Bauer Vapor 1 inline hockey skate review

This is my second pair of hockey skates and my sixth pair of skates in total. I began playing hockey again after a 3-year hiatus. Having 2-3 months of recreational play in Bishop’s Park in London under my belt I thought it was time to retire my venerable Bauer H3’s and invest in a modern boot. I decided I would stick with Bauer and try out the TUUK Rocker Chassis

Vapor 1 Boot

I think the boots are fairly flash looking in silver and black. Basically a standard hockey boot. Not overly stiff, in fact maybe not supportive enough for my liking. They have the usual air holes for ventilation in the hard plastic nose. The also have plastic wear zones on both side of the skate, slight overkill if you ask me.

The ‘anatomical fit’ is comfy although I feel a half size smaller would have been a snugger fit. There is a little heel lift but again this may be more due to sizing and my skinny ankles. After repeated wear the fit did improve considerably.

Bauer skates in general have a noticeable heel so if you're coming over from K2 or similar it may feel a little strange. Breaking-in time was pretty quick with just a few kinks left to be worked out. I usually lace up pretty loose and like a lot of movement around the ankle.

Tuuk Shock Rocker Chassis

The selling point of these skates is their chassis. They are different to almost anything else on the market. Basically the centre two wheels are on an independently rockered chassis. You can control the degree of movement using the “Dynamic Calibrator”, varying between a jittery looseness to locking them entirely in place so they act like a standard frame.

Combined with the use of different wheel sizes (the standard is three 76mm and one 72mm wheel, see below for more info) and rocker setting you can create a custom skating set-up.

Again the idea is to give the greatest similarity to an on ice feel and allow for easier cross training. Tighter turns and faster acceleration is also promised. See http://www.smarthockey.com for more sales guff.

Is any of this true? Well they certainly feel more manoeuvrable or at least less stable. I planted first time I wore them. My recommendation for your first skate is to keep the rocker mechanism tight and then loosen it later to arrive at a setting you feel comfortable on. They’re slightly noisy on pavements as the rocker system clatters, but otherwise it's a quiet ride.

I definitely think they make crossovers easier and smoother and turning did feel a little more natural. I’m still not 100% confident on them so hockey stops are still a little unreliable but when I pulled them off correctly the skates stick well to the floor and you stop fast.

Wheels and Bearings

The skates came with a set of Hyper Razor Edge outdoor wheels. Each skate has three 76mm and one 72 mm wheel as part of the rocker set-up. The bearings are ABEC 5. The ride is fast and, despite the high durometer, surprisingly smooth. However the wheels have worn down very quickly even taking the Brillo pad like surface of Bishop’s park into account. Skating 3 times a week I’ll probably have to replace them in less than 6 weeks. Needless to say I’ll be looking at a different make when I change.

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Overall Conclusion

Have to say I’m really starting to like them. I’ve played a few more skirmishes since starting the review, and the skates seems to have improved both my stopping and acceleration. The boots took little or no breaking in time and I’ve started to like the aesthetics. I believe they would be a great skate for someone just coming across to hockey for the first time and at £140 from Slick Willies you can still afford a few pints after the game. So two thumbs up for Bauer. Now if they only mange to stay in business.

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Disclaimer

As usual, this review is only my opinion about these skates, and your mileage may vary. You should always carefully judge whether the skates you intend buying are best suited for you and for the purpose you intend using. Remember that fit and comfort are extremely important, and you may wish to read the inline skating buying guide here on this site.

Bauer Vapour 1

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