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VegasHockey

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Posts posted by VegasHockey

  2. Posted · Report reply

    45 minutes ago, Sniper9 said:

    I don't deny true sticks and skates perform well. But I stand by durability issues. It's well known a documented with their sticks and also their catalyst skates. To the point where at one point every cat pro skate had additional cf fibre wrapped on the stock shell... The skate issue seemed somewhat hit or miss ill give you that. But their sticks don't last. At all. Unless your definitely of durability is completely different than mine. A stick should last more than two weeks.  And I'm talking at the retail level, not pro stock as I have no experience with their pro stock. 

    In my experience, TRUE sticks break about as often as CCM, Bauer, and Sherwood. There are a lot of variables that account for stick breakage. Its not just the level of play, but the position, size of the player, etc.

    For example, it is not uncommon for Centers in the NHL to use a beefier and heavier stick as compared to someone who plays Wing. 

    As for the Catalyst skate issues, I think TRUE went too thin on the shell in an attempt to play the "weight savings game" and it blew up in their face. The 2024 Catalyst skates are very impressive, and I don't think you are going to see any of the same issues. I have been testing a pair for a while now, and the durability is very good. 

    20240227-102714.jpg

    • Like 4

  3. Posted · Report reply

    14 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

    Good for Svh... But True is making a name for themselves as the brand that doesn't last... They really need to smarten up with durability with all their "extensive access to r/d"

    I know plenty of players that use their products and have had no issues, from recreational to professional levels. Historically, TRUE has had some bumps in the road, as all companies do when they are growing, and I understand that you and others have likely experienced some product defects. However, the vast majority of players have not had that same experience. I don't think its fair to use such a small sample size to determine if a product is or is not durable.

    An interesting story. I have some TRUE prototype sticks that have no logos on them. One person I skate with who played NCAA D1 dislikes TRUE as a company. There was no specific reason; he just said he had tried their sticks before and didn't care for them. In a recent game, he broke his primary and backup sticks and asked to use one of my extras. After the game was done, he told me that the stick was one of the best he had ever used and asked me if I could order him a few. You should have seen his face when I told him it was TRUE. It was TRUEly priceless 😜

     

    • Like 1
    • Haha 2

  5. Posted · Report reply

    15 hours ago, Leif said:

    I think you misread some of my remarks: 

    2) I referred to non-sponsored players to indicate that their skates were not free. I also used the phrase “I wonder if” to indicate that I don’t know if it is genuinely profitable. When you say it is very profitable, where does that information come from? 

    3) I know CCM has one piece boots and high thermoformability, and did not say otherwise. (I’ve only read about it on this forum, never having worn CCM boots.) 

    1) Fair enough, I read a biography of him which didn’t mention MLX. That said, he started out in a small company, and I know from experience of working in many small companies that it’s hard to scale up. Cash flow is your enemy, invest huge amounts without the sales and you’re finished. I guess that’s why he went custom first, you build on demand. You don’t need to tool up a large factory and build large quantities. Shops are loathe to stock inventory of expensive products that are unproven. I was chatting to an owner of a local shop, he said they hate top end stock boots. When the new range comes out, they have to sell off old stock on discount, and margins are low, hence they will lose money.

    Scott started by initially building custom skates to establish himself in the market and provide players with an option for a better fitting and performing skate. Not saying that other skates didn't offer high performance, but some players were skating in significant pain, even in the custom skates, and many of them considered hanging up their skates due to constant foot problems. Once he built up the brand enough, he sold it to TRUE Temper, as they were looking to expand into the hockey skate market and had extensive access to research, development, engineering, materials, and distribution. He is a very smart individual and has a bachelor of Science Degree and a Masters in Biomechanics. What I find most fascinating about Scott is that, while other brands are constantly duplicating similar efforts in design, and getting similar results, he likes to think outside the box. 

  6. Posted · Edited by VegasHockey · Report reply

    1 hour ago, Leif said:

    I’m sure that’s mostly, or maybe completely, true. 

    The True skate was pretty much developed by one man and his dog in a shed, and they had no previous production experience. Bauer buy in tech such as CarbonCurv. The advanced hard foam in my Bauer 2S Pro shin pads is polystyrene. The soft squishy foam is bought in tech. They also seem to spend a lot of time designing somewhat dubious features such as CarbonLite blades. In addition Bauer spends a fortune on advertising and sponsoring players. And I do wonder if supplying non sponsored NHL players is genuinely profitable.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if Graf had the nous to figure out how to produce carbon fibre skates, they understand production on a smallish commercial scale. But they would be expensive. And they would need a decent selling point. True has thermoformability and one piece. True outsource their stock TF7 and TF9 skates to China, I assume they do the same for stock Catalyst and Hzrdus skates too. 

    Graf has carbon fibre skates, the Peakspeed line.

    https://grafhockey.com/skates/ice/player/peakspeed-pk7900/

    The issue is that their overall technology is still lacking significantly compared to TRUE, Bauer, and CCM. 

    In regards to how Bauer spends their capital and the overall profitability of that company, understand that none of the big brands are good generating significant revenue. CCM and Bauer are riddled with acquisitions and financial failure; look at their histories. The main reason is that there is not enough market penetration and not enough players. 

    • Hockey in the USA: <1M players  
    • Basketball in the USA: <23M players
    • Baseball in the USA: <15M players
    • Football: <7M players

    As someone who has owned multiple retail hockey stores of various sizes, a large hockey store would be any retail location that does more than $1M in gross sales annually. A friend who owns a similarly sized retail store (store square footage and addressable population density) makes about $5M. Its also significantly easier to sell baseball, football, soccer, and basketball equipment as compared to ice hockey. 

    2024-02-25-10-48-47.jpg

    • Thanks 1

  8. Posted · Report reply

    5 hours ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

    I have a custom and a retail.  I don't notice the difference in weight, except that one has a visor vs a cage.  If I had to guess, I would think the custom is slightly heavier, cause it has a more dense 3d lattice vs the retail version.  I would highly recommend the custom though over the retail, cause for the price difference, the custom is a much better helmet imho.

     

    Agreed.

  11. Posted · Edited by VegasHockey · Report reply

    4 hours ago, caseyjones said:

    As a big Graf guy who recently just went modern with Machs this video had me longing for Graf’s again.  If I were them, I would stick to the classic models and classic looks and just build them in composite form and some of the newer (sometimes gimmicky) features.  I think people are getting tired of the radical color designs on all the new skates (I was never a fan of this) and I think Graf would benefit there.  New companies moved to the 3 fit system whereas Graf has been doing this for decades with their different models of skates.  I would love a full composite heat moldable 707 with a 703 heel and original graphics.  

    The issue is Graf skates are the technological equivalent to a dinosaur. If they offered the same performance as other brands, we would see players of all levels using them more often. I had Graf skates when I was young and played prep at Shattuck and in the EJHL/ECHL. I loved those skates, and they worked well for me back then, but I assume if I wore them now, I would not have the same impression. 

    • Like 1

  12. Posted · Report reply

    9 hours ago, Paluce said:

    So my boy has broken 4 proto R’s in 3 months. All in the shaft about 6-10” above the blade.  He’s only 75lbs and breaking 40flex sticks like spaghetti.  

    How are the sticks breaking? Off a faceoff? When shooting? When battling in the corner? Thats a significant number of sticks to break, which leads me to believe its not a defect of the product but instead associated with his style of play or position.  

    • Like 2

  15. Posted · Report reply

    On 2/20/2024 at 5:45 PM, jeffg said:

    I am considering a custom helmet. How is the weight of a custom helmet vs retail?  I have a retail and it feels heavy when you hold it, but don’t really notice it when I’m wearing it

    I think the weight of a helmet is irrelevant. Its more important how it fits and that its comfortable. I would rather protect my brain than save 100 grams of weight. 

  18. Posted · Report reply

    31 minutes ago, boshebetka said:

    I’m good friends with one of the guys at the store who’s also helping me with all this fitting. True does employee training though an app with videos and articles. The one about “how to fit true skates” clearly says to only bake for 3-4 minutes and let the customer wear them for about 10 minutes total. I know there’s no guarantee with the customs but even if there was, I wouldn’t want a return, I’d want to adjust or remake the skates until they fit right. SVHs are so stiff and wrap so well, you can’t get that in any other brand, and true retail wide fits are still just too narrow for me especially in my forefoot

    Trust me, 3-4 minutes baking a TRUE skate is not enough. I understand the training TRUE has provided in the past through TRUE Academy and such. Ive been around a long time... sometimes I think too long. 

  19. Posted · Report reply

    12 hours ago, boshebetka said:

    The brannock had me right between a 9 and 9.5 on my right, 9.5 and 10 on the left foot. I did a half-bake before trying them, about 3mins in the oven for both feet since I can’t just fully bake a skate without buying it, especially trues

    Says who? You can bake TRUE skates as many times as you want, unlike Bauer and CCM. In fact, TRUE specifically tells retailers to perform a full bake. If a retailer tells you otherwise, they are either misinformed or lazy. 

    11 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

    The trues have a 30 day satisfaction guarantee so id argue you could do a full bake take them home use them and still return them. 

    For custom skates, they do not have a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. TRUE will remake the skates if needed, but unless there are significant extenuating circumstances, they will not issue a refund and will instead work with the customer to get the skates made to fit properly. 

    • Like 2

  22. Posted · Report reply

    49 minutes ago, dasuchin said:

    What's the learning curve like when it comes to manual sharpening? I'm not 100% happy with my Sparx, and I've considered getting something like the Wissota 911 for home use. I'm on the ice 4-6 times a week, and my wife a similar amount, so we sharpen quite a bit. Is there another machine other than the Wissota worth looking at? Not sure if I'd actually pull the trigger, but it's something I think about a lot. 

    I don't think it's too difficult, but it does take practices, and you will need to dedicate time to perfecting your technique.  

  23. Posted · Report reply

    5 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

    They're selling for a discount bc they are a few years old and discontinued. Although they were trues top end retail line when they first came out, I'd argue they don't really have the gimmicky features of Bauer and ccm top end skates. That said, true does seem to be a couple hundred bucks lower than Bauer and ccm in general. I'm sure this will change after they get a bit more exposure at the retail level. 

    Expect TRUE to be priced the same as CCM and Bauer in 2024 😞 

    • Sad 1

  25. Posted · Report reply

    2 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

    My cat pros are a year old and I play 1-2x a week. I see a small crack on one of the heels and um keeping an eye on it. I'm not sure if it's something that just fails on its own form urinal wear or from repetitive contact like the odd slash, puck, or even hitting your heels against something on the bench. It seems totally random how it happens. True addressed this issue with the cat pros by adding an additional layer of carbon to the stock shell. 

    Hopefully it is addressed with the hzrdus line but I think it's too early to tell as it's just been released and not sure how many they've actually sold to get a good sample size. I'm not sure if anyone on this forum has even pulled the trigger on the hzrdus. 

    As for me sadly, it looks like I'm done with true skates after my current pair. Combination of durability issues and poor esthetics (I saw leaked pics of the new catalyst skates 🤮) has really put me off. 

     

    What is "urinal wear"?

    • Haha 2
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