VH Footwear/TRUE by Scott Van Horne

[yychockey 3]

12 hours ago, x11x said:

Thanks for the reply. Hmm...I gave my LHS my email address but haven't received anything yet (and they didn't mention anything about email updates, just that they'd give me a call when the skates arrived). If I don't receive anything soon maybe I'll give them a call to see what's up - I'd definitely like to be able to keep tabs on the progress!

It might be better not to have it. Seeing guys getting their skates finished and shipped out when they went into production at the same time as yours just leads to constant email and status checking hoping that yours will be done as well. If you're impatient like I am you may not want the status updates, lol. 

[D1VE 9]

Hey everyone! My apologies for not updating sooner, but I'm happy to let you know my True skates adventure has finally come to a close!

After sending in photos of a plethora of issues to go along with the wrong size holders, they immediately sent me a prepaid label to send them back. It was the first time I've ever dealt with basically overnight international shipping, but holy cow they weren't messing around! They asked me to document everything I saw wrong and wanted fixed and they'd have none other than the mythical Rob sign off on them before they were allowed to be headed back out the door. Needless to say, they killed it.

Every. Single. Nitpicky. Thing. These things look great, and fit even better. They now have the tan clarino pro liner that feels incredible, the ankle is nice and tight and my heel is basically vacuumed in place. Nothing extra taped in the toebox, as there's literally no room for it. They then basically sent them back on the same rocket ship they went to Winnipeg on. I actually missed the first delivery attempt because it was less than 20 hours after I received shipment notification. 

Here's my final assessment:

 Do they have room to grow? You bet. 

Are there flaws? Of course, it's a handmade skate. 

Was I probably a giant pain in their ass? Absolutely. But for a grand, I think you get the right to be a little.

Would I do it all over again? WITHOUT HESITATION. The area manager of Pure Hockey offered to let me walk away from True and move to CCM or Bauer customs, but it honestly never even entered my mind. Never would I imagine CCM or Bauer would pay attention to this level of detail to make the consumer happy. Regardless of how big of a pain I was, they were always courteous, understanding, and most importantly, willing to make absolutely everything right for me. That can't have a price placed on it.

The skates are an absolute pleasure to be on as well. I won't say they make you a better skater, but they certainly make it so much easier to focus on technique and less on what your foot is doing as it rattles around inside a boot.  

Oh yeah, they also threw in another pair of holders and steel for all the trouble, just in case down the road I need them. The new boxes are much sturdier too! 

And there it is. The adventure comes to a close, and I couldn't be happier...not could my weird wide-forefoot-with-super-narrow-heeled feet.

[smu 29]

I am really glad to see that you have persevered. I'll bet you 100% you had a senior skate custom built!

I am still having troubles trying to get a proper custom built junior skate since September!

Cheers though,

They do try to please!

[Sniper9 529]

41 minutes ago, D1VE said:

Hey everyone! My apologies for not updating sooner, but I'm happy to let you know my True skates adventure has finally come to a close!

After sending in photos of a plethora of issues to go along with the wrong size holders, they immediately sent me a prepaid label to send them back. It was the first time I've ever dealt with basically overnight international shipping, but holy cow they weren't messing around! They asked me to document everything I saw wrong and wanted fixed and they'd have none other than the mythical Rob sign off on them before they were allowed to be headed back out the door. Needless to say, they killed it.

Every. Single. Nitpicky. Thing. These things look great, and fit even better. They now have the tan clarino pro liner that feels incredible, the ankle is nice and tight and my heel is basically vacuumed in place. Nothing extra taped in the toebox, as there's literally no room for it. They then basically sent them back on the same rocket ship they went to Winnipeg on. I actually missed the first delivery attempt because it was less than 20 hours after I received shipment notification. 

Here's my final assessment:

 Do they have room to grow? You bet. 

Are there flaws? Of course, it's a handmade skate. 

Was I probably a giant pain in their ass? Absolutely. But for a grand, I think you get the right to be a little.

Would I do it all over again? WITHOUT HESITATION. The area manager of Pure Hockey offered to let me walk away from True and move to CCM or Bauer customs, but it honestly never even entered my mind. Never would I imagine CCM or Bauer would pay attention to this level of detail to make the consumer happy. Regardless of how big of a pain I was, they were always courteous, understanding, and most importantly, willing to make absolutely everything right for me. That can't have a price placed on it.

The skates are an absolute pleasure to be on as well. I won't say they make you a better skater, but they certainly make it so much easier to focus on technique and less on what your foot is doing as it rattles around inside a boot.  

Oh yeah, they also threw in another pair of holders and steel for all the trouble, just in case down the road I need them. The new boxes are much sturdier too! 

And there it is. The adventure comes to a close, and I couldn't be happier...not could my weird wide-forefoot-with-super-narrow-heeled feet.

Can you remind me what were the initial problems again, lol. 

[D1VE 9]

25 minutes ago, Sniper9 said:

Can you remind me what were the initial problems again, lol. 

LHS scans never transmitted to True.

First True issues: skates arrived over half a size too long, causing zero heel lock, sent back to be remade.

Second True issues: skates arrived remade, but with incorrect size holders and poor finish on leather wrappings and interior padding. Sent back again.

Third time back: couldn't be happier. 🙂 Nice tight fit throughout the boot, pro fit liner, all aesthetics fixed, correct holder size.

[Sniper9 529]

6 minutes ago, D1VE said:

LHS scans never transmitted to True.

First True issues: skates arrived over half a size too long, causing zero heel lock, sent back to be remade.

Second True issues: skates arrived remade, but with incorrect size holders and poor finish on leather wrappings and interior padding. Sent back again.

Third time back: couldn't be happier. 🙂 Nice tight fit throughout the boot, pro fit liner, all aesthetics fixed, correct holder size.

Crappy it took three makes. But happing ending. 

Hopefully this prompts some better QC.  

[yychockey 3]

Mine had to be sent back to True today after the tongue assembly detached from the toe cap during the initial heat molding. Hopefully the same “rocket ship” you experienced will take them to Winnipeg and back in a hurry!

[smu 29]

Quote

I said before that the QC and communication has been terrible and I emailed Rob about this and that it is becoming a large factor with some in this forum, but nothing has changed. I have already have my third pair of skates and still not right!  These were made at the end of the year and no chance to use them until after the new year and still have  I problems 4 months later after my first request was sent to purchase.  It is as if they are not bothering to read the initial request form. All of the dimensions and any issues you might have should be there. Such as my request form where all my information is on that initial form sent out by the LHS and instead of using this info they rely on bad scans! That's why I say your tracings and volume measurements should be sent along with your initial request if they only will hopefully look at them. I don't know what is going on with mine as I left True with the same information and issues that the original boot was way to large in the heel area and I got exactly the opposite of what I asked for. The  much wider skate than my first size 5D Bauer and I now have an oversize heel as if I ordered it. I have been floating in these skates this since the 3rd of January and all that was needed was a narrower heel pocket than the my original Bauer to overcome and help with my ongoing pronation issues. I have been getting questions from True that are clearly stated on my original order form! Why am I being asked for that information to build my latest pair? My first order clearly expressed that I have a 5D skate and a narrower model is needed and my blade length is recorded there as a 246 mm junior blade. My skates should have been built from the start narrower than my original Bauer 5D! How simple can this be? Yet I was asked questions of the length of my feet and the size of my old Bauer blades near the last week of December. At that point they had my blades at 654 mm from the scans! Then I am asked what size am I. All this information was clearly at True's fingertips and not used and here I am 4 months later.

 

Edited February 1, 2019 by smu
Really cleaned up grammar

[IPv6Freely 2092]

8 hours ago, smu said:

 

Who were you quoting? I'm confused. 

[smu 29]

6 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

Who were you quoting? I'm confused. 

I am still getting it wrong! I hit the plus 1 post of Sniper9 that's all.

I did clean up my post, it will make lore sense if read again. I have a lot of info where True has overlooked a lot of data on my skates and instead of looking at their own records were asking me questions that were they had all along on the purchase records. This is directly why I had so many issues as well the scans were wrong initially, if they were my skates!

[IPv6Freely 2092]

25 minutes ago, smu said:

I am still getting it wrong! I hit the plus 1 post of Sniper9 that's all.

I did clean up my post, it will make lore sense if read again. I have a lot of info where True has overlooked a lot of data on my skates and instead of looking at their own records were asking me questions that were they had all along on the purchase records. This is directly why I had so many issues as well the scans were wrong initially, if they were my skates!

If youre quoting one post, click QUOTE. If you're doing multi-quote, click the + for each post your're quoting and then hit the black "quote x posts" button that appears at the bottom right when you're ready to start typing. 

[smu 29]

3 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

If youre quoting one post, click QUOTE. If you're doing multi-quote, click the + for each post your're quoting and then hit the black "quote x posts" button that appears at the bottom right when you're ready to start typing. 

Thanks, sounds straight now!

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

On 1/31/2019 at 8:23 PM, smu said:

I am still getting it wrong! I hit the plus 1 post of Sniper9 that's all.

I did clean up my post, it will make lore sense if read again. I have a lot of info where True has overlooked a lot of data on my skates and instead of looking at their own records were asking me questions that were they had all along on the purchase records. This is directly why I had so many issues as well the scans were wrong initially, if they were my skates!

That's really funny you say the scans were wrong??? Pretty sure I said that from day one. Now after 900+ fits next time will people listen? 

 

Nope. 

[smu 29]

7 hours ago, oldtrainerguy28 said:

That's really funny you say the scans were wrong??? Pretty sure I said that from day one. Now after 900+ fits next time will people listen? Nope. 

Thanks for your empathy after four months of all this and I am not finished!

Nobody from True has said that any scan was wrong, but late in December with many emails back and forth I could only assume that there must have been a fault with the scan, but as I say, I have never been told that directly.

However, further issues remained with just plain human error.

Edited February 2, 2019 by smu
Spelling

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

2 hours ago, smu said:

Thanks for your empathy after four months of all this and I am not finished!

Nobody from True has said that any scan was wrong, but late in December with many emails back and forth I could only assume that there must have been a fault with the scan, but as I say, I have never been told that directly.

However, further issues remained with just plain human error.

SMU. 

You stated in your post that "the scans were wrong initially" it is a direct quote.  

I would have empathy if I wasnt dismissed so readily at the beginning as youbhad said your pro shop were amazing and it couldnt have been on there end. People make mistakes and that is the first line error when it comes to these skates. If the scanner is off your skates won't be right. 

Back to topic pleaseeeeeeeee. 

[jvincig01 13]

I had an issue with my liner having a blister in it. Essentially the inside was delaminating after about playing 12 times. I was also having issue where my bone spur is on the inside of my skate. I contacted True and they patched them within a week. I live in California so sending them to the east and back that quickly was pretty cool.

The patch started to come off so True decided to make me a whole new pair of skates.  Their service is awesome. I do think the average Joe, maybe me included, expects too much from custom skates. The only reason why maybe they remade mine is because the integrity was compromised. A word of advice.... USE A SHOEHORN when molding them. I wasn't given one at my LHS when I heat molded them. I didnt know this was required. This is what caused all the problems. 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Hearing Winnipeg being referred to as “East” made me chuckle 😝

Can you post the name of the LHS so others here can avoid them? 🙂 

[smu 29]

On 2/2/2019 at 9:35 AM, oldtrainerguy28 said:

SMU. 

You stated in your post that "the scans were wrong initially" it is a direct quote.  

I would have empathy if I wasnt dismissed so readily at the beginning as youbhad said your pro shop were amazing and it couldnt have been on there end. People make mistakes and that is the first line error when it comes to these skates. If the scanner is off your skates won't be right. 

Back to topic pleaseeeeeeeee. 

I am not going to bother trying to look for this, apparently you felt you had to prove someone wrong!

Let me know the date of my post and I will review it.

Thanks

 

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

55 minutes ago, smu said:

I am not going to bother trying to look for this, apparently you felt you had to prove someone wrong!

Let me know the date of my post and I will review it.

Thanks

 

To be honest your post looks different from when I orginally read it so I cant even find it now. 

 

And no it was simply a comment. As I have said to anyone having issues if the skate is way out then  there is a scan issue not a shot at you at all. 

[smu 29]

11 hours ago, oldtrainerguy28 said:

To be honest your post looks different from when I orginally read it so I cant even find it now. 

 

And no it was simply a comment. As I have said to anyone having issues if the skate is way out then  there is a scan issue not a shot at you at all. 

I cannot recall, but as far as I know nobody told the LHS to re-calibrate their scanner because I asked my local shop. I also found out that about 5 or 6 of their employees have the True skates using the scanner and have no issues. I don't know what to say except now Rob had used the scan and it must have been mine and wrong.

If you don't mind I would like to add a little here as I don't want to start another war with the members so I will take this opportunity.

What I don't understand is that Rob blames an inexperienced worker for not picking up on one variable then continues to say he has it under control yet he misses the mark on the next skate, by a wide margin!

Looking back now, Rob was not looking at all my data either and may have relied on the scan for my foot. On my initial request form, when I sent in my money and my skate size and width and that I need a narrower boot than the D etc. I get this service! I know it was all a big mistake, but by the make of my third skate it should have been explained to me clearly that it will not fit well in the heel area, the very thing I wanted. Just before getting these skates, I get this from Rob, telling me my foot size wrongly -  "Both feet measure 254 mm. Both scans that were taken confirm that".

By my mistake I thought he was talking blade size of 254 v my 246 mm. As Mixed up as I was, Rob must have been only using the scan data and did not go back to the original data I submitted, contrary to what he said should be done. I am learning just now that it looks like a Custom Junior is not really custom and that Rob saw this after the mistakes started to get ironed out just before the 3rd and final remake. Rob, out of the blue, asks me for my blade size!  I give that to him wondering why he does not have it.

Right after this my the third pair of skates were made that fit quite well with the proper length, but a heel pocket was wider than my original Bauer. My main goal in ordering the True's was to get a narrow skate, a C you would call it now I have probably an E that I am slipping and sliding in and can't control my pronation as it is too wide. I had also asked Rob to speak with me by phone before any skate was to be made, but that was not done and I was going to question the heel width as he was going to "shave it off to fit" and I was going to ask If shot blockers would make the boot stiffer. But, no phone call and the skates are delivered.

My apologies for adding more of my stuff on the post, but I should have been told from the start that I could not be fitted for Custom Skates and I would not have ordered them and not been on this forum. I did nothing wrong in this whole mess and now have to get out of it, more emails or phone calls 4 months later.

Sorry Guys and thanks for listening -

[IPv6Freely 2092]

We've already read about the story about 10 times now. 

[smu 29]

Oldtrainerguy posed a question initially about my scans and I expounded upon the scanning issue he brought up. My last pair still had that issue and I told, in short, the poor service and exactly what happened in the end or now near end. I have emailed Rob about the problem with QC and getting back with information, but that did not help. I did that for all of us.

Perhaps most here are pro True supporters that don't want to hear any negativity.

[Leif 161]

1 hour ago, IPv6Freely said:

We've already read about the story about 10 times now. 

I know smu has been annoying in the past by repeating himself in numerous long winded posts, but this time I think he has given a very succinct summary of his issues, with an update on the third pair - 😲 - , and the fact that he still does not have a skate that fits - the heel is far too wide - is shocking. Perhaps people here who fit skates can comment. In his position I would be looking for a full refund and moving to a custom skate from Bauer or CCM. Assuming they can fit skates to his feet. I suppose it is possible that he had such strange feet that they are unfittable. Or perhaps only True can not accommodate him.

[Leif 161]

It just occurred to me that a better option is for smu to start a new thread, using his second from last post, and people can comment if they wish, rather than use this thread for one issue. That way everyone is happy. Just a suggestion folks.

[Giltis 116]

I hope it's ok to talk about the skate holders that ships with the True Skates. 

I'm getting a squeaking noise when I load up on one side (left more than the right).

I've checked the tightness of the nut, and I've tried tighter, and looser, but nothing seems to get rid of the sound and the feeling. Using my palm, I can push near the front of the blade and see that the noise is coming from the blade moving in and out about 1 mm. Is this something that can be fixed? Or would I be looking at new holders? Otherwise the skates are fantastic, my sharpener worked his magic and everything feels great (he did recommend that before he profiled them to have the holders swapped out to Tuuks).

Edited February 4, 2019 by Giltis