RBK 9k
Written: Apr 20 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Amazing fit, very very light, excellent acceleration and top speed.
Cons: Expensive, meant for wider feet (not a problem for me but may be for some).
The Bottom Line: As I said earlier these skates come highly recommended if you can afford them go get them.
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| jiveturtle's Full Review: RBK 9K Pump Hockey Skates |
Fit:
The RBK 9k is the most amazing fit I have ever had in a hockey skate out of the box. First off I have fairly wide feet and have previously had to use wide widths with Grafs and Bauer. These skates, as well as CCM I can get in standard widths. These skates are a little wider and offer more volume than the CCMs and feel perfect on my fat feet. However, the most important thing about the fit is the pump on the side of the skate. Usually in skates the ankle/achilles area is the toughest area to fit and requires alot of break in, in order to be comfortable and formed properly to your foot. These skates will fit this area perfectly right out of the box. All you have to do is tighten them like normal and then press the pump a few times to make the boot form around the contours of the ankle/achilles area. This allows the heel to lock perfectly and helps transfer your stride into the blades. The fit has actually helped my speed and acceleration a little because of the amazing ability these skates have of transferring the maximum amount of power from your stride into the ice.
How they skate:
These skates are leaned forward at a much more agressive pitch than the Bauer skates, it seems more agressive than the CCM Pro Tack but there is very little difference. The skates themselves offer great acceleration and top speed. Like I said earlier they transfer every possible ounce of power in your stride directly into the ice. The boot is very stiff which contributes to this ability as well as the carbon outsole and the amazing fit via the pump inflator ball. Another factor that makes these skates so fast is the light weight, these arent as light as CCMs Vector 130zg but if you put t'blades on them they are actually lighter. (Yes I am a t'blade user).
The Runner/Holder:
The Eblade Pro holder is identicle to what CCM uses on the Pro Tacks and Vector Pro skates except it says RBK on it. This holder is fairly light weight and fairly sturdy. Especially for steel with perforations in it. The blades themselves are stainless steel and hold an edge fairly well. As I stated earlier I am an avid t'blade user so I only skated in these twice before changing the holder. These skates were lightweight before, now with the t'blades they are extraordianarily light. I recommend putting t'blades on these and any other skate as they offer lighter weight and better skating/gliding/cornering characteristics.
Boot:
Again these boots are very stiff which isn't so good for lighter skaters or those who don't spend a large amount of time on the ice. They have a roomy fit for those of us with duck feet and they are very comfortable with all kinds of new age materials on the inside. As a matter of fact the inside of the skate has this material in it called play dry which actually decreases bacteria and as a result they suffer far less from stinkiness. Less importantly these skates are visualy attractive they arent super flashy but they are very good looking.
Overall:
Overall these are superior skates they are light, super comfortable, and most importantly fast. The only major drawback I see to these is the price. These are new skates and some have questioned the durability I have had these for 3 months and have put roughly 60 hours on them(I play in a league, Coach, and Ref in two others, yes I am a rink rat) without an problems whatsoever. So if you buy these dont expect some kind of premature failure they are built solid. That being said I recommend these skates to anyone who can afford them and has wide feet.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jiveturtle
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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