calby8

I edited my previous post using imgur.com, thanks for the heads up. I agree the skates didn't do it on their own, but considering the circumstances the question is if it is acceptable for a premium skate? I would be more understandable if it was wear and tear after a year or so, maybe even a couple months, but not after two games.

Just an update on my new True skates unfortunately is not good news. After only the second time/second game wearing my skates I noticed a gash in the carbon fiber, The gash it is about 1.5 inches wide by a 1/4 inch tall on the right side of the left skate. I attached some pictures below. Keep in mind, this is beer league, non checking hockey. I'm not sure if it was a puck off the foot, but nobody in the league has a shot to be afraid of to do much damage. I reached out to MonkeySports where I bought them, to contact True Skates to see what they can do to fix the issue and will provide an update. Please let me know if you have come across any similar situations and have any suggestions. For only using the skates for the second time I'm pretty disappointed for a pair skates that cost over a thousand dollars.

I think I get what you're saying. It certainly is beneficial to keep an open mind, never know what a player can come across that is helpful without trying it out, especially if it can make someone a better player. Like I mentioned, it was my first time/game ever wearing the skates, without a chance to test them out beforehand I went with what was comfortable for the game. I had one of, if not the best game I've had in my illustrious beer league career. Now that I'm confident and comfortable with the skates, I can continue to tinker with the skates including giving the stock soles a try. As you might be able to tell, I don't have much of a luxury to be on forums either, we can discuss being swamped and work hours per week if you like, but I have 17 posts all related to VH/True skates questions, and one review I hope is helpful to those that read it. Much respect to Scott, the tireless hours he's spent on the skate probably easily outdo us both, and to the skate itself. With that being said, I've already convinced two teammates to order skates, and two employees at Hockey Monkey to order skates as well. That should be an indication of my overall impression of the skate and something that stands out to you as well. Cheers.

Yes, to each their own, the spongy not stiff enough insoles have also bunched up sliding your foot in the skate or slid out taking your skates off.

I appreciate the info. I'm aware the boot is a custom skate that should reflect the best representation of the shape of my arch. I understand "there is no off the shelf skate that can address the ball of my foot, my arch, my heel all in one package", which is why I purchased the skates in the first place. And I assume the footbed included is supposed to fit the boot hand in hand, correct? The footbed fits my arch nicely, but there is dropoff dip from the arch to the ball of my foot that didn't feel great and there was even more unwanted negative space in the toe box before the speedplates. Maybe you can provide more helpful info regarding that issue. And the thin floppy foam perforated insole shaped to the dropoff dip for the ball of my foot I wasn't fond of. (Note: I said "probably saved some costs" on the insole, I do not have factual numbers) So getting back to the speedplate, I haven't had any issues with them after 1.5 years, at least none that I am aware off. If there is anything I should be warned of, please let me know. There are other companys like SIDAS and SOLE heat moldable footbeds that have great reviews if I need to switch. I don't think there is anything wrong with having a head moldable insole, is there? A nice happy medium that molds to your foot and the boot. I like the additional feedback the hard plastic provides while skating. It should be all preference and what's comfortable right? If I'm doing anything that is unknowingly causing bad habits or long-term health risks then by all means I'm open to suggestions. Other than that I wrote a great review for the skates. Using a 3D foot scan to create a handmade skate out of great materials that can fit the foot of a customer that they've never met like a glove is really impressive. So far am really happy with how they turned out. It would be silly to be disappointed they aren't 100% perfect, but I'm surprised you picked the cost of the insole/footbed as the one thing you wanted to jump on.

Picked up my skates on Saturday! Initial thoughts/review... Keep in mind these are my first custom/VH/True skates The weight picking them up by hand was lighter than I expected, maybe I overestimated the weight after reading everywhere they were on the heavier side. I also came from Bauer Supreme 170s (I'm not sure of the weight difference or put either of them on a scale yet) Putting them on for the first time, before baking, freaked me out at first, because I could barely get them on my feet. This is because I have duck feet, flat, very wide forefoot, very narrow heel, and they expand a lot when putting weight on my foot, so the boot wraps so much around my flat foot getting the forefoot through narrow part took effort. Unlace the top 4 eyelets or so, pull out the tongue, stretch the boot wider, (as mentioned in the True YouTube instructional video) broke a little sweat, and they were on. When my feet were in, the wait was worth it, the heel lock is absolutely amazing, the outline around my foot is spot on. Because of the great fit they definitely "felt lighter" than any skate I've tried on before. The fit felt so good, I felt like I could play without laces or tightening laces at all. As Iskander mentioned above, I am surprised the width and length seem slightly big, but when I stood up and put pressure on my expanding fat foot, I can't really complain. Of course spending that much on skates for the first time I didn't know how much perfection to expect. Baking them was pretty crazy, they went from a perfectly stiff boot, after putting them in the oven I had no problem getting my feet in the skates when they were warm, then they were back to being a perfectly stiff boot and fit even better. There is some space in the toe box, definitely a lot less than any other skates I've tried on. I guess if there was any less space in the True toe box they might look like Chuck Taylor high tops, in general I have always wondered the reason for space in the toe box. I did try putting Powerfoot inserts inside and it was a tight squeeze, the inserts would have to break in to feel great. I could use the thin shim Powerfoot also provides instead, but I'd also be fine not using any insert at all. The guy at Monkey Sports and I agreed, one of the areas True/VH probably saved some costs was the insole. Luckily, I swapped my old Bauer Speed Plates from my old skates and re-molded them to the inside of the True Skates. Not necessary, but I liked it better. When I took them home, I took them on and off a couple more times, it was still a struggle, it crossed my mind I needed to use some slick socks, skate barefoot or use some kind of oil to get my feet in and out of the skates until they were broken in. ha :/ Since the eyelets on my skates are practically molded on top of my foot (due to my wide flat feet) it was a little tiresome lacing and unlacing the skates, I took the recommendation from another one of the True YouTube videos, I took a heat gun to the eyelets and slowly bent them outward a bit and it worked great after, problem solved. (After this I was able to get my skates on using dress socks, still with a lot of effort) After that I was done tinkering for the day. On to last night's game...First game with the skates, no practice session, 5 minute warmup, initial thoughts... I showed up early since I didn't know how long it would take to put my skates on, and I was happily suprised, no hassle getting my feet in and lacing them up! I guess they just needed a little break in or some practice getting them on and off. On the flip side, going back to the fit (referred to above), the skates now felt looser than before, I needed to tighten my laces after all. However, I didn't have to loosen and tighten and re-tie a bunch of times all game to find a comfortable fit, as I would usually do with past skates,at least I can go back to my hockey socks after one game instead of using super thin dress socks. ;) During warmup and the game, I did not feel any pain in areas I usually expect, it took very little time to getting used to the skates and finding my footing, I felt great starting/stopping, crossovers, cuts, lateral movement, things I normally do, but felt better and more confident due to the custom fit. I was also confident trying different/new things with ease during the game I practice during stick time, but wouldn't normally do during a game. Since the side of boots are cut lower, in my opinion, I love the additional range of motion/articulation. The longer contoured thick felt tongue and tendon guard on the True skates also offset any worries I had getting too wobbly. End result so far...first hat trick in two years! I felt great out there all game, some of it is probably due to being stoked on new skates, but I had zero foot pain, and many might agree, sometimes how well I play depends a lot on how bad my feet hurt on any given night. There was no lace bite, no heel lift, no extreme forefoot pressure. It must have reduced a lot leg fatigue and unnecessary exerted energy because I could skate harder and play more minutes, my legs and cardio felt fine after the the game. I'll be back with with pictures and another update after a couple more games. One thing I noticed about the aesthetics of the skates, since I haven't ever seen a pair in person before I bought them, is some the handmade characteristics of the skate. In my opinion, they design looks really clean in person, I got a few compliments from my teammates, but if you really want to look closely at the detail it is both impressive and yet the stitching and pieces put together isn't exactly picture perfect cookie cutter looking like Bauer, CCM manufactured skates. It is slightly different than what I'm used to seeing, but I'm okay with it as long as they last!

Is it like a shin splint feeling or on the outside like lateral stops and starts? I'm curious what is causing it. Have you talked to True or LHS? Maybe some pressure from the feet moving up the shins, insoles, heel, boot, lace bite, pitch, etc.? Does the heel feel too high or instep too tight? If you got the True holders that come with Step steel it may be the holders or steel taller than what you're used to?

Just a heads up I got a call from the shop that my skates are ready (after 6.5 weeks), but True has shipped a large amount of skates overnight due to the delay so they will be at the shop tomorrow.

Talked to Hockey Monkey Irvine and they just received their first pair from True after 4 1/2 weeks. That's encouraging news it'll be 5 weeks for me tomorrow. They also mentioned some of the True/VH staff visited the store and said the reception from NHL players has been impressive, way more orders than they anticipated and are swamped.

I haven't received my skates yet either. Ordered them on 7/29 and no word yet on when they'll be delivered. I asked Hockey Monkey a little over a week ago if they can see if True/VH recommended a different sized holder based on my foot scan, maybe from 272 to 280. I got these fat feet that that are a size 10 shoe, but putting pressure on them they expand to like a size 12, but they haven't heard back from True/VH about that yet either. Anyways, too much info haha. I'm going to call Hockey Monkey tomorrow and update the thread with any news.

I thought they looked awesome in person and think this pic shows they look as good as any other skate out there in my opinion. Still can't decide if the white felt or black felt looks better.

Bummer I liked that piece. Would be good to know some of these small intricacies when ordering, but I guess being some of the first to order their full custom boot and under the new brand growth I guess there's some trade off. Oh well... Also, at first True said the retailer or myself could send a pair Bauer Edge holders to them to put on, they didn't know how long they would offer the service, then called and said shipping from the retailer and mounting would cost $80 so I declined. Not sure how they got to that amount, maybe I should have asked how much for me to send the Edge holders myself, but True did say they would drill the holes where the holder should be for the LHS to mount them.

How did you like the new pair and getting them baked? This is probably a dumb question, but what does it mean if they don't come without the foxings in the heel? Did they install the Bauer Edge holders for you and additional work needs to be done?

Right on, I drove down from Santa Barbara, I'm not familiar with the LHS in the area, but know they are closest places to offer the orders first! Hoping it's money well spent either way, whether it's 2 weeks or 4!

Which Monkey Sports did you go to? I went to the one in Irvine, they said 3-4 weeks. Most likely 4.