Easton Mako Skate Review

Last year I caught wind of the Easton Mako and heard that it was going to break a lot of new ground when it came to hockey skates. Easton was working with a former speed skater-turned-hockey-skating-coach to design a new “faster” skate. In fact he started his own skate company and Easton bought it to utilize his designs and technology.  I thought the idea sounded interesting and was excited to see the new skate. That new skate is the Easton Mako and it has gotten a lot of attention lately. I requested a pair to review and Easton was kind enough to lend me a pair.

The Details – Easton Mako Specs

• Retail Price – $799  Clearance price of $329 at Hockey Monkey (Note Easton has set a minimum price of $799 so for now it will be hard to find a better price They have a super cheap clearance price now!)
• Mako 2 – Easton released the Mako 2’s which are an improvement on durability from the original Mako’s
• Weight – 800 grams for size 9
• Feel – Very comfortable without even baking them for my feet
• Baking – The unique thing about these skates is they are supposed to be baked for a long time making them very pliable, then they are formed to your feet. The entire skate molds to your foot rather than just some gel inside.
• More specs – For all the scientific specs about the skates check out the Hockey Monkey link above. Lets try them out!

Skating in the Easton Mako Skates

The first thing I noticed when I put the skates on was how comfortable they were. I didn’t try them on before I got them or have them baked to my feet. I just let Easton know my size and then got a pair of skates to try. I can’t even imagine how great they would feet if I actually had them baked and fitted properly. I go into more details on the fit and feel of the Easton Mako skates in the video below

Would I Recommend the Mako Skates

Yes, but not to everyone. I love the skates, they feel great, they are light and they give me that natural skating feeling that I love.

I would recommend the skates to anyone who is looking for a high quality skate that will last, knows what they want from a skate, and can afford the steep price tag.

I would not recommend the skates to anyone on a budget or newer hockey players who are not sure what style, fit, and skate features they like.

Easton Mako Skate Specs

I won’t copy and paste all the specs here (you can find them on the Hockey Monkey Mako Page) but I found this video that covers them nicely (who want’s to read all the stuff anyways!)

The Journey to the Mako Skates

I thought that the story of how the skates were created was pretty interesting. Dave Cruikshank was a former Olympic speed skater that was obsessed with tinkering with his skates, and when he retired he was hired by an NHL team to teach their players. The problem was a lot of the drills didn’t feel right in his skates, so he created his own hockey skates.

My Overall Thoughts

For the price you pay you expect great skates, and that’s what you get. The skates are everything you look for, they are light weight, comfortable, and provide the speed and agility a player needs.

The most noticeable features for me were

• The shape of the skates, they seem to follow the shape of a foot more than most skates do ( at least looking at them externally)
• The way they lace up – It seems like the eyelets are more on top of the skates, rather than to the side, which seems to allow a snugger fit
• They felt great when skating and were very comfortable
• I noticed the liner was sort of tacky / rubbery which helped keep my feet in place
• Apparently the heel is higher than normal skates, however I put on one pair of Mako’s and one pair of my other skates and did not really notice a difference there.
• 2 year update – after two years of using the Mako lightly the boot is coming apart. If you’re set on a skate lasting a while the Mako 2 might last longer. Personally I skate in Bauer skates and my One100 skates have lasted me and held up to a lot of abuse

If you would like to get a pair check out the link at the top of the article, or if you are in the market for a cheaper skate you can always check out the bargain section