VH Footwear/TRUE by Scott Van Horne

[bunnyman666 445]

It would be cool to have a black and tan version of those skates.

[bunnyman666 445]

When I save my rubles for these boots, you bet I will ask for black and tan. I'm on a retro kick right now. It would be awesome if WinnWell were to re-introduce their old gloves in tan LEATHER, not PU leather...

I have to settle for my upcoming Reebok tan/black/white colourway 9000 gloves (no doubt made for the centennial Canadiens unis).

[bunnyman666 445]

Those Reebok's are probably PU as well...just sayin.

Not even PU; they're tricot. But the tan is attractive like natural leather.

[squat 5]

When did they ever use black and tan skates? Again the reason tan was used was because of the lack of color options for leather. NOT because it was cool. Either way knock yourself out.

[Larry54 243]

When did they ever use black and tan skates? Again the reason tan was used was because of the lack of color options for leather. NOT because it was cool. Either way knock yourself out.

Not quite tan, but close enough!

[n3gkiwi 1]

How are the stock insoles on these?

[GiancarloSFL 15]

The insoles are comfortable but the boot is what gives you the arch support.

[bunnyman666 445]

When did they ever use black and tan skates? Again the reason tan was used was because of the lack of color options for leather. NOT because it was cool. Either way knock yourself out.

I was around when it was black and brown leather. Coloured leather was soooo cool that it was hard for me to get into tan leather. But it's just a nod to the days of the past.

Black, tan and brown will be my nod to the past whilst ushering in the present. I think I have a pretty cool idea cooked up. Now I just have to save my rubles...

Edited November 25, 2013 by bunnyman666

[wrangler 157]

My first skates were black and brown, like a lot of the cheaper skates at the time.

So are my Super Tacks:

[GiffhipcheckNH 5]

Granted I am dating myself but about half of the skate brands availabe through the mid to late 80's were brown leather. My first "good" skates were CCM Custom Tacks and they were brown leather like their better brother the Ultra Tack. At the time Daoust 301 Nationals were brown leather, the briefly lived Orbit's were brown leather, etc. almost anyone who made a stiched skate other than Bauer was brown leather. Bauer Supremes were black leather, the kangaroo leather Roos were black, I believe Micron Mega's were black leather from the start, and I think the my Super 301's were the first Daoust's that were black leather, and at some time in the x52 Tack generation's Tacks became black leather.

[JJStripes 1]

If you factor in that the T-Blade runners last much longer than a sharpening does, then the cost is not prohibitive. I used to get my skates sharpened once a week. Now I will go at least a month before changing my runners. For me the most important factor was the consistency of the hollow.

Get blackedge steel and you can go about a half a year without a sharpening

I don't think I've ever gotten my skates sharpened to remedy dulling or whatever due to passage of time. When I get my skates sharpened it's because of nicks and damage to the edge.

[Larry54 243]

I don't think I've ever gotten my skates sharpened to remedy dulling or whatever due to passage of time. When I get my skates sharpened it's because of nicks and damage to the edge.

...and nicks and damage can happen as easily to t-blades. With regular blades the remedy is a sharpening, but with t-blades the only remedy is changing the runners. And if it happens right after a runner change, that nick becomes expensive. I know, I've had t-blades.

[JJStripes 1]

...and nicks and damage can happen as easily to t-blades. With regular blades the remedy is a sharpening, but with t-blades the only remedy is changing the runners. And if it happens right after a runner change, that nick becomes expensive. I know, I've had t-blades.

Exactly!

[laserrobottime 148]

Skated in my second pair today. All of the stuff written above about the lightness, support, and complete comfort is 100% echoed in my experience.

My boots were redone due to toe cap issues I was having. It's very interesting to see how each pair changes as he refines his product: my new boots replaced the carbon "window" on the sidewall with vibram rubber, the tendon guards are attached with copper rivets, and the tongue Velcro is held on with screws instead of rivets.

I am very, very happy.

[lemire23 0]

I had a chance to go to Cutting Edge sports which I believe is the front office for the VH skate line.. These skates are the real deal. extremely light and durable as well as comfortable! These skates are made right here in Winnipeg! For a base model skate with no steel it will run you $700. For a full custom skate, it will run you a couple more bucks. A lot of the Jets are using them so VH must be doing something right.

[mojo122 530]

Light yes, but durability can't be determined this early in the game.

[jcommeau91 2]

Is there anyway they could add thicker felt to the tongues? I'm not a fan of thin tongues.

[Monty22 821]

The tongues are attached with Velcro. If they don't offer thicker options it would be an easy mod.

[HFLX 0]

Just ordered mine. Can't wait to get them. Gone custom with LS2 holder + steel. Coming from Bauer TotalOne NXG.

[Zachsnipelev8 0]

custom sounds cool but if it's just measurements then the end product may not be perfect

[kovalchuk71 212]

custom sounds cool but if it's just measurements then the end product may not be perfect

If they aren't what you expected, VH will fix/adjust them for you. From what I have seen on here, their CS is EXCELLENT.

[laserrobottime 148]

I had a pair completely redone because the toe fit was wonky. Scott is a great guy.

Edited December 29, 2013 by laserrobottime

[wrangler 157]

custom sounds cool but if it's just measurements then the end product may not be perfect

No need to guess about it when you can read about actual experiences right here.

[JR Boucicaut 3759]

No need to guess about it when you can read about actual experiences right here.

I had a pair completely redone because the toe fit was wonky. Scott is a great guy.

Yeah, and it seems to be the same issue over and over again on the custom side.

While it's great that he is revising them, that can't be good for his bottom line.

Either the measurements aren't taken correctly or the customer has set such a high level of expectation that they've been nitpicky about them. I mean, Scott's no different than any other mfgr making custom skates. It's exactly why I always insisted on fitting skates myself and not taking measurements from someone remotely; the adage "garbage in, garbage out" applies to that.

[bunnyman666 445]

Yeah, and it seems to be the same issue over and over again on the custom side.

While it's great that he is revising them, that can't be good for his bottom line.

Either the measurements aren't taken correctly or the customer has set such a high level of expectation that they've been nitpicky about them. I mean, Scott's no different than any other mfgr making custom skates. It's exactly why I always insisted on fitting skates myself and not taking measurements from someone remotely; the adage "garbage in, garbage out" applies to that.

Measurements are KEY on ANYTHING custom, whether we are talking skates, bike frames, goalie masques, anything that is not a t-shirt size item.

It's quite a bit different on skates than it is with bike frames. On a bike frame, we used a size cycle, which the bike fitter would come up with a set of measurements based from that. I did have a "gotcha!" moment with one of those, but the fitter finally admitted fault, and we split the difference.

I see that some of the VH skate returns are being sold at a discount, which is exactly what I did with my "gotchas". Scott isn't losing as much as it would appear, and it is apparent he is deep in R&D with these skates. With the returns, he gets to see areas that could use improving without the need for a recall. It's better to have paid R&D than to make hundreds of working prototypes that never return a penny. It is also certainly better to be pro-active than need a costly and possibly reputation damaging recall.

While I am not suspect about Scott's work, it really, really surprises me that he doesn't want a mould of the foot. I had to do that with custom cycling shoes. I had no issues, especially since the pedorthist was told how specifically to mould the foot for the mesurements. While this would add slightly to the cost, the cost savings in returned boots would even this out. After all, the customer is inconvenienced when an $800 pair of skates doesn't feel right.