Mission Fuel AG—Making the original Vapor line look like the best skates ever
Written: Nov 11 '07 (Updated Nov 11 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The 120 AG is decent, Pitch holder is nice
Cons: Weak and cheap feel to the boot construction
The Bottom Line: If you're looking at the top of the line 120, it's a good skate. Other wise go with the Mission XP line or the Graf 735.
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Mission Fuel Ag Junior Ice Hockey Skates |
Here we go again
Bauer’s foray into lightweight skates started horrendously and has slowly improved. Easton’s ideas of a lightweight skate involve sudden and catastrophic breakages. CCM fared a little better with the original Vector which seemed to slowly fall apart over a couple of years. Graf’s first attempts with the G-series had numerous problems with disintegrating outsoles. Now Mission has taken the plunge in more ways than one and anyone who expected great skates from the AG line isn’t a fan of history.
Why, oh why?
Easton started this craze with Bauer nipping at their heels. The first skates weren’t that lightweight, they just had disposable runners (and I don’t mean the kind that you never sharpen). Bauer had the funny black steel with a bunch of triangular holes in it. Eason used the parabolic runner that they still use today. Bauer’s runners bent more than they broke. Easton’s broke more than they worked.
So you might wonder why Mission would dare tread in territory where other brands had struggled to make a decent skate. Heck, Mission’s ice skates. Well, it seems that you’ve got to conform in order to compete. Sadly, Mission had previously made a great deal of progress improving both their stature among the ice hockey community and the quality of their skate line. It wasn’t too long ago that I was comparing Mission skates to Graf in terms of quality. The AG line isn’t going to draw any such praise from me.
Disclaimers required by my lawyers (not really)
Before I go too much further, a caveat is required. Don’t misjudge the Mission XP line based on this review. They are completely different skates. The XP is more like a traditional hockey skate and is still one of the better skates on the market. Further, the AG 120 is a pretty solid skate. This review is a general review of the AG line and my generalizations will apply to the other three skates in the line except as noted.
The one thing they all share
I’m going to start from the ice up on this review. Normally I start from the boots and work down, but in this case, all four skates in the AG line share one thing in common. (Besides the fact that they are Mission hockey skates). This would be the Pitch holder.
The Pitch holder is what connects the runner to the boot. Essentially it’s a piece of plastic. However, It’s one of the more unique features that Mission has put on their skates. The Pitch allows players to change how far forward the skates make them lean. It might not sound like a big idea, but this is one of the biggest adjustments that player’s have to make when switching brands of skates. Other brands utilize various amounts of forward pitch.
Bauer’s TUUK and Lightspeed holders put players back on their heels (a rather un-athletic position). CCM’s eBlade and Prolite as well as the Easton holders are somewhat neutral. Graf’s Cobra give the player an aggressive forward lean. Switching from any of these to a different one can make things a little challenging for the veteran player.
Mission’s Pitch holder allows for three positions of forward lean. These mimic the setup of the other brands allowing players to set up for heel, neutral or toe pitched skates. It might not seem like a big deal, but I’ve had players attempt to return skates that they couldn’t get used to skating in. It was almost always a matter of a pitch change. Also, a word to the wise, used skates are as easy to return as swimsuits and underwear.
The runner on the Pitch holder is stainless steel. It features a nine-foot rocker which most closely resembles that of the Bauer TUUK. Mission’s steel is very hard which is mostly an annoyance for the person sharpening your skates. However, harder steel is often a little more brittle as well. I haven’t seen many pair of broken Mission runners, but there aren’t many people skating in them out here anymore. It’s tough to say if they are more prone to breakage than other brands with such a small sample.
It is something that I would be aware of as a possibility though. It’s never a bad idea for a serious player to carry an extra pair of runners anyway. If you’re at an out of town tournament and you break a runner, who knows if you’ll be able to find a replacement. I’ve seen kids have tournaments ruined because they are on a more popular skate than this and break a runner that isn’t in stock.
The outsole
Normally the outsole doesn’t get it’s own section. However, this is the weakest spot on both the AG and XP lines. Further, the issue of the outsole applies to even the top of the line skate in the AG line. Mission essentially made their outsoles too thin on these skates. Every skate in the line features a perforated composite outsole.
Now a composite outsole is generally a step up from plastic. It’s both lighter and stronger. Both of these are good things in hockey. One issue that plagues composite outsoles is chipping. This is where the edges of the outsole crack and fray. A little clear silicone caulk will slow this down quite a bit and keep the outsoles attached to the boot. The Mission line doesn’t seem to have serious issues here, but I’ve seen a few pair with some minor fraying.
A perforated outsole usually isn’t an issue either. Perforations allow for the player’s foot juices to evacuate the skate. Now if the term foot juice sounds disgusting, it’s because it is. Sweat allowed to reside in a pair of hockey skates becomes one of the twenty vilest fragrances on the planet. (It’s sandwiched just below beef stroganoff left at room temperature for three days and above the fart of a dog on a pure canned food diet). Besides lowering the instance of skate stank, the perforations allow the skate to dry out giving the rivets and boot a longer life.
This is where things start getting ugly for the AG skate line. The rivets pop like a game of whack-a-mole gone awry. I have three regular customers that come in once a month or so to get a skate sharpening and a few rivets in their AG skates. Mission made the soles in these skate so thin that they flex while skating. This not only creates issues with rivets popping, it creates a condition where there is a loss of power. A portion of the skater’s energy is lost between the boot and the ice.
While these are certainly issues, this flaw actually enhances the sense of feel between the blade angle on the ice and the player’s foot. Being able to feel the ice is a major issue for top skaters and for some might make the other shortcomings of the boot a minor annoyance. CCM’s Prolite holder was the perfect example of this. It was designed to enhance feel, but was the most flimsy holder on the market for many years. Still, when CCM replaced it they lost some of their faithful customers who swore by the feel of the Prolite.
The boot
Tongue
The tongue used on the 120, 100 and 90 is an excellent pro style tongue. It has plastic inserts to help protect players from both shots that hit the top of the foot and lace bite. It’s a traditional felt tongue, of average thickness, but with the insert, it’s easily one of the better skate tongues on the market today. It even features fabric-covered edges instead of raw felt. This is a nice feature that keeps the tongue from getting chewed up by the laces quite as quickly.
This is a tongue that is as good as you could hope for on the top of the line skate. For the 100 and 90 AG skates, it’s a big deal. It’s probably the best tongue on any skate in that price range. If lace bite is a major concern, you might be able to overlook some of the skate’s other shortcomings.
For the women’s skate the tongue is pretty mediocre. It is raw felt with a rather flimsy outer liner. It’s not going to hold up as well and isn’t going to be as comfortable as the premium tongue on the men’s models. The tongue on the women’s AG is nothing special.
Liner
All of the boots in the AG line feature some sort of wicking liner. In the 120 it’s top notch Clarino with anti-microbial protection. This is the same liner you would expect to find in any premium skate. It’s a very comfortable liner that if you don’t wear socks you will be quite comfortable skating in. Clarino has the feel of suede, but dries soft instead of prickly.
The 100 has a microfiber liner. It isn’t as good as Clarino, or as durable. However, it’s probably just as comfortable in the short run for skaters who don’t wear socks. The the long run, it’s likely to wear out a bit more quickly and retain a little more moisture.
The 90 and the Women’s model of the AG have a mesh liner. It’s simply not going to be anywhere near as comfortable or durable as either of the higher end liners. Skating barefoot in these might be iffy. However, it will dry out at least as quickly as the microfiber liners.
outer
All of the skates feature a synthetic leather exterior of black trimmed in silver. For the most part they are a decent looking, more traditional skate. Mission’s trademark zigzag stitched outer panels are still featured below the eyestay. The materials are quite similar along the entire skate line with the exception of the women’s model which features reversed colors—primarily silver with black trim. In all the materials aren’t anything special. They are neither exotic or inferior to that of other skates on the market. The AG line does use have a decent outer later on the boot.
Where the boots in the skate line vary the most is by what lies between the liner and the outer of the boots. The 120 is an excellent stiff boot with plenty of support. This one is the only boot in the line that is still worthy of any comparison to Graf boots. Is Mission’s quality as high as Grafs’s quality? Nope. But the design of the boots is similar. The AG line fits more traditionally than competitor’s skates. By this I mean the support comes from the outer as well as the stiffener and heel counter in the skate, not from a bunch of gel pack heels and overstuffed layers that separate the foot hopelessly from the outer of the skate.
As you drop to the 100 and lower models, the stiffness is too low to draw comparisons to any recent skate. The AG line becomes soggy and insufficient. They simply fit more like a low-end recreational skate than anyone should expect from a boot in this price range. Anyone playing hockey in this skates is likely to be disappointed in the boots. If not at the once, they will eventually.
The rest
The tendon guard is mediocre on the AG line. It’s a little flimsy, but certainly not worse than the one on the current Bauer Supreme line. It isn’t impossible that you will need to have the tendon guard sewn at some point. Just remember that like all repairs, the worse it gets the more it will cost to have it fixed. A small tear in a tendon guard might cost $5 or $10 to fix. A bad tear could cost $50 or more.
The heel counter is a plastic or composite piece that adds stiffness to the ankle and heel area in a skate boot. It is sometimes a major issue if they break or poke through the liner of the skate. I haven’t had any customers who have had either of these issues. I wouldn’t expect this to be an issue in the lower-end models either as the heel counter isn’t stiff enough to create major issues. It has more potential in the 120, but I don’t think it will be an issue there either.
The toecap is uncovered plastic, so you don’t need to worry about the covers fraying off them. It is a fairly narrow toecap which will create issues with some players who have wide forefeet. The seam between the boot and toecap was smooth and felt seamless on the pair I tried on.
Eyelets haven’t been an issue on the Mission AG or any other skate to date. I’ve seen a couple of them come loose, but certainly not the plethora of eyelets that I was replacing on some older CCM models.
The skate is heat moldable. However on all but the 120 it’s a waste of heat. These skates are built lightly enough that if you’re having problems breaking them in, either you aren’t tough enough for hockey or they aren’t ever going to fit you.
The bottom line on the boot is that while there aren’t any glaring issues, they simply are designed too lightly. For hard skating players, the boot isn’t going to offer enough support from day one in all but the top of the line 120 skate. The other skates are going to break down quickly even for those players who feel like there is enough stiffness out of the box. Mission left out too much in the boots.
Fit
The Mission AG line best fits players with narrow feet and a high instep. Even in a EE width skate it was much like having a pile of boulders fall on my feet. Players with narrow feet will be pretty happy with the fit though. The heel is pretty narrow, the arch is average, mid foot is moderate and the forefoot is narrow. The closest skate in fit would be the Graf 735, although the Mission does have a bit more depth to it for higher insteps.
Mission makes the AG line in both D and EE widths. It comes in sizes from junior 2 through senior 13. The women’s model comes in C an AA widths in sizes junior 4 through senior 10. The women’s skate is built on a different last for narrower feet which is more anatomically correct for women.
Parting Thoughts
Mission has a long way to go on their lightweight line. Perhaps it isn’t as bad as the original Vapor XX skate was, but it’s clearly the worst lightweight among the major brands today. The sole exception is the 120 AG which is a pretty decent skate. The remainder of the line feels cheap instead of light.
I’d highly recommend a Graf skate over the AG line. However, if you like the fit of the Mission AG line, their XP line is probably your best skate choice. It fits the same, but is a little more solid in design.
© 2007 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:
Hockey Skate buying demystified
How to Care for Skates
Bauer Vapor XX Skates
Graf 735 Skates with T-Blades
Easton Synergy Skates
CCM Vector ZG 130 Skates with T-Blades
Recommended:
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