Santos L Halper

Have become curious about this myself... With the resounding success (right? I mean...I think so? It's been hugely successful, right?) of the Sparx machine, you'd think that the company would want to capitalize on the goodwill in the marketplace right now and revisit some of the corners they undoubtedly had to cut (be it in design, production, whathaveyou...) to get into production. Since they're dealing with a (relatively speaking) closed audience of potential buyers, I suspect that eventually they're going to reach something of a saturation point where most people that are willing to purchase a skate sharpener will have done so; and, as a result, sharpener sales will fall off. Sure, they have the built-in recurring revenue from grinding ring sales, but I can't imagine the per-unit margin on those is all that high. Eventually, they're going to want to convince some of their existing customers to buy another machine...and to do that, they're going to have to give them a reason to do so. Wonder what that's gonna be...?

Hehehe...I intentionally neglected to ask that. But since you went there..... My feelings as a skating coach regarding the wisdom of purchasing custom skates for young skaters are well documented in this thread. For those that don't want to scroll through 160-odd pages of posts, put simply, I believe that, barring a significant physiological concern that can only be addressed by a custom product, ANY custom skates are a complete waste of money for youth players whose bodies (and feet) are still growing and developing. If a kid is still pre-pubescent and doesn't have a glaring 'fit issue', then, why on earth would anyone spend $800US (or more...) on a pair of skates that won't fit for longer than 6 months? To my economical (read: cheap-assed) nature, it just doesn't make sense. However, in the end, whether it's OP's money or another parent's, they can spend it however they want. If only custom will do, then you can't go wrong with True....but at least go into it with eyes open....they're gonna be heavy and they won't fit next year!

True skates are heavy. There is no getting around it. You say you knew this going in, yet are surprised? Not entirely sure I understand that.... Anyway. If you're asking 'why' they're heavier, it's mostly because the entire True boot is made of heat-moldable carbon fiber weave, while skates from Bauer and CCM use thermoformable composite plastics. True's carbon weave is MUCH stronger than the plastics used in other skates...but it's also quite a bit heavier. Also, steel makes a big difference - particularly now that all True skates ship with Step holders and Step runners. For all of its wonderful qualities, Step is notoriously heavy steel. In the end, there is absolutely a trade-off; comfort, protection, and performance vs. weight. Is it worth it? The answer to that will necessarily vary from player to player. For me, it's worth it. For 68 NHL players, it's worth it. For your son? Only he can answer that.... ________________________ N.B. By way of comparison, my Trues with a size 272 Step holder and Step Blacksteel runners are 21.8% heavier than my old Bauer TotalOnes... ________________________ Edit: Many people have fit issues (Haglund's Deformities, unusual foot geometry, flat or high arches, bunions, extreme pronation, etc....) that make off the shelf retail skates a virtual impossibility. For them, even the lightest skates on the market would feel like they weighed a metric shit-ton, simply because they'd be so damn uncomfortable. When the choice becomes a skate that weighs more vs not being able to play at all, most people will choose to deal with a few extra grams....

Oh god....car manuals. Ain't that the truth? My wife's Audi has all of these fancy sensors and automated systems which are detailed in the owner's manual with constant use of the phrase, "within the limitations of the system..." My reaction, of course, is "Ooh, there's yet another effort to avoid a lawsuit!" Look, I get that Sparx is a (relatively) new company, and I get how such a company has to weigh the risk of expensive lawsuits and negative media (social and otherwise) exposure against the desire to provide a fully functional product to their customers. Hell, back when I owned my business, I constantly wrestled with whether or not to even SELL a certain class of products, because I couldn't control how my customers would ultimately market it to THEIR customers. However, in the end, I did my best to give MY customers what they wanted and sold them the products and documented the shit out of all the inherent caveats. I just wish Sparx would do the same.

Oh, I know. And, don't get me wrong, all things considered, I love the machine. This is just one of those issues that prevent the Sparx from being what I would consider the perfect solution for those of us that live in 'sharpening deserts' and have neither the time nor the inclination to master a manual sharpening system.

Okay. So. One genius ignores the safety literature, ignores the flashing light on his machine, and proceeds to fill his sharpening room with smoke. As a result, the company completely discontinues a hugely functional part of their machine. Talk about throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water.... My kid's remote control truck's LiPo batteries can explode if charged incorrectly. The company that manufactures the batteries and chargers didn't stop selling them as a result of some dipshit starting his garage on fire - they included a warning in the literature. You don't read the instructions, sometimes you get to pay the damn price. At some point we, as a society, need to stop protecting people from their own stupidity.

Perhaps you can summarize for us. The only thing that I recall seeing is some vague notion that it clogged up the air filter 'too quickly'...whatever that means.

I don't disagree. But, that's kinda my point. It'd take a bunch of passes to get rid of this little nick/gouge...and this is one that really doesn't matter that much. If you have a bunch of nicks like that...or a bigger nick...then, what do you do?

This.....THIS is why Sparx discontinuing their consumer cross-grinding ring is such complete and utter horseshit. Apologies for the crappy phone pic, but this is my kid's friend's Step Blacksteel blade. This gouge in the blade, which would take maybe 4-5 passes to get rid of with a cross grind would take probably 20-25 passes to grind completely out with a 'regular' grinding ring. At $60/pop (plus shipping) for a grinding ring, it would honestly cost me less to take the skate up to my local big box retailer and have them grind it out than it would to grind it myself....which COMPLETELY defeats the purpose of having a skate sharpener at home.... Seriously, Sparx guys, I KNOW you monitor this forum. It is patently ridiculous that this is happening. Bring back the damned cross-grinding ring.

Completely understand where you're coming from with this and I don't necessarily disagree. That said, the central point of the True skate is that it IS customizable for different skaters' needs/wants, so I don't think you can definitively put a 'weight threshold' on the applicability of shot blockers to an individual skater. I (6'1", 225) don't have the shot blockers in mine and am very happy with the stiffness. A guy I coach with (6'4", about 240) is on his second pair of True skates. He didn't have the shot blockers on his first pair but does on this pair...and is MUCH happier with his second pair than he was with his first because he felt like the first wasn't quite stiff enough. Different strokes and all that...

Agree on the tongue. Thing about the shot blockers, they make the skates stiffer - particularly laterally. If you're a heavier player and want/need that extra support (or just like an extremely stiff boot...), they might be worth the extra weight.

This. Be aggressive kicking your heel back. The first time I baked, I was pretty namby-pamby with my heel kicks and wound up with zero heel lock. Not good. On both subsequent bakes, I rammed them back pretty hard and was much happier with the result.

True skates are used by players on 26 of 31 NHL teams. Doesn't get much more 'high level' than those teams. 77 NHL players use True skates. The True pro custom is the third most popular individual skate model currently in use in the NHL. Again, doesn't get much more 'high level' than that. Look, I'm not discounting what your son says about the skates. If they're not for him, they're not for him. And that's completely fine. They are (relatively speaking) heavy and, when compared with the Mako, are a little 'clunky'. What's more, every player is entitled to his/her opinion. However, you seem to be insinuating that True skates aren't for 'high level' players, and that's just not true. Some of the 'highest level' players in the world use True skates and seem to be doing so without 'getting slower'....

Presuming your X90s fit you reasonably well (and it sounds like they do - save for the width issue), skates made by True/VH will be pretty much the same physical 'size' as your existing skates. They will be narrower inside the boot, simply because the scan and build process creates a skate that is specifically built to fit your feet. But they really shouldn't be any longer...or shorter. And, unless serious wonk is introduced into the manufacturing process, they will use the same size steel. Oh. And they will be heavier. Quite a lot heavier.

The Clarino in my skates doesn't get tacky or slimy. It just gets wet.