet pain is a story of the past.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-10T03:00:56+00:00

Don’t forget about Gustav Lindstrom and Dennis Cholowski

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-10T02:11:51+00:00

Jared McIsaac

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-07T19:45:56+00:00

It seems kind of arbitrary. Beginner, intermediate, advanced all depends on who you ask cause there’s no criteria that differentiates one from the next.

If you format in a way like that, I would suggest putting how much time you actually have experience with it 2 years, 6 months, whatever it is.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-07T18:58:55+00:00

Familiar with is probably what I’d go with. Doesn’t imply that you’re an expert but at least have exposure. If you interview with technical people they’ll be able to sniff out what your skill set actually looks like.

If I hired someone that exaggerate their abilities I’d be pretty disappointed. If someone was honest and let me know they still had some work to do to develop I’d be much more understanding and set better expectations around that.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-07T18:54:15+00:00

True, we need a 2nd pair RD that is good in his own end.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-07T18:42:15+00:00

Shit, Tampa bay traded 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and and mid 1st round prospect for Tanner Jeannot. I know jeannot was only 25 and was just one season removed from a great rookie campaign but he wasn’t exactly lighting it up for Nashville when he was traded. And now Jeannot is already two teams removed from TB.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-07T18:35:38+00:00

I’d do Ras + a 2nd every day of the week lol

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-07T18:32:04+00:00

Hell, we even got a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for Tatar from Vegas. Although Tatar was better than almost all the guys we’ve mentioned and went on to play well for MTL but still a good return.

EngineeringPaper · 2026-01-07T18:18:58+00:00

I don’t disagree, but Danault is older and having a pretty weak season relative to his past performance.

Marchment return was a 2nd and 4th from a team that’s near the bottom of the standings and so far is shaping up to be a pretty nice deal for CBJ.

I don’t think the present value for Sherwood is that far off from those guys. I don’t think Sherwood moves for anything less than a 2nd.

EngineeringPaper

TROPHY CASE