Is the Easton Z-Air Comp hockey skate TOO stiff?
Written: Apr 03 '04 (Updated Oct 05 '05)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Comfort: |
 |
|
|
Pros: The quality is high, the skate is well made
Cons: Too much skate for the real world
The Bottom Line: If you aren't seriously aspiring to play in the NHL, this is simply too much skate, it will never be comfortable
|
|
|
| puckmugger's Full Review: Easton Z-Air Comp SE Senior Ice Hockey Skates |
Easton scores top marks for boot stiffness with the Z-Air Comp. The new skate of the line for their 2003 lineup was received with a fair amount of anticipation despite being overshadowed by the likes of Bauer’s revolutionary Vapor XX and Nike’s V-12. Simply put, the Z-Air Comp took the crown as the stiffest skate anyone built for 2003.
Easton has always built a pretty stiff boot. Even their lower end, Ultra Lite skates compared to most brands mid-line models in stiffness. Their former king of the mountain for stiffness, the Z-Air, was on par with Bauer’s 8000 and CCM’s 1152, both top end skates from trusted manufacturers. Easton decided to up the ante a bit and go stiffer. But how stiff is too stiff?
The Boot
The Z-Air Comp boot is made from high tech materials giving it nearly un-pliable stiffness. The outer shell, is a composite woven material that appears to contain a metallic alloy component. Unfortunately this was kept somewhat a secret by Easton so I cannot be certain. I will say that this skate is not ballistic nylon or synthetic leather as their competitors use exclusively.
The lining of the boot is hydrophobic and will not absorb any perspiration from skating. This helps to keep the skates slightly less malodorous (stinky). The lining is comfortable. For those who prefer to skate without socks, this will not cause problems.
The outsole on the Z-Air Comp is a full carbon fiber base with rounded edges. The theory behind the rounded edges is that they will allow your skate blade to stay in contact with the ice in a much sharper turn by raising the edge of the boot. (As soon as your boot hits the ice, you fall). The outsoles in this skate are very stiff and extremely light. They are also ventilated to allow that moisture that the boots refuse to soak up to go somewhere else . . . out of the boots.
Toecaps are uncovered plastic, so there is no worry about the fabric covering them fraying and leaving you looking like Lil’ Abner on ice skates. It also slightly lowers the weight of the skates.
The fit of Easton skate is comparable to CCM – wide. However, Easton uses a much narrower toe cap that give some CCM converts a little trouble, but in all the heel and mid foot is nearly identical in fit.
As far as comfort, well these skates don’t place a premium on that. Stiffness gives a skate performance, not comfort. Bauer’s 7000 is the only skate that I can think of that came close to the Z-Air Comp in stiffness and after many a difficult and painful break in was lamented to their headquarters, Bauer actually made their newer 8000 model (which replaced the 7000) a little less stiff. Easton probably will have to do the same thing with their Z-Air Comp.
The problem is that very few amateur skaters will benefit from a skate that is stiffer than Easton’s regular Z-Air. The Comp is more of a pro level skate for players who are on the ice 10 or more hours a week. Think about this realistically, even those player who can afford the time and cost of that many hours will be hard pressed to find them available for skating. Further, most of us who aren’t pro skaters cannot take the punishment on the rest of our body that ten hours weekly dishes out.
The Z-Air Comp boot is practically indestructible. It will take years to break down a boot this stiff and make it unusable. However, it will take months to break in this boot to make it semi-comfortable.
The Holder and Steel
The Easton holder is a fairly good design. It is sturdy enough to get the job done with no real shortcomings in the actual holder. The hardware however is a bit questionable. Easton has changed the nuts and bolts on this system almost annually. The 2003 hardware was simply horrible. It broke when tightening it, and it looked as bad as it was. Fortunately, the old bolts still fit and were much better. When (not if) you break your bolts, try to upgrade to the older style.
Easton’s steel is among the hardest that is found in skates. It takes a few extra passes to sharpen and holds its edge a little longer than some other brands. The parabolic runners, do actually help to increase a skater’s stride by putting a little spring like action into the release. They are also the first weight reducing steel that any company introduced. However, they are slightly more prone to breakage than traditional steel blades.
Summary
Despite the fact that the shop I worked in sold very few Z-Air Comps, they yielded the highest number of complaints about comfort. For the recreational hockey player the boot is simply too stiff. Break in time is astronomical and often simply impossible. One skater had his entire boot rebuilt with extra padding by us after hours and hours of fit work didn’t help. Even after a very expensive re-padding of the Z-Air Comp he couldn’t skate in them. He ended up purchasing another pair of skates.
The Z-Air Comp is a very expensive lesson in how painful a skate can be. Only the biggest players who skate very aggressively will benefit from a boot this stiff. I suspect that the boots on subsequent models will be somewhat less beefy. I would hesitantly recommend this skate for only Junior Hockey, College level or Pro players.
© Scott Noble – Unauthorized use prohibited
A few of my other skate reviews that might be helpful:
General Buying Guide for Ice Hockey Skates
Easton Z-Air
Graf 727 Cyberflex
CCM Pro Tacks 2003/04
How to Care for Skates
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
puckmugger
|
 - Top 50 |
|
Location: wandering the fringes of the goal crease
Reviews written: 488
Trusted by: 247 members
About Me:
My book is now available in major bookstores or by order from my profile page.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.