VH Footwear/TRUE by Scott Van Horne

[Hills 712]

7 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

I am a FIRM believer in superfeet. I just think they defeat the point of a boot made for your foot. 

It was the only way I could get my toes not being crushed in the toe box... so it was a worth while.

[Sniper9 530]

54 minutes ago, Hills said:

It was the only way I could get my toes not being crushed in the toe box... so it was a worth while.

Height wise or length?

[Hills 712]

Length

[Sniper9 530]

2 hours ago, Hills said:

Length

Do u check to see if there were toe plugs and try removing the red liner that's glued to the toecap

[Hills 712]

35 minutes ago, Sniper9 said:

Do u check to see if there were toe plugs and try removing the red liner that's glued to the toecap

Yes, me asking for "half size big in the toe" ended up them just removing the black thicker foam piece and keeping only the red ones. I took everything out of the toe and I couldn't flatten my foot out when standing and with knees bent my toes were still squished.

[Sniper9 530]

9 minutes ago, Hills said:

Yes, me asking for "half size big in the toe" ended up them just removing the black thicker foam piece and keeping only the red ones. I took everything out of the toe and I couldn't flatten my foot out when standing and with knees bent my toes were still squished.

I noticed when the tongue is adjusted higher away from the toebox, it actually alters how close my toes are to the end of the toe cap. With it in a somewhat neutral position my toes were feathering the toe cap. When I moved my tongue forward to reduce the height of the toecap (which I like) I noticed my toes jammed up against the end of the toecap more causing me to have to remove the black plug on each boot. 

But if yours didn't fit to the point u had to use superfeet, you should've gotten a remake. 

 

[Ship 0]

20 hours ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

The entire facing. I'll post pics tomorrow. 

I'd love to see pictures.  I assume they will look similar to Pavelski's boot.

Did you do 1/4" or 1/2" on each side?  This option is not on the order form, is it something I need my fitter to request?  I would love to reduce the wrap/volume of the boot a bit.

[flip12 714]

On 12/20/2019 at 4:05 AM, SkateWorksPNW said:

I did this. Was the best decision I ever made. 

Does it have any performance effect?

[VegasHockey 1280]

9 hours ago, flip12 said:

Does it have any performance effect?

The facing was cut back 3mm as it allows for slightly better forward flex as the boot doesn't wrap as tightly.

I also had the skates made with a slighter shorter ankle, 5mm. 

TRUE has always done their very best to meet the needs of a consumer, but the consumer and store need to work together to specifically dictate what is wanted. This means providing specifications, modifications, and as much detail as possible. In my experience, there is no such thing as providing too much information.

 

[VegasHockey 1280]

Looks like Structure has released a new camera so I imagine scanning is going to take another leap forward and become even better IF TRUE rolls these out. 

https://structure.io/structure-sensor/mark-ii

[VegasHockey 1280]

I had a few people ask for pics of the SHIFT holder, specifically to see the mechanism. Here ya go.

 

[VegasHockey 1280]

Pic showing the changes I made to the facing on my skates.

[jared9356 39]

Has anyone ever asked True to add a wear patch similar to what CCM and Bauer do around the top 2-3 eyelets?

Also, is anyone here familiar with a shop that can completely redo the liner of a skate? Is that even a thing? I plan on ordering a second pair in the spring and would like to have my original pair restored so I can rotate throughout the year.

[Torikkun 6]

I don't have True skates, but I just wanted to share some experience related to the True process of baking skates... 

Some (many?) pages back, @SkateWorksPNW mentioned that they the True shrink wrap method when baking any skate. I did this for my Ribcor 68k's and now they fit perfectly. In the past, after baking, I would lose the heel lock after a couple skates. My LHS said that it wouldn't be as effective for other skates, but still let me try it out. He put the skates in the over for a bit longer than the recommended 5 minutes to get them much softer, but hopefully without damaging the boot. He said 7-8 min, but I wasn't keeping track. He thought 10 min would be far too long.

I went to a public skate to test them out today and they felt amazing. I actually had difficulty putting on and taking off the skates because of how much wrap there was. My edge control was actually significantly better because of how well my skate reacted. I felt like I could lean harder into my edges because my foot felt more stable. I could do quick starts without feeling like my heel was lifting out of the skate. I was actually able to go another eyelet down on my skates because of how well they fit. 

Is this how custom skates feel!? I can see why y'all love your skates so much now. 🤣

4 hours ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

Pic showing the changes I made to the facing on my skates.

One minor annoyance is that the edge of the top of the tongue digs into my foot a little... probably because of the better wrap. After going down an eyelet, the tongue doesn't dig into my foot as much, but I'd still like to get rid of it all together if possible....Would it be better to try opening the top eyelet like this pic or shaving off some of the tongue? Any suggestions on how I could shave the edge of the tongue to make it taper?

[Sniper9 530]

39 minutes ago, jared9356 said:

Has anyone ever asked True to add a wear patch similar to what CCM and Bauer do around the top 2-3 eyelets?

Also, is anyone here familiar with a shop that can completely redo the liner of a skate? Is that even a thing? I plan on ordering a second pair in the spring and would like to have my original pair restored so I can rotate throughout the year.

If anything maybe reach out to true and see if they can redo the liner. If anyone can do it , it should be them. They do offer repairs. It be warned their repair work can seem pretty sub par sometimes. 

[CigarScott 132]

14 hours ago, jared9356 said:

Has anyone ever asked True to add a wear patch similar to what CCM and Bauer do around the top 2-3 eyelets?

Also, is anyone here familiar with a shop that can completely redo the liner of a skate? Is that even a thing? I plan on ordering a second pair in the spring and would like to have my original pair restored so I can rotate throughout the year.

Bay Area Hockey Repair can do it.

[GunnarStahl 5]

After skating my whole life in skates that never fit properly and putting up with the pain, I decided to go with some Trues. I took them for a spin today at sticks and pucks, and all I can say is HOLY SMOKES. Without repeating too much what a bunch of others have said about their skates fitting like a glove, these babies are a gamechanger. A few impressions:

• I normally used 5/8" ROH and went with the recommendation to go one cut bigger to 3/4". So glad I went with 3/4" as the skates turned on a dime and I would have had crazy blade chatter on turns with 5/8".
• I put my foot in the skates with the top three eyelets open but couldn't thread the eyelet with the laces because the tongue/skate was so snug. Ended up keeping them fully laced and pulled the tongue out as far as it could to get my foot in. Probably worth getting a shoehorn.
• Minor arch pain at first but it went away after about 30 minutes.
• I am used to the neutral stance of CCM holders and was cautious with forward pitch of the True holders. The initial awkwardness on the ice only lasted 10 minutes tops and I eventually grew to appreciate the forward pitch especially skating backwards.
• The new lightweight tongue is more robust than the pictures look and really molds to your upper ankle. The wrap is super tight. The tongue edge dug into my ankle a little towards the end of skating but was nothing more than a minor annoyance.

I can't imagine ever going back to retail skates.

[VegasHockey 1280]

16 hours ago, GunnarStahl said:

After skating my whole life in skates that never fit properly and putting up with the pain, I decided to go with some Trues. I took them for a spin today at sticks and pucks, and all I can say is HOLY SMOKES. Without repeating too much what a bunch of others have said about their skates fitting like a glove, these babies are a gamechanger. A few impressions:

• I normally used 5/8" ROH and went with the recommendation to go one cut bigger to 3/4". So glad I went with 3/4" as the skates turned on a dime and I would have had crazy blade chatter on turns with 5/8".
• I put my foot in the skates with the top three eyelets open but couldn't thread the eyelet with the laces because the tongue/skate was so snug. Ended up keeping them fully laced and pulled the tongue out as far as it could to get my foot in. Probably worth getting a shoehorn.
• Minor arch pain at first but it went away after about 30 minutes.
• I am used to the neutral stance of CCM holders and was cautious with forward pitch of the True holders. The initial awkwardness on the ice only lasted 10 minutes tops and I eventually grew to appreciate the forward pitch especially skating backwards.
• The new lightweight tongue is more robust than the pictures look and really molds to your upper ankle. The wrap is super tight. The tongue edge dug into my ankle a little towards the end of skating but was nothing more than a minor annoyance.

I can't imagine ever going back to retail skates.

Did you go with the Shift holder or another option?

[GunnarStahl 5]

1 hour ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

Did you go with the Shift holder or another option?

I went with the Shift holder.

[maximus91 7]

On 12/23/2019 at 6:14 PM, GunnarStahl said:

After skating my whole life in skates that never fit properly and putting up with the pain, I decided to go with some Trues. I took them for a spin today at sticks and pucks, and all I can say is HOLY SMOKES. Without repeating too much what a bunch of others have said about their skates fitting like a glove, these babies are a gamechanger. A few impressions:

• I normally used 5/8" ROH and went with the recommendation to go one cut bigger to 3/4". So glad I went with 3/4" as the skates turned on a dime and I would have had crazy blade chatter on turns with 5/8".
• I put my foot in the skates with the top three eyelets open but couldn't thread the eyelet with the laces because the tongue/skate was so snug. Ended up keeping them fully laced and pulled the tongue out as far as it could to get my foot in. Probably worth getting a shoehorn.
• Minor arch pain at first but it went away after about 30 minutes.
• I am used to the neutral stance of CCM holders and was cautious with forward pitch of the True holders. The initial awkwardness on the ice only lasted 10 minutes tops and I eventually grew to appreciate the forward pitch especially skating backwards.
• The new lightweight tongue is more robust than the pictures look and really molds to your upper ankle. The wrap is super tight. The tongue edge dug into my ankle a little towards the end of skating but was nothing more than a minor annoyance.

I can't imagine ever going back to retail skates.

Some tips on the tongue - you can push the tongue out and slide the laces under it for the last 3 holes. This is what I use to lace up.

I also had to use a heat gun to loosen up a bit the wrap of the skate so I can get my foot in. I tied my skates a bit too hard on the first bake.

[Kevin 5]

I have had Trues since the November and have had probably about a dozen skates on them.  I have baked them twice, the second time with the wrap.  I have narrow, low volume feet, which scan as Bauer Vapor 5.25 or 5.5.  My prior skates were custom Vapor XXXX size 5.5 with level 4 stiffness (very hard to break in/should have ordered 3, but worked out great long term).   I have weighed between 175 and 160;  I now weigh 160, but probably 175 when I bought my Vapors in 2007. 

My observations regarding Trues are as follows:

1. Most comfortable new skates ever.

2. Great and quick customer service--my skates were made in two weeks.

3. Great fit and finish.

4. Great heat moldability.

5.  These skates are not narrow or low volume.  They are wider and with greater volume  (I can fit my index finger under the pencil) than my Vapors (I indicated my prior skates on the order form).  I also can't use my custom Superfeet because there is too large of a gap between the boot and the SP arch support.  I feel like I essentially got a Supreme fit 5.5.

I saw a previous poster had the facing reduced; I wished I had done so to reduce the volume. 

This brings up this question, has anyone had a pair of Trues made that were truly narrow and low volume as dictated by narrow and low volume feet?

I am not complaining and knowingly took a risk.  However, based on my experience, I would think hard about ordering these if you have narrow, low volume feet.

 

 

 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

57 minutes ago, Kevin said:

I have had Trues since the November and have had probably about a dozen skates on them.  I have baked them twice, the second time with the wrap.  I have narrow, low volume feet, which scan as Bauer Vapor 5.25 or 5.5.  My prior skates were custom Vapor XXXX size 5.5 with level 4 stiffness (very hard to break in/should have ordered 3, but worked out great long term).   I have weighed between 175 and 160;  I now weigh 160, but probably 175 when I bought my Vapors in 2007. 

My observations regarding Trues are as follows:

1. Most comfortable new skates ever.

2. Great and quick customer service--my skates were made in two weeks.

3. Great fit and finish.

4. Great heat moldability.

5.  These skates are not narrow or low volume.  They are wider and with greater volume  (I can fit my index finger under the pencil) than my Vapors (I indicated my prior skates on the order form).  I also can't use my custom Superfeet because there is too large of a gap between the boot and the SP arch support.  I feel like I essentially got a Supreme fit 5.5.

I saw a previous poster had the facing reduced; I wished I had done so to reduce the volume. 

This brings up this question, has anyone had a pair of Trues made that were truly narrow and low volume as dictated by narrow and low volume feet?

I am not complaining and knowingly took a risk.  However, based on my experience, I would think hard about ordering these if you have narrow, low volume feet.

 

 

 

There should be no reason to use custom superfeet since the boot is shaped to your foot. As far as the narrow and low volume feet thing, the skate should be shaped to your foot. If it's not, you should be talking to your retailer. 

[Sniper9 530]

2 hours ago, Kevin said:

I have had Trues since the November and have had probably about a dozen skates on them.  I have baked them twice, the second time with the wrap.  I have narrow, low volume feet, which scan as Bauer Vapor 5.25 or 5.5.  My prior skates were custom Vapor XXXX size 5.5 with level 4 stiffness (very hard to break in/should have ordered 3, but worked out great long term).   I have weighed between 175 and 160;  I now weigh 160, but probably 175 when I bought my Vapors in 2007. 

My observations regarding Trues are as follows:

1. Most comfortable new skates ever.

2. Great and quick customer service--my skates were made in two weeks.

3. Great fit and finish.

4. Great heat moldability.

5.  These skates are not narrow or low volume.  They are wider and with greater volume  (I can fit my index finger under the pencil) than my Vapors (I indicated my prior skates on the order form).  I also can't use my custom Superfeet because there is too large of a gap between the boot and the SP arch support.  I feel like I essentially got a Supreme fit 5.5.

I saw a previous poster had the facing reduced; I wished I had done so to reduce the volume. 

This brings up this question, has anyone had a pair of Trues made that were truly narrow and low volume as dictated by narrow and low volume feet?

I am not complaining and knowingly took a risk.  However, based on my experience, I would think hard about ordering these if you have narrow, low volume fe

If heat moulded properly with the tongue, it should literally mould to your foot and the facing should wrap your foot and accommodate your low volume foot. My trues def seemed like it had more volume than my as1 pencil test wise (tongue pulled out) but the true tongue is quite a bit beefier than most stock retail tongues and once the tongue was in place, it filled up the difference in negative space. Along with using the wrap technique on the top of the skates, I used tensor for the entire forefoot so I had a complete wrap on my entire boot during the heat moulding. If this doesn't work then you should request a remake if the fit does cause you issues. If you're basing it just off the pencil test and not actual performance and fit wise laces up, it's not really a fair comparison bc the fit of Trues is like no other.  They were great skates imo, but of course to each their own and they aren't for everyone. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

3 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

If heat moulded properly with the tongue, it should literally mould to your foot and the facing should wrap your foot and accommodate your low volume foot. My trues def seemed like it had more volume than my as1 pencil test wise (tongue pulled out) but the true tongue is quite a bit beefier than most stock retail tongues and once the tongue was in place, it filled up the difference in negative space. Along with using the wrap technique on the top of the skates, I used tensor for the entire forefoot so I had a complete wrap on my entire boot during the heat moulding. If this doesn't work then you should request a remake if the fit does cause you issues. If you're basing it just off the pencil test and not actual performance and fit wise laces up, it's not really a fair comparison bc the fit of Trues is like no other.  They were great skates imo, but of course to each their own and they aren't for everyone. 

The skate is so adjustable once heat is applied that you can pretty much remove all negative space that you will never be able to get your foot into the boot.

There was a player recently who we fitted and he hatesnall negative space in his skates, likes them to fit basically too small, kind of like Paul Coffey.

He had us heat them extra long and wrap them so incredibly tight his toes ended up bruised. I think he is crazy but that's exactly the way he likes his skates to fit and TRUE skates were the only ones he has been able to accomplish this same fit. 

Also, the reduced facing I requested had nothing to do with volume adjustment. 

[Sniper9 530]

3 hours ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

The skate is so adjustable once heat is applied that you can pretty much remove all negative space that you will never be able to get your foot into the boot.

There was a player recently who we fitted and he hatesnall negative space in his skates, likes them to fit basically too small, kind of like Paul Coffey.

He had us heat them extra long and wrap them so incredibly tight his toes ended up bruised. I think he is crazy but that's exactly the way he likes his skates to fit and TRUE skates were the only ones he has been able to accomplish this same fit. 

Also, the reduced facing I requested had nothing to do with volume adjustment. 

The reduced facing makes it easier to reduce negative space without necessarily doing the wrap technique though. You don't need as much wrap to reduce the negative space as the laces can be used to adjust the fit more so than the facing. With more wrap the laces have less to do with actual adjustment, and also makes it easier to get your foot in and out. 

But like you said, even without a reduced facing you can eliminate the negative space from heating alone unless it's in the area like the toebox and base of the skate / sole.