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I swap holders all the time and the True boot holds the rivets just the same as any other composite boot from CCM or Bauer. I think the issue is who is performing the work.

True Skate Plus: Overall fit. Comfort. Allows for proper skating posture. Top quality materials. Excellent for those with foot issues needing more than a molded off the shelf skate. Ability to swap tongues at any time. Step/VH holder is reliable and the steel is top notch. Minus: Lack of steel selection for Step/VH holder. Cannot order without Step/VH holder. Heavier than other brands. Most players swap out the Step/VH holder for Tuuk holders to allow them to use various brands of steel (Byonic, Massive, Flare, Step, Tydan, Bauer, etc) Summary: This is a pro level skate. True does not make multiple tiers of skates, they make one model only. This skate is designed for the player on the ice 20+ hours a week, the big guy/gal, or a very powerful skater. There is an adjustment period when moving to the True skate, for some its longer than others, but generally its at least 10-20 hours for your biomechanics to "reset." These are not the lightest skate on the market and are heavier than Bauer and CCM, but as one person said to me "If you are bitchin about 40 grams of weight in a pro level skate vs general retail models, you should instead go to the gym or not wear those skates cause you're a sissy." CCM AS1/FT1 Custom (NOT FULL CUSTOM) Plus: A skate designed for all-out performance. Lightweight. Ability to request different sizes. Minor alterations to the skate such as tongue and added padding are available. Best looking skates IMO. One-piece boot frame allows for a great fit. These skates are all about performance without any of the "fluff" Minus: SB holder is terrible IMO. Takes too long to swap steel and I have seen too many players lose screws/nuts on the bench when trying to swap steel in a game. Not as durable as other skates. Having a minimalist design is great for short term but the boots tend to start to look pretty terrible after only a season of hard skating. Summary: All performance without the extras. Less padding than other brands. Extremely light compared to most other skates. Some people feel the boot is too high cut on the ankle and can be restrictive. Swap out the SB holder and you have a beast of a skate! Durability is not the best, just look around at used FT1 and Super tacks and you will see many of them look pretty torn up after only a year of use at high-level hockey. Bauer Custom (NOT FULL CUSTOM) Plus: Light skate. Ability to request different sizes and minor alterations to the skate such as tongue and added padding are available. Iconic design, it looks like a hockey skate. Not much has changed with their technology or design in many years, which many players prefer. Minus: The two-piece boot is perceived by some as a negative compared to the one-piece boots from CCM and True. Tuuk holders are known for having many issues, but they are still the preferred holder of almost every major hockey team and equipment manager. Summary: I consider it the workhorse of skates, more durable than CCM but less durable than True. The Swiss Army Knife of hockey skates that does everything well, but doesn't do any specific thing better than anyone else.

True will make a customer a new pair of skates if they are not able to get the ones they made the first time fit you properly. I have only seen a few people ever need to have a new pair of skates made. To be entirely transparent, I own a hockey shop and we sell True custom skate. I was one of the few people who did request to have a second pair made. This was not due to any quality control issues or defects with the skate. There was a couple of things I didn't like which is what led me down the path to having a new pair made. Specifically, coming from skates that fit like a Mako, with zero negative space, I felt the toe box was sloppy even with the tongue stuffed all the way down. I also like my boots to fit VERY snug. My big toe needs to touch the toe cap when I am standing upright and not in a hockey stance and the first pair had a little too much space in the toe area. I also had regret getting the added shot blockers in the first pair due to the weight they add. Again, I am sure these would not be an issue with 99% of people but for me, it was a serious problem. No matter how much I liked the skates I could not overlook these small issues. The last thing you should be thinking about when you are on the ice is your equipment..... That being said. I test out a lot of gear. Obviously, owning a hockey shop allows me to get my hands and feet in every new product that comes out and I like to test what we sell. I dont think you can advise anyone on an item unless you have tested the item yourself. I also think there needs to be some understanding that everyone is different and we all have different likes and dislikes. What works for me will likely not work for others, and vice versa. I can see specific areas where the True skates shine when I compare them to CCM and Bauer. I also see areas where CCM is better than the others and the same with Bauer. Different strokes for different folks.

It should be around $2500-3000 for Pavel Barber to do a dedicated video review of the new Surgeon stick. Negotiations can bring that up depending on how experienced he is. If should also include cross-channel content (IG stories, posts, etc.) in the package. For a niche channel like Pavel's who generates 40-50k views per video, that would be a competitive rate. The rates of Ninja and Pewdiepie would be on a totally different level.

...So they can order it direct from STX? direct sales, there is no distribution anymore in the US. Not on the West Coast or any other.

I did end up buying the All Black stick (AB28) and it is great. I bought it shortly after my post in 2016 and I am still using the same stick. Well worth the money.

You consider their pricing on top-tier elbow pads high? You must be smoking some really good stuff....

I finally ran into a SPARX machine last week at Lettermen's in Blaine MN. That's right by the famous Super Rink. They had two machines going as well as the hand sharpeners. I told them I wanted the SPARX machine to do our skates. The worker put one skate in each machine and they were done in a couple of minutes. I did not count the passes. When they were done they took them out and threw them on the counter, no edge checker or hdi. The finish looked great but there were a few burrs left and one of the edges was way off. Not good. My point here is that this shop can't be making a very good name for the SPARX machine.

Your buddy is trying to brave it, as well. Go with it. I know it sucks that the inevitable will happen, but just enjoy your buddy; that’s what he’s trying to do is enjoy his time left with you. It’s hard, I know.

Thank you! The official word posted on the NREMT yesterday. I am fortunate to already have a good therapist of my own. I know several of the medics at my current job and they're good folks. A nice mix of pleasantly nuts, which I think helps survive the job.

Update - today was her last chemo treatment.

After nearly 2 solid days of panic, the results came in Monday and I passed the written. \o/ Next stop: the practical.

At last, school is over. My written exam is tomorrow and the practical is on the 29th. I am half between "I got this" and "oh god what if I fail". But excited to be almost there.

Because IW's videos get a fair bit of eyes and Chase and Dan have done product insight videos before. Not sure about STX's West Coast distribution either, but IW could make a good partner. You give demo products to the bigger retailers like Pure, Monkey, whoever is big in Canada so customers can actually touch the gear.