Jump to content
Slate Blackcurrant Watermelon Strawberry Orange Banana Apple Emerald Chocolate Marble
Slate Blackcurrant Watermelon Strawberry Orange Banana Apple Emerald Chocolate Marble
Reviews wanted! ×

VegasHockey

Members+
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    3626

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    167

  • Feedback

    100%

Posts posted by VegasHockey

  4. Posted · Report reply

    I always recommend going through the shop you purchased the stick from to handle the warranty instead of handling it yourself. My shop replaces the stick on location and then we handle the process of a claim with the manufacturer. This provides the consumer with a stick immediately and it's much easier for us to work with a manufacturer instead of making the consumer do all of the dirty work. 

    • Like 1

  5. Posted · Report reply

    On 7/28/2018 at 4:32 AM, bunnyman666 said:

    A local rink has a Sparx in addition to a traditional Blademaster. One guy says that the vacuum does not work all that well. Of course he is biased because he is a Blademaster guy.

    My biggest trouble with mine is sharpening Step Extreme blades. I had quite the learning curve and nearly sent back the machine! I devised my own way to get the Step Extremes into the carrier and not stop in the middle of a pass. That being said- the only Step Extreme I will sharpen is my own.

    I now charge $10 if they go more than six weeks out because I find that the more rounded over a blade is (especially if they mess with their blades with some of the self sharpeners in between), it takes 10 passes to get a good edge. I am trying to incentivise customers to sharpen more often, as it is more cosistent and easier on my wheels. 

    Are you using the standard grinding wheels or the commerical ones? Do you use the XG wheels? 

  7. Posted · Report reply

    6 hours ago, zeberq said:

    I tried changing lacing pattern and actually it helped a lot. I was able to tie my skate and didn't get any discomfort.

    I still have some sort of hill movement left, but it moves up 1-3 mm (around 1/10 of inch) when I lift my foot. I guess this is acceptable and I'll try to address this with different insole. This move, doesn't give my any discomfort. and probably I had similar issue in my previous skate, but because older skate was much softer, my whole foot was moving.

    Thanks a lot for help!

    What insoles are you using? A little trick a lot of players do is use water-resistant silicone on the footbeds in the heel to keep them from slipping. Some insoles have anti-slip zones on them but most do not. 

  8. Posted · Report reply

    24 minutes ago, 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.

    I am not sure why manufacturers are going back towards high cut boot when a majority of players are dropping the top 1/2 eyelets in many of the current boots which are not as tall. Seems counterintuitive. Though, if they built flex points into the boot height shouldn't matter in theory. 

    • Like 1

  9. Posted · Report reply

    2 hours ago, Vet88 said:

    If you are heating both sides and want your heel to be sitting in the center of the skate then I would agree. But if you want a slight offset of the heel position and are only heating one side at a time, I have found the stand on method gives a much better fit (yes, I have used ratchet and c-clamps for a long time now, both to compress and stretch boots). Downside is it takes twice as long and requires 2 people.

    Makes sense. Never considered the offset portion of the design. Good info. 

  10. Posted · Report reply

    2 hours ago, Jason said:

    So, I ordered a pair of custom AS1s using the total custom option that included a scan and all of the custom options. It turns out that it isn't the be all, end all. The skates came in. I had them heat moulded just to be sure, but the fit is not even as good as my current custom FT1s. I asked the pro rep that fit me if we should reference my last pair because they fit very well. He assured me that with the scan it wouldn't be necessary. However, he also mentioned that one of the pros he fit asked to be scanned again because he wasn't happy with the fit. Needless to say, I am pretty disappointed. I am currently waiting to hear back from the rep about what they can do for me. My suggestion to anyone getting fit is to base your specs on how the retail boots fit and use the scan as a secondary aid.

    This is absolutely the way everyone should be approaching custom skates. The scanning and software help but at the end of the day we all have specifics things we are accustomed to or prefer and software cannot take those things into consideration.

    I prefer to capture as much information as possible to provide when placing custom orders for skates. Information like the current skate model, size, and other specifications are imperative IMO and should never be overlooked. 

    Ive seen too many people come in disappointed with custom skates, selling then for 70% loss and buying another pair of retail skates.

    I still submit tracing of people feet or use a glass scanner to scanner, if they are local, to capture their feet outline in addition to providing measurements and such. 

     

  11. Posted · Report reply

    If Westside did the scan and fitting I dont think they would "mess up" on baking them. They do enough True skates that they know what they are doing, especially if the first pair was not built quite right. However, we are mostly all human and there is always a margin for error 😉 

    Full disclosure, my first pair of True skates did not fit as I expected. Now, it's debatable if they fit right or wrong, as that could be considered objective, but for MY needs and how I prefer MY skates to fit they had too much volume. The first pair of skates I tried using the red insoles to take up the extra volume, toe inserts to make them snugger in the toe box, and switched to thicker tongues. Despite the changes, they still felt "sloppy" even though they were very comfortable. 

    This led to True making me a second pair.

    The second pair were closer in proper fit, but still not exactly perfect. I personally had to make adjustments to the facing of the skates and add some foams to get them to fit the way I wanted. As mentioned, I did this myself, it obviously helps that I own a shop and also have experience customizing skates, but the work I did is far more involved than the typical consumer would put into a pair of skates. I am sure many would have considered the first or second pair to be a good fit, but for my personal preferences they didn't fit right and felt sloppy. 

    Our shop does a lot of fitting for players requesting True skates. To be completely honest, there are times that the fit is not exactly spot on, but usually its pretty close. The most difficult players to fit are the ones coming from a skate like the Mako which has zero negative space and fit incredibly close to the foot. Those players usually complain about the fit, weight, or that the skates feel bulky. Usually, we make modifications to the skates for the customer if its easy enough to adjust. Cutting back the facing is relatively easy on the True skates compared to modifying other one-piece skates like the AS1. 

    Have you talked to Westside? Baking them and using ratchet clamps will surely help the fit, and adding red insoles will take up the volume. You can even use a custom insole if you want, we have some players that prefer to do such as they prefer the CCM footbeds, Bauer Speed Plate or Super Feet. Usually, these players have a very high arch that needs more support than the skate can provide. 

     

    • Like 3

  12. Posted · Report reply

    On 6/28/2018 at 3:52 AM, Vet88 said:

    Making no comment on how the LHS fitted you, to get a better heel lock here is something that may work, it has for me and others. Get a heat gun and heat up the inside rear quarter of the skate (don't heat the other side of the skate), once it goes soft put it on, lace up firm then lie on the floor with the outside of the skate lying on the floor. Now get someone, without shoes on, to stand on the inside area of the heel and ankle. This will shape the boot to your inside heel / ankle shape and if you pronate slightly it will have the same effect as moving the blade holder slightly inwards. Next day go for a skate, if you are still unhappy with the lock and the way the boot feels on your feet, do the same for the outside rear quarter of the skate. However moving a panel inwards from its natural shape means over time it will eventually move out again. I'd suggest you need to eventually find a boot that has a really tight heel lock in the first place but if FT1's aren't doing it for you then you may need to go the custom route (or try 50k's, they have one of the narrowest heels in retail boots).

     

     

    I usually recommend using ratchet clamps instead of having someone stand on the skate....  

    • Like 2

  13. Posted · Report reply

    On 7/26/2018 at 7:21 AM, stick9 said:

    If you want to use cars as an analogy I will. Bauer is Toyota. They make something for just about everyone. People who want more can buy a Lexus. CCM is Honda, similar to Toyota but slightly different. Those consumers who want more can buy an Acura. True is Alfa Romeo, they do one thing and people who love them really love and will buy nothing else, but they accept their shortcomings.

    TTFN

     

     

    Japanese and "Italian" cars. Yuck. 

    😉 

    • Confused 1
    • Facepalm 1

  14. Posted · Report reply

    23 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

    Yeah, makes me wonder if they replace the top price point skates completely. Top tier is custom only. Would make sense for a lot of reasons.

    I absolutely imagine this is going to be the case, top tier will be custom order only. I also assume most retail top end models won't cost more than $649 USD or maybe even less. You can see Bauer and CCM have already started to move this direction with their pricing. 

    Also, supposedly True is going to develop a more "retail" "affordable" version of their skate. Not sure if they will actually do it though as it may diminish their brand. 

    • Like 1

  16. Posted · Report reply

    On 7/25/2018 at 5:54 PM, Superjet said:

    I haven’t contacted them about the second pair. I was so disappointed in the whole experience, so I tried a few things on my own, like the insoles and lacing patterns.  I even asked the shop to measure for the second pair manually in addition to a new scan, but they said that was unnecessary. I feel like that would have pointed out the issue as well. I added another red layer to try tonight, but I’ll try emailing true directly instead of going through the shop I purchased them from.  I’m pretty sure the shop is tired of me anyways. 

    We do a lot of True skates and I haven't seen a pair fit this strangely ever. There is definitely too much depth in that boot, almost like fitting someone who needs a FT1 in a Ribcor... Have you shared these pics with True directly or only the shop?

  17. Posted · Edited by Nicholas G · Report reply

    3 hours ago, bunnyman666 said:

     

    One would say that the monocoque boot provides a performance advantage in the fact that the outsole is not a separate piece from the boot. It could be seen as more of your movement going to the holder and runner, essentially. This would be from continuous fibres surrounding your foot.  That is a subjective argument, as well since after all- if multiple pieces were that bad, the monocoque boot would have made its appearance long ago and nobody would be using Bauer skates (how they are currently made), however- if Bauer ends up making their own monocoque skate, then it would prove if nothing else, they don’t want to be left behind. 

    Now- if someone could build what would essentially an orthotic with a holder attached (yes- an upper would have to be built around it, etc., etc.),that would be a game changer, albeit VERY expensive. To define “orthotic with a holder attached” would be that the skate would be built to a mould of your foot and there would not be a removable insole; the insole WOULD be the footbed and outsole. A few pairs of super-high end cycling shoes are made like this, costing a couple of thousand dollars.

    I think the technology has existed for a while now and manufacturers wanted to move to a single piece skate for a while but it was cost prohibitive. 

     

    2 hours ago, stick9 said:

    Let me guess, you own a Volvo and want a Tesla or you own a Tesla and the wife drives a Volvo. Either way, bet I am close.

    Not sure you could have picked a worse analogy. For the sake of the thread I’ll just leave it at that.

    FYI - sold me S60 about 5 months ago.

     

    I own both. They are also the only manufacturers that have true full self-driving capabilities but have them currently disabled due to government regulations. In many ways, my XC60 Drive Pilot system works better than Tesla Auto Pilot. I also do engineering, specifically focusing on AI, ML, and HPC. The analogy makes sense if you follow technology in automobiles understanding who is investing the most in safety and advanced driving concepts. 

    34 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

    They do build around your arch; it’s just still not quite an orthotic with a holder on it! They still have a superior fit.

    While the arch is somewhat incorporated if you have a high enough arch you will still need an aftermarket footbed of some type. 

  19. Posted · Report reply

    12 hours ago, stick9 said:

    Yet they still manage to out sell those other brands, go figure...

    That's because they own the mind share. Look at how many car companies outsell Tesla and Volvo, yet both of those companies are building a superior product. 

  20. Posted · Edited by Nicholas G · Report reply

    Regardless of how Bauer decides to "make" these "custom" skates their technology is still behind CCM and True until they move to a monocoque frame. I assume that won't happen for a few more years as they need to wait for all of that fancy hardware they bought to depreciate. 

  23. Posted · Report reply

    One of our regular customers recently bought a pair of custom FT1 skates and is frustrated that the toe cap is already getting beat up badly in such a short period of time. Lots of little scratches and scuffs. Nothing major, but he apparently has OCD and it's driving him insane. 

    He asked if I could buff or polish out the scratches and while I think that shouldn't be an issue I have never tried doing such myself on a hockey skate toe cap.

    I tried to explain to him that wear and tear will happen, since it's hockey, but he insists his old Bauers always looked like new and didn't wear as poorly as these new skates. Seems like he is blaming CCM for their selection of plastic which he says is "too soft." 

    Rather than debate with him endlessly. Does anyone have some input? Can I do what he is asking with 3000 grit sandpaper and a rotary buffer? Is there another option? 

     

    Gracias!

    • Like 2

  25. Posted · Report reply

    Had a customer send an email requesting to mount size 280 LS Edge holders on his True skates. He bought the skates without holders and they have not been drilled. He said they are size 7EE and the measurements I requested from him reflect that. I have never tried mounting that large of a holder on a size 7 skate, though I have done 272 without any issues. I know without seeing the skates it's all a guessing game, but he wants me to confirm we can do the mounting for him before he mails us the skate otherwise he will look for another shop to handle it. 

×
×
  • Create New...