VH Footwear/TRUE by Scott Van Horne

[Sniper9 530]

6 hours ago, boo10 said:

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.

Fair enough. Im just surprised the store was able to refund you without having to go through true first. 

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

On 10/5/2019 at 12:12 PM, 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.

Sounds like a major fit error on the scan. 

Never had that issue. Not that small anyway.  

But not sure who they were able to refund? 

Very odd mentioned. 

[boo10 323]

1 hour ago, oldtrainerguy28 said:

Sounds like a major fit error on the scan. 

Never had that issue. Not that small anyway.  

But not sure who they were able to refund? 

Very odd mentioned. 

Yeah, something very wrong somewhere. The guy that did my scan seemed to know what he was doing, but I got the feeling he hadn't done a ton of scans, so maybe user error?

I ordered through Pro Hockey Life and have since found out that they do things differently than other fit centres.  Maybe their relationship with True allows them to make a decision on refunds?  I know PHL frequently has True returns for sale.  Whatever the case, I just decided that I'd take the refund while it was available.

[iceman8310 106]

Do they offer the tracing method anymore?  When they were VH, seems like there was less issues

Edited October 8, 2019 by iceman8310

[boo10 323]

15 minutes ago, iceman8310 said:

Do they offer the tracing method anymore?  When they were VH, seems like there was less issues

I don't really think there are more issues now.  I think it's a combination of scaled up production, and the fact that people are much more likely to post on forums about problems as opposed to how happy they are.

My particular case is a little befuddling because regardless of what my scan said, True had additional two pieces of info consider.

1) I indicated that my current skate size is 7.5D, and that it was on the cusp of being too small.

2) Pictures of my feet on the True brannock, which clearly indicate my size on the True scale.

I have no idea what happened that resulted in such a small skate being made, but I just chalk it up to being an anomaly.  I does make me wonder if they are ignoring everything other than the scan?  On the plus side, they did build enough volume into the boot to accommodate my unusually high instep, which was the entire reason I went custom to begin with.

[z1ggy 81]

My fitter also put my foot in the size gauge and took a picture of it and sent that along with my filled out form and my scan. This way, there should be 3 methods of confirming the boot length. The length for me was literally spot on, I was extremely impressed. Anybody who is getting a boot that's more than 1/2 size off probably had a mistake made by True in that they literally made you somebody else's boot by mistake (seems unlikely) or your shop guy made a boo-boo somehow.

 

Regardless, your shop just saying oh well here's a refund, go away... that's very sketchy and makes me think they might not know what they are doing. Like i mentioned pages ago when I was going through this process, my shop told me they have made over 500 pairs with no real issues. And I believe them too because my other choice was an even more expensive pair of custom FT2, and they convinced me to go with True, so...It wasn't like they were up selling me True.

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

3 hours ago, iceman8310 said:

Do they offer the tracing method anymore?  When they were VH, seems like there was less issues

Actually, from what I've seen and heard, VH skates had many more issues with the tracing method, cause there was much more room for error.  I know a few guys who's VH skates were too big cause they screwed up the trace.  Some of those guys, then got Trues and are so much more happier with fit.

[start_today 770]

When VH was doing the tracing method, they were much less known, essentially a niche product, I imagine most people who bought them knew what they were getting into and understood the realities of custom skates, what they can and can’t do. 

Now, with all the advertising and displays in stores, way more people have access without as much context for how custom skates are made and the processes involved. I assume True are getting a lot of people who expect “I’m paying a lot for these and they are custom skates. They will fit and feel like sneakers and everything will be 100% perfect out of the box and all of my hockey issues will be solved.” And none of that is true. Even custom skates need a tweak here and there. People expect them to be a panacea for all of their issues, and that can’t be the case with something as complicated as skates, so you’re going to see people whining and complaining without taking meaningful steps to make adjustments. 

[Sniper9 530]

7 hours ago, start_today said:

When VH was doing the tracing method, they were much less known, essentially a niche product, I imagine most people who bought them knew what they were getting into and understood the realities of custom skates, what they can and can’t do. 

Now, with all the advertising and displays in stores, way more people have access without as much context for how custom skates are made and the processes involved. I assume True are getting a lot of people who expect “I’m paying a lot for these and they are custom skates. They will fit and feel like sneakers and everything will be 100% perfect out of the box and all of my hockey issues will be solved.” And none of that is true. Even custom skates need a tweak here and there. People expect them to be a panacea for all of their issues, and that can’t be the case with something as complicated as skates, so you’re going to see people whining and complaining without taking meaningful steps to make adjustments. 

Also everyone has their personal preference on what the "perfect fit" is. Thing is some ppl like their skates super tight some looser some with eyelets all the way to the stop some 1+ more skipped etc, along with different stiffness preferences. One of the downsides with true is the customer had NO idea what to expect because theres no retail or demo pair for them to try on..  it would be beneficial for each store to have full sizes available to heat mould for the prospective customer, so they have an idea what they are getting themselves into, and maybe from that advise what they wanted different from the stock one they tried on. 

[z1ggy 81]

8 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

Also everyone has their personal preference on what the "perfect fit" is. Thing is some ppl like their skates super tight some looser some with eyelets all the way to the stop some 1+ more skipped etc, along with different stiffness preferences. One of the downsides with true is the customer had NO idea what to expect because theres no retail or demo pair for them to try on..  it would be beneficial for each store to have full sizes available to heat mould for the prospective customer, so they have an idea what they are getting themselves into, and maybe from that advise what they wanted different from the stock one they tried on. 

Gotta agree here. I was so used to how tight retail skates (or loose) were on me, when I got my True's I thought they were horrible fit. Turns out they needed just a mild tweak, essentially only because my fitter decided to not shrink wrap me right off the bat. Once I had them baked and wrapped... they felt so good on the ice. The way the skate fits is just not the same as your retail 1X or FT2, etc. Now that I've spent a few hours in the boot, I'm 100% used to it and I'm all about it.

 

As long as your fitter scanned you properly I see no reason why the boot would be a really bad fit. Little tweaks are to be expected still IMO. I've never had a single skate my entire life that didn't need some kind of adjustment.

[Sniper9 530]

9 hours ago, z1ggy said:

Gotta agree here. I was so used to how tight retail skates (or loose) were on me, when I got my True's I thought they were horrible fit. Turns out they needed just a mild tweak, essentially only because my fitter decided to not shrink wrap me right off the bat. Once I had them baked and wrapped... they felt so good on the ice. The way the skate fits is just not the same as your retail 1X or FT2, etc. Now that I've spent a few hours in the boot, I'm 100% used to it and I'm all about it.

 

As long as your fitter scanned you properly I see no reason why the boot would be a really bad fit. Little tweaks are to be expected still IMO. I've never had a single skate my entire life that didn't need some kind of adjustment.

I like to compare it to a custom suit. You still have to have fittings after the suit is made for adjustments, whether it's bc your personal preference is to have a tighter or looser during garment etc. 

[smu 29]

On 10/10/2019 at 6:37 PM, Sniper9 said:

I like to compare it to a custom suit. You still have to have fittings after the suit is made for adjustments, whether it's bc your personal preference is to have a tighter or looser during garment etc. 

True is good to work with, this is just a huge mixup, I had a problem and I know they can redo your skates entirely.

[Sniper9 530]

Just saw this now even though it was released in May. 

 

 

[Sniper9 530]

Anyone know what the difference in the height of Trues vs say bauer or CCM from the base of the outsole to either the comfort edge or the the centre of the top eyelet? Just curious how much lower the Trues are. 

Edited October 23, 2019 by Sniper9

[z1ggy 81]

Anybody find after a bunch of hours in the boot, that it opens up a bit? I've baked mine twice and put about... 15 hours in them now and I'm finding recently that my foot has a little extra wiggle room than previously. Mainly in the instep/ankle/heel area. 

 

Should I rebake and re-wrap them?

[IPv6Freely 2093]

Yeah that’d make sense. The foams are definitely going to compress a bit.

[Vet88 674]

It's possibly an ongoing sign that your foot is rolling in the boot ie pronation. A perfect fitting boot doesn't fix pronation, it only hides it until the boot starts to give way against the relentless pressure from the foot. I know of pros playing in Europe who go thru 3 - 4 pairs a year of customs (all brands) because the skate opens up. Rebaking will close it up again but each time they open up faster. If you pronate it can be addressed but it takes time and effort.

[z1ggy 81]

3 minutes ago, Vet88 said:

It's possibly an ongoing sign that your foot is rolling in the boot ie pronation. A perfect fitting boot doesn't fix pronation, it only hides it until the boot starts to give way against the relentless pressure from the foot. I know of pros playing in Europe who go thru 3 - 4 pairs a year of customs (all brands) because the skate opens up. Rebaking will close it up again but each time they open up faster. If you pronate it can be addressed but it takes time and effort.

Yeah I've read your stuff about the foot and ankle strengthening and the skating going down eyelets. Problem right now is ice is getting harder to come by now that high school and all the other teams get priority so stick times and pick up hockey is getting harder to find. 

[Sniper9 530]

Its normal for the foams to compress a bit esp with the true bc the padding around the ankles is noticeably more than other skates. Also the tongue will also compress as well. It's always a good idea to do another rebake after the first couple mths using new skates to really dial them in. My last rebake was my third rebake. Used the shrink wrap method and really wrapped the hell out of them. Been a couple mths and no issues since. First bake was conventional bake and tie laces at 80%. Second was shrink wrap but I only went around like five times so didn't really maximize the wrap. 

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

Both of my tendon guards lost their rivets tonight.  I'm assuming it's a pretty simple fix to put a new rivet back in there so looking to DIY it using a handheld rivet gun.  Does anyone know the type and size of the copper rivet that is used at the tendon?  Anything else I should be aware of if DIY?

[VegasHockey 1280]

8 hours ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

Both of my tendon guards lost their rivets tonight.  I'm assuming it's a pretty simple fix to put a new rivet back in there so looking to DIY it using a handheld rivet gun.  Does anyone know the type and size of the copper rivet that is used at the tendon?  Anything else I should be aware of if DIY?

After you replace the rivet you should flare it, this will prevent it from ever coming out again. 

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

Cool.  Do you know the type and size of rivet I should use?

[Sniper9 530]

7 hours ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

Cool.  Do you know the type and size of rivet I should use?

Why not just bring it to the shop it's a five min fix for both.  Or u can replace it with a t nut and screw. 

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

The closest place I trust with skate repair is 35 mins away, and I have a handheld rivet gun which would work for this issue.  With that said, I had time today to go to the shop and they put new copper rivets in at no charge (I bought the skates there).  But if a simple issue like this arises again, I would rather not have to drive an hour round trip for a 10 min fix that I can most likely do myself.  Not to mention, the guy who does skate repair there, isn't always there.  Guy also told me that they've had a bunch of people needing rivets replaced on the True tendon guards, so I wouldn't be surprised if this were to happen again down the line.

[VegasHockey 1280]

4 minutes ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

The closest place I trust with skate repair is 35 mins away, and I have a handheld rivet gun which would work for this issue.  With that said, I had time today to go to the shop and they put new copper rivets in at no charge (I bought the skates there).  But if a simple issue like this arises again, I would rather not have to drive an hour round trip for a 10 min fix that I can most likely do myself.  Not to mention, the guy who does skate repair there, isn't always there.  Guy also told me that they've had a bunch of people needing rivets replaced on the True tendon guards, so I wouldn't be surprised if this were to happen again down the line.

Should be a #9 copper rivet, like these:

https://blackstonesport.com/en/product/9-copper-rivets

Ace Hardware sells them. 

If you flare the rivet after hammering it it won't ever come lose again.