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flip12
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Everything posted by flip12
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Nice find! I've been wondering if Harrington uses Crosby's pattern. Looks a lot like it. Kind of like a PM9 with a flatter heel rocker... Anyway, I'm not that tall, but still on the taller side and with long arms and I can't use a really long stick for the life of me. 5 lies or lower work best for me and I usually cut my sticks from around my chin to my Adam's apple barefoot. Basically, the LHS isn't wrong in saying that's a general starting point for people today, but it isn't the end all, be all. Just look at Crosby, who uses that pattern or something incredibly close. I think he cuts his sticks around his chin, barefoot. If a shorter stick feels good to you, go for it!
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It’s a tradeoff: highly moldable skates means you can set minor details in stone. It’s a more responsive skate so it does more literally what you tell it to. The problem is learning the skates’ language so you know how to communicate with your own pair and thereby get it to do what you want.
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I agree with the first sentence of your post. Only, its applicability is clearly limited to cases where there's a good match between the volume of the skater's heel and the skate's heel pocket. If the skate's heel pocket has too much volume, which would be detected by heel slipping and is the case presented by the poster in question, it could help to boost the skater's heel up to better align with the skate's heel pocket. This was the case for me in my MLX. I had extreme comfort and connection to my edges, but really bad heel slippage. I first tried to reduce excessive volume by trading out for thicker tongues, then by adding extra padding under the thicker tongue. For me, the skates just had too much volume throughout. I could get decent midfoot fit, but the toes and heels were way too deep for me. Adding the extra insole fixed that. For custom skates, this is an unacceptable hack. But it's a hack that could demonstrate the need for a rebuild to address the misfit between foot and boot. If it helps, it says a lot. If not, no harm done. Just some simple caveman debugging.
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I keep thinking about ways to remedy the restrictiveness I see at the top of True's boots. Funny the early VH were less stiff though. I don't know how the MLX->earlyVH->laterVH->True stiffness compares. Still, I think the boots seem to be too restrictive/overdetermined. Seeing your pictures after making the recommendation about adding another insole, I definitely agree with those that say the wrap on your skates doesn't look like it should. That's certainly a contributing factor.
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Oleg had great style! Those Cooper gloves along with the wide stripe CCMs from the 90s looked so sharp, not plasticky like today’s gloves.
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Which footbeds have you tried? Had similar good turns and bad starts with heel slippage in MLX. Adding another insole to reduce volume helped a lot.
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But that new collar is atrocious. They need the extra tall collar, otherwise the Space Invaders binding is way too small.
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Looks like they're still holding back final cosmetics at this point. They've done that in the past with their new releases. The first one piece Tacks boots were blacked out.
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I experienced obstruction from my MLX on starts, which led me to realize how much more ankle room I had in my 703's. I don't have a heatgun yet but my plan is to get one and spot heat the top of the boot to open it up. I suggest you go that route too if you want to try to add ankle room: simply spot heat at the top to make adjustments there but leave the rest of the boot as cold as possible, so as to preserve the wrap and heel fit you've developed from your initial bake. It might be impossible not to soften the heel a bit, so I'd try and be ready with clamps to make sure the heel doesn't open up on you when you do it. I'd only do a full rebake if you're not happy with the other major fit areas as well: forefoot wrap, heel lock, etc. What I notice, even when I don't have the room I like for good starts in my MLX, is the insane connection to the ice on turns at high speed. Have you at least had some good experiences in your Trues like that or do they feel sluggish all-around?
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Have you tried skippinge the top eyelet? Trues are lower but closer cut. A lot of pros who’ve switched from Bauer to True still skip the top eyelet. Also, can you say anything about something that might feel off, i.e. does the boot feel in the way when you start or when you get up to speed? Or does it feel unstable? Some insight into why it feels like you’re missing some speed could help for the trouble shooting.
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This is so interesting. Haven't you been in a lot of the other top boots recently, VH included? How do the skates you've had recently compare in performance?
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Look great! Please do a review once you put them through their paces. I’m curious how that build stacks up against other skates you’ve worn in the last few years.
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It can, depending on how far under your body your return phase begins. If you land with your foot in the middle of your body (or even beyond the midpoint like Mogilny did) instead of around the shoulders you may find the close fit prevents you from achieving the outward ankle rotation (aversion) you’re used to. I had this problem in my MLXs, and while I haven’t fixed it completely, I have somewhat successfully addressed it; just need a heat gun to finish the job. With the boots’ high tolerance for multiple moldings you can spot heat where it stays too close and remold it with one of the two methods demonstrated by Cruikshank (roll that part of the boot out) or Van Horne (mold your required range of motion into the boots). Personally, I think the top of the boot is the biggest problem area for Van Horne’s hockey boots. The fantastic upside they provide from the second eyelet down is simply worth the rub. It takes a little “hacking” to address subtle fit issues, but that’s just a side effect of such a responsively thermoforming boot.
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I just noticed today, TRUE also owns SVH's speed skate production now: http://true-speedskates.com/.
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Can you elaborate on the pros and cons? I’m especially curious about your perspective because you Said you also had your best skating experience in Grafs. Additionally, how would you say these stack up to other current top boots you’ve tried?
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Right on. I got the idea to mold the outward ankle flexion I wanted into my MLX from this Van Horne video on molding short track boots (last part of the video specifically):
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Is that the outside/lateral or inside/medial ankle? If True fixes this part of their skate recipe, they’ll be so close to perfection!
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Is it the inside, outside or both that dig in? I was frustrated with the digging on the outside ankle on my MLX and did a rebake where I made sure to flex my ankle as I would at the deepest point of a push. It helped quite a bit.
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Right: about the same height as Grafs but much more tapered to the ankle compared to Graf’s flared fit. I think that’s why some players are still skipping the top eyelet in their Trues.
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Are you using the Mako/VH thin Powerfoot inserts?
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Just not at the same time I hope. Edit: @shoot_the_goalie it also reminds me of Apple discussions I've encountered. Emotions and brands are a funny mix.
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Feds in VH! (with those 'unsightly' dimpled holders... ...I've always been rather fond of dimples, but to each their own.)
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It's odd True, and previously VH, get beat up for excess glue, imperfect material application, etc. Every time I'm in a shop checking out skates, I see the same issues with mass produced skates. I've never had the chance to do side-by-side so it could be Van Horne skates are worse in those areas, but the big brands are by no means perfect. I feel the same. I haven't had the chance to skate in anything after MLX, but even from that experience, I can see the benefit of Van Horne's approach. I agree with those that see issues to be addressed, and I see them slowly getting worked on. Eventually, I could see a successful stock line or two from True. The shells are just so incredibly moldable that even a stock boot, like the MLX, can provide a near custom fit to a wide range of feet. It might take a good deal of trial and error to dial them in--the curse of such great moldability is there are so many tunable areas that it can take more effort to address all of them and they may require different DIY methods to do so--but the upside of an incredibly responsive and comfortable skate could be worth it.
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What about the Iginla? They already offer that in three lies: 4, 5, and 6.
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Looks great @pardelius! The completely stripped CCMs look a bit too plain. This is much better :)
