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Because a lot of people can find comfortable fits for stock skates. Especially off the shelf Trues mold and fit so well the non-custom are fine for a lot of people. I suspect a lot of people need to actually just take time fitting their skates and trying things on. There’s a huge gap between ordering Vapors online because “Bauer is the best” without ever trying anything on, and going full custom. A pair of off the shelf $500 Trues would probably be the best option for a huge number of people. But the world too easily pushes the narrative of you need the most expensive things all the time no matter what.

I tend to agree with this as people's feet widen and splay out when leaning forward and bearing weight. The minimal foams in the forefoot and toebox on ccm and Bauer skates make you have to get used to a skate that's forefoot is too narrow during actual play. Yes you get used to it eventually and it wasn't until I tried true skates that I realized how ill fitting my previous skates were. I mean in general most human footwear is not ergonomical and too narrow, but I digress.

Off the shelf true skates have been just as comfortable for me as custom true skates. That's just me though. For people who have different size feet that's 1/2 a size or more, it's definitely beneficial for custom. I used to be fine with off the shelf Bauer. I would still be if I never got trues. Ever since I got trues my feet became desensitized to certain pressure points etc. Now if I wear old skates I used to have they feel like crap. Almost wish I never tried trues so I had way more options at the retail level 😂

People also enjoy the instant gratification of taking new skates home the same day.

Been awhile since I've lurked and posted here, but I caved in finally and placed an order for the version 3 and I can't wait. Too many little events in the past 6 months, there's 5 sharpeners here locally: Sharpener A is amazing but 45min away each way with a 30min wait because of how good he is (I've been desperate at times and taken days off of work to get his sharpens before a major tourney) Sharpener B is decent but a few times now they've ruined the edge or gave me the wrong cut depending on who's working (I've asked for 1/2 and gotten 3/4 and vice versa) Sharpener C has been gone since Covid Sharpener D no longer works at the place and now is ran by teens who aren't very good, but even then it was a crapshoot and the most expensive of them all. Sharpener E will complain if you bring two skates wanting different cuts, and he doesn't deburr the skates well somehow? So the first little bit of a fresh skate always feels weirdly sharp which goes away after 10 mins. I don't know how else to describe this but my 3/4 cut feels like a 3/8 for the warmups, and then dramatically changes to 3/4 for the next 6 skates.

Yup I got flex thumb. The thing about this was I think for flex thumb they don't give you the loop thumbs that adds even more mobility for some reason. The lock thumb comes with the loop thumbs palm but this didn't. They cost me 280 cdn shipped. They had a 15% off promo for the mth of Sept. It's crazy bc shipping was $55 just from Ontario to BC in Canada which to me is ridiculous. But after the discount the total cost was more or less the same as getting the standard eagle aero pro in store which retail for about 250$ cdn before tax. That said, my next order when they have another sale, I think it will be more expensive since I'll be adding the loop thumbs, double thick backhand pad and finger liners. The standard ones are fairly thin and feel noticeably less cushioning than modern ccm Bauer and warrior gloves. They're still comfortable but I like more plushness. I'll probably also get a diff palm as well. These are just the standard msh3 palms. Probably a good idea to get them to provide me with a complete list of options since the online form is pretty limited, especially with colors.

Most young players are open-minded and not married to specific brands. Funny story, there is a big name sponsored NHL player and his kids wear TRUE. The TRUE rep was able to get the NHL player to try out a pair of TRUE custom skates, and he loved them. Said it was the first time he has ever worn skates that didn't hurt his feet. However, the money from his big sponsor was too large to give up. He is at the tail end of his NHL career and is looking to pocket as much cash as possible. Yes, he does. I have seen him wearing TRUE in a few practice skates. Also, there are pics of him wearing CCM too. Regardless, you could have that kid wear wooden shoes with blades duct taped to them and he would still look smooth. So much talent.