Sniper9

Where did you get that kuch pro sample. Or is that one from Bauer's custom sample.

They may be flex tested but they also could be a misprint for flex or put into the wrong "pile" which is also part of QC

Sounds expensive.... Lol. As in even more expensive than the 1300+ price tag on custom skates now.

Does he specifically say the company is making hockey skates or speed skating

I personally wouldn't be able to use a stick that was 10 flex pts stiffer.

That's a huge issue if the flex is that off. Reminds me of the blackout stick I got from HSM. Ordered 75 and it felt legit like 95... They obviously all come from the same factory in china more or less. You're just paying for tht customization with prostockhockey

Nice. Where did you get yours from. The 3" is the size I'd want because that's the widest part that the ones that come with the cat pros. If you're in Canada I wouldn't mind paying for some and you can throw it in just regular letter mail. Aso, I realized this is prob the stuff they marketed as the film that protected hockey sticks when ops first came out. You put the film on the slash zones of the stick since that area was prone to breaking back when ops weren't as durable. Anyone remember this product?

No. Unless u get really bad quality cheap ones. But theyre not supposed to yellow. And the thing that causes yellowing is generally UV, which skates aren't going to be exposed to.

You pretty much hit it spot on. That's exactly what it is. It's just a thicker more durable PPF. The only thing I'd do differently is to use a blow dryer to REMOVE the old film which I didn't do when I removed the one that came with my skates. I just peeled it off and bc of how sticky it is, in some small areas, the film took off a bit of clear coat and graphics from the skate. But now I know.

It's quite thicker. I just got the film today from true and the first skate took a bit of learning and using a blow dryer to soften it up so it was more pliable and easier to conform. You essentially install it the same way as PPF but because it's a bit thicker it's a little trickier. I didn't end up using a soapy water spray or a squeegee as I was able to do it was good results with just a blow dryer and my fingers. Next time I may consider using soapy water or just water to apply and see how much easier it is. You can always just cut the two sides in two pieces were there will be a seam at the heel to make installing easier, vs one while piece that wraps. Im definitely going to be using helicopter tape for future skates regardless of whether they are true or not. It def adds a layer of protection and will keep the skates looking good for way longer.

Looks like this is just ppf which isn't as durable as helicopter tape. The stuff on the cat pro def is a lot thicker and rigid than ppf.

Nope. Never bought any of my trues used. These were made for me back in January. But ya, I wonder if they look up your email to see if you have purchased or just that they are so disposable they will send you a set. I will say that the red insoles they used to use aren't free anymore. I inquired about those and they wanted $10 for the insoles and $10 for shipping. I'd imagine the protective film are more expensive than red Eva foam though.

I imagine that would add some unwanted bulk.

I play only once a week and not overly competitive but would like to keep the random blemishes to a minimum of possible. I emailed true and they are actually sending me a free set. I noticed the film is pretty thick so I wonder how difficult it will be to apply without tonnes of bubbles. Thanks for the advice on helicopter tape. I'll look into that as well

For those who have the retail catalyst skates, how are the boots holding up to normal game play wear. Cuts gashes etc. I have the cat pros and they came with a protective film sheet that was stuck on to provide extra protection to the carbon fiber. I had a few gashes on the film so I removed it completely but now I'm worried the carbon is gonna get banged up a lot easier. I realize the retail boots don't have this film so wondering if you guys could chime in.

So I removed the protective film as it was getting a bit chewed up. But I regret it now as when I removed it I noticed how thick it was and that it probably saved quite a bit of gashes and cuts to my boot.... Wonder if true sells these on its own. For those who got their cat pros before they started putting these film on, how is your boot holding up to cuts etc.

Some people are more particular than others for sure. For me I've been on tuuks and sb holders forever. I tried the shift holders for the first time with my current cat pros. I had the shift steel profiled to my usual quad zero. It felt a touch diff but nothing crazy. I did feel like I was a bit on my heels though compared to my trues on SB holders which is the opposite of what most ppl say. I got jrz/step steel and had them profiled to quad zero and when I skated on them I felt a bit more on my toes / felt more close to my tuuk and SB holder setup. So for me it was more the steel than the holder and boot making it feel different. But this couldve been more the skate tech that profiled my shift steel vs the guy who did my jrz as I got them at different places. I have a feeling the person who did my shift steel didn't make the balance points and pitch neutral. Also I noticed on my cat pros/shift holders doing 1/2" hollow feels more like a 9/16 with my old SB holder step steel setup on my tf customs. I got 9/16" on my cat pros and it felt like 5/8. So the shift holders def causes me to require a ROH with my bite.

Bladetech does have the max version. But I would email them to ensure that's the one they send you when you order online so they don't send you the regular shift one.

I've had mine for 2 months and so far no cracking but you never know. I'm going to definitely keep an eye on mine. Even the tf pro customs which were manufactured differently had some cases of the cf at the heel breaking down.

Cat pros probably will end up weighing more only bc of added foam. The cf shells are identical.

Yes it's silicone is pretty flat but it depends how thick you layer it. It's funny you bring up the steel question. I had my shift dlc and step/jrz profiled out of box to quad zero and I noticed the jrz made me feel just a touch more on my toes vs the shift dlc which made me feel more centered. I like being on my toes a bit more but I thought that the jrz basically had a neutral pitch and 10' radius. I thought I read somewhere that the shift was also shorter on the front and higher in the heel portion of the steel making it a bit more forward pitched. But my experience seems to contradict this. Step/jrz is 10' out of box that I know. Shift max dlc is supposedly a dual 9/10 radius. I always assumed that any steel no matter what their current pitch and profile was, if profiled to say a quad zero would be a quad zero across the board. But apparently the pitch of the steel has to be set prior to the profile. Ie if you are used to a quad zero with neutral pitch and get steel that has a forward pitch, you'd need to set a neutral pitch and then profile it to a quad zero for it to match. Someone correct me if I'm wrong as this was what my uncle who is a skate tech told me. Doesn't really make sense to me as I thought the prosharp profiles are all just templates and profiling should replicate the steel shape to the template regardless of the pitch.

I never really tried step ss longer than one skate before going to their blacksteel so can't really compare it to Bauer. I did have ls3 before and I definitely needed to Sharpen it often. Probably every 2-3 skates. But I like having crisp edges allt he time. Even with my blacksteel I sharpen it every 5-6 skates where I know most ppl go 10+. Another thing to note, maybe more for the skate techs benefit is that step has better QC and tighter tolerances for their steel so they are very consistent with their stock profile, height, and cases of warped steel.

I can definitely feel the difference between stainless and dlc as the step and jrz is so buttery smooth and bite is noticeable. Does it actually affect performance? I can't really say but it's definitely at least psychological to the point where I can't go back to regular stainless lol.

I've tried; Step black dlc, pulse ti, true shift max dlc, and jrz pro black dlc You can tell the diff. Step and jrz being superior than true shift and Bauer pulse ti in terms of glide and bite. Edge retention for the true and pulse ti was pretty good though. Not an option for tuuk users, jut it's worth the $10 upgrade to get jrz and step imo. I haven't used bladetech or flare etc so I can't comment on those versions of their dlc. Updated to include bladetech dlc. The steel is pretty hard. Harder than step/jrz imo but not necessarily in a good way. Had some chipping issues bc of this as softer steel would simply have a nick. Their dlc is also not that durable. It's not terrible but jrz/step still produces the best steel and dlc coating imo.

My pronation isn't that bad as I've done exercises etc to correct it as best as I can for the most part and I always use the speed plates so it's hard to say. There is no skate out there that will account for pronation so if that's what you're looking for in a skate, don't bother. Stiffness will help to a certain degree but it's not a fix. And all the mid to top tier skates out there now are pretty stiff.