Iskander

Ok folks, finally got my True custom skates on Saturday. Baked them in my oven at home, which has a convection setting, at 200°F for 10 minutes. Skated in them later that night. First impressions: they seem "bulkier" than the Mako IIs I was wearing. Not necessarily heavier (I haven't tried to weigh them), but just larger (more material) maybe? However, with the accessory navicular and large haglund's I have on both feet, I'll chalk this up to them being formed for my funky feet. they seem to be slightly too big. My toes are not exactly touching the inside of the toe box like I usually like. This is a little disappointing to me. However, I do believe that I generally (like for the last 25-30 years) wear skates that are probably at least a half size too small, hence the foot problems I have. I've seen the video where Scott adds some little pads to the inside of the toe box, and I'll try that, but for skates that are supposed to be entirely custom (and are not cheap), adding little pads to the inside of the skates seems...silly. the toebox seems too large in the z dimension (top to bottom). I did slide my tongues way down to remove some negative space, and this seemed to help. I may end up looking at Powerfeet inserts, if I feel that I can't remove enough negative space above my toes by just using the tongues. Turning and stopping were very good. I use a 5/8" z-channel cut, and had no trouble with chattering and could do hockey stops to both sides without trouble. However, with them being new, and feeling a bit big, I did have a couple of moments where I felt clumsy, especially when trying to sprint out of a turn. So not entirely in love with them yet, but hopeful that I will grow to love them. The potential sizing issue(s) has me wishing that I had been able to get the 3D scan before purchasing, but with my Makos falling apart, and no place to get the 3D scan without getting on a plane, I pulled the trigger anyway. I do plan on baking them again and either using an ace (tensor) bandage and/or a ratchet clamp to work on some fit issues around the ankle and heel. Sorry no pics yet...I'll try to post a couple pics and update y'all after I get a little more time in the skates.

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with your new wheels, ParkseY. Just heard from True...they said my skates shipped yesterday. I ordered them on August 7th, so 5 weeks or so from order to shipment. I didn't get a tracking number - I was so excited to hear they're on the way, I figure I can just enjoy the surprise whenever they show. As an aside - my local rink lost its ice due to a power outage thanks to hurricane Irma, so I haven't skated in a week. I'm going to try to head to another rink this weekend to get my hockey fix on. Anyway, I'll definitely share some photos and my thoughts on the skates once I finally get them on my feet!

Is it just me, or does the "fit and finish" on those skates look really tight? Is this improved QA that you get by having VH a part of True now? Regardless, I'm losing my mind waiting for my skates to finally arrive! Just need to make it through Irma unscathed...

Thanks for all the responses, folks. Sounds like there's a few of us in the same boat. I thought about what time of year it is having an effect on when I might be expecting the skates to arrive, but when I ordered, the website said 4 weeks. Regardless, sounds like I may just have to chill out and prepare to wait another week or two. I just hope my Mako IIs last that long. 🤷

Can anyone tell me: did you get tracking information from True (or VH) when they shipped your skates to you? Just curious if I'm going to know when to expect a very exciting package, or if they just sort of show up on the doorstep. Monday will be 3 weeks since I ordered, and while I understand I need to be patient, it would be nice to know when they're on the way.

I've got 3 sets of steel that were in my rotation on my Mako IIs. Since the holders are the same size for my Trues, I should be good to go. And as Aggie said, I still see CXN steel available through Step. I may buy another pair but, down here in Florida, I don't need to sharpen very much 'cause the ice tends to be soft (particularly during the summer).

My Mako IIs are literally falling apart (the carbon fiber has cracked around the forefoot where the rivets are), so I decided to order a pair from True on August 6th. I didn't have time to drive at least 2.5 hours (one way) to get my foot scanned properly (assuming they're even set up for scanning anywhere here in Florida), so I had my girl do the foot tracings and pictures. She's a former x-ray tech, an amateur photog, and an artist, so I think she did a good job with the tracings and photos. *fingers crossed* Years of skating in poorly fitting skates have done a number on my feet: very large Haglund deformities and other issues that don't necessarily hurt, but make skate fitting tricky. I loved the Mako IIs, but really looking forward to what True/VH does for me. I sent a pair of CXN holders up to Winnipeg and they're being installed on my new skates since I have a few pair of custom steel from the Mako IIs. Looks like I got in just in time to be able to order online from home and send my own holders to True. Anyway, as soon as I get them and take 'em for a spin, I'll be sure to share my thoughts.

Chadd: Haha...yeah, I'm a sucker for trying new things. Of course, aren't we all trying to gain any little edge we can? I assume most folks posting on a message board called "Mod Squad Hockey" are into trying all different kinds of gear and other innovations in hockey. Ok, two more games and a practice with the local college club team under my belt wearing the Mako 2s. Got a nice blister on my right foot after skating with the college kids. I think what happened is that I had loosened my laces a little after my game that I had right before the practice, and that allowed my wet foot to get rubbed raw. It's on the inside of my foot, just above the arch. I'm also having three other slight issues: the balls of my feet feeling a lot of pressure, one of my toes on my left foot rubbing the inside of the toe cap (which is funny, since it seemed like I was going to have trouble with the toes on my right foot before I actually skated in them), and an old toe injury flaring up again on my right foot. I'm thinking that a little more arch support will help, so I added some material to the arch area of my footbeds, like I had done with my RBZs. I don't have really high arches, but with the forward pitch of these skates, it seems as though I'm really on my toes a lot, thus having some issues with the front of my foot. Hopefully a different blade profile will help a little there, too. What are some of you other folks rocking the Mako 2s doing, blade profile-wise? Seems to me that somewhere in this thread there was mention of going will less forward pitch on the blades.

Nilizum: I wore a pair of CCM RBZ 100s, which were the predecessor of the Jetspeed skates, before I got my Mako 2s...the RBZs were size 7.5D, because for what ever reason, those skates ran small. My Mako 2s are size 8D. They felt too tight on my right foot, even after baking, but were quite comfortable skating in them. So I would say you're very likely a 7, but I also agree that you probably really just need to try them on. All: I have a game tonight and tomorrow night...still haven't gotten new steel profiled yet, but I'll keep reporting my impressions of my Mako 2s. I'm leaning towards getting the Quad profile from No Icing, but I'm waiting to hear back as to whether I should keep the medium forward pitch that I've been using on my RBZs. Stay tuned.

Hello again. I got my Mako 2s on Friday, baked them on Saturday, and skated yesterday. I was a little concerned that the 8Ds were too small for my right foot because even after a bake my toes were pretty cramped on the outside. That all disappeared after skating for a few minutes, however. Ya'll were not lying in describing how comfortable these skates are. The only thing that gave me any trouble was the profile. I have been skating on an 8/13 custom radius from No Icing, so the 9' radius on these out the box had me a little uncomfortable. I'm going to order some step steel and have it customized. Should be all I need to utilize these skates to my full potential. Admittedly, that's not all that, but looking forward to some good games in these new beauties. Thanks for the assistance, and here's to dirty dangles, sick snipes, and sweet cellies!

You folks rock. Lots of great info. I went ahead and ordered a pair of 8D Mako 2's. I read through pages and pages of this thread, and from what I saw, I think they'll fit perfect after a good bake. Optimus, your experience was very helpful. I wear anywhere from an 11 to a 10 shoe, depending. So it sounds like your experience with the Mako fitting may be similar to what happens for me. What helped is that my RBZ's are size 7.5D and my old RBK's are 8.5D, but putting them on last night, I realized they (the RBK's) were probably too big. Thanks for everyone's help. I'll let ya'll know how they work for me!

I know this thread is winding down, but I'll ask for some advice here, anyway (sorry if I'm a bit long-winded, but trying to paint the whole picture to anyone who wants to help): I'm pretty well sold on getting a new pair of Mako 2's to replace my RBZ 100's that I got almost two years ago. I went to a hockey shop in Phoenix and tried on some M8's because they didn't have the Mako 2's in my size. Had the salesperson size my foot, and he told me to try the 8D first. After some initial difficulty, got my left foot into the boot. It wrapped amazing, as is well known, and I was already impressed. Then I tried putting on the right boot, and had a lot more difficulty. Once I did get my right foot in, the boot felt super tight, to the point of pain on the outside 3 toes. I had the salesperson grab a pair of 8.5D M8's. Obviously, had no trouble getting both feet into the boots. It was then that I noticed that even though the right foot fit way tighter in the 8D, I also had a little discomfort of the left foot in the 8D boot. Left the 8.5D boots on for a bit, jogged around the skate fitting area for a few minutes, and thought everything felt great. (As an aside, I then tried on some Ribcore 50K's and laughed at how much negative space was in those things. So again, I'm pretty well sold on Mako's being my next skate.) Here's where my request for advice comes in. I want to get the best fit possible if I'm going to drop >$800 on a another new pair of skates plus extra steel, etc. Do any of you who are familiar with the Mako 2's think that I should go for the 8D, even though they are a little to a lot tight, with the idea that they will loosen up quite a bit after a bake? Or should I play it safe and go with the 8.5D? My RBZ 100's are size 7.5D, and they fit great now, although it took me a lot of work to get them to where I liked them, including adding Powerfeet inserts to the toe cap and modifying my foot beds slightly to give me a little more arch support. Of course, I'm aware that Easton is offering a 30-day try out period, but I'd rather not have to go through that hassle, if at all possible. Any comments that anybody has on my predicament would be greatly appreciated!