VH Footwear/TRUE by Scott Van Horne

[pds 0]

First post.  I saw there was a ton of info on True skates.  First off, I’ve worn retail Bauer Supremes for the past 10-15 years, ever since I stopped playing competitively.  I have been in dire need of some new skates and I have always been interested in True ever since they first came out (VH).  I finally caved and went through the scanning process about 4-5 weeks ago.  

In full disclosure I am one who like zero negative space in my boots.  I typically buy skates as small as I can to ensure they are very snug.  This is one of the primary reasons I went with True.  One of my buddies who purchased a pair back before they were bought out talks as though he has trouble getting them on and how they feel almost as tight as wearing a latex glove. This pretty much had me sold.

So fast forward a few weeks, two days ago I got the skates and had them baked.  During the baking process I noticed they didn’t feel as tight as I thought they would/should, the fitter as my LHS noted it was due to them being super soft...seemed to make sense. Last night I took them to a local rink with my son and I had some fairly significant movement with my heel and my arches (I could pretty much move my foot up and down slightly). There was also a decent amount of room in my toe box.  I put in the waxed laces I had on my supremes and it helped a bit but I had to tie them so tight that I lost some blood circulation in my toes...and my heel was still slipping. Later last night I had to coach...same issues. I kind of got used to them but the heel movement will drive me mad.  I went with the moisture wicking liner, regular felt tongue and use standard True sole inserts.

Thoughts? These were expensive 🙂

Edited January 29, 2020 by pds

[CigarScott 132]

12 minutes ago, pds said:

First post.  I saw there was a ton of info on True skates.  First off, I’ve worn retail Bauer Supremes for the past 10-15 years, ever since I stopped playing competitively.  I have been in dire need of some new skates and I have always been interested in True ever since they first came out (VH).  I finally caved and went through the scanning process about 4-5 weeks ago.  

In full disclosure I am one who like zero negative space in my boots.  I typically buy skates as small as I can to ensure they are very snug.  This is one of the primary reasons I went with True.  One of my buddies who purchased a pair back before they were bought out talks as though he has trouble getting them on and how they feel almost as tight as wearing a latex glove. This pretty much had me sold.

So fast forward a few weeks, two days ago I got the skates and had them baked.  During the baking process I noticed they didn’t feel as tight as I thought they would/should, the fitter as my LHS noted it was due to them being super soft...seemed to make sense. Last night I took them to a local rink with my son and I had some fairly significant movement with my heel and my arches (I could pretty much move my foot up and down slightly). There was also a decent amount of room in my toe box.  I put in the waxed laces I had on my supremes and it helped a bit but I had to tie them so tight that I lost some blood circulation in my toes...and my heel was still slipping. Later last night I had to coach...same issues. I kind of got used to them but the heel movement will drive me mad.  I went with the moisture wicking liner, regular felt tongue and use standard True sole inserts.

Thoughts? These were expensive 🙂

Try rebaking them and then do the shrink wrap (or whatever the stuff is called) technique. The video on how to do it is buried in this thread somewhere. That should help with issues in the heel and ankle area; don't have any tips for the toe box as I had the opposite issue.

[darkhors 88]

33 minutes ago, pds said:

First post.  I saw there was a ton of info on True skates.  First off, I’ve worn retail Bauer Supremes for the past 10-15 years, ever since I stopped playing competitively.  I have been in dire need of some new skates and I have always been interested in True ever since they first came out (VH).  I finally caved and went through the scanning process about 4-5 weeks ago.  

In full disclosure I am one who like zero negative space in my boots.  I typically buy skates as small as I can to ensure they are very snug.  This is one of the primary reasons I went with True.  One of my buddies who purchased a pair back before they were bought out talks as though he has trouble getting them on and how they feel almost as tight as wearing a latex glove. This pretty much had me sold.

So fast forward a few weeks, two days ago I got the skates and had them baked.  During the baking process I noticed they didn’t feel as tight as I thought they would/should, the fitter as my LHS noted it was due to them being super soft...seemed to make sense. Last night I took them to a local rink with my son and I had some fairly significant movement with my heel and my arches (I could pretty much move my foot up and down slightly). There was also a decent amount of room in my toe box.  I put in the waxed laces I had on my supremes and it helped a bit but I had to tie them so tight that I lost some blood circulation in my toes...and my heel was still slipping. Later last night I had to coach...same issues. I kind of got used to them but the heel movement will drive me mad.  I went with the moisture wicking liner, regular felt tongue and use standard True sole inserts.

Thoughts? These were expensive 🙂

Did they do the wrap technique on them when you baked them? If not, go back and have them rebake them and do the wrap. I just got mine last week and after the bake, I have a hard time even getting my skates on. Once they're on though, it's like a glove. They're so wrapped that right now I can't even do the top eyelet because I can't get the laces back in once I get my skate on. I'm going to get longer laces and see if I can keep them laced all the way up but still get my foot in. Also, I thought my heel was moving at first too, but after getting them tightened up, I think I'm feeling more of the forward flex than actual heel movement. 

I will say this, I'm very impressed with how they feel on the ice. I'm coming from Bauer X90's and it's night and day different in terms of efficiency. When I push, it really feels like all of my energy is going right to the ice. So far I'm really impressed with them and I hope that the new laces will help, but if not I'm comfortable enough to wear them without the top eyelet.

[JV23 12]

41 minutes ago, darkhors said:

Did they do the wrap technique on them when you baked them? If not, go back and have them rebake them and do the wrap. I just got mine last week and after the bake, I have a hard time even getting my skates on. Once they're on though, it's like a glove. They're so wrapped that right now I can't even do the top eyelet because I can't get the laces back in once I get my skate on. I'm going to get longer laces and see if I can keep them laced all the way up but still get my foot in. Also, I thought my heel was moving at first too, but after getting them tightened up, I think I'm feeling more of the forward flex than actual heel movement. 

I will say this, I'm very impressed with how they feel on the ice. I'm coming from Bauer X90's and it's night and day different in terms of efficiency. When I push, it really feels like all of my energy is going right to the ice. So far I'm really impressed with them and I hope that the new laces will help, but if not I'm comfortable enough to wear them without the top eyelet.

Hah, yup...I ended up doing the same with the longer laces to keep them in for the same reason.  Works great now.  If the toe box has too much room, check where your tongue is attached...Apparently you can move it forward and backwards to give/take more room in the toebox.  I know I pulled mine back away from the toebox a bit because I didn't like the feeling of my toes not having any "wiggle room"...sorry for the pun.

[darkhors 88]

5 minutes ago, JV23 said:

Hah, yup...I ended up doing the same with the longer laces to keep them in for the same reason.  Works great now.  If the toe box has too much room, check where your tongue is attached...Apparently you can move it forward and backwards to give/take more room in the toebox.  I know I pulled mine back away from the toebox a bit because I didn't like the feeling of my toes not having any "wiggle room"...sorry for the pun.

Yeah, I've heard a few people who have gone with the longer laces, so I'm going to give it a go. As for the tongue, I may move mine even more toward the toe as I like having zero negative space in the front.

[CigarScott 132]

I forgot about moving the tongue. That will help eliminate negative space on the top of the toes, if that is the issue. If you want the tips of your toes to touch the toe box, True usually will tape in some space pads. They should be able to ship you some if you need those. If not, I may still have mine in my box of hockey junk.

[VegasHockey 1280]

3 hours ago, pds said:

First post.  I saw there was a ton of info on True skates.  First off, I’ve worn retail Bauer Supremes for the past 10-15 years, ever since I stopped playing competitively.  I have been in dire need of some new skates and I have always been interested in True ever since they first came out (VH).  I finally caved and went through the scanning process about 4-5 weeks ago.  

In full disclosure I am one who like zero negative space in my boots.  I typically buy skates as small as I can to ensure they are very snug.  This is one of the primary reasons I went with True.  One of my buddies who purchased a pair back before they were bought out talks as though he has trouble getting them on and how they feel almost as tight as wearing a latex glove. This pretty much had me sold.

So fast forward a few weeks, two days ago I got the skates and had them baked.  During the baking process I noticed they didn’t feel as tight as I thought they would/should, the fitter as my LHS noted it was due to them being super soft...seemed to make sense. Last night I took them to a local rink with my son and I had some fairly significant movement with my heel and my arches (I could pretty much move my foot up and down slightly). There was also a decent amount of room in my toe box.  I put in the waxed laces I had on my supremes and it helped a bit but I had to tie them so tight that I lost some blood circulation in my toes...and my heel was still slipping. Later last night I had to coach...same issues. I kind of got used to them but the heel movement will drive me mad.  I went with the moisture wicking liner, regular felt tongue and use standard True sole inserts.

Thoughts? These were expensive 🙂

The moisture-wicking liner will provide a little bit of movement compared to the clarino liner. It's not a grippy fabric like you would find on Bauer/CCM. However, if you want to remove any negative space put in another red insole and move the tongue further into the toe. This will lock in your foot and keep it from moving at all. 

[Giltis 116]

Oh yeah my laces are one size up so that I can undo my skates easily without taking them out of the eyelets.

When I tie them, I tuck the excess between my shinpads and hockey socks.

[VegasHockey 1280]

58 minutes ago, Giltis said:

Oh yeah my laces are one size up so that I can undo my skates easily without taking them out of the eyelets.

When I tie them, I tuck the excess between my shinpads and hockey socks.

I'm such the opposite, I use 84" laces and my skates are basically 7.5

[darkhors 88]

On another note, I've heard many people (mostly non-True users) say the skates are heavy. I weighed mine and my current Vapor x90's and they came in at exactly the same weight and I have the integrated shot blockers. I was also able to weigh a pair of 9D AS1's which also came in at the same weight. So for those that are questioning the weight of the skate, don't let that make your decision. It's also important to note that because they fit so good, they actually feel a little lighter on your foot.

[pds 0]

So it sounds as though I should have went with the clarino lining...still doesn’t help with the volume issue. Thanks everyone!

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

6 hours ago, darkhors said:

On another note, I've heard many people (mostly non-True users) say the skates are heavy. I weighed mine and my current Vapor x90's and they came in at exactly the same weight and I have the integrated shot blockers. I was also able to weigh a pair of 9D AS1's which also came in at the same weight. So for those that are questioning the weight of the skate, don't let that make your decision. It's also important to note that because they fit so good, they actually feel a little lighter on your foot.

They definitely are on the heavier side of the skates out there, but at this stage of my hockey playing life, the difference in weight is negligible.  I also have the shot blocker protection, and that's definitely worth the extra weight considering I've gotten pucks to the foot and have felt very little.  Also, I might be wrong, but seems a larger portion of the weight differential is from the use of Step Steel in Trues.  Also, the new Trues are supposed to be around 15% lighter than last generations?

[darkhors 88]

17 hours ago, pds said:

So it sounds as though I should have went with the clarino lining...still doesn’t help with the volume issue. Thanks everyone!

I have the moisture wicking liner and I like the feeling of it. I wear the Verbero skate socks and they work well. I haven't found the liner to be excessively wet or anything like that, but I don't sweat a lot in my feet.

10 hours ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

They definitely are on the heavier side of the skates out there, but at this stage of my hockey playing life, the difference in weight is negligible.  I also have the shot blocker protection, and that's definitely worth the extra weight considering I've gotten pucks to the foot and have felt very little.  Also, I might be wrong, but seems a larger portion of the weight differential is from the use of Step Steel in Trues.  Also, the new Trues are supposed to be around 15% lighter than last generations?

Yes, the new ones are lighter. I don't know how they compare to the AS2's or 2X/2S skates, but considering the they were the exact same weight as the AS1's and I have the shot blockers that means that they're definitely in the "lightweight" category.

[dasuchin 20]

7 hours ago, pgeorgan said:

Not sure what the wax and wrap have to do with one another, but I use wax laces on non-True skates and yes, it does flake off and eventually you do need new wax laces for the same effect. 

Because the wrap around your actual foot and ankle is so tight on the True skates that there's barely any room for the laces to move. When you tighten them, they're rubbing so much against the tongue that the wax comes off all over the skate. I never saw that happen on my other skates. I went back to normal laces so the skate wasn't covered in wax just from tightening them.

[Sniper9 530]

1 hour ago, dasuchin said:

Because the wrap around your actual foot and ankle is so tight on the True skates that there's barely any room for the laces to move. When you tighten them, they're rubbing so much against the tongue that the wax comes off all over the skate. I never saw that happen on my other skates. I went back to normal laces so the skate wasn't covered in wax just from tightening them.

Never had this happen on my trues. Only time I've seen this was when the waxed laces was baked with the skates. I've used Howie's and elite and this never happens when using them on trues normally. 

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

Concur with Sniper9.  I've never seen this happen unless they're really cheap wax laces or the wax laces were baked with the skate.  I use Elite Prolace waxed laces and never had a problem with my Trues.  Probably don't need waxed laces with the Trues (as I barely tighten my laces), but it's just a preference thing.

[asgoodasdead 74]

i dont tie my skates that tight either, but prefer wax laces just because they're so much more durable. any time i've used non-waxed they get sliced in game 1 or 2

[dimpledballs 8]

Has anyone tried to purchase a set of skates in Canada and then have them shipped to the US in order to take advantage of the exchange rate? Is that possible or would they have to be shipped to the same store that you had your scan? I'm planning to go up to Ottawa over the weekend and I wanted to get a set of goalie skates. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

3 hours ago, dimpledballs said:

Has anyone tried to purchase a set of skates in Canada and then have them shipped to the US in order to take advantage of the exchange rate? Is that possible or would they have to be shipped to the same store that you had your scan? I'm planning to go up to Ottawa over the weekend and I wanted to get a set of goalie skates. 

The cost ends up the same. 

[Giltis 116]

If you go through the proper channels, you'll be paying more probably through canadian taxes and then duty once delivered to you. 

You might as well buy them locally, esp if you have any issues and need to make adjustments, re-bake, etc.

Edited February 3, 2020 by Giltis

[dimpledballs 8]

Aight, I'll scratch that off the plans then. Thanks!

[maximus91 7]

hey guys,

 

Highly recommend this device for skate drying. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001J4HQ76/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Edited February 5, 2020 by maximus91

[pds 0]

On 1/29/2020 at 3:18 PM, pds said:

So it sounds as though I should have went with the clarino lining...still doesn’t help with the volume issue. Thanks everyone!

So my LHS is going to send my skates in so True can attempt to fix them. My guy has noted True to be experiencing issues lately, maybe as they’re becoming bigger their quality decreasing?  

[VegasHockey 1280]

4 hours ago, pds said:

So my LHS is going to send my skates in so True can attempt to fix them. My guy has noted True to be experiencing issues lately, maybe as they’re becoming bigger their quality decreasing?  

They have a lot of big things going on right now so production times and warranty stuff is a little backed up. 

[Sniper9 530]

30 minutes ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

They have a lot of big things going on right now so production times and warranty stuff is a little backed up. 

I noticed with my stick warranty replacement...