Eclipse Mist vs. MK Professional?

[kr1981]

Has anyone here gone from the MK Professional to the Eclipse Mist (or vice versa)?

I've recently returned to skating after quitting my senior year of high school in 1999, and I'm in serious need of some new blades (spin rocker? what the heck is that?)--which I'm going to get when I get fitted for new boots this summer. I figured I would just get another pair of MK Professionals since that's what I'm used to, but today the pro shop manager said, don't get the MK Pros again--get the Eclipse Mist. He said the Mist is the same blade (profile?) as the MK Pro, except that it has a much longer life (can take a lot more sharpenings, and I think he said the Mist holds sharpenings quite a bit longer than the Professional).

Anyway, the manager went into the stock room and returned with a Professional and a Mist. Side-by-side, the Mist definitely has much more runner area (? - the edge part of the blade). I trust this manager's recommendations--he worked there when I skated in the 90s and he knows I'm buying my boots and blades elsewhere, so it's not like he was trying to make a sale.

Being that Professional and the Mist are basically the same price, I'm pretty much sold on trying the Mist--as long as it truly is similar to the MK Pro. I see that the Mist was modeled after the Coronation Ace. I've never skated on Aces, but it's my understanding that the Ace and Professional are comparable (?). I'm curious as to whether anyone here as skated on both the Professional and the Mist, and how they compare.

I know there's going to be a big adjustment regardless of which blade I go with because after a 15 year hiatus, I'm returning with VERY flat blades with annoyingly low drag picks. Not to mention that I'll be in new boots at the same time, which will likely fit very different from my current ones.

[Loops]

Welcome back!  I can't comment on the Eclipse, but wanted to say I just went through the same thing you're about too.  My hiatus was 25 years.  And my profs were as flat as your sound (I had the drag shaved down a little while I waited for my new blades).  I ended up with Vision Synchros, and will tell you that you're right.  It doesn't matter which blade you go with- it's going to be a big difference.  I see you're in MD (I'm from there, too!).  If you happen to be talking to Mike, then you know you're in good hands.  It sounds like you won't go wrong either way.  Is there a huge price difference? 

Good luck!  And enjoy!

[kr1981]

Welcome back!  I can't comment on the Eclipse, but wanted to say I just went through the same thing you're about too.  My hiatus was 25 years.  And my profs were as flat as your sound (I had the drag shaved down a little while I waited for my new blades).  I ended up with Vision Synchros, and will tell you that you're right.  It doesn't matter which blade you go with- it's going to be a big difference.  I see you're in MD (I'm from there, too!).  If you happen to be talking to Mike, then you know you're in good hands.  It sounds like you won't go wrong either way.  Is there a huge price difference? 

Hi there! The pro shop manager in Frederick is the one who recommended the Mist blades to me, but I will be getting my new boots and blades from Mike Cunningham. It's funny--I actually first learned of Mike from just browsing old posts on this forum and right away knew that's who I needed to go for my next pair of boots. But since then, I've had three different people tell me to make an appointment with Mike (including our pro shop manager!). I reconnected with my coach from the 90s on Facebook, and she said she always took her skates to Mike when he was in Alexandria, and wouldn't trust anyone else. I have bunions and 100% flat feet--finding anything that fits my feet well is a production--so I knew that I needed to just go to Mike and get it done right. Currently, I'm skating in my SP-Teri customs that were made when I was probably 16, and they're really not that comfortable anymore.

Did you find that it definitely helped when you had the drag pick shaved a bit while waiting for new blades? That has crossed my mind. I'm a little hesitant, though, because at the moment I'm on the wait list for Skater's Paradise. They're supposed to contact me in June to set up an appointment for, hopefully, mid-July. So, if I actually do get in there in mid-July and need customs again, I could be looking at September-ish before I'm in new skates. So, if I get my drag picks shaved down now and something funky happens to the picks/blades, I'm kind of screwed for at least a few months. Did you find that it was worth the risk of possible damage?

But as far as price goes with the Mist vs. Pro, it's about a $9 difference. So unless someone comes up with a good reason to NOT get the Mist blades, I think I'll give them a shot.

[AgnesNitt]

I've had my drop pick shaved a tiny bit. It's at an angle and about a quarter of a grain of rice off. Tiny, tiny.
I did it because I was working on figures. I don't think I'll do it for my next blades.

[Loops]

Well, you're in the best possible position for whatever needs to happen to your skates.  You just do what Mike tells you.  Prior to this year, he's the only person who ever sold me/touched my skates.  I trust him infinitely.  Be aware that he may have other opinions on the blades.

I'm not sure I'd get my drag shaved again, at least by anyone other than Mike.  It's the head coach at my rink who maintains skates here.  He's very competent, but by no means an expert. He took more than a grain of rice off.  My blades were soooo flat that they had no more discernable spin rocker.  I was afraid to spin, actually (and that was always my strength).  So I never did try spinning in them.  I was having "trouble" (=making ugly ugly marks/flattening) with my threes in dances.  I thought shaving the pick would help.  It actually may have a little, but my threes were really weird after that.  Everything was corrected magically with the new blades.  I think it was the flatness more than the drag pick- I still have more of a pick left on my Pros than my Silver Tests do, and I never had issues with those.  I could only live with it shaved because it was something like 3-4 (interminable) weeks while I waited for the blades to arrive.

So there's a wait list to see Mike?  I think I'd like to get on it.  I'm coming home this summer for a  bit and at minimum I'd like a fitting.  If I have enough luggage space to schlepp my skates across, they need to be punched out and have tongue hooks installed.  There's no one here that can do anything with them.  Trust me- you are soooooo lucky to have Mike. 

[kr1981]

Thanks for the advice on the drag pick. Since you seemed kind of hesitant about shaving it, I had pretty much decided it against it. Then yesterday, the coach with whom I'm going to start private lessons next week took a look at my blades and said she didn't think the pick needed to be shaved. I've already been skating on them like this for two months, so I think I'll just continue with them as-is until I get all new everything.

Well, you're in the best possible position for whatever needs to happen to your skates.  You just do what Mike tells you.  Prior to this year, he's the only person who ever sold me/touched my skates.  I trust him infinitely.  Be aware that he may have other opinions on the blades.

Oh yeah, I'll get whatever he recommends. That's why I want to go to him--I know that if a stock boot exists that would fit my feet, he will know. On that same note, if I end up getting customs again (so much more $$$), I'll trust that I truly do need them. I've been out of the game for 15 years and there are a lot of new options on the market. Plus, my feet have changed a lot (for the worse) since my SP-Teris were made 16 or 17 years ago. So, I want to get what's right for my feet and for the level of skating I'm doing now. I honestly have no idea, but from everything I've heard, I figure if anyone knows the best boots and blades to recommend for me, Mike would.

As far as getting an appointment with him this summer, if you think you want to do that, I would definitely go ahead and contact them now. I called about 3 weeks ago and spoke to Joan (I think?). She said they took the entire month of February off, so they're behind from that, and they are also going to start taking every fourth week off this summer. Mike also only works limited hours on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. So, there's a wait list, and they're supposed to contact me sometime in June to schedule an appointment for hopefully mid-July. Mid-July would put me at two months after calling them, which is why if you're thinking of trying to get in there in July or August, I would get in touch with them right now. I will say, though, that it sounded like they could get me in sooner if I could come on a Thursday--since, I suppose, that most people can't. Unfortunately, I said that I had to have a weekend, since I'd have to take day of vacation from work--and I don't have tons of that accrued. However, if you're coming home for vacation and have a pretty open schedule (where you could go on a Thursday), I bet you could get an appointment much easier than I could. Let me know what you end up doing! I'm sooo excited to get properly fitted for some comfortable skates.

[Loops]

Thanks!  When you said wait list, I went ahead and put an email in.  Mike himself seems to be pretty responsive over email, so that might be a better route to go.

But as for skates, you are right on.  I was sooooo overwhelmed when I got back into it last fall.  Hopefully you'll find a stock option that fits, but you're right, Mike won't try to overboot you or sell you something you don't need.  He doesn't carry all the brands though- for example I have Risports now and want tongue hooks- he wasn't familiar enough with them to say if he could do it or not before looking at them.

One of the many good things about Mike is that even if the boots don't fit properly out of the box, he has an arsenal of procedures he can do that will help.  But he's human- my last pair of skates were Riedell Comps, (back from the day when it was Riedell or customs), and they never fit well, even after he had his way with them over a period of years (including post-skating).  They were much better though.

[kr1981]

Thanks!  When you said wait list, I went ahead and put an email in.  Mike himself seems to be pretty responsive over email, so that might be a better route to go.

Have you heard back about an appointment yet? If you can go on a Thursday, I'm betting you won't have to wait as long to get in.

Yeah, the myriad of choices with boots and blades is sooooooo overwhelming! That's why I want to just go to someone who can watch me skate a little/see my skill level, look at and measure my feet and say, "You need X boot and X blades." Because I have an idea of what sounds good for me (the Jackson Freestyle), but I have no idea if that's actually a good fit for me or not. There's just so much out there, and so many new choices on the market since I skated in the 90s. Our pro shop manager is betting he's going to put me in Jacksons, since they're good for people with wide/flat feet. So, we'll see! But from the accolades I've heard from so many people, I like the idea that Mike will put me in what he honestly believes is the best fit for my feet and level, rather than overbooting me just to sell more expensive boots and blades $$$. I'm already overbooted now in my old cement SP-Teris, I do not want that again. LOL.

[Loops]

Oh my goodness.  You are in exactly the same space I was in September.....except I have no one like Mike here.

My old skates were such a disaster fit wise, and based on some comments Mike made to me right around the time I quit (so no new skates).  I knew there were better options already in the early 90's.  I did lots of  research going into it, because the club here does everything through MAIL ORDER!!!!!  I managed to go their recommended shop, but it was not the experience I was expecting.  I never got a proper fitting, just shoved my feet into things until something fit "well enough."  Seems that's the SOP over here    So I want to be better informed for the next go-around.

He's gonna watch you skate?!  Is there a rink at his new location?  Or are you bringing a video?

Email Mike.  I suspect when the shop is open he's too busy to bother with the phones.  So its a staff member who's just piling up messages and waiting to consult with him directly.  I am coming for a finite period of time, but you're right- I'm more flexible within it, AND will be relatively fast for him I think.   He answered my email within hours (it was early-ish AM MD time) and proposed something right off the bat.  They may also be trying to get you in as soon as possible, and you're right I bet those Sat/Sun appts are the most popular!

[kr1981]

He's gonna watch you skate?!  Is there a rink at his new location?  Or are you bringing a video?

Yep! He's located at the rink in Waldorf (it's called the Capital Clubhouse). The lady I spoke with said they schedule appointments around public sessions so Mike can see you skate. I love this, because he'll be able to tell if I over-pronate and need my blades adjusted accordingly or anything like that. Makes me feel even better about going to him for fitting and and blade mounting!

Wow, so you got an actual time and date already? I was thinking the other day that I should e-mail and just ask if I'm still on track for mid-July. That's cool that you got an appointment time so quickly!

[Loops]

Wow, so I need to be prepared to skate?!  Ooooh, soooo wasn't expecting that, thanks for the heads up!  Guess I'll have the most important bit though.  Guess that means the family can also come, since they'll have something to do.  Was gonna (and still might) leave DH and the progeny at home with the dog and the heat and the slip n slide.....