shoot_the_goalie

I would say no, unless you plan to air/bus travel with it a lot. Then the higher quality, more durable bags are definitely worth it. That said. If they make a hockey bag with a built in wet bar, I could be interested in that.

Very happy I got the added shot blockers to mine too. Took two hard shots the other night to the same foot. 1st one hit square on the outside of my foot and felt nothing. 2nd one hit square on the inside ankle bone (where the True logo is) and I felt it and it hurt, but was fine after the initial pain. Skates look fine too - no visible damage.

Agreed. Felt like a football helmet when I tried it on.

Yeah. I don't use a shoehorn anymore. With that said, when I baked my Trues, I had the LHS "open" the top eyelet area just a bit so it would flare a little, since I like the top eyelets pretty loose anyway. Side benefit is that they're not as hard to get on. However, out of all the skates I've ever owned, they are still the hardest to get into by far.

The few people I know who went from VH to True have all said the fit is better with the Trues. Most think it was probably cause the hand tracing method is more prone to error than the 3d scan.

Hi Mike. Seems to be a little harder to find Blacksteel in general. Is Blacksteel being more limited in stock?

I use waxed laces and I like them...personal preference. I do tie my Trues pretty loosely though.

How did that happen? Or was that a factory defect?

Interesting. But at $30CAD a pop, not sure it's worth it since blacksteel rarely burrs, and if it does, nothing a piece of leather can't fix.... Might be incredibly useful to those with SB Black and other coated/polished non-Step blades.

I didn’t find much of a performance difference. I skate still like I skate. However from a comfort standpoint, significant difference. My Trues were pretty close to spot on in terms of fit; I had no break-in period, no hot spots, and no need to punch or alter the actual shape of the boot like I previously had to do in other skates. Previously, I always left top eyelet unlaced, but tie all the way to top on Trues.

But isn't this an example of positive customer service from True? They could just respond, "Sorry, but talk to your LHS where you were fitted. Not our fault you live XXX hours away from them." But they don't do that, and will still talk directly to the customer in many instances to help. I know some other major hockey manufacturers who have told me "Sorry. Can't help you on that. You need to talk to where you bought it from."

On top of this, many people when they think of custom, they expect the product to be perfect on first delivery. It happens all the time with all types of custom products. Custom products, a vast majority of the time, come with imperfections that ultimately need tweaks/modifications. Very fine point. Even then, True personally called me a few times to resolve my minor issues; in response to my e-mails. True's customer service in my experience is top-notch. Only other major hockey manufacturer that has come close to their level of service, in my experience, is CCM.

That's what I thought too. Your best chances of getting the Fitlite titanium cage is probably to buy the combo of the 3DS if still offered; unless you need different size cage/helmet like I did.

I originally thought my head was more round shaped, but when I tried the 3DS in the store, it fit really well. Occasionally, the helmet will feel tighter on my temples, but it's easily remedied by pushing out the sides a bit before putting it on. It's a very comfortable helmet, breathes well, feels light, and the occipital lock is great. The only con I would say with this helmet is that the brow does not absorb any sweat whatsoever, so you will get sweat dripping down over your face at times. The Fitlite titanium cage is great, but they seem to be harder to find as of late. It's got the same pattern as the CCM480/580, but with flat bars, and significantly lighter. I had to buy the helmet and cage separately, as I wear a M helmet but a L cage. Hope that helps.

I have the CCM Fitlite 3DS and find it pretty light. But in the end, I think it depends more on whatever facial protection you use (or not use). I used to use the FM580 cage, but switched to the Fitlite titanium cage, and the reduction in weight was significant.

Get True to send you the new holders. If reseating didn't work, but the tape did, it's either a tolerance issue with the holder or the steel. You'll figure out which, once you get new holders. Regardless, True should replace whichever is causing the problem.

Design wise the old stuff is great and classics really never die. But I am very happy in terms of the advancement in materials. I don’t miss the soaking heavy wet feeling of my old gear nor the idea of breaking in leather gloves.

I think vintage items all still look super cool, and I love reminiscing about those items...but I'm quickly reminded on how archaic they are when I try them on again...lol.

I too had the sound in one skate. It sounded like plastic rubbing, but I didn’t notice it very much on ice. I attributed it to being new holders settling in, as the noise gradually lessened. Try removing the blade completely and reseating it. I know when I changed to Blacksteel from regular Step the noise went away completely. Here’s the vid:

I now only get excited for gear by reading through the 188 pages (and counting) of the VH/True skate thread.

Just find another area of focus where you can spend money that you really don't need to spend! Like fine whisky/bourbon! Or cars!

I feel like we're at a point where hockey (and other sports) tech has plateaued (except for maybe the mass availability/marketing of custom skates). IMHO, the new iterations of gear are mostly minor advancements with a lot of new jargon/graphics. Hard to get excited about, when underneath the veneer, you're basically getting the same thing from last year. Not to mention, sometimes minor advancements make me feel like the gear has taken a step back in improvement. (I'll use my typical example...I loved the CCM Ultra Tacks stick, and just wished CCM kept it at that, instead of changing the flex point, characteristics, etc - though I completely understand why they do it in terms of a business model) I still enjoy perusing gear, but I don't really get excited about buying anymore it in the current offerings, cause I'm happy with what I currently have, and nothing additionally out there on the market is going to make a vast improvement to my play. With that said, if they made a huge advancement in tech, that would definitely peak my interests again in purchasing new stuff. I played a bunch when I was younger, and after a 20 year hiatus, started playing again. I remember how awestruck and excited I was when purchasing new gear, cause it was so vastly differently than my old stuff. I mean, before I bought all my current gear, I was still skating in Micron Megas, using an Easton aluminum, and wearing pads that used plastic plates (weighted a ton and absorbed sweat like a sponge).

Thanks for this. Sounds like my Pure Hockey guy was correct...takes about 4-5 days to actually produce the skate. I'm not sure they had this status listing available for customers back when I bought my skates.

Like I said, I think it can vary depending on season (and demand). I got my Trues around this time of year, last year. Here's a post I made a while back in this thread, and one or two others replied saying they got their skates within a similar timeline. (I did mis-remember and I was told 5 business days to build the skate, not 4. Also, this is what the rep at Pure Hockey told me - I never validated it with True directly): "I went through Pure Hockey. They told me 3-4 weeks to get the skates after scanning. Took 2 weeks in reality. Pure told me that True turned the skates around in about 5 business days. The rest of the time was waiting for communication/scan confirmation and shipping/delivery. I was very impressed. I'm on the east coast, so I would imagine it could even be a faster turnaround if you're closer to Winnipeg."

Mine took an estimated 4 business days for build, but I think it can vary depending on season. Every skate I've worn wears down in that similar spot. I've said before that it would be nice if True added an abrasion patch there to account for the extra wear. I think Nicholas G has said similar. However, thus far, after 12 months at 2x skates per week, I've gotten little to no wear in those areas. Knock on wood.