flip12

Chara's also an investor in the company: https://www.forbes.sk/zdeno-chara-podnikatel-s-novou-paskou-na-hokejke-dobyja-nhl/

The ones at the closest True dealer weren't the same. There was clearly a structural and not only a surface difference. The difference in outer materials is obvious from a distance. The structural distance was something I noticed because I squeezed different parts of the boot to check for stiffness. There was a distinct softness to the collar of the goalie boot that was lacking in the player boot. I pressed on it and it gave in, where the player skate resisted as hard as I could reasonably squeeze. Without time on the True skate production floor, deconstructing both skates, or x-ray vision I'm unable to say where carbon begins and ends on True's boots. But the squeeze test on the pairs I got to inspect definitely showed True can make a skate that is structurally soft around the upper cuff, especially around the Achilles, because I've seen it. I can't say anything about how consistent that build is, if it applies in general to True goalie skates, but it is something I thought would be helpful to the OP. Would others be willing try the squeeze test for themselves? I won't be by that shop again for a while, but we could see if that's a consistent feature or a rare fluke within hours if others check their local displays or their own skates.

So not the same, like you said. It can’t be both, right?

The two pairs I saw at the LHS weren’t the same. There was a noticeably softer Achilles area on the goalie boot. They looked pretty much the same but performed differently in the squeeze test. Maybe the two pairs I saw were not representative of the actual builds..? On the other hand, that is the sole purpose of the display skates. I only have that anecdote to go off of though. Still, I have squeezed a True boot that happened to be softer in the Achilles so theoretically it should be something that they could do again. Of course, I know the boots roughly look the same, but the display pairs in Rødovre have a distinct stiffness difference around the upper edge. There was a clear lack of the same stiff shell under the surface in the goalie boot.

I noticed the True goalie skates on display at the LHS were softer in the Achilles area, where the tendon guard rivets in to the player skate; the player skates were as stiff as the rest of the shell there. If they could make you a player skate with a softer Achilles area for the tendon guard to attach to, I doubt you’d be sacrificing ROM compared to what Supremes offer. I’m not sure that’s a build spec they would be happy to fulfill, but it’s an idea. You could see if they have any other options to address that ask. You can’t be the first one to want to keep that feature in your boots.

Holy 💩!!! Can you do a gallery of the blade?

Aleksey Morozov used to do that grip as well:

What about Graf customs? They may end up around your price range as well. Knowing your preference for Micron 10-90s, they might be able to replicate that boot’s fit and flex. I’ve seen them do the flex notch and their Edmonton Special V-Cut skates feature a flex notch similar to the one on the Air 90s: ... That way you could get the proper size for each skate and a mix of more recent technology and your favorite old school boots’ features.

I was unaware of what MIPS is and found this, which seems relavent on several levels. https://pelotonmagazine.com/gear/mips-the-reality-behind-making-helmets-safer/

It just looks like the chunks that come together created a sort of rift where the pressure is. After looking at the red-lined picture, a depression along that border is apparent in the plain pictures. It looks like one or more of the underlying pieces has a flaw or something, like a curled edge maybe, that causes that indentation.

Did you opt for extra shot protection?

and for their own bottom line.

P28 is a nice passing blade if you sort out where the heel to middle release point is. Usually it’s possible to launch a saucer pass heel to toe, especially with the degree of loft on blades like the Drury. I’m pretty sure that’s the main reason for there being so much loft on the blade. The P28 still has vestiges of that origin: it’s an open heel curve until it turns into a mid-toe curve. The rub lies in the aggressiveness of the rocker on the toe. This means you can’t wait until the puck is at the toe to launch a sweeping saucer pass or shot starting from the heel. You have to release before you reach the toe, just beyond the middle of the blade. Before you go trying different curves, see if you can expand what you’re comfortable with using the P28 for. Just practice the saucer standing still, super soft motions, almost no pressure on the stick. Do a few sets of five or six pucks in a row and see if you can feel where the puck wants to release. I did this when I was struggling with my Ville Leino SE16. It’s basically a Kovalevized P28: lower lie, max-length blade, but similar idea. Once I found the sweeping sweet spot I didn’t have fluttering saucer passes anymore. My shooting also improved, so I could finally shoot from either the heel or the toe, no problem.

1:

Yeah, you've stated so much, but only vaguely. Can you be more specific? What is the downfall of their approach or their setup? How are their head forms substandard? Did they make their own head forms or did they use ones typically used for other sports? I'm actually not clear on what you're saying which is why I keep hoping you'll elaborate.

You keep saying that, but never provide any substantial critique of their system. It seems most of your beef with them is that they’re doing things differently.

Warrior’s famous for measuring their lies a little differently, leading their numbers to be generally 1 lower than other companies. The lie isn’t actually different. Likewise, P28’s usually are higher than a 5 by the old Easton scale, lining up with the Drury which was a 5.5 on that scale. This leads to absurdities like CCM calling the P28 a lie 5 when it’s actually higher than their P46 which they called a 5.5. Lie is important, but unfortunately you can’t trust the numbers patterns are assigned. You have to do the comparisons side by side with the actual sticks.

Wouldn't a thinner tongue be more conducive to lace bite?

Did you rebake the skates after the foam compressed?

I’ve wondered if manufacturers have also trended towards lighter or thinner HDPE for the shells too. That way could the pads appear like improved (MORE FEATURES!!! NEW FOAMS!!!) versions of basically the same design we’ve had since Jagr was drafted, while cutting down on the grams. Not that there’s much to complain about the archetypal pads developed by Jofa, it just seems the newer editions are longer on marketing and shorter on performance.

Shane Doan made your shin?

Yes, that’s exactly the machine I was thinking of. I don’t know what it’s called but it’s in all of the hockey skate factory videos I’ve seen with the exception of VH. It might not be as apparent that the skate is custom molded for that process unless the order is for someone with a heel that deviates from the norm by quite a bit.

Maybe they're just molding the heel and lower foot area? That's a common heat molding step in the factory. The standard approach would be to heat mold it to a standard footlast. In this case, they'd be doing it to a custom one. But this isn't the lace-em-up heating that affects the facing. It's the one that presses the boot down around a mold to give it an anatomical shape. The top form would still come after the customer receives them. Look at some hockey skate factory videos and you'll see the process I'm talking about. My guess is that's the forming that's being done, and it would be beneficial to have this rather than the skate take its initial and much more permanent shape from a custom last rather than a standard one, probably more so for some than others.

Can you post some face and curve pictures of the Vatrano on it’s own?

Maybe he likes a little more room to move over the instep. Before switching to Nexus he wore both Vapor and Supreme, both with the deepest creases I’ve seen since P. Bure.