BenBreeg

There’s progress. Last week I can’t remember which game but a player was down and play was stopped. You could see two of his teammates’ feet as they stood around him and both were in Trues. Used to see them here or there but that image jumped out at me.

90 day guarantee is great, I used it to get another size for my Ribcores, but you need to be at significant scale for that to be feasible.

It's interesting, I wonder if nylon on nylon may actually stay tighter than nylon (the nut) on metal. I know I need to give mine a bit of a twist every once in a while.

Seems pathetic that the move was made to begin with, regardless of tier IMO.

Good points, in addition, the numbers might dictate that a pair can be baked many more times for fitting because there is no stress being put on them, so in that case having discounted fit pairs might make sense.

You absolutely must account for the effort and cost of a sale. Your calculus may tell you that the extra service will be more profitable in the long run, others may not.

If you are trying on 2-3 pairs of Trues that is 2-3 bakes and molding just to compare sizes or models (if you were thinking 7s vs. 9s). That's a lot of time and money for the store so I can see how it can be both an advantage (you really know how it is going to fit before making your decision) and a disadvantage (time and money).

Interested as well, i get a scary pop sometimes when i tighten the laces on the third eyelet from the top. Probably the area I lace the tightest but by no means do I pull them super tight. I keep thinking that grommet is going to let loose, and they are pretty new.

I know this is older but just reread this before my skate this morning. I have only had Q0, on a pair of Supreme 7000 and now on Ribcores with the new holder. I was told when I got them profiled that people who usually had some forward pitch would bring back Q0 and 1s to get the pitch taken out. Anyway, I was just skating and standing around trying to pay attention to my natural balance point and it is right in the middle of my foot, very natural. I think with the Quad, you can get forward when you need to but I don’t feel like the skate is actively pushing me there. Then the flatter backend provides stability. The flat back was actually what I noticed right away and immediately reduced fatigue in the front of my calves, presumably due to trying to counter the skate pushing me on my heels. The other thing that went away immediately was this arch pain I used to have for like the first 1/2 hour of skating. I had always assumed it was the boot (this was with the 7000s) but the relief was instantaneous. As for my skating, as OTG28 points out, what you think you are doing and what you are measured doing are often two different things.

Ugg, I didn’t know he was sick, great actor!

Makes sense. I wanted to get the Playrite stick for my son but only IW has it, very low stock numbers so maybe they won't be pushing in the US for a while.

You are a member of a very large brotherhood then! 😄

34, man, that's young. Listened to them the other day.

You can have the greatest marketing plan and execution in the world but for many (maybe most) products if you don't start with a solid value prop that is mapped to a market need it won't work in the long run. You can have some short-term success but business cases are rarely built on that. When I am working with marketing on messaging and campaigns, they are asking me as a product manager what the market segment is, what problems are they facing, how does a product solve those problems, etc. It always starts with the problem you are trying to solve. I have literally been having multiple conversations with my team on a current product to answer the question, "Why does this product exist in the minds of the buyer?" I don't see that being answered by SW right now. The play to be a house brand might work like some have pointed out, but that is not what that marketing blog post made it sound like was their goal.

Most schools around here have at least hybrid options, a few private schools are 5 days a week and kids with IEPs can do full-time. PIAA can do whatever it wants to start but if things spike the decision may be taken out of their hands.

Back to school will be the determining factor. If numbers spike that will be the driver and youth sports will feel the effects. And since kids from so many different school districts play in the same organizations it won't take much for it to make its way into the teams.

Depends on how many people are crying for it. The magnification of the internet doesn't necessarily mean there is a sufficient business case to move forward.

Exactly. If they identify a problem and can fill a void, fine. I think True has an opportunity delivering their top-tier retail skate at a super competitive price point but as far as other equipment, I don't see the opening. I can get clearance, pro stock, etc. that is more than sufficient. Red ocean is what I see.

You can drive the car before purchasing so a little different.

I don't get that site though. They have 8 sticks, nothing in stock. Or you can order 5 at a time, mix and match specs. A few months ago it looked like you could order singles but that disappeared. I think for most people you can find a $150ish stick that is a good balance. I'm looking forward to seeing what the FT3 Team is like.

That would be interesting. I like my Ribcores, wouldn't mind a smidgen more snugness in the heel and more wrap on the instep but not a deal breaker. Maybe I could rationalize custom one-piece Ribcors....

Yeah, not going to wear one of those, hopefully the manufacturers don't push to mandate. I imagine they tested it but seems like it would retain moisture and cause more fogging in the clear shield.

Agree, I am a 32-33" waist and swim in any large sizes I have ever tried on. Definitely medium.

so...lots of obvious truths in the article but what wasn't mentioned was what consumer persona they are targeting, what the vision is, what the gap they hope to fill is, and how they are going to fill it... Disruptive...in truth not a marketing buzzword but it has been commoditized as to have become meaningless...

Don’t want to derail, but depending on your leverage you can certainly control this. I can’t imagine if CCM traced complaints to stores that didn’t feel like baking skates they would keep them as a top tier (or whatever it is) dealer. Other industries that have contractors/partners deliver their products have various arrangements to ensure quality.