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Thanks, @Vet88. Your description makes sense, and confirms what I feared. FWIW, I know others have complained about toe cap issues, but I actually am not experiencing any discomfort there - my issue is further up on the metatarsal. Given the shape of my feet, I was shocked that a stock boot might be too low profile for me. But it sounds like that's the case (or, at least, that something about the cut doesn't match the volume/shape of my feet).

The 4500 never fit me (going back to its initial Cooper days), so please take this with a grain of salt. But, I picked up a Tacks 710 helmet recently, and it's been very comfortable. It's definitely pricier than the 4500, but also much cheaper than some of the other options out there. I don't like the way it looks as much as the 4500, but I think it has a slightly similar low-profile appearance (and is also quite light).

I've been looking to replace my 70ks for a bit. I recently tried the Cat 9s, which I liked but unfortunately were a bit wide in the heel for me. A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a pair of 3X Pros in a Fit 1. I've skated in them a handful of times and have been pretty disappointed. I have tried the skates with the stock insoles, new Superfeet, and even the old Superfeet from my Ribcors. No matter the insole, I've gotten a decent amount of pressure on my arches and an uncomfortable amount of pressure on the top of my forefoot. Neither of those spots have ever been issues for me in skates before - I've only had lace bite in one pair of skates, and that was much further up, and I've never had an issue with my arches. Despite all the pressure, my heel lock isn't even that great. I have narrow, low-volume foot, and I pronate significantly on one foot. I haven't worn a pair of Vapors since the original Vapor 10. I'm curious if anyone else has had these issues with Vapors (or otherwise) and if so how you've dealt with them. It may be that the Vapors just aren't for me, but if that's the case, I may need to go the custom route or scour SLS for old Ribcors or Grafs.

Some thoughts: The Hespeler "offset" sticks and blades of the late 90s. The claimed benefit was that they were supposed to keep your hands in front of the puck. TBlades - I am still baffled by these. Mission's 3-finger gloves of the late 90s/early 00s. I had a pair of these and actually really liked them. The claimed benefit was that they combined two weaker fingers into one stronger one. I don't know if I buy that, but they were comfortable (perhaps veering a bit too close to hockey mittens) Cooperalls

I realize that this has been addressed over the years, but it looks like it's been a while since the last thread and skate tech has changed. What's the current wisdom on how long to wait after baking new skates before skating? Thanks!

Maybe I should post this on the general True/SVH thread, but does anyone have experience with returning stock True skates? What does the process look like? I know that True advertises a 30-day return window, and I'm still within that time frame. I don't want to make trouble for my LHS, but I also don't want to be stuck with a pair of skates that don't fit me.

First off, huge thanks for all the thoughts. And, particularly, huge thanks to @flip12 who sent me some very helpful suggestions - a reminder of how great this site can be. I took my Cat 9s back to my LHS today. They were able to remove the steel with some effort. The left was slightly warped. The right was dramatically curved. They checked a bunch of the other pairs in the shop and found many others warped but eventually fixed me up with an un-warped set of steel. They concluded that the issue was the steel itself, rather than the holder mounting. We experimented with some additional foam pieces under both heels and put in the arch insert on one skate, all of which seemed to help. I'm still skeptical - I've never needed to resort to inserts (beyond SuperFeet) in any skates before. But, I'm hoping that they'll feel better this time around. (I'm sure that skating on straight steel will help, at the very least!) Do any of you use SuperFeet with Trues? I wonder whether they might help and might make for a more stable long-term solution than the assorted foam pieces.

Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately I don't. Also, @Hills, I tried to remove my steel, and - like you - I was unable to. At this point, I'm thinking that I might chalk the Cats up to an unsuccessful experiment on my part. I'll try another skate or two, but I'm honestly not inclined to try to start modifying the skates if I can return them. I liked the idea of the Trues, and there's clearly a lot that's great about them. But if I'm dealing with skates that don't seem to fit, maybe need different tongues, and need at least new steel (if not also re-mounted holders), then it's just not worth it for me, and I'll see if I can try some Fit 1 Bauers.

Hoping that it's not going to be necessary to return them, but do others have experience w/True's 30 day warranty? If so, have you had any issues, or has it been relatively straightforward?

Many thanks, but I'm sorry to hear that the fit has been an issue for you as well. Honestly, because of the material in the toe cap, I can't tell exactly where I am length-wise. I'd say feathering, though. I am wondering whether - despite the great heat molding - these skates actually are too wide and have too much volume for me. I can't skate again for a couple of days, but I'll share any updates once I do. And thanks for the advice re: the steel. Will double check.

@Hills mentions it in his review (in his "areas of concern"), and I noticed that a couple of (otherwise positive) customer reviews on IW mentioned the same issue (https://www.icewarehouse.com/True_Catalyst_9/descpage-TC9SK.html).

After watching @Hills's review, I picked up a pair of Cat 9s. Skated on them today for the first time and was kind of disappointed. I bought and baked them at my LHS. My LHS owner is a longtime True/SVH fan and did a great job with the saran wrap, etc. They felt very good in the store, and I was almost worried that the fit would be too snug. When I skated on them today, though, it felt like they opened up a bit too much. For want of a better word, I'd describe the fit as a bit sloppy. I actually didn't get great heel lock on either skate. And, I always deal with slight pronation on one foot, but I felt like I was getting it much more today than I ever have in a pair of new skates. (It's inevitable when boots break down, but I don't expect it to be an issue in a properly fitting pair of new, stiff boots.) I'm not sure if that's attributable to user error - I have narrow feet and usually use waxed laces and tie my skates quite tight. Today, I used the stock laces and at my LHS's urging (and based on threads on here), I took it easy on the top few eyelets. So, maybe if I go tighter and use waxed, I'll get better heel lock? That said, when I tried going tighter today, I definitely had less forward flex. Finally, any tips for determining if my steel is warped? I know this is a recurring concern with the Cat skates, and maybe that helps explain the slight lack of stability that I felt today. I'm planning to swap out my laces and try another skate or two. If things still aren't great, I'll probably try to take them back to my LHS and see about re-baking and checking the steel. Maybe the Trues just aren't the right fit for me, but we'll see...

Great review! Many thanks, as always

Very helpful - thanks!

I realize that Grafs have largely fallen by the wayside, but I'm contemplating snagging a pair of G755s on a pretty attractive sale. I'm curious about thoughts on sizing, though. I haven't worn Grafs for many years. I used to wear an 8.5 in Graf, but I also used to wear an 8.5 in Bauers. I'm currently wearing an 8 Ribcor. (I did both Bauer and CCM scans when I bought my current skates, and they both recommended an 8.) Of course I realize that there's no substitute for actually trying on the skates, but does anyone have any experience with relative sizing of Grafs v. Bauer/CCMs these days? Any thoughts would be appreciated greatly.

Thanks, all! Very helpful. Cavs019 & Miller: If I were looking at pro stock Warriors, what should I keep an eye out for to distinguish the good from the bad? Going w/custom Eagles is tempting. I'm still kicking myself for not picking up a couple of pairs of x50s when they were still around. (The PPFs are great, but the thumb isn't my favorite.)

I'm in the market for a new pair of gloves, and I'm looking for recommendations. I'm a longtime Eagle wearer (currently in an old pair of PPFs), but they've gotten harder to find over the years, and I'd be curious to try something new, What's your favorite 4-roll glove on the market? Open to retail or pro stock.

A6 (or at least dressed as A6). Timing is a little tough - I played with them once and then was off the ice for a while due to an injury and then the pandemic. But, I'd say that neither of them lasted more than a few dozen skates.

I bought a pair of used Marner pro stock sticks off of SLS a couple of years back. (I'm assuming that they were the real thing, although on SLS there's always a possibility that they weren't.) They were in good shape when I bought them and seemed pretty lightly used. I liked them a lot - super light and great feel. The one knock on them for me was the durability. I broke both pretty quickly - the blades went soft and then broke. All of which is to say that my experience sounds similar to BruinDust's

Yes.

I tried out the new twigs at pick up. At the outset, it's worth noting that I tried very different sticks - different flexes, patterns, and builds - so it's impossible to offer an apples to apples comparison. Some thoughts: Ovie Redline 85 Flex: this one felt great - super light and nice balance. I've played with other Ovechkin clones before, and this one struck me as having a bit less mid/heel - i.e., starting the curve and huge flare a bit further up the blade. The result was something that felt a little more like a juiced p28 than I would have preferred. That said, I've never used a true Ovie pro stock, so it's certainly possible that this is a more accurate rendition. And, the difference I noticed is miniscule anyway. I'm kind of finnicky when it comes to puck feel, and I miss my two-piece setup and/or wood blades for puck handling. But, I was really impressed with this one. Shooting was great, too. The wacky curve has it's pros and cons, so I'm pretty comfortable chalking any complaints up to user error, but the puck felt great coming off the blade, particularly on wrist and snap shots. Nicklas Pro Model E 75 Flex: I've always loved the Lidstrom/Leetch/Getzlaf pattern. This was a good rendition. For my money, I think it was a tiny bit less open than some versions. And, given that I also picked up an Ovie, it should be clear that I like open patterns and would have preferred a bit more of a twist. But, still good, and felt very comfortable and familiar. The same goes for the overall build, which reminded me of some old Easton shafts. I kept switching between this and the Ovie, and this build definitely felt a bit clunkier, which is probably less an indictment of the stick than a reflection of how great the Redline build feels. Puck feel was still good, as was shooting. Lidstrom is my favorite pattern for slapshots, and even with the slightly lower flex, I felt like this one was very good. Overall, I was very pleased with both, although I think the Redline build was better. The price point for these sticks is great, but the Redline felt more like a steal at this price, whereas the Pro Model E felt more like a good, but not great stick that I might have expected to find at this price point. While I like the "Nicklas" pattern and the shaft dimensions of the Pro Model E, I probably wouldn't buy another Pro Model E build. Instead, I'm thinking that I might shell out for some custom Redline builds, which is to say I came away impressed w/Prostockhockeysticks.com.

I finally bit the bullet and ordered a couple of these - the Ovie clone in the "redline" build and the Lidstrom clone. They just arrived and look and feel great. Will add notes once I have a chance to try them on the ice.

I'm with you in missing the heel curves. I'd check out pro stock options (Sideline Swap, Prostockhockey, etc.) or try Prostockhockeysticks.com, which (last I recall) was selling both a Drury and a Lidstrom clone (and also allows for custom orders). As others have noted, I think the turn to toe curves is a product of shifts in shooting styles, and - as time goes by - perhaps also a shift in what people grew up using or what they see the pros using. To me, it's not dissimilar to what's happened with stick flexes, where shops used to stock 85, 100, and 105/110, and now those numbers have gone down markedly, with sticks in the 70s all over the place. I'd say try out the toe curves, whippy sticks, etc. and see if you like them. If not, it's gotten a lot easier to find pro stock options online that offer specs less common at retail. (With the important caveat that more options online also means more sellers who might not be trustworthy.)

It's been a long time since I've worn Grafs, but my recollection is that they took a while to break-in. My last pair were 705s that I got about twenty years ago. Once they were broken in, they were very comfortable (one of my all-time favorite skates), but it took a while to get there....

I believe that Ice Warehouse advertises a "lowest price guarantee" or some sort of price matching program. Calls couldn't hurt, and I'd be curious to learn what you find out. That said, my experiences w/Hockey Monkey, Pure, etc. lead me to think that there's not a ton of discretion or play in the joints when it comes to policy. My sense is that large, national chains' organizational structure means there isn't much of a "let me talk to my manager and see what we can do" dynamic at work.