Bauer Flexlite 4.0 Pro Skate Review

[nbrad4 0]

I bought these skates right after Thanksgiving in the US, so I have had them about 3 months now. I have worn CCM's since I've been playing (17yrs), so this was my first pair of Bauers. I initially tried on the CCM U+ Pro, Bauer 0ne95, and the 4.0Pro. This was without baking any of them. I did not like the feel of the U+'s, especially in the heel. I had always loved the way my CCM's fit, but this pair didn't seem right at all, so I tried another and got the same result, so that's why I looked at the Bauers.

I liked the feel of the One95's, but tried the 4.0Pro's because my primary use for skates is officiating now. The Pro's are the best looking official's skate on the market right now, in my opinion of course. Just a classic black boot. I liked the initial feel of the skate everything was locked in real well. I went down a 1/2 size from 9.5 in CCM Pro Tacks, to 9.0 in the 4.0Pro's, I wear a size 12 shoe. I had the heels punched out a little bit as well.

In my initial skate with them I felt a little different feeling in the arches, which was expected going from CCM to Bauer, but adjusted to that within a week. I'm on the ice 4-7 nights a week. I also had a bit of a problem with the lace bite insert digging into the front of my leg whenever I flexed forward, but this also was not a problem after a couple of weeks. I had heard that the regular 4.0's have a different tongue that is of poorer quality, and this is a more serious issue with those skates.

The major problem I had with these skates was the bumps on my heels, which I believe, are affectionately referred to as "Bauer Bumps". They caused me a lot of pain and inflamation. My pregame usually consisted of my warmup, then some Bengay, tylenol, and a visit with the trainer to get my foot taped. This helped somewhat, but the pain was still pretty severe and by the end of the 3rd, it usually hurt a good deal to stride out. I'm happy to say that after about 2months that subsided, as my foot has developed the calous, "Bauer bumps", and I no longer feel any pain in the skates.

I've been skating without any problems on these skates for the last month or so and absolutely love them. Top rating I can give. I attribute a lot of my problems to the fact that it was my first pair of Bauer's. I just wanted to share my thoughts, as I used this forum when I was looking at purchasing these skates.