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VegasHockey

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Posts posted by VegasHockey


  1. 24 minutes ago, Santos L Halper said:

    As a parent, unless I was dealing with a biomechanical issue that is ONLY solve-able with custom skates, I would have a hard time buying True (or any fully custom) skates for a kid under 16 that has not reached his/her full development - and I'd imagine that the vast majority of parents feel the same way.  I understand that a few parents at the margins will pay whatever it costs to have the 'latest and greatest', but it just seems like a unnecessary waste of money to buy custom skates for a 14U player who's still got (potentially) upwards of three years of growing to do...

    Anyway.

    As a coach, I can tell you that after having my True skates for about 3 weeks, I no longer notice the weight difference - except when I pull them out of my bag...at which point, I'm like, 'HOLY S&#T, these are TANKS!' Once they're on my feet, however, it's all good and I don't notice anything.  Do keep in mind, however, I'm coaching, not playing.  If I were still playing at a high level, maybe I would notice that difference (in my case, my Trues are almost 21% heavier than my TotalOnes) in the third period?  I mean, I guess I probably would?

    That said, what I DO notice is that my body mechanics are better in my Trues.  I have to 'think less' about maintaining proper ankle/knee/hip alignment when I'm showing the kids a drill, because my body naturally goes there...which is not to say that I DIDN'T have proper skating technique in my TotalOnes...but it just 'feels' more natural in my Trues.  Also, I KNOW I'm better on my edges.  It is absolutely indisputable.  Techniques that I used to put a HUGE amount of thought into executing properly now come smoothly and effortlessly. And I have also been able to drop from a 1/2' FBV/Fire sharpen to a 5/8" FBV/Fire, which has allowed me to noticeably increase the glide portion of my stride. 

    As such, for me, AS A COACH, any weight increase has been more than offset by the performance benefit.  

     

    ____________________________

    (N.B.  I am willing to stipulate that some of this perceived benefit of the Trues could be due to the placebo effect - i.e., I did SOMETHING (spent actual money on new skates) so my brain is telling itself that I'm doing a better job than I was before.  I've seen video and I think I look 'smoother'...but, again, maybe I'm just telling myself that?  Also, some of this benefit could be due to the obvious improvement of Step over Bauer stock steel...)

    I entirely agree with the skates putting peoples bodies in the proper position by default, as compared to other brands. But if you are a good skater and have proper technique this becomes a non-issue or benefit. As for age range, I dont think it matters if you can afford it. If a parent is gonna spend $$$ for an AS1 or FT1 they may as well spend a few bucks more and get their kid custom skates. I see more players with the "bauer bump" compared to previously and a lot of them are quite young. The youngest being 10. In Burnaby half of their selects team which is 10 and under use True skates. I am not saying the skates are not good, just that some players compare the weight between a retail AS1 or 1X and forget they are comparing a retail skate vs a pro spec skate. 


  2. On 9/3/2018 at 6:29 AM, stick9 said:

    I sort of like it, not the stick itself. I like that someone out there is trying something different. Too many smaller players try to enter the market touting lower prices, better duribility, funky colors and yet it’s just the same old hockey stick.

    Props to them for trying something different even if it isn’t entirely new or unique. 

    They are pretty nice but they need to work on how they fuse the stick/blade. Also, the blade itself is terrible and needs some work. It feels dead. 


  3. 15 hours ago, tcc said:

    The new laces helped but I found that I would need to re-tighten my skates every so often which I didn’t have to do with the waxed laces 😞

    Any info out there about the new speed plate 2.0 insoles?  I have custom sidas currently and wonder if the new speed plates would be just as good.

    New SP 2.0 is pretty awesome. I would absolutely check it out. 


  4. 9 hours ago, oldtrainerguy28 said:

    Just an FYI The Great one wears them.  😏 As do about 10 other HHOF players. The weight doesn't seem to bother them nor the other 120 plus current NHL players.  

    And there are some mighty fine skilled players wearing them past and present.  

    Pavel Bure Wayne Gretzky Adam Oates Adam Graves Igor Larionov 

    Mitch Marner Ryan Strome JVR Bozak and on and on. 

    We all know its 80 to 100 grams but no it doesn't make that big a difference. 

    If it truly did then 24 players in the Sharks organization wouldn't be wearing them.  (Team with the least amount of games lost to foot injury). 

     

    At a professional level, all pro spec skates are very close to the same weight once you add shot block protection to them. I also agree that 50-150 grams is not a huge deal to a professional player who has legs built like tree trunks. However, for players under 16, even playing high-level, or red players (even high-level ones), 50-150 grams is a ton of weight. Just look at the studies that Byonic and others did to show how extra weight equates to over a course of an entire game. Lastly, most of the weight comes from the steel on true skates. Step steel, which great, is also VERY heavy. 


  5. 2 hours ago, N0s0up4u said:

    Thanks! 

     

    I am having a freaking hard time finding clamps that will even stay. This is the best clamp so far. 

    Should I be looking to place it further back on the ankle or just below the ankle bone? 

    Harbor Freight sells clamps for cheap that work. A couple of dollars per clamp. Just below the ankle bone, you want to lock your foot in.


  6. 35 minutes ago, N0s0up4u said:

    Hi All, 

    This is my second pair of True skates and I am still having some heel lock issues. I wanted to know if this is a good place, to place the clamps before I start. Also, I am going to bake these at home, I should do a convection oven at 180 for 15 minutes correct?

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/ELJE72hVQSriXhLs9

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/ev5X18gmLegytdMx9

    That is too low of a clamp and that specific location is VERY robust with carbon and materials. You will likely damage the boot if you clamp that area too hard. 

    You need to do it like this: 

     


  7. 9 minutes ago, smcgreg said:

    I got one of these a couple weeks ago, because my QRL was dead and the toe was chipped.  Even compared to my dead QRL, it felt dead.  It's light yes, but not much pop in it.  I used it for about 5 skates and didn't feel like it was playing as well as my QRL.  So, I went back to the old dead QRL and I can say that, even though light as a whole, the AK27 feels more blade heavy than the QRL, so, I would assume the Alpha as well. I'll probably just get a new QRL on sale now, because despite the light weight, the playing difference was noticeable to me.  I assume compared to a new QRL it will be even more noticeable. 

    I noticed the same thing. The stick didn't have a good feel and the blade felt dead. It is light overall, but I think they took the weight of the shaft and went with a cheaper blade because, as you mentioned, it does feel blade heavy. 


  8. 40 minutes ago, CigarScott said:

    I'll weigh them tonight when I get home but they'll weigh a ton as I have giant feet with 306mm holders so I don't know what value their weights will have to you.

    I skated in them last night after the adjustments and rebaking and it was worse than when I skated Tuesday. My bunions on my right foot hurt worse than before even before stepping on the ice; I had to go back and put my bunion sleeve on my right foot and my gel toe cap things on both big toes. The ball of my right foot hurt when it either didn't or not enough to notice on Tuesday; perhaps due to me removing the red insoles?

    I have really wide feet and need deep toe box (which makes buying shoes fun) and I don't know what else can be done to make these feel comfortable. I did the tissue technique, removed the red footbeds in each to get more volume, removed the foam in the toe box to get more room, moved back the tongue and it made things worse. The front halves of both of my feet went numb after 30-45 minutes on the ice even with taking a knee or sitting on the bench for breaks.

    Nicholas or anyone else, have you tried the new CCM insoles in your True skates? I saw that you tried the old Speed Plates in yours but was curious what you found worked from the aftermarket options. I'm tempted to pull my Superfeet with the added metatarsal pads out of my old skates and try them in these; thoughts?

    I don't know what else to do. The areas that I have pain and volume issues are in the harder toe cap area. I don't know how you can just create more space in those areas since you typically can't punch those areas out. I made it abundantly clear when I got fitted that I had these issues and Chase at Pure Hockey notated everything and did all that he could to inform True of these issues. I spent the money on customs do I wouldn't have to keep wearing all kinds of pads on my feet and have to keep playing MacGyver with my skates so I'm a bit frustrated right now.

    I've tried every insole in either my skate or working with customers. If you have a very high profile foot which requires a lot of volume an aftermarket footbed will likely cause issues. This is why I recommend the SpeedPlates, especially now that v 2.0 has been released. They conform to the boot and your arch and take up almost no space in the boot. 

    Chase at Pure is an awesome guy. I work with him all the time. You need to be speaking with Rob or someone at True though, likely, they will ask you to send in the skates so they can make modifications to them, assuming they can modify the places you are having issues. Otherwise, they will make you a new set of skates. 

    I understand your frustration if you documented, noted, and even provided pictures of the spots where you have foot issues. True really will work with you as best as possible to try and get it resolved. In my experience they have always gone above and beyond exceeding expectations for customer service. 


  9. 5 hours ago, CigarScott said:

    So my skates finally showed up Monday. I went to the rink pro shop to bake them and without any tweaking the skates weren't real pleasant to me overall. The bottom of my feet felt great as I finally have a skate that accommodate my flat feet but the heel was too tight, my toes were digging into the cap of the skates, my bunions and side of my big toes were digging into the sides of the toe cap, even after notating issues with them on photos when I got scanned and the top of the skates were digging on the top of my feet down by the toes.

    After I emailing with True and skating on them in a stick & puck last night, I removed the red foot bed to add more volume, had my better half and her smaller hands remove the pads in the toe box, adjusted the tongue, did the tissue method on my bunions, big toes, and the top of the toes then rebaked them last night at home. I have hockey tonight and will know more as how much this helps. 

    Even with the pain and discomfort last night, I noticed a huge improvement in forward flex, speed, and turn radius. I don't know if this is more due to the Step Steel being a huge improvement over the stock steel in the Nexus N7000, the boot design, or a combination of the two but I think, assuming I can get the pain and discomfort issues worked out, that it was a good purchase for me.

    That's awesome to hear. Once you get then dialed in they are very comfortable and offer great performance. Can you do me a favor and weight them please. Interested in knowing how much the new model weights in grams. 


  10. I have a customer is wanting to place an order for a new set of Bauer Supreme skates and is looking at the 2S and the 2S Pro models. Despite some minor cosmetics, the tongue, eyelet system, and other little changes, such as the steel, is the boot essentially the same between the two? We do carry very much Bauer in stock so I cannot compare in person. I figure I would ask others who might have access to them to analyze.


  11. 1 minute ago, Santos L Halper said:

    Interesting suggestion and I may go that route if you believe it's worth a try.

    However, just to be clear, my heels aren't rattling around in the skates - they're lifting up when I stride, ESPECIALLY when I'm skating hard. 

    I'm thinking my baking may not have given me a proper heel lock?

    Very possible. I would do another bake. Also, I never recommend lacing up the skate to the top eyelet when baking. It provides too much wrap at the top of the foot and limits forward flex. When you then use the skates the heel can lift a little due to not being in the proper skating position from when you baked. 

    • Like 1

  12. 23 hours ago, Jason said:

    I play about the highest level of rec hockey out there. I like a pretty stiff skate. I wouldn't want to go any stiffer than the AS1s. I still find that they flex forward quite well. I'm actually a lot happier with the skates now after as second heat mould and a few weeks in them. I still think they missed the target slightly with the right skate, but I think they are somewhat limited because of the shell sizes. My right foot is a little longer, but slightly narrower, so they might have to use the next size up. I had a similar issue with my Bauers.

    If I paid that cost, the skates had better fit 100% perfect. My AS1 and FT1 were both purchased under CCM EPP so I was more open-minded. 


  13. 54 minutes ago, Santos L Halper said:

    Back after Saturday's 4 hour marathon....and 2 hours last night.  

    Safe to say that I REALLY, REALLY like these skates and putting my Bauers back on my feet (if I ever do it...) will be really tough. 

    They ARE, however, noticeably heavier than my Bauers and I'm not sure I'd like them quite as much if I were still playing competitively - but, I do imagine that I'll get used to that in time...and, since I coach way more than I play these days, I think I've probably hit on the perfect coaching skate.  

    That said, I've noticed that, even after baking them a second time, my heels are slipping - particularly if I'm skating hard.  I can't give a quantifiable amount that they're slipping and it's impossible for me to tell WHY they're slipping; but they're definitely slipping...and that concerns me.  I thought the whole point of the True/VH skate was to eliminate this sort of thing...?

    Should I rebake?  If so, does anyone have any tips as to HOW I should use the ratchet clamps/tensor bandages to improve that heel lock?

    If I can eliminate this heel slippage, I'd be an EXTREMELY happy customer...

    Some of our customers that have heel slippage swap to different insoles that have a more tacky feel. I did notice the includes insoles are a bit slippery. You could always put some "show goo" on the heel of the insole to help add some grip. 

    • Like 1

  14. 15 hours ago, puckpilot said:

    Could be that the tongue is wearing down/compressing from age, so there's now less "fluff" between the laces and your foot. It's what happened with my skates. And it was made worse because I'm an adult in size 4.5 skates, so I don't pass the pencil test. I addressed the issue by adding a lace bite gel pad and then using a different lacing pattern that I came up with. Instructions with photos below if you're interested in giving it a go.

    It a may seem a little convoluted at first but it's fairly straight forward once you understand it. The basic premise of this pattern is to mimic eyelet extenders to relieve pressure from the top of your foot while still pulling the sides of the skates in around your foot. 

    Step 1: We mimic eyelet extenders by making lace loops like the pic below.

    byTgXxP.jpg

    Step 2: We begin lacing up the skates, like normal.

    EhqooWR.jpg

     

    Step 3: But instead of threading the laces through the eyelets, we thread them through the loops instead.

    6U2zn0O.jpg

    Step 3: Continued

    5Wjq6Kw.jpg

     

    Step 4: Add another lace loop. This will be your starting point. This is where you slip your foot in and begin tightening and lacing things up. Generally you want to pull everything snug at this point, Don't worry if the skate pulls open a bit. Just tighten as best as you can and make sure you leave those loops open.

    Hgo0Ycj.jpg

     

    Step 5: Thread the laces all the way to the top eyelet skipping the second eyelet from the top. You don't pull anything tight here yet. 

    kckNtVR.jpg

    Step 6: Thread the laces through the loops. Now you pull things tight, and tie as normal. But, I usually go over and under twice before I tie the bow just to make sure things don't slip.

    nZVvzJa.jpg

    Below is what the tied up skate looks like. For the first little while, I found it a little tricky to get things to cinch up the way I wanted and used a skate tightener to help tweak the tightness, but once I got the hang of it, I could just use my fingers. The one thing I found was that usually need to give the laces another tug and retie the knot after warm up. But otherwise, no lace bite. 

    ZD65RxH.jpg

     

     

     

    If you have to lace your skates this way you are in the wrong model/type or incorrect size. You should never need to do something like this. When was the last time you say a pro-NHL player doing something like this? Never. 

    • Like 1

  15. On 7/30/2018 at 11:02 AM, Jason said:

    Because I really liked the way the retail boot was cut slightly higher, had a perfect stiffness and what I thought was better forward flex. The pro rep who scanned me assured me that the fit would be as good as it gets. He was wrong. In hindsight, I should have gone with an increased stiffness FT1.

    Why do you feel you need a stiffer skate? What level of hockey are you playing? The FT1 and AS1 are both VERY stiff skates. 

    • Like 1
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