shoot_the_goalie

Personally, I would not punch the arch of the True boot. It's a one piece and you could risk cracking them at the arch. Plus, if the arch is that off that your feet are killing you, a spot punch isn't going to really do much. Punches are really meant for small hotspots. Does the arch pain feel like someone is stretching the arch to the point where it feels like its a strained/pulled tendon (pain over the length of the arch)? Or does it feel like someone is jabbing you in the arch (pain in a very specific point of the arch)? If it's the latter, that's solvable. If the former, I think you'll have a hard time getting these to work with you as they are currently constructed. True should allow you to make a one time rebuild (after you LHS has exhausted all fit solutions), so you could go down that avenue as well.

Sorry for the double post, but also keep in mind Trues still need a break in period. For me, it was much quicker than retail cause of their malleability when baking, but they are still very stiff skates and don’t feel really comfortable until about 3-4 hours of hard skating imho.

Just a suggestion before you give up: -take the super feet out (they could just exacerbate the problem). Take the red insoles out and just use the blues. Wear super thin socks and have them rebake the skates. Have them bake them good (I mean the boot should be soft, not just warm) and then have them put on your feet and laced up about 90%. Tie them like you would when skating, so if you keep the bottom laces loose, top laces tight/loose, etc. and tie to top outlet. Do not Saran Wrap this time and do not have them mold it by hand either. Just sit there and let your feet do the work. Then after baking, don't skate on them for 48 hours. Finally, change out the laces with waxed laces. PHL should do the re-bake for no charge, and the most this would cost you is a new pair of waxed laces. It's very possible, from what you're describing, that they are wrapped too much around your foot and causing a bit too much friction/not enough give in spots. Switching to waxed is so your wrap stays in place, when you "loosen up" the current wrap.

For those who have a blade holder, when you sharpen steel in the Sparx, do you prefer to sharpen steel in the skate holder or the Sparx blade holder. What would give you more even edges? (I assume the blade holder)

The finish looks so much better now, from the 1st gen True skates.

You can also try silicon adhesive. JB Weld is one brand.

Will switch depending on condition of the blade tape.

Stick9 is most likely correct. Sub 70 flex pro stocks are typically NCAA D1 women’s player sticks. I’ve seen many. There has also been a shift to coding those sticks (instead of using players names) cause ridiculously, there are a lot of guys who are embarrassed to be using a woman’s stick since they typically don’t resell well unless coded.

There's got to be a safe and quick way to simulate the height of skates on dry land, no?

I find a good old game of tag always works. It's simple, the kids understand it, they don't use sticks as crutches, and it's motivating (I mean who doesn't want to win at tag). It's amazing how kids can just pick up skating techniques cause they want to get from point A to point B in tag. They don't think about it...they just do it.

I think the 1/2 your weight formula isn't bad for those who've never picked up a hockey stick before... you need some sort of starting point. But of course, finding optimal flex is way more nuanced than that, especially now with all the different types of sticks, release points, etc. I grew up playing with aluminums which were like 100 flex (I didn't know any better and those aluminums sure looked nice!), and I could shoot hard, but I would have to put an insane amount of effort into the shot. I now play with an 80 flex. Anything whippier, catching passes is too loosey-goosey for me and I can't deal with it; just annoys me too much. I was trying out a 70 flex for a while, and I could rip really nice wristers with minimal effort, but I hated the feel of catching a hard pass or taking a one timer, just too much flex. So 80 is where I land for the "feel" I want. With that said, the only time I change my flex is if I play forward (I'll drop to a 75 flex), or I'm playing against higher level players who are better with their sticks/puck battles, where I might bump my flex up to 85. But typically, I stick with 80. Over time you figure what works for you. That's really the only way to do it. And yes, you'll have to spend money on lots of sticks to try out, but then again, this is MSH, where everyone owns like 50 sticks anyway...lol.

Trying using a stick with a lower flex than you're used to but with a stiffer blade. It won't completely get rid of the "wet noodle" feel, but it might help a bit.

Yes. Use a rubber stone followed by a piece of leather and that should take care of it. However, unless the steel is DLC coated (not just cosmetically coated), there's really no harm in using a regular stone except marring the finish. It doesn't really affect the skate's performance. And while we all personally like to keep our equipment in tip top shape on MSH, in reality, most people at the rink are not looking at our steel and judging us by its appearance. (except fellow MSHers...lol) My kid's skate has CCM Black and I just stone hone it, since the coating isn't really doing anything for performance. And the kids' don't care that their runners are gleaming. Steel that is truly coated, like Step Black, etc. if you scrape the finish off, then yes, the blade will suffer; subsequent sharpening won't sharpen as clean as before.

IMHO, if cost is no object, obviously go with the better steel. If cost is a factor; if you pay to have them sharpened, get the better steel cause it will allow you go longer between sharpening (provided you don't suffer any steel trauma). If you sharpen yourself, get the cheaper steel.

I though the toe clip was a gimmick as well. However, you absolutely needed it with that skate. I finally retired (trashed) my pair after 15 years cause the toe clip broke, and once it does that you essentially lost the first few lower eyelets of the skate. Wasn't the toe clip called something like the "power clip"? I had the Micron 10-90. Was a great skate, gimmick or no gimmick.

Hey all. Moving to the peninsula and looking for good facilities with good hockey programs (both for my son (he currently plays travel and house) and myself (beer league)). I know Sharks Ice in SJ is a good place to start. Anywhere else? Thanks!

I second these. Fox River sock liners are great and surprisingly very durable considering how thin they are.

If it was just a simple punch for a hotspot of something, I would say you could DIY. But stretching a skate (unless it's an old school boot made of leather, tech mesh, or nylon, etc), is a tricky proposition if 1) you don't have the proper equipment to do it, and 2) you aren't familiar with the process. Also, lengthening a boot is MUCH more difficult than widening a composite boot. I've heard of some people purchasing those wooded shoe stretchers, but those are meant for leather shoes and just don't have the forming/molding power that a professional skate boot stretcher has. I would take it to a shop if it were me.

Interesting article in the Athletic today about Lefevre and True, post CCM concerning goalie pads/gear.

Yep. Personal preference. When I'm playing roller with my 01s, I set it to minimal rocker. When I'm just practicing I set the rocker to about 1/2 to 3/4 max to get the benefit of the rocking action. I find the more rocker you set it to, the tighter you can make turns, but you do lose some stability.

Not sure if this question has ever been asked, but don't feel like sifting through hundred of pages to find it. How are the latest True customs compared to the 1st gen True customs? I mean in terms of feel, comfort, performance...not cosmetics or new features (like tendon guard and shift holder)

Damn. Sorry guys. I wouldn't have posted that video if I knew it was going to create a new firestorm. I posted it just to give more info on the incident. IMHO, that video is not one sided, and information should not be cherry picked out of it to support one's argument. If anything, that entire video says, it's great if we can improve helmet safety, but we can't protect everyone from everything, and that there is an assumed risk in playing sports like hockey.

https://youtu.be/79gc9y4Ffjg

Sounds like what the ski boot companies do. Half size mondo boot shells "technically" don't exist, as the boot liner is just thicker in the half size than in the even size.

Ideally, they would focus on everything, but I have no problem with the companies focusing primarily on concussions, since it's a much bigger and common problem. Problem is that, let's be honest, helmets aren't going to really protect from serious concussions any way; just lessen the severity maybe. Unfortunately, it was announced that the player has passed away from his injuries. So unfortunate.