Catalogue Review 2016 True Hockey Catalogue

[Hills 712]

Who's your target for these gloves? Surely not competitive youth (rep) teams, as they usually get bulk team orders in team colors, and will outgrow gloves fast enough to dissuade a $180-$240 investment for a pair of gloves on their own dime.

Rec players? Men's league guys who want durable palms? I can't imagine many men's league guys wanting to spend $40-$60 on top of their $180 initial investment just to try a different palm.

Why would retailers want to devote so much inventory and floorspace to a product that's so specialized and niched? Why not just have retailers carry sample palms?

$40-60 is cheaper than buying an entirely new glove to try it.

[AIREAYE 248]

$40-60 is cheaper than buying an entirely new glove to try it.

Well, obviously, hence my opening question of how big they think their market is with them...

Edited February 18, 2016 by AIREAYE

[mojo122 535]

Many guys I know would rather repalm than get new gloves. I think many in the market for new gloves will consider them for the easy palm replacement.

[AIREAYE 248]

Many guys I know would rather repalm than get new gloves. I think many in the market for new gloves will consider them for the easy palm replacement.

The current pain point when talking about palms comes when a person must choose between one option of spending $50-$90 and then wait however long for them to get back, or purchase new gloves, which could be anything from $50-$200.

True's idea with these gloves, once you get past the tremendously commendable aspect of innovation, essentially banks on customers willing to spend money on gloves anticipating whether or not they will need a replacement palm at some point in the future. There's an element of future projection here, which could turn off some, and it's very well researched that we are poor judges of future risks. As a previous poster mentioned, how can that person even be certain a replacement palm will be available for them if they even need them in the future? Would enough people spend $220+ right from the get-go to get a pair+replacement palm? For that price, they could get 2 pairs of high end gloves. One for the present, and another pair for some point in the future where they may wear down the palm.

Edited February 18, 2016 by AIREAYE

[jdksaves 56]

Is there a reason I missed for their being no 15"?

15's will not be released with the others to start, but we are working on finalizing the sizing details. Tougher to do when you have to make sure the glove fits like a 15 and then you have to make sure the palms match.

I used a pair for a bit at the SFS show. I didn't notice the zipper, but for my liking the gussets were a little thick. Conceptually it's very interesting. Interested in the durability and longevity.

The durability of the gloves will be the same as most of the other high end gloves in the market. As far as the durability of the zippers, this has been tested at length and redone through the development process to make sure that the odds are low of zippers being an issue

Who's your target for these gloves? Surely not competitive youth (rep) teams, as they usually get bulk team orders in team colors, and will outgrow gloves fast enough to dissuade a $180-$240 investment for a pair of gloves on their own dime.

Rec players? Men's league guys who want durable palms? I can't imagine many men's league guys wanting to spend $40-$60 on top of their $180 initial investment just to try a different palm.

Why would retailers want to devote so much inventory and floorspace to a product that's so specialized and niched? Why not just have retailers carry sample palms?

We are a high end product company and that is where we start from and then work our way down. Eventually we will hit the mid to lower glove price demographics with an option similar to this, but first and foremost we want to release the high end glove.

The other thing that we are looking for is more the performance and custom aspect of the palms not mainly the capability to change a palm when its been worn through. We have had a lot of interest from the showings we have done on the performance aspect.

As far as the Retail floor space, we are not saying every dealer has to do 50 palms of each, we have many different programs and if they only feel comfortable with 2 of each that is something they can do. Sure we would like them to have more, but we have to be realistic.

We also understand that this is a new innovation and there will be concerns so that is why we have worked through concerns with dealers and will continue to do so moving forward. This is a product that we believe in and have already had a lot of people (consumers and dealers) jump on board with us on this product. We also have a long commitment of time to see that this works because like I said this is something that we believe in and know can work for most everyone eventually.

The current pain point when talking about palms comes when a person must choose between one option of spending $50-$90 and then wait however long for them to get back, or purchase new gloves, which could be anything from $50-$200.

True's idea with these gloves, once you get past the tremendously commendable aspect of innovation, essentially banks on customers willing to spend money on gloves anticipating whether or not they will need a replacement palm at some point in the future. There's an element of future projection here, which could turn off some, and it's very well researched that we are poor judges of future risks. As a previous poster mentioned, how can that person even be certain a replacement palm will be available for them if they even need them in the future? Would enough people spend $220+ right from the get-go to get a pair+replacement palm? For that price, they could get 2 pairs of high end gloves. One for the present, and another pair for some point in the future where they may wear down the palm.

Again, it is not only the matter of the palm needing to be replaced it is a way to change performance.

Also again, we are not looking at this from a stand point that we are going to try this glove for a year or two and be done with it. As I stated previously, when we make updates to the glove lines we are making sure that new palms will work with old gloves and new gloves will work with old palms when the time comes to make those updates to the lines.

As far as pricing goes, pricing is pricing and has to be set at some point. We believe we have products that can command that price for now, but we will always be evaluating and if there are tweaks to be made we will make them.

Again, with new products and new legitimate innovations and concepts I/we know there will be push back and this is all understood. Once again we believe in this product, but we know it is something that we will have to work at to get the masses on board. We have made great head way on this front to start and we plan to continue making more and more headway. In our position we want to be as innovative as possible, but stick as close to the traditional looks and styling that Hockey equipment is and has been. This is a philosophy that will continue as we continue to develop products with the players in mind and strive to make the best possible products we can.

Edited February 18, 2016 by jdksaves

[chippa13 1844]

Judging by the number of sticks that I've seen around the beer leagues around here, I'd say people are buying into True. That should translate into some early adopters into the gloves.

I think what is helping True get the foothold better than some other "new guys" is that they can point to some of their OEM successes and draw people in. "Remember that {insert stick here} that you loved? That was us." Definitely helps.

[Stewie 721]

Judging by the number of sticks that I've seen around the beer leagues around here, I'd say people are buying into True. That should translate into some early adopters into the gloves.

I think what is helping True get the foothold better than some other "new guys" is that they can point to some of their OEM successes and draw people in. "Remember that {insert stick here} that you loved? That was us." Definitely helps.

It helps a little bit, but I think the biggest draw for them has been word of mouth, product performance, and value to be honest. Most people that I have talked with about their sticks have been completely clueless as to their heritage. They will pick one up in store and say "wow this feels great for the price", or ask to use my 6.0 for a bit on ice etc. I just picked one up to try in roller hockey (hoping to find a stick line that I like for both roller and ice) and off the bat some of the guys were impressed with the sticks feel and balance. When I told them I found it on sale for 70$ they were blown away (it's a 4.5).

[jdksaves 56]

Judging by the number of sticks that I've seen around the beer leagues around here, I'd say people are buying into True. That should translate into some early adopters into the gloves.

I think what is helping True get the foothold better than some other "new guys" is that they can point to some of their OEM successes and draw people in. "Remember that {insert stick here} that you loved? That was us." Definitely helps.

It helps a little bit, but I think the biggest draw for them has been word of mouth, product performance, and value to be honest. Most people that I have talked with about their sticks have been completely clueless as to their heritage. They will pick one up in store and say "wow this feels great for the price", or ask to use my 6.0 for a bit on ice etc. I just picked one up to try in roller hockey (hoping to find a stick line that I like for both roller and ice) and off the bat some of the guys were impressed with the sticks feel and balance. When I told them I found it on sale for 70$ they were blown away (it's a 4.5).

Both are very good points and it is great to hear TRUE Hockey is getting a good response out there.

[areed89 3]

I like the zippered palms idea. I picked up two sets of the current True 4 roll glove and really like them. Is there any difference in the new 4 roll style glove other than the palm?

[AIREAYE 248]

Again, with new products and new legitimate innovations and concepts I/we know there will be push back and this is all understood. Once again we believe in this product, but we know it is something that we will have to work at to get the masses on board. We have made great head way on this front to start and we plan to continue making more and more headway. In our position we want to be as innovative as possible, but stick as close to the traditional looks and styling that Hockey equipment is and has been. This is a philosophy that will continue as we continue to develop products with the players in mind and strive to make the best possible products we can.

Push back? No, my comments are constructive points to help you, that I hope you understand and could address. I'm not immediately throwing out compliments (of which I have many for True, as I was among the first to adopt your first first elite stick pre-release at a tradeshow for retailers a few years back), but rather adopting a challenging stance in hopes you could reply. As a rep, you gave the professional response, which was expected and fine. The only real way to judge would be sales/bookings and whether they meet your sales goals. I hope they do, because the hockey world always needs innovation! I would love to see this adopted far and wide, but at this point, it's wait and see.

Not sure if you can answer this, but have there been meaningful discussions to sell the palms on consignment? If I were a retailer, this would be one of the first questions I would ask after learning about the product.

Edited February 19, 2016 by AIREAYE

[raganblink 82]

I don't feel like they were directed at you, just hockey world in general.

As for the new True stuff, its great. About a month ago I got to use the sticks and gloves and it was my favorite there (6.0 #1, xcore #3..QRL #2). I didn't want to leave actually and stayed a little long into that next session. The gloves felt good and for the price they are in-line with everyone else at that price. We aren't going to order them due to low volume sales at that $150+ glove but I know other dealers who are ordering these and will blow out of them.

[jdksaves 56]

I like the zippered palms idea. I picked up two sets of the current True 4 roll glove and really like them. Is there any difference in the new 4 roll style glove other than the palm?

Glad to hear you bought two sets and enjoy them. The feel should be similar, but the other difference in regards to the A6.0 glove is the padding is thicker to beef up the glove a little more, but keeping the overall same feel.

Push back? No, my comments are constructive points to help you, that I hope you understand and could address. Sorry I'm not wantonly throwing out compliments like the others here (of which I have many for True, as I was among the first to adopt your first first elite stick pre-release at a tradeshow for retailers a few years back), but rather adopting a challenging stance in hopes you could reply. As a rep, you gave the professional response, which was expected and fine. The only real way to judge would be sales/bookings and whether they meet your sales goals. I hope they do, because the hockey world always needs innovation! I would love to see this adopted far and wide, but at this point, it's wait and see.

Not sure if you can answer this, but have there been meaningful discussions to sell the palms on consignment? If I were a retailer, this would be one of the first questions I would ask after learning about the product.

Push Back may have been the wrong words, but I was also speaking generally. What I was trying to say was that we have gotten a lot of feedback, all constructive (more good and some otherwise) and this always helps us to continue to assess what we are doing. What I was trying to convey was that we knew people would have some skepticism, because it is something new and that is fine. We will be working hard to win as many people over, by making the best possible products we can. Thank you for your support and thank you for the feedback again this always helps and sorry for the wrong choice of words.

We have a few different programs in place to assist our partners as dealers. To answer your question, every avenue is always discussed, but consignment is not a route we like to take.

I don't feel like they were directed at you, just hockey world in general.

As for the new True stuff, its great. About a month ago I got to use the sticks and gloves and it was my favorite there (6.0 #1, xcore #3..QRL #2). I didn't want to leave actually and stayed a little long into that next session. The gloves felt good and for the price they are in-line with everyone else at that price. We aren't going to order them due to low volume sales at that $150+ glove but I know other dealers who are ordering these and will blow out of them.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the sticks and gloves at the demo.

The thing that gets lost in this talk of the High end gloves are that we have great second tier gloves in the line that are in line with some other companies high end gloves in the A4.5 and the XC7.

Edited February 19, 2016 by jdksaves

[hawkeyfan 36]

I see that the Website has the new SBP stick on it and the gloves with replaceable palms already.

One area I was looking at and wil be interested in seeing how the gloves work around the thumbs. Traditional gloves have a tab to keep the players thumb connected to the thumb guard and wonder how that will feel...as it has to be different to be zippered to the glove shell.

Any idea when the Tapered shafts should be on the street? Very excited to see tapered shafts in 75 flex...

Somehow I am gonna have to get my bantam aged player to give the true sticks a go. He has been very loyal to warrior, but he is getting to a point where he is too big for intermediate sizes, but could still benefit from some flex...any chance one can custom order a shaft at say 65 flex?

[jdksaves 56]

I see that the Website has the new SBP stick on it and the gloves with replaceable palms already.

One area I was looking at and wil be interested in seeing how the gloves work around the thumbs. Traditional gloves have a tab to keep the players thumb connected to the thumb guard and wonder how that will feel...as it has to be different to be zippered to the glove shell.

Any idea when the Tapered shafts should be on the street? Very excited to see tapered shafts in 75 flex...

Somehow I am gonna have to get my bantam aged player to give the true sticks a go. He has been very loyal to warrior, but he is getting to a point where he is too big for intermediate sizes, but could still benefit from some flex...any chance one can custom order a shaft at say 65 flex?

They are on the site. We wanted to launch everything close to the same time.

The thumb still has the same make up of how a traditional glove has it with a close to thumb pocket and an extended sleeve away from the thumb. The thumb also has the new TRUEFlexx lock thumb for added flex.

Tapered shafts will be a little later then the Stick Launch in March

Cureently we are doing custom stick options in Sr and no custom shaft options. Possibly in the future, but nothing planned any time soon.

Edited February 19, 2016 by jdksaves

[joshy207 15]

Jason, any plans for custom blades?  Specifically tapered... with the overall decline in the 2-piece category, it's impossible to find blades that I like anymore.

[jdksaves 56]

38 minutes ago, joshy207 said:

Jason, any plans for custom blades?  Specifically tapered... with the overall decline in the 2-piece category, it's impossible to find blades that I like anymore.

We are not currently looking at offering custom blade option. We have to see a slight up tic in the sales of the stock patterns along with enough of a push from our consumers and retail partners to really get into it. Trust me, it has been discussed and discussions will continue as we always want to offer things, but it has to be justified.

[joshy207 15]

Understandable.  Thanks for the quick reply!

[flyers10 57]

Other than the 20g less weight, what other differences between the 6.0 and 5.2 should one consider in choosing the 6.0 for the extra cost?

[jdksaves 56]

On 3/6/2016 at 11:08 AM, flyers10 said:

Other than the 20g less weight, what other differences between the 6.0 and 5.2 should one consider in choosing the 6.0 for the extra cost?

The over all balance of the stick is different to get the best performance possible, while giving two high end options that perform slightly different because of the weight. For me there is different feel for shots, but that is my preference and can be attributed to the difference in weight as different shots feel different with different weight sticks and different balance points. Hope that helps

[SCATMAN 33]

Any word on why the TC3 blade pattern was discontinued? Will it available for custom orders? 

[Machinehead2k5 32]

With both 6.0/5.2 using the Axenic tech, are these similar to the old Combat  52cal Reloaded sticks?

[jdksaves 56]

17 hours ago, SCATMAN said:

Any word on why the TC3 blade pattern was discontinued? Will it available for custom orders? 

With moving into the TC4, we thought it would be best to limit our stock options in similar curves. We are always evaluating and we have gotten some call for it, so we have kept it on our custom program and continue to have discussions about all of our curves and what options to have as stock

2 hours ago, Machinehead2k5 said:

With both 6.0/5.2 using the Axenic tech, are these similar to the old Combat  52cal Reloaded sticks?

They are not exact, as we have redesigned a lot of aspects. With that being said, we have taken what we have learned over the many years and continue to incorporate what we think works best to have the best preforming sticks on the market

[sickwilly 37]

Will there be a p77/Coffey clone available in the tapered blades? If so, which pattern should I pick up? Thanks!

[jdksaves 56]

10 minutes ago, sickwilly said:

Will there be a p77/Coffey clone available in the tapered blades? If so, which pattern should I pick up? Thanks!

Sorry, We currently will not have the P77/Coffey curve as an offering. We are always talking about other possible patterns. I will add this to the discussion as well.

[chippa13 1844]

Well, since you're adding patterns to the discussion, I will add my broken record request for anyone to bring back the Iginla.