Leif

Over 5 years ago I dropped £820 on some nice new Bauer 2S Pro skates, which was a lot of money for me. Over several years, I took one on one lessons to rework my skating, get correct posture etc. I play at least twice a week, and practice skating at least once a week and the skates are now rather tatty. Recently I saw some True TF9 skates at about half price with a 30 day money back warranty. So I bought a pair. After all, I couldn’t lose. Seven skates later, including 3 hockey sessions, and I can’t believe how much better they are. My skating, especially edge drills, has improved massively. I was struggling before with power pulls (one foot slalom). Now I can do them really well, on either leg, with deep edges, it feels so easy. Forwards cross rolls are much better, I can get much deeper edges i.e. lean more. I sometimes had an issue with the left foot sliding during forwards CW crossovers. That’s all gone. I can feel the edges far more, I’ve gone from 5/8” hollow to 1”, and I feel more stable. I had an occasional tendency in the Bauers to fall backwards. No more. I’m still getting used to them, but I tried backwards scissors skate today, no problem, much better. I also tried backwards crossrolls but the rink was a bit too busy to feel comfortable i.e. safety. Foward flex is good, lateral support is much better. Does anyone know why I should see so much improvement going from Bauer customs to stock Trues? I’ve not read any similar reports, and I really did not expect it. Is there some simple explanation for why my Bauer customs might not have worked as well as expected for me? Could there be a manufacturing issue, or a fit issue? I had new holders fitted a few years back, and I trust the tech, he would have mentioned any obvious issues with the original holders. Bauer customs are used by many excellent skaters, so they should be very good. I do think my left skate had an issue of some sort, which I blamed on myself, and worked to correct. The True one piece boot could explain better ice feel and grip. The blades have more forward pitch, and two primary curves, not just one. That could explain stability. But the level of improvement suggests something fundamentally wrong with the Bauer skates. I know Bauer customs aren’t really customs, each foot is fitted with a stock skate, with 1/4 size increments, and the boot squeezed under heat and pressure to a last. So maybe the boot just didn’t suit my duck feet (very narrow lower leg, foot widest at the toes i.e. flipper shaped). The Bauer were basically size 7, the True 6.5, so a bigger holder and blade on the Bauer.

Same here, but medium instep.

True have an app that allows you to scan your feet with your phone or tablet. It will then recommend skates. Maybe Bauer and CCM have similar. Some shops offer virtual fittings, by video link I assume. I have no idea how well that works. Some brands offer a 30 or more days warranty, not happy, get a full refund. You could order two sizes, keep the one that fits, return it if doesn’t work out on the ice.

True are carving a new path: Genuinely custom skates built round a last. Not just a stock skate heat and pressure formed to a last. One piece boots. CCM do this too. Incredibly thermoformable shells. I don’t know about CCM, but the Bauers I’ve tried have very little give when baked. Bauer hurt my feet, even customs. Blades with a more complex profile. I believe Bauer are doing this too. I moved from Bauer 2S Pro custom, to stock True TF9, and the difference is dramatic in terms of skating. It makes me wonder if Bauer customs just don’t suit my feet (flipper shaped, very narrow lower leg bones). The one good point is that my Bauers were bullet proof, they look a mess but they are still solid, albeit with replacement holders. I read a lot of reports of True TF9/TF7 breaking, whether they are any worse than Bauer, or CCM, I know not. Of course companies have to bring out new ranges every few years irrespective of whether or not they have genuinely developed worthwhile improvements. So much of this stuff is surely marketing, new graphics, new shapes, new gimmicks. You have to get the kids to buy the new skates that will turn them into Connor McDavid, even though their current skates are fine.

One foot slalom. Apparently powerpull is the correct term.

You must be right about the energy transfer from the one piece boot. I had some new 108” laces lying around, and they are perfect. 96” are the usual for my Bauers. I always skip the penultimate eyelets. I also replaced the stock inserts with my old Bauer speedplates. I’m a bit wary of drawing conclusions after only 5 skates with the True TF9s, including two hockey scrimmages, but these skates are phenomenal. I ended up going to a 1” hollow, and they still have incredible bite, it feels like I am skating on rails. My edgework has improved markedly. For example, my forwards powerpulls are much better controlled. Bear in mind I was in Bauer 2S Pro customs, which are supposed to be high end boots, moulded to the feet. I always had an issue with my left foot during both CW crossovers, and left foot powerpulls. That’s all gone, so it makes me wonder if there was a fault with the left skate. I also lost my ability to do a left foot hockey stop after moving to the Trues, I only got it back in the fifth session after lots of practice, and that is consistent with a significant change to the left skate. The right was fine. All of my edge work drills feel much more controlled, and cleaner, I can feel the edges far more, the difference is night and day. I think the TF9s provide much better ankle support than my Bauers, which is part of the reason for the improved performance. These don’t need much tightening of the laces, unlike my Bauers. They are as comfortable as the Bauers, a bit tight at the forefoot when standing upright, very comfortable on ice. Downsides? Getting them on is a pain, getting them off less so. I’ve just rebaked them with a 2 mm thick rubber shim placed between the top three eyelets and the tongue on the outside only, as that’s where it’s tight. I previously used a heat gun to flare the top two eyelets on the outside, but the rubbing was lower down. I’d say getting them on is the only downside, it was painful straight after the shop bake. The amount these skates mould on baking is incredible. I have Bauer X2.9 Vapor inlines that hurt my feet. Those and the Bauer customs hardly move when baked. Oh and that rubber bumper at the end of the toecap can be removed with tweezers or thin pliers if needed. Fortunately I don’t notice it in practice. 6 Feb 2024: Rebaked with a 4mm thick 2” by 1” rubber shim on each skate, perfect.

I did a first skate on these, and holy carp my standard winter 5/8” grind felt like a 3/8”. Today I went down to my summer 3/4” grind and there is still incredible grip. I will try a 1” grind as I like more slide for hockey. The shop sells them with a 1/2” grind which is ridiculous. I friend has True customs, he went from 5/8” in Bauers to 1” in Trues. It’s taking me a while to adapt from Bauer 2S Pro custom to the TF9, today felt much better. My forward power pulls were much improved, these skates have such incredible grip, I feel like I am on rails. Forward crossrolls too are much improved. It took me a while to get back my right foot outside edge hockey stop. I still can’t do the left foot outside edge hockey stop in these, probably the insane grip as I feel scared trying. Does anyone know why these have so much grip? What do people do with the incredibly long laces? The length is absurb, but essential for getting the skates off. It’s not easy to get them off, I will rebake at home, with stretchy film, and make sure I flare the top 2 or 3 eyelets properly. Oddly I don’t need to tie these up tight, just light tension, quite unlike Bauers. Comfort wise these are far superior to mid range Bauers.

I’ve just noticed that there is a rubber step at the end of the toecap, maybe 5 mm high and 3 mm deep. My toes rest on it, which feels uncomfortable. How odd. Why on earth would they do that? I haven’t skated yet, so it’s possible my toes will pull back when in a hockey stance. Getting them on and off is hard, I twist my foot as recommended here, and pulling the neck apart at the top eyelets helps.

As far as I know Bauer and CCM don’t do such big reductions on clear out, hence my surprise. Gimmicky features do seem to be a feature of hockey kit.

Yes, TF9. Will edit post.

Thank you for the various replies. I went in today, tried a TF9 size 7R, and it was a nice fit, but too big allowing for baking. They don’t have stock for size 6 unfortunately, so that is not an option. I tried the 6.5W and 6.5R again, and based on comments here, opted for the 6.5R which had a better heel lock, and felt shorter albeit rather tight either side of my forefoot. He did a 2 minute bake, and that made a big difference, so I went for a full bake, and yes the width does accommodate. After baking they feel snug, lengthwise my right foot is nearly touching the toe cap. Getting them on is not easy, I had to turn my foot outwards as recommended here, and then gently work it in. He said to lace the top two eyelets after putting the skates on. Honestly I cannot do that, even though he slightly flared the tops. I will leave the top eyelet laced, the second not laced (as per my other skates), as I can get them on like that. Apparently I shouldn’t use them for at least 24 hours, preferably 48. They came with a 1/2” grind, so I changed down to a 3/4”. These are selling quite well, I know at least 3 people who bought a pair from this shop. It seems odd to sell top end non custom skates at about half price. Presumably they were not selling well, or they want to get True known in the marketplace to increase brand awareness.

Thanks, that sounds positive, I can’t really justify customs.

Thanks. This sounds like the upper half of the toe cap is is not mouldable, unless punched out, but the lower half is.

Sorry, but I did listen. The fact that I said I would try a 6W was as a result. As for the edit, that change was made within ten seconds of posting, as on reading through I saw a minor typo.

I’m sorry you’re upset. I understood your post, that they expand noticeably when baked. That is why I indicated that I will also try the 6W. The point I made in my two earlier posts is that I don’t need my toes touching, or near the toe cap. In my Bauer customs I have quite a few mm of space. Were my toes further forward, I would get pain at the sides of my toes from the toecap. That is because my feet are widest at the toes i.e. flippers. https://my.volumental.com/en/bauer/2f029e24-c1e1-4885-bd8a-706f9cc01baf/?utm_medium=myvemail When I tried the 6.5W, there was a noticeable pressure at the sides of my toes, and I am concerned that with a 6W it would be worse. I’m now confused because someone has said that the True TF9 toecap can widen on baking, and someone else has said it can’t, as did the hockey shop owner. It does look like hard plastic as per Bauer, but that’s just my impression.

As I mentioned above, I’m not so bothered about the toes, a friend who turned up while I was in the shop hates his toes brushing the toe cap, he prefers some space.

Yes I’m aware they mould a lot. The 6.5W was tight at the sides, the 6.5R was very uncomfortable at the sides. My Bauer customs have a few mm of space at the front, I’m more concerned about the overall fit, as my feet are flippers i.e. widest at the front, despite not being particularly wide. He did suggest a few minutes in the oven. He said that the width at the front doesn’t change when baked, presumably because it’s a hard plastic toe cap, as per my Bauer customs. Someone here who got a 7W and liked them has feet that are the same length as mine, but a few mm narrower. But I suspect the 6.5W is okay. I will try a 6W.

I tried some TF9 today, I’m normally a 7 EE (standard width in UK) in Bauer stock supremes. To my surprise the 6.5R was too narrow at the toes, a 6.5W much better. My toes were almost touching the toe cap. He’s getting in a 7W for me to try. Should I go with a just brushing the toe caps? This is a long thread, I read some of it, and I get the impression they will ‘stretch’ a tad on heating. And I assume the heating will improve the heel lock, I’m sure I read that the shells mould more than Bauer (which don’t mould much at all). They’re doing a 30 day money back guarantee which is amazing, and they are half prize here.

Does anyone know how the True TF9 compares with Bauer Custom and True custom skates? I have Bauer Custom 2S Pro skates, 5 years old, scruffy, holders replaced once, but still fully functional. The TF9 are now available at a low price. At some stage my Bauers will fail, maybe next month, maybe in a few years, hence my interest. I’m not a high level player, just casual, two scrimmages a week plus one public skate practice. I’m only 11 stone 10 pounds, or 164 pounds, so not heavy. My feet have a half size difference, I am in between Bauer 1 and 2 foot shapes, or Supreme and Vapor in old money. They are widest at the toes. My Bauer’s are so comfortable, I’ve worn them for 4 hours without issues. Comfort is my key requirement, I don’t care about differences in performance between the higher level skates. I am a decent skater in terms of edge control i.e I can do three turns, crossrolls and power pulls.

I know someone who had one at the side of a patch of synthetic ice. The glass took several direct puck hits. It's not delicate, but it is glass.

Over time the sharpener destroys the profile on the blades. One set of mine ended up looking like goalie skates. Many sharpeners don’t dress the wheel before sharpening a pair of blades. One sharpener I know didn’t set the skate height properly, resulting in only half the blade sharpened.

As I understand it the pressure is applied by a spring act9ng to push the wheel against the blade. Presumably they program the machine to lift the wheel higher before the cut starts, which increases the pressure applied by the spring as it is extended further. Just a guess.

True but how much does a profiling cost? If you use up a ring, so what. However I’m sure they originally had a cross grinding ring for the home machine and withdrew it due to the dust generated. So I don’t see them doing it for the home machine. They might produce a commercial profiling machine, at a higher price, I suppose, if they deemed it commercially viable.

Here in the UK gen 2 is much cheaper. I paid £1,200 for a gen 1 over 4 years ago, gen 2 is currently about £1,000.

That’s a nice feature. Even if you’re not inexperienced, if you’re doing several pairs of skates and each requires an adjustment, the beam would make life easier. I don’t normally sharpen other people’s skates, but I’ve done a few friends’ skates recently. Usually I get a slightly different measurement depending on which way round I place the gauge (a cheap one off eBay). I assume this is because the sides are not plane parallel. I’m not sure how best to deal with this, so I just get it close measuring with the gauge facing consistently in one direction. My higher end Bauer steel and True steel are fine. This new machine looks good. There is no compelling need to upgrade for most of us, but it’s nice to see that they are working on improvements. My gen 1 has rubber buttons and the printing on them might wear out. Otherwise it looks durable. Does anyone know how long these beasts last? I think at least one owner had to replace the clamp spring.