Edea E guards

[lyssykw]

I'm curious if anyone has tried out the new Edea E guards? I'm intrigued by the design and of course the multitude of colour options.

Any thoughts by those that have tried them out? Any better than Rockerz and regular guards.  I have a perfectly good pair of rockerz, but I'm not gonna lie, kinda want these 

[FigureSpins]

Haven't tried them, but they look really cool.  There's a limited-edition version that looks like a US flag, but only one vendor has it for $50!  (Skate US)  It might be a custom-painted pair of white E guards.

I like the "no cutting or screws/springs" concept.  I wonder how difficult they are for little kids to put on by themselves?

The drainage is important if the skater is keeping the guards on for hours at a time, but otherwise, meh.  Once you tap a pair of regular guards to get rid of excess water, it's the same thing.

One of my students wanted to try those guards but his blades are 1/4" too long, so he decided against them.

I'm intrigued by them, myself, but I didn't buy a pair.  I bought new Rockerz guards earlier this year, so I'll hold out a while longer.

Why does every company associated with figure skating think $30-50 is an acceptable price point for their products?  Why do plastic mass-produced items cost the equivalent of a private lesson?  That discourages parents from replacing worn/dirty equipment, which defeats the purpose of using the guards in the first place. 

[Query]

I haven't seen them, but it is possible there are still points where the plastic touches that water can't evaporate away.

So, Even if you get these, I suggest you first thoroughly dry out your blades if you aren't going back on the ice again in a few minutes. And oil or grease them if you aren't going to skate again within a day or two. Especially if your blades aren't stainless steel.

With the $8-10 ordinary plastic blade guards, many pro shops cut them and mount the springs for free, if you buy the guards there.

You don't need skate guards in your car or at home. I take off my skates, dry them, then carry them upside down by the blades (it is important to keep the mounting screws fairly tight). But I use plastic guards if I have to leave the ice for a few minutes, or if I leave my shoes in my car, so I need to walk in my skates on a parking lot.

My favorite guards were cut from leather, by Don Giese. Very simple design - just folded leather, with bungee cords threaded through holes in the ends. Easy to fold again and fit in a pocket. (I have one jacket with extra large pockets I can just barely fit normal plastic skate guards in, but it is a bit awkward to move in like that.) I didn't feel I could walk on them over a gravel parking lot, but otherwise they were pretty durable. Would be easy to make something like that yourself, though leather isn't cheap, and I don't think that Leatherette is as tough.

I considered the "roller guards", but they were $50 or $60, and a lot of people said they broke easily. Besides, they didn't really turn your skates into inline or quad roller skates - there were two closely spaced wheels at front, and at back.

[Christy]

I'd be interested to know how they work with the Matrix blades, as the Rockerz trash the chassis.