flip12
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Posts posted by flip12
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2 hours ago, pgeorgan said:Orthotics? Interesting. I was hoping it had more to do with customization of the boot.
The guy at the LHS said it’s also supposed to improve scan precision. I tried the current scanner for the first time and I found its suggestion to be at least a full size too big.
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44 minutes ago, shooter27 said:Any idea where to find those these days? I've been looking for a new pair for years. The 55flex website doesn't exist any longer.
No actually. I've looked a few times out of curiosity. The easiest solution seemed to be trying to make it with a 3D printer and the right kind of plastic or going to a cobbler to see if they could work it out.
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Just noticed Doughty's got 55-Flex lace extenders. Is this his way of dealing with the switch from (semi-)soft shell to hard shell Vapors?
He now contends with Jagr for the all-time Frankenskate.
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38 minutes ago, stick9 said:Good question. I don't mean his pro-stock pattern. I guess, it would be the original retail offering. The one that also jived with Warriors Drury. So probably right around the time Innovative became Warrior, or there abouts.
Gotcha. I thought that's what you meant, but just wanted to be sure. His pro pattern looks amazing. I know @decoy is a huge fan of it.
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19 hours ago, stick9 said:The Hall (E3) was much closer to the real Sakic, maybe even exact. Which most people believe is the P92 but it's not. The OG Sakic was a more a straight up mid curve with a slightly open face and a lie in the 5's. The rocker was flatter than the 92 as well.
I assume this was simply an evolution or an effort to combine multiple similar patterns into one. The closest thing I found to a real Sakic was the P19 Nugent-Hopkins. Very similar just not as deep. Even that pattern changed at some point.
What do you mean by “the real Sakic?”
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All skates for the last few decades have been made with thermoformable materials. You can see it happen in the how-it’s-made factory videos even with traditional skates like Graf and Bauer Classic Supremes. Whether they’re reformable under conditions available to the consumer is the question.
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11 hours ago, BenBreeg said:Very cool! I had Vapor 8s for a very brief time. Their vice-like grip on my forefoot put an end to that. I always liked the 10s design better.
Vapor 8 was where I gave up on Bauer. I saw Graf 705s in person in a shop and I was blown away by the craftsmanship. They were much more comfortable too, of course.
But these are making me reassess all I thought about Bauer. My Vapor 8s were size 10.5 and I didn't have a clue about what they should have been. These are 9.5 EE and they feel almost perfect. I had a hot spot at the end of my large metatarsal on one foot--rubbing right at the edge of the toe cap. But the shell has great stiffness and the liner/foam combo felt very similar to my Catalyst 7s. The steel feels great. Speaking of the forefoot vice, even though these are wide, they still look quite narrow.
I fully agree about the looks. I thought Vapor 8s were so cool when they came out. Vapor 10s were just a cut above. The only ones I like almost as much are the XXX and Hyperlite. A true Vapor has to have a certain balance of black and grey. These though, they almost sparkle with the metal mesh, and it's nice there's no tertiary color muddling the mix. Even the splash of red in the XXX is a drawback in my book.-
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22 hours ago, Leif said:I’m sure that’s mostly, or maybe completely, true.
The True skate was pretty much developed by one man and his dog in a shed, and they had no previous production experience. Bauer buy in tech such as CarbonCurv. The advanced hard foam in my Bauer 2S Pro shin pads is polystyrene. The soft squishy foam is bought in tech. They also seem to spend a lot of time designing somewhat dubious features such as CarbonLite blades. In addition Bauer spends a fortune on advertising and sponsoring players. And I do wonder if supplying non sponsored NHL players is genuinely profitable.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Graf had the nous to figure out how to produce carbon fibre skates, they understand production on a smallish commercial scale. But they would be expensive. And they would need a decent selling point. True has thermoformability and one piece. True outsource their stock TF7 and TF9 skates to China, I assume they do the same for stock Catalyst and Hzrdus skates too.
True has their own production facilities in China, if I’m not mistaken, so they’re offshoring it not outsourcing it.
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59 minutes ago, VegasHockey said:The issue is Graf skates are the technological equivalent to a dinosaur. If they offered the same performance as other brands, we would see players of all levels using them more often. I had Graf skates when I was young and played prep at Shattuck and in the EJHL/ECHL. I loved those skates, and they worked well for me back then, but I assume if I wore them now, I would not have the same impression.
Don’t assume. You’d do us all a huge favor if you tried them again and did a review. You know current offerings better than anyone as well as what Grafs were like compared to the competition in Graf’s glory days.
5 hours ago, caseyjones said:As a big Graf guy who recently just went modern with Machs this video had me longing for Graf’s again. If I were them, I would stick to the classic models and classic looks and just build them in composite form and some of the newer (sometimes gimmicky) features. I think people are getting tired of the radical color designs on all the new skates (I was never a fan of this) and I think Graf would benefit there. New companies moved to the 3 fit system whereas Graf has been doing this for decades with their different models of skates. I would love a full composite heat moldable 707 with a 703 heel and original graphics.
That’s more or less what Graf tried, and when that wasn’t working they started to make their skate patterns more along the lines of other manufacturers. That hasn’t helped either.
Graf wasn’t really on anything equivalent to the 3 Fit system. Sure they had different fits, but those fits were paired with different models, each with their own features. If you liked the 703 construction but had a deep foot, you were out of luck.
Grafs are still the best skates I’ve ever skated in. Cobras (in their classic 11’ rocker config.) are still by far the holder and steel spec. combo that suit me best. I really wish they would make a comeback. I just don’t see the signs of it.
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4 hours ago, Leif said:I spent three years trying and failing to master several edge drills (powerpulls, backwards crossrolls, backwards scissor skate, forward inside edge three turns). After less than a month with skates that fit, I’ve almost mastered them. Talent is mostly a myth anyway. It’s hard work and good training with huge amounts of luck.
What makes you say talent is "mostly a myth?" I consider it one of the "huge amounts of luck" factors.
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13 hours ago, MyBoxersSayJoe said:Loved the video. And I loved my 703's. Held on to them for 13 years, unfortunately at the time they gave out, composite boots were on the market and I made the switch. Maybe someday I'll find myself back in them.
They really ought to find a way to channel the success of the 703 into modern tech. They don't need to radically alter any of the major function points, just upgrade the construction. That's proven tricky over the last few decades, however.
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On 2/20/2024 at 12:56 AM, acura9927 said:Very comfortable fit even without baking. However they are not a nimble skate and it takes more confidence to go fast in them and especially forward to backwards moves. They wrapped around your ankle so high and snug along with the tall blade holder which for me take a LONG time to get adjusted to. A very unique skate. It's like a ski boot. Totally opposite of my Graf PK4700.
The thing with Trues is, you don't have to bake them snug around the ankle. You can flare the top out if that's what you're after. The customizability of the boots can make them tricky to dial in.
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5 hours ago, Leif said:They do a lot of infomercials. They might even have been paid to take a camera crew over to Switzerland. Do these old skates still hold water? Or have they been overtaken by modern designs? Imknow a bery good skater and player who swears by his Graf hockey skates.
There are quite a few who do. My personal standard is Graf. They nailed so many details it’s insane. Those have slowly been adopted by other brands, though, eliminating their comfort advantage, which was their calling card during their North American expansion in the 90’s and 00’s. Before the one90 dropped Graf had 25% of NHL All-Stars in their skates. They were a niche brand but that was huge for their visibility.
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Watched it. It was a weird video. Was it an infomercial? Chris and his crew were nowhere visible in it at all. Also a bit random with the Special Mr. Graf 82 Edition skates. Why 82? 80 makes more sense to celebrate.
Impressive they made the Cobra in a year. I know it has a lot in common with Tuuk Custom+, but it also has some nice improvements in comparison. Maybe that's not that surprising since they knew figure skating so well at the time. -
14 hours ago, Leif said:One foot slalom. Apparently powerpull is the correct term.
I don’t doubt it, just never heard it.
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20 hours ago, Leif said:Yes, TF9. Will edit post.
I asked because even first generation Catalysts are selling for around 50% off and they’re newer than the TF line.
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1 hour ago, Leif said:Thank you for the various replies. I went in today, tried a 7R, and it was a nice fit, but too big allowing for baking. They don’t have stock for size 6 unfortunately, so that is not an option. I tried the 6.5W and 6.5R again, and based on comments here, opted for the 6.5R which had a better heel lock, and felt shorter albeit rather tight either side of my forefoot. He did a 2 minute bake, and that made a big difference, so I went for a full bake, and yes the width does accommodate. After baking they feel snug, lengthwise my right foot is nearly touching the toe cap. Getting them on is not easy, I had to turn my foot outwards as recommended here, and then gently work it in.
He said to lace the top two eyelets after putting the skates on. Honestly I cannot do that, even though he slightly flared the tops. I will leave the top eyelet laced, the second not laced (as per my other skates), as I can get them on like that. Apparently I shouldn’t use them for at least 24 hours, preferably 48.
They came with a 1/2” grind, so I changed down to a 3/4”.
These are selling quite well, I know at least 3 people who bought a pair from this shop. It seems odd to sell top end non custom skates at about half price. Presumably they were not selling well, or they want to get True known in the marketplace to increase brand awareness.
Are you talking about the TF series?
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13 hours ago, Sniper9 said:Question regarding the facing where the eyelet tore through. How much composite is actually there holding the eyelet? I'd assume if the facing was made out of the same thermoplastic material as the boot, it would take a lot of effort to deform that material. Id imagine even if you drilled a hole in the material and laced through it with no eyelet it'll be able to hold up? Or is the facing a different/more flexible type of material?
From what I’ve seen, most boots run the quarter material all the way to the end of the facing. It makes sense because that area experiences a lot of force, so it’s usually reinforced with some pleather and the grommets to ensure some longevity. How thick the shell materials are through the facing, I’m not sure. If they stopped the quarter material and stiched pleather to that borderline all along the edge to make a kind of facing extension it would probably be a weak connection and prone to failure.
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1 hour ago, VegasHockey said:I like the 2024 Catalyst skate design. Best looking retail skate they have ever made.
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:968e037d-fb71-4110-ba3d-4778ab89e1d1
I like the look of the pants. The new Catalyst tendon guard looks like a step in the right direction. The Catalyst tongue and cosmetics remind me of CCM, especially the silver heel spur from the 70K-80K vintage.
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3 hours ago, Sniper9 said:The construction of the entire true boot is carbon fiber. This means the entire toe and forefoot area as well. In one piece. The toe cap simple slides over top. You can also see for yourself that the toecap is a flexible plastic on the sides and is only thicker on the front and top for obvious reasons. It's up to you what you want to do but I think we're beating a dead horse by telling you that making a decision without actually baking isn't a completely informed one. You might be happy with 6.5w but you'll never know for sure whether the 6w fits even better if it was fully baked and broken in.
I get at the retail level you have to compromise some fit issues to accommodate others.. but your fit issues, I personally believe you can achieve the "perfect" fit of toes brushes and not have width issues. My feet are like yours were the toes are the widest part which is why I have a hell of a hard time finding retail skates that fit properly. Either the toe cap area is crammed or boot is too big overall.
The shell doesn’t cover the entire toe cap area like it used to in the VH days. It does form the complete bowl around the bottom of the boot all the way around the front, just not the upper half of the toe cap.
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5 hours ago, krisdrum said:Interesting. I guess I can see that from a shape perspective. I guess I usually think about the curve of the blade and open/closed-ness first. Then the blade shape and lie. But I am definitely no expert. I definitely find the Mac to have a much straighter heel and mid than the retail P88, which is pretty consistently curved heel to toe to create that mid-pocket. So to your point, the Mac is "toe heavy". I'll have to compare the shapes later, that could explain why I have taken to the Mac pretty easily.
I get why you’d do it that way. I think I developed my blade face comparison after looking at the Warrior Smyth, CCM P46, Malkin Pro (the one most commonly associated with his name—dude’s had more patterns than the rest of the active NHL players combined). All of those are variations on the E4/PM9 (so is Kessel Pro, but I’ve never seen one in person). The Smyth tricked me for the longest time, but once I held it up to the E4 it was as though everything snapped into focus.
Once you see the blade shape you can guess which predecessor a pattern might come from and then it’s easy to see how you’d take the older pattern and make the new one from it. That’s how most of these blades (like most if not all art) come about: take a pattern that you like the most but still see a way to tweak it to better suit your own taste. The common theme these days is add toe curve, shave the toe. Those two operations account for all sorts of pro curve variants like…
E6 —> E28
E13 —> Kovalev, Barkov, Draisaitl, Hossa -> Jurco
(E13 aka Darby I suspect might be Ray Bourque’s pattern)P92 —> Stamkos, Benn, Zegras
Demitra Pro is just as you describe, P88 shape but with the curve wiped out, the a twisted toe that comes out of nowhere. But that’s easily done with the wood he was working with until the last moments of his tragically shortened career.
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Original Malkin is a modified PM9, I’m 97.1% certain. It’s very close to PSHS’ Kovalchuk-Thrashers without the toe shave. It’s not really P88 in any way other than that PM9 and P88 are two of the lowest curves on the retail market and they’re both relatively consistent in blade height from heel to toe.
MacKinnon Pro (Warrior Gionta inspired by Demitra Pro) is closest to a toe-heavy P88. Toe shape is a bit sleeker, but the lie profile and overall shape lines up with P88.
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You’ve got good taste. The Wild Berry Viper scheme is awesome, some of my favorite hockey unis ever. Your Innovative stash is incredible. 1100 is one of the sharpest looking sticks ever. Black with white and gold always wins when it comes to sticks.