Leaderboard

Or you can just pay the shipping and participate in our Prosharp Project...and not get the same profile that everyone gets from that place. But definitely work on the holder first, as that's the profile you're used to at the moment.

After waiting almost 2 years, I finally got the chance to try them out. They're on a pair of Langes, but those are the only skates I wear, so that shouldn't be a factor since I'm comparing apples to apples. I also had them radiused and profiled by the same shop (No-Icing Sports in New Hampshire) to the exact same specs as all of my other steels: combo 8'/13' radius, aggressive forward pitch, shaved heels and toes, and FBV 95/1. The installation was perfectly centered and the one thing about Langes is that there's no issue of getting used to another pair, because they don't have to be broken in at all and I purposely used my favorite liners from my current skates instead of different liners to eliminate any other variables. So, I'm confident that the only variable being tested was the new blades. I didn't feel too far back on my heels, but it wasn't a positive experience at all. They felt like they had way too much blade on the ice and they definitely slowed me down instead of improving my straightaway speed. I did concentrate on my stride and tried to find a way to get them to work with me instead of against me, with little success. The only potential positives were: (1) they seemed to promote a noticeably-lengthened cross-under; (2) I was surprised that they felt a little more stable skating backwards than my usual skates. (3) It's possible that they facilitated a slightly sharper turn, but that could also be that they were freshly sharpened. I'm going to see whether I can cut as sharply on my regular steels on Friday after a few passes with a my edger, just for comparison, because I was consciously testing how sharply I could cut yesterday, which isn't something I normally do. (4) A few times, my lead outside edge caught the ice in a way that felt like I might be able to work on a cut-stop or front-foot brake-turn, which isn't something I can normally do; so I'm also going to test that on my regular skates for comparison. That's it for the positives, and I'm being as generous as possible. Now, for the negatives: (1) Slower straightaway speed, as mentioned above. (2) Too much blade on the ice, as mentioned above. (3) My forward crossovers required deliberate concentration and I couldn't get any hop into them at all. (4) Shooting off my inside leg required me to first transfer all of my weight onto that leg very early and shoot from a flamingo stance. This wasn't something I did consciously at all; it just happened naturally. After an hour on them, they felt no better (in any respect) than they did after the first 10 minutes. It's possible that reducing my radius would counteract the sensation of too much blade on the ice, but I'm thinking if that's the case, what's the point of the technology if I have to do that just to get back to a normal feel? I'll be skating on my regular blades on Friday and don't even know that I'll be skating on these again if a full hour on them provided none of the advantage they're supposed to offer. I take full responsibility for taking the gamble (roughly $400 when you factor in their cost and the cost of mounting and profiling them); but to be perfectly honest, I'd have to say that the promotional videos (now) seem deceptive to me and I'm just being 100% honest based on my hour on them. I just don't see how it's possible for anybody to slip these on for the first time and instantly recognize an immediate and obvious benefit after 3 or 4 strides the way all the pros featured in them describe. The most benign and innocent explanation would be the placebo effect based on their expectations and what they were told they'd experience. Frankly, I don't know that I really believe the most benign and innocent explanation is more likely than the less benign and less honest explanation that they simply said exactly what they were being paid to say to promote a product. Of course, this is perfectly legal as "puffery" and no different from testimonials for myriad other consumer products featuring celebrity spokespeople, but it would be much more believable to me if those pros described a benefit only after some time on them and after some time dialing in their blade specs. Based on my experience, I just can't believe that anybody laced them up for the first time and noticed the tremendous benefit that all of them describe in those videos. I may try them again, but I only get to practice once or twice a week and I hate wasting an hour of practice the way I felt like I did yesterday; and no way I'm playing in these the way I skated in them. I'm sorry, Per; but this was my experience and these are my genuine thoughts after an hour on them. I wouldn't have made the investment in them if I hadn't been hoping to be able to share a much more positive experience, obviously. I even rushed to get them installed so that I'd be able to try them out in time to order a second set of steels for them before the backers-only sale ends this Friday if they worked for me. I do appreciate the effort that went into the technology, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel somewhat mislead by the promotional videos for the reason explained above. If you have any suggestions, I'm open to them. Thank you. Respectfully, -Charles

When you skate on a 3/4, anything below 5/8ths is deep.

I don't think 1/2" is all that deep. Yes, exactly this. The edges are sharp, but they bite like they've been dulled a little. It's an easy fix by just adjusting the hollow for it. The convenience of running a pass or two on each skate while I'm packing my bag is just too much to trade for a manual sharpener.

Yes, you're supposed to use a shoe horn to put them on and take them off. They're a breeze to put on and take off once you start using a shoe horn; I keep a $2 IKEA shoe horn in my bag for this very reason.

Yeah, I figured as much for you.

My dad bought a pair of Trues and didn't like them; said they were too hard to put on. Bought some Supremes and gave me his Trues. Luckily for me our feet are very similar besides me having a flat arch. I've been wearing them for about 2 months now and while they started out painful in the arches, I absolutely love them now. I was very afraid that they wouldn't break into a foot that it wasn't specifically made for, but I was wrong. If they fit somewhat correct, they can break in and they are incredible skates. My hats off to VH and True for their hard work.