VH Footwear/TRUE by Scott Van Horne

[Sniper9 535]

14 hours ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

One thing you noticed which usually catch most by surprise is how the boot FORCES you into a hockey position. If you fight it you will get tired quickly. However, give your body time to reset and your ergonomics to adjust. Your body mechanics need to reset and this will take a few weeks.

This. I couldn't believe how much it forces me into a more forward bend, but also what surprised me was that it felt natural and I didn't need to really adjust too much to get used to it.

And also longer stronger strides instead of smaller choppy ones. I felt like I was slower bc my legs weren't moving quickly but I was winning races 

Edited September 28, 2019 by Sniper9

[z1ggy 81]

Getting mine on ice tonight for first time in a pick up. Got them shrink wrapped today which I think helped a tiny bit but I really just need to get them out there and see how it feels. I'm more worried about how long it will take me to adjust to going back to 272 from 280 runner/holder  XD 

Edited September 28, 2019 by z1ggy

[Sniper9 535]

26 minutes ago, z1ggy said:

Getting mine on ice tonight for first time in a pick up. Got them shrink wrapped today which I think helped a tiny bit but I really just need to get them out there and see how it feels. I'm more worried about how long it will take me to adjust to going back to 272 from 280 runner/holder  XD 

Stick em in the fridge to accelerate the curing. I know SVH says a few hrs minimum but I would throw them in the fridge until your game to be safe. 

[z1ggy 81]

4 minutes ago, Sniper9 said:

Stick em in the fridge to accelerate the curing. I know SVH says a few hrs minimum but I would throw them in the fridge until your game to be safe. 

Yeah i saw VH say 4hours. They cooled down starting around noon. Ice time at 7pm. I'll stick them in right now for an hour just to be 100% safe. 

[z1ggy 81]

On the ice right now... Well ok I'm in the locker room but I just went out for a second before the guy cut the ice... All I can say is wow, so good. I feel on my toes but in a good way. More aggressive boot pitch but I don't feel the heel slop I felt before. Boot is ccrrrazy stiff lol I need to get used to it but I'm loving it so far. Got 5/8 hollow but honestly it's too much, prob going to go 11/16 of possible, if not 3/4.

 

Sry for wall of text, on mobile. 

[Sniper9 535]

36 minutes ago, z1ggy said:

On the ice right now... Well ok I'm in the locker room but I just went out for a second before the guy cut the ice... All I can say is wow, so good. I feel on my toes but in a good way. More aggressive boot pitch but I don't feel the heel slop I felt before. Boot is ccrrrazy stiff lol I need to get used to it but I'm loving it so far. Got 5/8 hollow but honestly it's too much, prob going to go 11/16 of possible, if not 3/4.

 

Sry for wall of text, on mobile. 

It's all about just getting used to the new boot feel. The on ice performance is different from how it feels walking around etc, partially because of what I described regarding the deeper heel pocket.

And with retail skates for some ppl they are either painfully tight or really loose. Those who opt for true usually had some issues they couldn't solve with retail skates, and even though the retail skates werent comfortable and didn't fit "properly", you get used to it and think that the fit was how the skate "should" feel. 

It's really not comparable and some ppl can't adapt. As I said before it's not for everyone. 

[z1ggy 81]

Yeah I understand what you mean now. I was so used to my feet feeling cramped I thought that was the norm. No foot pain right now other than the top of the tongue isn't broken in yet so it was pressing into my leg a bit. Overall, really like them. Normally after games my feet hurt a bit, sometimes even throbbing. 

[Sniper9 535]

11 minutes ago, z1ggy said:

Yeah I understand what you mean now. I was so used to my feet feeling cramped I thought that was the norm. No foot pain right now other than the top of the tongue isn't broken in yet so it was pressing into my leg a bit. Overall, really like them. Normally after games my feet hurt a bit, sometimes even throbbing. 

After a couple mths you may want to rebake one more time to really dial it in even more, after its broken in a bit more since things pack in a bit such as the tongue etc.  Totally up to you though. That's what I did. 

Edited September 29, 2019 by Sniper9

[z1ggy 81]

What are the stock laces in these? My pro shop guy told me but I forgot...

[Sniper9 535]

6 hours ago, z1ggy said:

What are the stock laces in these? My pro shop guy told me but I forgot...

As in what brand?  If so they seem like elite unwaxed to me but I'm probably wrong.... I think it was posted here a few pages back. 

[z1ggy 81]

2 minutes ago, Sniper9 said:

As in what brand?  If so they seem like elite unwaxed to me but I'm probably wrong.... I think it was posted here a few pages back. 

It's not... I think he said like.. Pro.. something? Pro Guard? Let me do a search in the thread and see if anything comes up. Mine are already starting to fray in a few spots, but I like the width and feel of them, want to buy a few pair and also maybe black. 

[Sniper9 535]

2 hours ago, z1ggy said:

It's not... I think he said like.. Pro.. something? Pro Guard? Let me do a search in the thread and see if anything comes up. Mine are already starting to fray in a few spots, but I like the width and feel of them, want to buy a few pair and also maybe black. 

Just get Howie's and be done with it. A lot of non waxed are thick and poofy like those. I personally like waxed laces even with my trues bc I don't like the poofy look. 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Sniper9

[CigarScott 132]

Does anyone have the updated instructions for baking their skates? I saw a video somewhere of SVH showing how to do it now with keeping the top eyelets unlaced and using shrink wrap but can't find it anywhere. I'd like to rebake my skates tonight if someone has a link to that video or has an updated set of instructions.

[Slick50 5]

 

[Sniper9 535]

https://www.reddit.com/r/hockeyplayers/comments/dc41sw/no_i_dont_recommend_true_skates

 

[start_today 772]

Is that reddit post from someone in particular that we should pay attention to?  Not trying to sound snarky, but there are enough up and down votes in this thread from users that we know  

In my experience, reddit boards are full of HOTHOT takes where everything is either the absolute best or the absolute worst and very little nuance, or just straight up poor information.  

[z1ggy 81]

I take most reviews from reddit and places where toxicity seems to run rampant with a grain of salt. My True's were totally fine as far as initial QC goes and unless I run them over with a lawn mower, I don't think that will really change. 

 

The shop I got them from told me they have done over 500 pairs and rarely have had major issues. Of course they want to sell skates but as a small time shop I don't think they'd want to carry product that was junk and lose customers or prevent them from coming back due to bad experiences. 

[Sniper9 535]

I'm not saying that it reflects true as a whole etc. But just posting it out there. From my personal experience and reading that post it's clear their "repair" process is kind of a joke.  There are pictures posted on their of the guys experience. 

Also, there are lots of true supporters on Reddit. 

[VegasHockey 1282]

42 minutes ago, z1ggy said:

I take most reviews from reddit and places where toxicity seems to run rampant with a grain of salt. My True's were totally fine as far as initial QC goes and unless I run them over with a lawn mower, I don't think that will really change. 

 

The shop I got them from told me they have done over 500 pairs and rarely have had major issues. Of course they want to sell skates but as a small time shop I don't think they'd want to carry product that was junk and lose customers or prevent them from coming back due to bad experiences. 

 

37 minutes ago, Sniper9 said:

I'm not saying that it reflects true as a whole etc. But just posting it out there. From my personal experience and reading that post it's clear their "repair" process is kind of a joke.  There are pictures posted on their of the guys experience. 

Also, there are lots of true supporters on Reddit. 

All I can say is we sell mostly TRUE custom and some CCM custom. We have had just as many issues with CCM as TRUE by volume so I take everything with a grain of salt. We have actually had players who had TRUE, didn't like them, tried CCM custom, didn't like those either, and went Bauer retail and were happy as a clam. Also have had people go from custom CCM to TRUE and also were happy.

Edited October 3, 2019 by SkateWorksPNW

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

5 hours ago, z1ggy said:

I take most reviews from reddit and places where toxicity seems to run rampant with a grain of salt. My True's were totally fine as far as initial QC goes and unless I run them over with a lawn mower, I don't think that will really change. 

 

The shop I got them from told me they have done over 500 pairs and rarely have had major issues. Of course they want to sell skates but as a small time shop I don't think they'd want to carry product that was junk and lose customers or prevent them from coming back due to bad experiences. 

What shop was this??

[Sniper9 535]

7 hours ago, z1ggy said:

I take most reviews from reddit and places where toxicity seems to run rampant with a grain of salt. My True's were totally fine as far as initial QC goes and unless I run them over with a lawn mower, I don't think that will really change. 

 

The shop I got them from told me they have done over 500 pairs and rarely have had major issues. Of course they want to sell skates but as a small time shop I don't think they'd want to carry product that was junk and lose customers or prevent them from coming back due to bad experiences. 

My beef isn't so much with the durability of true skates. Imo they are constructed very well and the two pairs I've had showed no signs of any major issues, or even QC issues aside from my one skate's tongue tab. 

I believe it when you say there haven't been any major issues with the shop you got your Trues from but the post I linked on Reddit weren't major issues. They were what I would consider easy fixes... The holders should've been a simple swap which if it happened at the lhs I got my trues from, the shop would've done that right then and there without me having to send it back to true. 

For the tongue tab, anything short of a toe cap replacement if the skate is still under warranty is unacceptable imo. A warranty repair should not leave the skate looking like the repair was done by fifth grader. Even if it was out of warranty and I paid true to fix the issue, that is not something I would expect. I have a feeling that replacing the entire toe cap is a lot of work just by looking at how the boot is constructed. I'm not sure how often they have the tongue tab issues come up, but if it's something that's somewhat common, maybe they should redesign that part. 

Imo, a better "fix" for the broken tongue tab would be cementing a longer piece of plastic that is anchored underneath the top of the toe cap which extends out the front creating the new "tab". Rather than plastering glue and epoxy all over the existing broken one.  

[JR Boucicaut 3803]

15 hours ago, z1ggy said:

Of course they want to sell skates but as a small time shop I don't think they'd want to carry product that was junk and lose customers or prevent them from coming back due to bad experiences. 

Or in some cases, the shop is too small to carry other brands so they put all of their eggs in that particular brand's basket because that's all they can get.

[boo10 323]

Skates finally came in.  Put them in the oven, slipped them on.....uh oh.....way too small.  My feet are roughly size 7.75, but the skates they made for me were closer to a size 6.5.  Even in a very deep knee bend, my toes were still curled up and jammed against the cap.  They were so off it was almost comical.  Shop just refunded my money and told me to think about whether I want to try True again or try something else. 

I will say that the skates were very well made.  No excess glue, bad stitching or anything else I've read about.  They looked great and were on par with CCM and Bauer.

[Sniper9 535]

1 minute ago, boo10 said:

Skates finally came in.  Put them in the oven, slipped them on.....uh oh.....way too small.  My feet are roughly size 7.75, but the skates they made for me were closer to a size 6.5.  Even in a very deep knee bend, my toes were still curled up and jammed against the cap.  They were so off it was almost comical.  Shop just refunded my money and told me to think about whether I want to try True again or try something else. 

I will say that the skates were very well made.  No excess glue, bad stitching or anything else I've read about.  They looked great and were on par with CCM and Bauer.

Just like that. Money back and see ya later? No trying to see if there were toe plugs to remove etc. Double check to see if they sent the right skates via the barcode on the skates?

Are these your first or second skates with true?  Kind of surprised the store would give you a refund as True is the one that collected your money. 

I guess if it's that off there's really no tinkering you can do. 

[boo10 323]

Just now, Sniper9 said:

Just like that. Money back and see ya later? No trying to see if there were toe plugs to remove etc. Double check to see if they sent the right skates via the barcode on the skates?

Are these your first or second skates with true?  Kind of surprised the store would give you a refund as True is the one that collected your money. 

I guess if it's that off there's really no tinkering you can do. 

They checked and said there were no plugs, (first thing I asked).  Honestly though, they were not even close to the correct length.  They pulled out the True and Bauer brannocks and measured my feet again.  Believe they also went and looked at the original scans.  Came back and said no amount of tinkering was going to fix it.  I may still give True another shot, but figured I'd take the refund while it was on the table.

I can see why people like the skates though because other than being at least a full size too short, the skates felt very comfortable.