We are halfway through the current hockey season. Players in leagues from the NHL to the youth leagues are midway through the long, grind of a season while others that have a season beginning in January are approaching their first games. When I first purchased my current pair of ice hockey skates, I wrote a first impressions review of the the Easton Synergy EQ40.
After spending many hours in hockey rinks across southeastern Michigan officiating games, I have put the skates through enough of a test to evaluate the first few months of skating in them. I also had the opportunity to skate in them as a player for the past couple weeks as I took a couple weeks away from playing goalie in our weekly Hockey World Blog skate. Featured below are the specs as well as an evaluation in my opinion in a few different categories.
Specs:
Size: 10.5
Width: D
Baked: Yes
Price: Currently on sale for $349.99 at Pure Hockey*
Aesthetics and Durability:
As someone that skates normally 2-3 days per week, they have held up very well for as high up the Easton product line they are. They still look fairly new and clean. Starting at the blade, there has not been any rusting of the ELITE stainless steel blade. I’ve kept it pretty dry and clean with a towel after skating as well as keeping it in a soaker-style skate guard. Moving up to the blade holder, the Razor Bladz II holder has impressed me. As someone who has used Tuuk holders most of my life, I was weary of using something different but as far as I have seen, I have not noticed anything different between the two. They are in very good shape with exception of a few puck marks that comes with normal use.
Moving onto the boot, it is one of my favorite things about the skate itself. The outside is still solid and has absorbed normal wear and tear without much breakdown. There is a small chips of the solid plastic around the toe but it is not noticeable unless you have the skate in your hand. The boot has done a good job of taking on water from snow and ice without entering the skate or breaking down the material.
In the first review, I raved about how I love the thick felt inside liner at the tongue. There’s a decent amount of black lint coming from my hockey socks or Shin-Tights attached to the felt, but nothing to lose any sleep over. Comes with the territory of the skates. The tongue didn’t take long to break in. Leaning over to take more aggressive power strides made the tongue stiff the first few times I skated in them, but over time it has broken in quite well. If you have your skate/socks setup as “tongues out”, you wouldn’t have a problem quickly breaking them in. The anti-lace bite material in the tongue is a solid innovation in the skate. I’m able to tie my skates tighter without the repercussions of lace bite.
The stock laces have shown zero signs of breaking down at the tip. They are just as fresh and new as the day I bought them. Same goes for the eyelets on the skate.
Performance:
They are some of the most comfortable skates I have ever worn. Because I had them baked before skating in them, it allowed me to quickly speed up break-in time as it closely molded to my feet.
The replaceable runners is a feature I have never seen in a skate. When it comes to skating on ice, I have been able to go longer between sharpenings with regular maintenance and care. In addition, using handheld stones have given me an increased edge. That’s allowed me to dig into harder ice surfaces without feeling like I don’t have an edge.
One runner design feature I don’t like is that it leaves two small openings mid-blade between the actual runner and the blade. The result is a loud chattering sound when striding or stopping. Somewhat nontraditional by design, but some players may prefer this. In addition, I’ve had to use a different cloth towel to dry my blades off because of constant snagging between the small hole and the towel.
Another suggestion I have read was to remove the insole to allow the insole to dry quicker. That has helped maintain the dryness of the insole as well as the shape.
The Dry Flow feature at the bottom was a great innovation in this skate. It has allowed my feet to avoid getting sweaty by removing the built up heat while allowing cool air from the ice into it through a small vent.
Closing Notes:
This is a good skate for the price. This is perfect for those who want something a top skate without the top skate price point. At $349.99, it is a large price point between this and the top skate in the Easton Synergy line, the EQ50 at $529.99. Going further down, the EQ 30 is $199.99. While a large gap in price between the three, the features and style of the EQ40 is closer to the EQ50 than the EQ30.
Check back later this season for another review of the Easton Synergy EQ40 skate. If you have any questions, feel free to drop us a question on Facebook or Twitter.
*Use coupon code HOCKEYWORLD at checkout and save 10% on select products at Pure Hockey.
