Thanks to our friends at Easton Hockey, we were able to receive a review unit of the brand new Easton Mako skates. While we have yet to really put them through the paces of a full review, we’ve explored the new skates enough to give you our initial impressions. Facing stiff competition from Bauer with the upcoming APX 2 skates, along with the Total One NXG, and CCM with their upcoming RBZ skates, the Easton Mako skates have a lot of hype to live up to.
For more information on the skate and features, check out our Easton Mako skates preview post. Head over to Pure Hockey if you’re ready to buy these skates right now.
Design & Construction
While it has been a hard sell on many of people, the direction Easton went with the design of the Mako was a good one. They’ve broken away from the somewhat classic black and white look, similar to what the original MLX skate offered, and added bold and sharp orange accent coloring to make the skate pop a bit. Additionally, the silver heel helps to make the skate more recognizable on the ice. It can be argued that Easton’s focus is not on getting NHL players to wear the skate, but rather on the larger youth market. Having kids see their favorite players on television wearing the Mako skate helps to make it an easy sell.
The boot itself looks and feels solid. You can see the manufacturing improvements over MLX skates right away, and immediately know that Dave Cruikshank made the right move by partnering with Easton. One of the qualms I had with MLX skates was that they looked sort of slopped together. It didn’t necessarily impact the performance of the boot, but I always thought that the durability wouldn’t be there. With the facilities and money Easton has to put into their products, they were able to fully develop and manufacture a seamless looking product.
One of my favorite new features for this Easton skate is the orange liner. It’s Easton’s new hydrophobic grip-light liner, which feels and appears drastically different from their bio-dry liner. Both are soft to the touch, but the texture on the grip-light liner helps to keep my foot a bit more locked in place while remaining extremely comfortable.
Fit
It’s hard to describe the shape of my foot accurately, but I’ll say that I’ve had great experience with the fit of CCM skates. From a Bauer perspective, the Supreme series fits my foot comfortably but offers a bit of extra space in the toe cap. In the Vapor series, the heel and toe fit well, but the mid-foot is too snug.
The Mako skate, to me at least, seemed to offer the best of both worlds there. I have a snug but good fit throughout my heel and mid-foot area. The toe cap seems to open up a bit more and provides ample room for me to be comfortable, but not so much where I’m going to get blisters from wearing them (as I do with Bauer Supreme series). Through a few skates with the Mako’s, the only negative I’ve noticed is a bit of tightness in my arches. I have a normal arch, neither high nor low, so the tightness in this area was unexpected. It’s not something that bothers me as soon as I lace up the skates, but rather after I’ve worn them for around a half hour.
Much like the MLX skates, the Easton Mako skates were designed to minimize as much negative space as possible inside the boot. On the MLX boot, it was almost done to a flaw in my opinion. There was such a minimal amount of volume in the MLX skate that I could not fit my foot in comfortably, which really spoiled my experience with those skates. Easton has increased the volume for the Mako skate, and has done so enough to make my foot a bit more comfortable. However, I still find the tongue and laces to be a bit of a tight squeeze over my foot. Through a few skates though, I’m happy to say that it is not noticeable once I’m on the ice.
The biggest thing to keep in mind regarding the fit is that my experiences above are all using the skates straight out of the box. I have not yet baked the skates, but wanted to give you my impressions before molding. My guess is that due to the extreme molding ability of these skates around your foot, any discomforts I may have experienced in the past will be eliminated after baking. When we post our long term review, I will follow up in this area with my experiences.
Overall Impressions
Easton has taken big strides with their skate development. Not only did they present a good look, which some may argue with, but the construction of this skate seems far superior to some of their past releases. Overall fit is excellent, and baking should yield an even better fit. Anyone who was a fan of the MLX boot and fit will find themselves similarly pleased with the Mako.
Given Easton’s history, the biggest question and concern for potential buyers will be the skates durability. I can recall several complaints with their Stealth S17 skates, among others, so it is fair for buyers to be worried. However, our own writer Eddie had a good experience with his Easton EQ40 skates. The addition of MLX construction and technology certainly makes the case for buying this skate a much stronger one.
At $799.99, the Easton Mako skates are definitely an investment. However, at that price, they are still less than the upcoming APX2 skates, and on par with the Reebok 20k and what we expect the CCM RBZ to cost. It is now becoming the norm for people to spend this much on a top end skate.
If you’re convinced and want to give the Easton Mako skates a try, head over to PureHockey.com. You can buy the skates today for $799 and have them at your doorstep in a few days. Be sure to use the coupon code HOCKEYWORLD during checkout to save an extra 10% on select items.
Have any questions about the Mako skates for our long term review? Leave us a comment below and we’ll do our best to answer for you!
Do you know where these skates are being made?
The box says made in China
I got these skates, baked them, and skated on them. I have been a die hard vapor fan for years, but these skates are a game changer. They are so much more comfortable after baking and tight spots are pressed out right away. May not be as stiff as the other brands but are stiff where they need to be. I took five shots off of them and didnt feel a thing. These skates are amazing.
Too bad consumers can’t try them on the ice before buying. In store feel is much different than on-ice feel. Also, I held a pair at a demo and the size 8D seemed noticeably heavier than my size 8D TotalOnes. May just be a heavier steel vs fusion runner.
Compared to the Sumpreme .9s how would rank the stiffness. I am a bigger player and skate pretty much 5 days a week. I am just concerned that because they are softer they will not be as durable.
They aren’t as stiff around the ankles, but they are stiff where they need to be. They really wrap around the ankles and lock it all in. But from about the ankle bone down they are a rock.
Fit is amazing as the boot is void of any negative space (unlike other companies). Full wrap around heel/ankle and hugs and supports the arch better than any skate I have ever used. The toe cap seems a little generous but with a Sidas or Superfeet footbed that should snug it up. As far as the performance goes, they may not be the lightest but are definitely the most responsive skates I have ever been on. When you want to turn, they turn, and there is no restriction whatsoever when attempting to get full extension during a stride. At first I thought the skate was soft but as I skated longer it was just that the motion was effortless compared to my Supremes. Big fan, I just hope they hold up!
Picked up a pair of Makos in April. I had been interested in the MLX skates a few years ago, and after Easton bought out MLX, decided to wait until their state-of-the art skate came out.
When I tried them on in the pro shop I was horrified. They hurt my feet; width was tight and the arch was painfully high (I have normal arches). The salesman told me not to worry, that baking the skate would resolve these issues as it molded to my foot. He said the most important factors were that my toes feathered the toecap and that the width wasn’t too generous.
I bought the skates (money back guarantee if they didn’t fit properly) and after the 16 minute bake, put them on my feet. Wow! He was right. They felt completely different…like my old skates. After about 40 minutes I took them off, and waited until the weekend to skate in them. Here’s my initial impressions:
Comfort: These are the most comfortable skates I’ve worn since my 1973 kangaroo leather Tacks or 1974 Lange ski boot skates. The arch on the left skate was still a little high, but didn’t cause a problem. After a 1.5 hour skate, no blisters. No break-in time.
Extension and Flexibility: Amazingly, I could easily fully extend my toe to a point when striding, something I haven’t been able to do since the old leather CCM Tacks days. It was nostalgic. Although my feet didn’t hurt, afterwards my calve muscles were sore because I was using muscles to skate I haven’t used that way in years; the rigidity of other composite skate boots isolates those muscles. The result was much more efficient strides. It was like a flashback to the 70s.
Also, the forward pitch is more aggressive, with your weight on the ball of your foot. Took about 10 minutes to adjust to this. Episodically, I involuntarily tilted forward, but not badly enough to fall. Part of this may be that the skate seemed smaller on my foot. The blade/boot pitch and flexibility of the boot allowed me to accelerate around corners in a way I haven’t done in many years.
The pitch did give me some problems skating backwards, something I don’t do much of anyway. Getting accustomed to skating backwards in the skates will probably take time.
Downsides:
Fit: Getting the fit right before purchasing is critical. Be sure to try on different sizes and widths. Before they were heat-fitted, they were so uncomfortable I thought they were a bad joke. That made sizing them a challenge. But the pro shop assured me the heat molding would eliminate the problem areas–and it did.
Try them on in the afternoon or evening when your foot is more swollen. At first, the arch was very high–painful–and the boot was tight across the outside edge of my foot, even though I had on thin nylon socks. After heating, no problems. The real challenge is whether to get the narrow (EE) or regular width.
Go for tight. Wear a thin sock or no sock. You want to eliminate any extra space in the boot. Space equals wobble and inefficient energy transfer which causes blisters. When heated, the boot conforms to your foot and the pressure points go away. Unlike some other composite skates, the Makos can be baked multiple times, allowing you to get the right them. I was told told to use a heat gun on the arch if that issue resurfaces.
Cost: The major online retailers sell them for $799.00. The rink pro shop was selling them for $725.00. This is a lot of money for a pair of skates, especially if you’re not playing hockey competitively anymore. Still, for us old guys, buy them with the idea that you will be comfortable and that they will last. The blades are replaceable and Easton includes a tool to switch out old with new. I wanted a pair of skates that were very comfortable and would make me feel young again. These did the trick; I may even be growing hair on the top of my head again.
Laces: The standard issue laces were flimsy. For years I’ve used waxed laces, so I immediately switched the old ones out. Easton probably doesn’t put wax laces on the skates because they would partially melt in the heat molding process. The wax laces will give a better bite and keep them snug. Just don’t over-tighten them which is easy to do given the fit.
Blade sharpness: TBD. I had the pro shop put a 7/16th hollow on the skate, but still wasn’t happy about the bite when cornering. Given that I’m a few pounds heavier than in my youth, that should have been sufficient. Two considerations. The guy sharpening the skates may have put a flatter hollow on the skate and just told me it was 7/16, or the ice may have been thinner/harder. The rink I skated at today is known for having good ice. Maybe a combination of the two.
Mako (Easton) is doing a try before you buy promotion. I’m glad they did, especially at an $800 price point. When I had them fitted, and baked, at the store they felt great. I had them sharpened with my regular 3/4 hollow. I have been skating on 1052s for about 8 years.
1. I got blisters on both ankles at the same place: slightly above and behind my outside ankle (fibula malleolus).
2. I don’t know if it was the sharpening but i could not get an edge under the ball of my foot on either side. And the outside edge slid when I took a shot and landed ingloriously on my backside.
3. I really wanted to like these skates. I brought them back straight from the rink.
4. I’m looking at Bauer X100s. Any thoughts?
I have read every feature and review. I just got an awesome deal online and am pumped! All these reviews are killing me haha.
I will be pretty much be writing a day by day one ice and fitting experience of this skate with detail pics.
Can not wait to join the mako family.
So I have skated in CCM’s for over 40 years and had to always go through the painful breaking in process. When my Vectors finally got to the point that I could no longer keep them together using fishing line, duct tape, etc I went shopping for a new pair.
During the season, I am usually on my skates 4 – 5 times per week refereeing games ranging from squirts through midgets, high school varsity, and the local club colleges. Some days I can be in my skates for up to 4 hours at a time.
Therefor the most important thing for me is to have a skate I am comfortable wearing for that long a period.
I went out to the local hockey store and promptly purchased a pair of CCM U+12’s. I had them baked and went to the rink knowing full well that I was in for the painful experience of breaking them in. Over the course of a couple months I skated in them a number of times and was never able to get comfortable. The pain was intense and not the typical, “breaking in” discomfort. I had them re-baked, punched out in the pressure areas and even went as far as using a rotary tool to remove some of the toe cap in an attempt to make them fit better. None of this helped and I was beginning to feel as though the ligaments in my big toe were being stretched, and then I started developing a bunion on my left foot as a result of the ligament damage.
I had heard about the Mako’s and the fit that you were able to obtain, but was reluctant to spend the money. Well yesterday, I went out and tried them on. I was stunned at the comfort of the skate even before it was baked. There was a little pressure on my left foot, but that is typical as my left foot is slightly wider than my right. Once the skate was baked and formed to my foot, it felt as though I had on my favorite pair of sneakers, they were that comfortable.
I refereed two adult league games later that night and could not believe that I had no pain what so ever After being in the skated for about 3 hours. It wasn’t a hard skate, but those are the times that I usually have the most pain because I’m not moving as much. The forward pitch did take me about 10 minutes to get used to, but after that I didn’t even think of it anymore. As for the questions / comments regarding the stiffness of the boot, they are still were they need to be but not to the point that you feel you’re skating in cement boots which is how I felt in the CCM’s and the Bauer Total Ones that I had tried.
All in all I would recommend these skates to anyone that is looking for comfort and performance. I only wish I had not let the price tag affect my decision when I was first looking for skates. They are worth every penny.
Just bought these. After molding them they were unreal! First skate felt like i had them for weeks! No break in period. Quixk on edge. Only downside was arch pain as i usually wear superfeet. Just need to wait and see if it fixes itself otherwise will put superfeet in.