Mission Proto VS 2001 inline hockey skate review

I bought these skates not for hockey, but for general skating, as I like being able to move my ankles more than I can in my FSKs. This is my first pair of hockey skates, so I have nothing to compare them to other than my FSKs and old Bauer FX-1's... and its been quite a few years since I wore those! I bought these skates from Blades on Pier 61 in New York on a recent visit for $200 or so (I can't remember the exact price).

Boot

These boots are very comfortable, although I have still not had them baked as the shop had no oven. At first, of course, they were hard and pretty uncomfortable (5.5 hardness rating), but after about 10 hours of skating they were very comfortable. I am still planning on baking them at some point, but it means you can't skate on them for 24 hours... so it might have to wait a while!

The boot has a PU coated leather exterior, and a PU microfibre interior (I have no idea what PU is!). The inside of the tongue is felt like, and very comfortable. Also, the skate has form fitting ankle supports which make for an excellent fit, although you have to make sure you kick your foot back in to the skate before lacing them up or it can rub.

The sole is the normal Sensory Carbon one. This is basically a hard carbon fibre sole, which offers little protection to bumps, etc... but it does help the skate feel more like part of your foot. The foot bed is the Mission Energizer Superfeet, which I find very comfortable and supportive. This is a bonus for me as I have flat feet, and need the extra support otherwise I get very painful feet in a matter of minutes. The skates are also quite thin width-wise, another bonus for me!

As Mike has said in his review of his Mission Wicked Lights, the bumpers are quite poor. They are made from leather, and offer little protection to the carbon fibre sole. My sole has already started to wear where the bumper has already gone. But I guess that's my fault for going to low on powerslides on Serpentine Road.

Ankle Support

When I first put these skates on (my first pair of leather skates) I found them very odd to wear due to the different way in which the support of the boot works as opposed to a hard-shelled recreational skate. However, when putting my FSKs back on the other day, I found them almost impossible to skate on as I couldn't move my ankles at all!

The way in which hockey skates support your ankle is completely different to rec. skates. The have a small amount of support (depending on how tight you lace them) from side to side, and have very little support front to back. People may find this odd, as they find their ankles hurt a little (especially when leaving the laces loose) but your ankles do get stronger and I guarantee, if you're anything like me, you won't go back to your rec. skates.

When worn for the first time, the ankle supports are very close together and tight, so can pinch a little. However, this improves very quickly. The boots wore in quite fast for me (and are still doing so), but I believe that's because I am a little heavier than most.

Skate-Bake Moulding

As mentioned, these skates can be baked in the special Mission oven a maximum of three times. This involves heating the skates and then wearing them for 20 minutes or so until they are cool. After this you must leave them for 24 hours (it says 8 on the mission website, but everyone in shops is told 24), so I have not yet got round to doing it.

The idea of baking the skate is to speed up the break in process by making the leather more supple and therefore it will mould to your feet more easily and set in that position. I will post an update if I ever get round to baking them!

Mission Penetrator Hi-Lo Frame

The frame on these skates seems to be very well made. It is thick and chunky and has so far taken a lot of abuse from me (especially marshalling on the FNS). It is the standard hi-lo setup of 2 x 72mm wheels at the front and 2 x 80mm at the back. The very front wheel is slightly raised above the others to offer a bit of rockering, which makes turning faster and sharper. You can get a bit of speed wobble if you're going fast though as only 3 wheels touch the ground and the frame is pretty short as it is!

Wheels, axles and bearings

The skates came with Labeda Gripper indoor hockey wheels. These are very soft (not sure exactly as the rating is not printed on the wheel), but surprisingly hardly wore in the 2 weeks I had them on the skates. I decided that as I wasn't using them indoors, and the wheels were too soft to powerslide and hockey stop, that I'd change them over for some Hyper NHL Pro 250s. These are 82A outdoor hockey wheels, and very well known for their outstanding durability. I noticed a change for the better as soon as I put them on. The skates became much faster for a start!

The bearings are still the ones supplied with the skates, Mission ABEC7s. I find these to be amazingly smooth, even after taking a pounding, and also very fast.

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Overall Conclusion

These are amazing skates and I would never go back to any other type of skate than hockey's (unless of course riding ramps and rails and generally hurting myself). I find them far faster than my rec. skates and almost as comfortable (though this may change when I have had them for longer and/or had them baked). I thoroughly recommend trying a pair of these skates even if you don't play hockey (I haven't for a while but want to get back in to it). I use them for street skates and skating about in the park, and they're faster than my recs.

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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.

Mission Proto VS 2001 Hockey Skate Review

by Dan Goscomb

August 2002