flip12

I feel ya. When it clicks for you, it's hard to make the little adjustments all the time that you can but don't want to have to with another pattern. It really shaves time off of execution, which isn't going to affect our paychecks, but will have an impact on our enjoyment, which is why we still play. You know what you like. I can support that.

@Jbear, I thought you said you like options. Loving an endangered curve puts you at the mercy of who continues to produce it multiplied by who continues to stock it. It’s a matter of what you want to prioritise.

True calls it HCS (heel curve, square toe). A quick search showed IceWarehouse has Catalyst 9x and 7x and even Catalyst standard blades if you’ve got some old shafts lying around.

Isn't TF already as low cut as any boot out there?

The dead zone on the P28 is because of the sudden change in flat heel-mid to aggressive toe rocker. It's quite open from heel to toe, making heel-to-mid saucers quite smooth if one is able to adjust for the deadening of the usual release point.

If Gepetty didn’t change the lie, it’s an E4 with toe curve and shaved toe rocker. G usually references P92 or P88, but Kovalchuk’s old curves are variations of E4, so very low and flat rocker for most of the blade: not everyone’s cup of coffee.

TC4 is more gradual in rocker and the curve is more like a blend of P92 and P28. I wonder if its origin isn’t from a TC2-5 into TC4 by adding toe curve and shaving the toe to have that classic P28 shape.

How many eyelets are on your boots?

But you don’t lace your skates. Your facing could be made of gelatin and it wouldn’t make a difference.

@Miller55 what blades do you have? I was just thinking about needing some tips because I want to try to put a slight toe and wedge on some E4 woodies. Does anyone know of some good sealers to use if some of the lamination does end up splitting on the bottom?

Anything you consider buying online, get them to post a picture where they measure the footbed. Sizing can be messed up, but the footbed length is a pretty foolproof method for gauging if the boot length is around what you'd prefer. Volume can be tricky. Trues are luckily on the adaptable end there: highly moldable, easily swappable tongues so volume can tilt up or down depending on what you're experiencing and after.

Even the pattern doesn’t matter much if the balance is right. I was surprised by that. I definitely have preferences in patterns still, but by far the most important thing is the balance.

I’m a 15” length, 13” volume so I wear 14” because they’re easy to find and a decent X-Y compromise for me.

Did you try the cuff flare shown in the videos for reducing pain and hassle putting True boots on and taking them off?

It’s starting to pop up online. So far someone has found a Canadian listing:

I'm curious, how many pairs of gloves do players go through at the professional level? How many players rotate two or more pairs of gloves at a time?

Is the shell the same between Cat9 and Catalyst Pro?

If you want blue you could buy the TF7 or 9 goalie boot and get a Catalyst tendon guard installed.

Update: According to icehockey360.ru, Catalyst (Pro according to the picture, Cat9 according to the caption) at size 8.0 weighs in at 833. So if that one particular skate is a fair representation of the model average once circulation comes up in the near future, it's about 20 grams lighter than Mako II and 20 grams heavier than HyperLites with CarbonLite runners. It would be interesting to see Catalyst's weight without steel. I'm surprised Alexey didn't shoot that, because I've seen him do it before. We also have to wait and see if True fixed the sizing issue with the TF which ran huge. That could be another factor.

It sounds like you pay per category per brand/logo. This specific scenario played out just after Bauer bought Easton: https://uni-watch.com/2016/11/01/corporate-theater-unfolds-on-nhl-gear/ To me it makes sense. Easton is a bundled entity that has a corporate life of its own. Even if it’s all but dead at present, it could be sold at some point. Advertising it on the biggest stage in the industry would increase its value prior to sale. The NHL doesn’t have a buy-one-get-one-free offer on the value generated by that exposure.

Sell it?

Google’s scraping Pure Hockey, who says 8.0 TF9’s weight surplus over the Mako II is closer to half that: 904g; about 5.7% heavier than 8.0 Mako II at 850g. But 8.0 TF ≠ 8.0 Mako II. The sizing is off by at least 0.5, so a better (still imperfect) comparison would be 7.5 TF, which would likely be several grams lighter (maybe below 900?)—still a bit heavier than Mako II, but not by a lot. TF’s a more robust boot, for better (protection and longevity) and worse (not as impressive at the weigh in). Catalyst differs quite a bit from TF. @psh could chime in because he’s tried everything, but the points I mentioned previously about how Catalyst differs from TF makes me think one segment True’s eyeing with Catalyst is Mako diehards who don’t have a great option on the current market, as well as just direct competition with the light-and-agile segment.

Catalyst is worth a look. It’s out in a month. True boot that’s supposed to rival Hyperlight and JS4 in weight with softer facing, flex tendon guard, and reduced volume toecap. What size Makos do you wear and how light are they, out of curiosity?

I started looking at that too. That could be. But then again, pro options are so vast, so it might have some really particular specs you won't find at retail.