Koho 590 Goal Skates: Once again lightweight isn’t all that great
Written: Apr 06 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice materials, good cowlings
Cons: Downright stupid runners, flimsy boots
The Bottom Line: Go with an older Koho model if you have to have Koho Goal skates. Otherwise, try another brand.
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Koho 590 Goal Skates |
Koho
Alas, Koho is a dying brand. Reebok purchased Maska (a.k.a. THC, The Hockey Company). While I was assured in a meeting with company reps almost a year ago that they didn’t plan to discontinue the brand name, it seems apparent that they are indeed heading that direction. Koho will soon join the annals of other dead hockey brands such as Cooper, Daoust, Micron and Hespeler. I get a little tear in my eye thinking about it.
The 590 goal skate
Thinking about the last line of goal skates from Koho, that tear in my eye dries up in a hurry. Frankly, stuff is supposed to get better with new innovations. But as I’ve often witnessed in the hockey industry, sometimes it gets stupider instead of better. The 590 certainly was an improvement on older Koho models of skates which were among the best on the market.
The 590 Goal skate is a top of the line model from Koho. Yet, it doesn’t really have the stiffness that one might expect from a top of the line skate. The previous models such as the 580 and the 560 Titanium were actually better skates. While it might be simple to point an angry finger at RBK and blame them, it’s actually just as easy to not blame them for canceling the line.
Details
Cowling and runners
The cowling is the protective plastic portion of a goal skate. It keeps goalies from have broken heels. Perhaps Jose Theodore should have been wearing his skates when he was shoveling snow in Montreal, but then we wouldn’t have had anything to complain about here in Colorado and up there in Montreal. (For those not following hockey, Theodore was traded to Colorado for goalie David Abeschier. No one in either city really understands why).
The cowling on the 590 is more or less unchanged from previous versions of the top Koho goal skates. It is a very protective unit with a substantial toe. The inner foot protection is good as well. I don’t have any complaints about this particular component of the 590. Koho’s cowling has a proven record. It’s a durable and protective goalie cowling as good as any on the market.
However, attached to the cowling is the first major item to make me ask, “what the heck were they thinking?” The runners on the 590 skates are different than anything I’ve seen. In this particular case, I mean different in the worst possible of ways.
Koho decided that they wanted to beat other brands (that will remain nameless) to the lightweight goal skate race. The first place that skate makers seem to look when doing this is always the steel runners. It makes sense, they are the heaviest single piece on the skate.
Now fortunately, Koho didn’t deem filling the runners with holes a good idea. Goalie runners, as you might imagine, take more of a beating than typical player runners do. Blocking shots with your skates will put a little wear and tear on the steel and blocking shots is pretty much what a goalie is expected to do. (Some goalies don’t elicit that expectation and that’s too bad for them).
For this very reason, goalie skates have always had thicker runners than player skates. They are still often bent by hard shots, but I have yet to see a broken runner on any goal skate (even these). Despite this history, Koho decided to make the runners on the 590 thinner. It’s almost worse that they didn’t make the whole thing thinner. Instead, the Koho 590 has the distinction of being the first goal skate with cantilever blades.
The top of the runner is as thick as a normal goal skate runner would be. The bottom however has been put on a diet. It’s the width of a player blade.
Aside from the obvious questions of durability and the commonality of bent runners, this weight shaving practice has other problems. In one of the three skate holders that we regularly use to sharpen skates, the 590 refuses to sit properly. The cantilever section causes the skate to snap loose or tilt in the holder. Shops that don’t have the luxury of several holders might not be able to sharpen the 590 skates.
Next there is the issue of what hollow to use. Goalies have enough confusion with every hollow under the sun being used by a goalie somewhere. I typically put ½-inch on my goal skates and 7/16-inch on my player skates. Because the steel on the goalers is wider, it feels pretty much the same. However, going to a player’s width runner is going to create some confusion that goalie will have to get used to. The simple fact is that ½-inch on a narrower blade isn’t as deep of a cut. The skates will feel duller and the goalie will have to start his or her search for the perfect hollow over.
Boot
The stiffness of the 590 doesn’t stack up to other boots that I’ve tried. It simply feels like a cheap boot. Granted, Koho relies on the cowling to provide most of the support. However, I am far from impressed by the feel of this on my foot or even when just checking a pair out on the shelf. The flexibility of this boot is reminiscent of a pair of Bauer Impact or CCM Powerline skates.
Koho claims these skates are heat moldable. I’m not sure why anyone would bother though. They are so flimsy that ten minutes on the ice would give an adequate break in to just about anyone.
This isn’t to say the boots are uncomfortable. On the contrary they are a little too comfortable. A good pair of skates shouldn’t feel like a good pair of athletic shoes out of the box. The Koho 590 is close to a slipper in comfort which indicates that it’s going to be problematic on the ice either in long term comfort or short term durability—probably both.
Materials
The list of materials in itself isn’t too bad. Koho did use a grey Nash liner on this skate with both water shedding and anti-microbial properties. It’s comfortable enough to skate in without socks, dries quickly and isn’t prone to hardening over time.
The tongue isn’t old fashioned felt. Instead Koho opted to utilize foam. The likelihood of lace bite is fairly low even with the moderately flimsy construction of the outer tongue. Goalies don’t have as much lace bite problem as they aren’t prone to skate often in long strides.
They also used the same metal mesh that the CCM Vector line features on the outer of the skate. This is a much more solid material than traditional ballistic nylon. It is breathable and nearly cut-proof.
Comfort foam ankles make sure that the goalie’s anklebone doesn’t get too squished in the boot. Again, these are comfortable skates. They just aren’t good skates.
Parting Thoughts
The lightweight race has brought about a lot of sub-par products that aren’t really suitable for the recreational player. Most rec players want products that perform well, but more importantly last a long time. While the 590 isn’t all horrible, I don’t see them lasting five or six years, like a good pair of goal skates should.
My main issue is with the cantilever blade though. Like the downright stupid composite holder that Easton put on its Z-Air about six years ago, sharpening it is going to cause problems in some areas. Add to that the confusion of goalies who don’t change their hollow to compensate for the blade width and you have a sure bet for a lot of angry net minders.
I’ve skated in Koho Goal skates before and loved them. But I won’t be caught in the 590. Frankly, my Graf 750 Goalers weigh as much as a small child and I love them. Who cares if your skates are feather light if they don’t work?
© 2005 Scott Noble – All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.
You might also enjoy my book on hockey, Hockey for Weekend Warriors. Click here to read the reviews.
A few of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Fitting Goalie Gear
Hockey Skate buying demystified
Graf 750 Goaler Pro Skates
Koho 560 Titanium Goal Skates
Recommended:
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