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The label on the inside of the skate was correct. After baking wrapping and skating the skates they seem fine, but the true rep also pretty much dropped contact with me.

But people told me my sizing comments were wrong and they fit true to size 🤔

I've been skating with the R1 for five games and after an initial adjustment period, I'm very happy. I think there could be improvements and I'm a tiny bit concerned about long-term wear, but at this point I'd recommend the R1. FZ-0, 6.5ee. I was properly fitted (and the mounted the frame) at Coast to Coast Hockey Shop in Vancouver and was shocked to learn: A- I was previously in boots 1.5 sizes too big; B- I have a wide forefoot but a narrow heel; and C- my left foot is a full size bigger than my right. So apart from getting used to a new frame, I'm extremely very extra super happy with the boots themselves. I've been skating for over twenty years and these are the best skates have ever felt. They're almost like an extension of my body rather than silly wheeled doodads I'm strapping on my feet for an hour or two. The skating experience took a little bit of time to figure out. For context, my sprungs were severely worn down, the arms for the front two wheels especially so. Normally the tops are squared off and fit into the base snuggly but mine had worn into wedge shapes so the effect was much less "springy" and much more tick-tocky. I could lean forward and the front two wheels stayed on the ground while the back two wheels lifted off. Which felt great sometimes but also felt extremely fragile. I was a very self-aware skater on my old skates, conscious of the feeling that the sprungs could explode at any time. Which isn't great. Anyway, I was accustomed to an extreme amount of movement and even though I was on the h5-t8, " the most movement" insert, I wanted more, especially from the toe. The heel movement felt ok, definitely better than flat frames, but I couldn't really dig in with my toes the way I could on sprungs. After three games, I loosened the bushing bolt by a half turn and there was much more play in the frame. At this point the movement took a bit of getting used to and I almost lost it in the warm up but during the game, I was digging in with my toes much better and I felt much sharper in the turns. Forward to backward transitions were quick and I was particularly impressed with my backwards acceleration. Stopping, for whatever reason, didn't feel as sharp. In my sprungs I could reliably get the wheels to make the "BEEERRRRRBBBB" noise when stopping but it's not as strong with the marsblades. I have this vague idea that in the sprungs I was better able to roll my weight, so to speak, from toe to heel so when I stopped, I could better modulate weight placement over the wheels. Maybe this is nonsense, maybe I'll get used to the marsblades and figure it out there too. Overall, I felt a bit quicker than with sprungs and apart from the stopping, didn't lose anything. Also, there's something to be said for the increased confidence that my skates weren't going to blow up... these are well made pieces of kit. As a caveat, I'm not a big guy at 66kg and in terms of how body weight affects the movement and stability, I have no idea. Bigger guys may get more movement than I do. The looser bushing bolt didn't feel weak or unstable but I'm small. I've mentioned sprungs wearing out a few times so let's look at wear for the marsblades. Look at that dust! We've been playing on a covered outdoor rink with smooth concrete, maybe one grade below polished. As you can see, there's significant wear on the anodization. There's some deep scratches and wear going on but nothing too worrying. This isn't unexpected in any way, moving parts with dust and dirt will grind down (my sprungs certainly did) I've been diligent about taking apart and cleaning everything... If you're not familiar this is the base of the frame and the rocker insert goes on top of this, with the metal frame following. This is the typical amount and type of dust that I get after a game, before I clean it. If you look closely at the bolt thing, there's some rust starting to develop at the base. I've started to use an old toothbrush to scrub around it rather than letting water clear everything away but I don't like the rust. There's a bit of wear on the sides (matching where the metal part is worn but again, nothing unexpected or too concerning. The plastic insert, likewise, seems ok. This is the metal frame facing side and it's a bit rougher, as if the movement between the insert and the frame are embedding grains of dust into the insert. Wear wise, I'm a bit concerned about the bolt rusting and time will tell about the metal frame... could it wear down so much that there's noticeable side-to-side play between the metal frame and the base? I'd feel better if I could replace individual parts of the frame setup easily or if my local shop could service them in some way. I went through three sprung set ups and they each lasted me about two years skating outdoors on dusty/gritty and sometimes muddy surfaces. If I can get that out of marsblades, I'd be satisfied. I'd be happier if it was longer but we will see how that goes.

@jrchecker8, did you ever get an answer/result about your skate sizing and the apparent mismatch between the production label and size listed on the tongue?

Where in the Midwest are you, do you have access to other stores? The fact that your Trues have come back with separate issues each time makes me wonder how good the fitting process is from the shop. Sounds like they are nice people and willing to work with you, but perhaps aren’t very skilled at custom fitting and measuring True skates. If they can’t measure you correctly for Trues, they probably aren’t going to do any better for Bauers. If the shop and True are willing to do full refund, might be better to back out and find a new place who is better at fitting.

Put some sock tape around the top and bottom of the knee cup, that will keep it in place when you bend your knee. Exposure can happen even when you have properly fitted shins. Part of it is about how well those shins are held in place.

Interesting, I just got mine done for the first time at the guy who does all the figure skaters and was recommended by the top skating coach in town. I actually think I can go down a hollow. Besides being smooth as butter, they were a bit more grippy so I could see how the opposite could be true. Watching him sharpen was impressive. I am no guru but what i know is the sound was quieter than when some guys do it which sounds like me using a grinder on a lawnmower blade, it was consistent the whole length of the blade as was the “spark shower”. Not sure if those are valid metrics but the results were.

Honing gets rid of any burrs on the outside edge (since the grinding wheel sharpens out the inner edge) and sharpens the outside edge a bit. Edge checker is a bit pricey and is a specialized tool. http://www.ssmofnorthamerica.com/product/blade-edge-checker/ But, uneven edges will give you more grip on one edge and less grip on the other, but it sounds like you aren't getting grip on both edges.

Even if you have a correct fitting shin pad, when you bend your knees (as when blocking a shot), isn't there still a vulnerable spot at your upper knee area? If a puck hits there, it could cause some serious injury. I looked on Amazon and here are 3 knee pads that I'm currently trying out: 1) FLYWIND Protective Knee Pads for Men Women Work,Volleyball Knee Pad Thick Anti-Slip Kneepads Soft Dance Gardening Knee Pads for Kneeling,Collision Avoidance Knee Sleeve 2) KneeMate Knee Pads for Garden, Suitable for Gardening, House Cleaning, Construction Work, Flooring Kneepads with Thick EVA Foam Padding, Comfortable Kneeling Cushion for Floors Cleaning Scrubbing 3) McGuire-Nicholas All Purpose Adjustable Soft Cushion Knee Pads So far I tried the first 2 and they seem fine. The 3rd one seems a little stiff but I'll be giving it a try. These are all general purpose knee pads, so I was wondering if there was a specific knee pad meant for hockey players to provide extra protection beneath their shin pads, but I'm guessing that there's no such thing.

Yep, the model is ‘proper fitting shin pads’...

When I switched to trues I noticed a big difference in how I could feel the ice so much better on the bottom of my feet. I felt every bump on the ice. Made me way more aware of my edges

I just switched from Bauer Supremes to True Customs and couldn’t tell you the difference regarding the soles. My Bauers were stiff and so are the Trues. That being said the Trues are very stiff all around and feel great! Because the bottom is also molded to my foot the fit is awesome.

Skates are one thing where if it don't break why fix it. Skates are the biggest pita to break in even with customs. Now try introducing a completely diff boot construction to nhl players who notice the smallest things in terms of difference. Even pro gloves are no where near retail ones and are very very basic in terms of materials and design.