krisdrum

I'm seeing the 9x4 available in local stores, but none of the lower models. Anyone have any insight on the 7x4 being available to try on and buy? That is the skate I am leaning toward for my son, based on the specs I am seeing, assuming it fits similar to the current Cat9.

@Healthyscratch curious what the resolution was. I bet it could help others who had similar experience to yours

Have you tried the flex tendon guards? The ones that come on the Cats? It almost sounds like the rigid guards on the custom skates aren't a good match to the high level players in your area (longer strides with lots of toe flick I'd imagine). It sounds like the guard is getting pushed beyond its flex point skate after skate and the rivet/screw is the weak link, loosens up and eventually fails. That gets compounded by the rivet retention issue they've had with their holders and you keep getting failures. I know the guard on my TF skates (screwed in) loosens up ever few skates and I just take a second to tighten it up. But I'm hardly a big strong 17 year old. I know my old billet had 2 pairs of custom Trues he would swap out during the season of Juniors he was with us. But that is likely cost prohibitive for most folks. What about copper rivets? That seems to solve the issue with the holder. Way more of a pain to install, but usually pretty bulletproof.

Sucks you are having issues, but I'm going to guess for every bad experience, like yours, there are tons of people who have no issues. I've had 4 pairs of Trues in my house over the last 3 or so years and never had an issues with the tendon guards on either the TF or Catalyst lines. I've had other issues with carbon durability, but never with tendon guards or rivets. I also make sure I take footbeds out and dry them well. How does a rivet not keep the guard on? What happens?

See, I knew I could trust you more than a rep. By adding a bit of fiberglass (or fibreglass for you Canadians), they make the boot a bit heavier, but also give it a bit more durability, as I recall fiberglass is a bit tougher than carbon. Carbon is notorious in the bike industry for "catastrophic failure", but is light and can be made into any shape, so you can downplay the fragility of it with design. Harder to do that with a boot, since it needs to be foot shaped and that doesn't allow for much engineering to mitigate the failure modes.

In the Ice Warehouse Youtube video, the True rep literally says the only difference between the 9 and 7 is the insole and the steel. Although I'll say I would tend to trust @VegasHockey over a sales rep any day. @VegasHockey when you say "composite" - do you have specifics? Technically (from my understanding) carbon fiber is a composite. Basically any material that combines two (or more) different materials (aka - carbon weave and epoxy). My kid is in his 2nd pair of Cat9s as well, and I just checked them last night after a weekend tournament and they are cracking and delam-ing again after the first pair was warranty replaced. With the improvements, I would definitely look at the new Cat line again, as he loves the current skates (durability issues not withstanding). I would definitely look at the 7x4 is there is really almost no difference between it and the 9, especially since we typically get our own steel anyway (he has been on Bladetech the last few years).

Oh, I can see that. The story I got was they were having issues with some pairs being baked too many times and degrading the amount they thermoform.

That is great news that hopefully sticks with the full production models. Because I know my son and I have found them to be the most comfortable skates. Fixing the durability issues makes them a no brainer for way more people. Now they need to win the retail stores back. Heard some of the box stores are dropping them because of the durability issues and the requirement to bake in order to try on.

Yeah, thanks for that perspective. It is a bit hard to tell if the cracking is an impact issue or simply a materials/design issue. If we do buy the new Cats, I would 100% cover the heels with helicopter tape in case it is an impact issue. Carbon is not known for its impact resistance unfortunately.

Thanks @VegasHockey I figured you'd or a few others would have the inside scoop. So - the marketing material says complete redesign. Based on what you've seen/heard how confident are you they've actually addressed the issue? Or is this a wait and see situation?

You should not need to size down (1/2 size less than Bauer/CCM) in the newer True retail offerings. This was correct for the TF series, but with release of Hzrdus and Cats, True sizing is now aligned to industry standards.

Shifting topic a bit... anyone with an inside track seen or heard anything about the Hzrdus and '24 Cats solving for the heel cracking issue? I'd heard they re-engineered. But yesterday a guy at one of my LHS said they hadn't yet and the improvements would be seen in the 2025 models. My kid cracked the heels on his Cat 9s, got them warranty replaced and is already seeing damage and cracking on the new pair. So he'll need new skates in the next 2 months before the season and I'm concerned with sticking to True and having the same issues pop up mid-season.

Yep, I'd start a 1/2 size smaller than your size in Bauer / CCM. Make sure they are baked before you try them on. And just be aware if you are going down in runner size (looks like you will be), you may feel instability from the shorter runner and need to adjust blade profile. I've been in TF9s for the last 2 years and love them. But I am only skating once or twice a week and not year round - so I am not really stressing them out too much. At this pace they should last me a decade.

He tried some stuff on yesterday and walked away with the Vapor 3X Pro shins. He felt like the Hyperlite fit a bit different and not quite as well. Tried them out last night, and no adjustment period - which is odd for him, as he is such a creature of habit that usually gear changes of any kind take him a bit to get used to. Hence why he fights me to get new stuff and ends up playing for way too long in 12" shins that leave a huge gap between his boot and pad.

My 14 yo has severely outgrown his current shins (Supreme 3S Pro - 12") - a good 2-3 inch gap between bottom of guard and top of boot - I'm just waiting for a low hard shot to hit him in that gap and put a baseball on his ankle. Bought him a pair of 13" Machs, but he is saying they are too wide and move around / slide down, even when taped. Could be he just needs to get used to them, or he needs a narrower cut. What shins are narrower than the Supremes? CCM Jetspeeds? Warrior? He tried my Tacks on and they were worse than the 13" Machs. He likes a nice contoured / close fit and at the moment has pretty slim lower legs.