VH Footwear/TRUE by Scott Van Horne

[AfftonDad 88]

Mine are ordered and will be coming soon I hope. Just curious how many of you VH owners used the Ace bandage method during heat mold versus just using your hands to push on the key spots? Any consensus yet on which way to go?

[uclaman 6]

Mine are ordered and will be coming soon I hope. Just curious how many of you VH owners used the Ace bandage method during heat mold versus just using your hands to push on the key spots? Any consensus yet on which way to go?

To be honest, my skates felt pretty snug from the moment I laced them up without baking. I did not feel that I had to use the ace bandage method when I heat molded. After heat molding and just lacing them up they were even more snug(not tight, but just perfect).

[flyers10 57]

Mine are ordered and will be coming soon I hope. Just curious how many of you VH owners used the Ace bandage method during heat mold versus just using your hands to push on the key spots? Any consensus yet on which way to go?

I've used velcro straps or ace bandage on all my skates as I have a low volume foot to get a snugger fit. along with that I pressed around the heel area to help improve heel lock.

[Davetronz 109]

I ace'd during the bake, but I then actually had to clamp (with Scott) my heel area to get a tighter fit for my very narrow (AA/AAA) heel.

Be careful with the ace though. You might apply enough pressure to curl in the top lip of the skate, or the area above the eyelets, which will make getting your foot into the boot painful/hard, and may cause pain (near top of ankle) when skating.

[mc88 160]

Actually, I thought nothing have changed seemingly from normal tendon guard to this flexible one.

And I felt it's not softer than Mako's.

Also I realized that we have to change the form from more bottom area of heel if want to achieve more kicking amount of ankle.

Let me know how the flexible tendon guard holds up. My tendon guard setup seems too stiff (which is why I broke one (the rivet) already and the why the other rivet is on the verge of breaking)

[IPv6Freely 2092]

I wonder if Scott is going to end up making the flex tendon guard a standard feature to avoid the issues people have been having.

[AfftonDad 88]

I wonder if Scott is going to end up making the flex tendon guard a standard feature to avoid the issues people have been having.

I don't know... I asked him a couple of weeks ago for a recommendation and he said he prefers the support that the regular tendon guard gives. I went ahead and ordered mine with the flexible one though because 1) I'm coming from the Mako and I am a little bit nervous about moving away from a flexible tendon guard since that was one of the Mako's touted "features" and 2) Since I am getting the CXN holder on mine, with the additional forward pitch I figure the tendon guard might be putting a little more pressure on my calf than with other holders, so I went with the flexible one to try to alleviate that.

He also said it is completely a personal preference thing though.

Edited August 5, 2014 by AfftonDad

[hollowicked 39]

I am very interested in a pair of these but the durability issues with the tendon guard seems to be popping up frequently, Think I may hold out too see it gets all straightened out.

[Davetronz 109]

Has anyone tried applying a "rubberized" coating or spray to the CF toe caps of their skates?

Think a look similar to the toe caps on the old Easton S15-17s.

Any suggestions on what to use so that it doesn't come off?

Reasoning: My CF caps are taking a beating and looking a bit rough. I like a less-distracting, dull, finish and a more rubber feel when the toe happens to rub on the ice.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Has anyone tried applying a "rubberized" coating or spray to the CF toe caps of their skates?

Think a look similar to the toe caps on the old Easton S15-17s.

Any suggestions on what to use so that it doesn't come off?

Reasoning: My CF caps are taking a beating and looking a bit rough. I like a less-distracting, dull, finish and a more rubber feel when the toe happens to rub on the ice.

Try some plasti-dip. If you dont like it, it just peels off. You may need to re-apply occasionally anyway if it gets scraped.

[Davetronz 109]

Thanks, OR. I'll look into it.

[Monty22 832]

Truck bed liner would probably be more durable.

[SirJW 207]

I don't think plastidip would do anything for protection it will just scrape/peel off.

[flyers10 57]

Doesn't Scott do this on customs by request? Maybe email him and see how he does it.

[mojo122 535]

Whatever happened to concept of a traditional (non-carbon) toecap becoming available? Going from the experiences of the Synergy 1500 I would pass on a skate with a carbon toe.

[AfftonDad 88]

I don't know... now that my Mako's toe caps are separating from the composite I'm looking forward to the concept of a truly one piece boot when my VH's arrive. Of course they'll probably get caved in by a shot and then I'll wish for a separate toe cap again!

[Larry54 243]

I've had my VH skates for almost a year now, and have gotten a few shots and passes off the toe caps without a problem. The carbon fibre on the toe cap is pretty thick.

[stick&puck 1]

To the guys that baked your skates, did you bake them while the over was on? or did you bring the oven to the temprature then place the skate in with the oven off?

[mc88 160]

To the guys that baked your skates, did you bake them while the over was on? or did you bring the oven to the temprature then place the skate in with the oven off?

Wait until the oven reaches the correct temp, then LEAVE THE OVEN ON and place a skate in (one at a time--meaning one skate goes in, one skate comes out, one skate gets molded to the foot for 15 minutes, then it gets taken off and then you repeat). I set my oven to convection and left mine in for about 8 minutes, and it was more than enough to get the boot soft.

http://www.vhspeedskating.com/hockey/custom/:

For a conventional home oven: preheat to 180 fahrenheit, then bake the skate for 12 minutes.For convection ovens or hockey boot specific ovens (which is essentially a convection oven): preheat to 180 fahrenheit, then bake the skate for 8 minutes. Check the skate after 5 minutes. Generally the skate is ready to heat mold to your foot when the upper part (ankle area and above) is soft and pliable. Also, the tongue will be totally soft when ready to mold. Exact timing in the oven depends on many factors and that is why we recommend checking the skate after they have baked for 1/2 to 3/4 the recommended time. Both the red and yellow insoles are fine to keep in the skate boot while baking. They will both mold to the bottom of your foot.

Edited August 11, 2014 by mc88

[AfftonDad 88]

Just got my new skates. I was expecting it to take 1.5 months (Scott said it would take three weeks extra to get the CXN holders in). I ordered them on the July 27th. That's only 2 weeks and 1 day and that is including customs from Canada to the U.S.! Now it's going to be a miracle for me to get my feet into these things! I'm wondering if they accidentally put the regular tendon guards on... these don't really feel flexible to me at all.

You can bake them more than once, can't you? I'm thinking I might need to do them once without the tongue/laces in to get them opened up enough to get my feet in and then once with the tongue/laces in to get them to take the shape of my foot.

Edited August 11, 2014 by AfftonDad

[iceman8310 105]

Whatever happened to concept of a traditional (non-carbon) toecap becoming available? Going from the experiences of the Synergy 1500 I would pass on a skate with a carbon toe.

I have the carbon coated toe cap that most nhl players have and that works fine. I'll re-post my skates

[flyers10 57]

Just got my new skates. I was expecting it to take 1.5 months (Scott said it would take three weeks extra to get the CXN holders in). I ordered them on the July 27th. That's only 2 weeks and 1 day and that is including customs from Canada to the U.S.! Now it's going to be a miracle for me to get my feet into these things! I'm wondering if they accidentally put the regular tendon guards on... these don't really feel flexible to me at all.

You can bake them more than once, can't you? I'm thinking I might need to do them once without the tongue/laces in to get them opened up enough to get my feet in and then once with the tongue/laces in to get them to take the shape of my foot.

No need to bake without the laces in. They will open up plenty to get your foot in when hot.

[uclaman 6]

I'm wondering if they accidentally put the regular tendon guards on... these don't really feel flexible to me at all.

The regular tendon guards have no flex. do these flex even a little?

[AfftonDad 88]

No need to bake without the laces in. They will open up plenty to get your foot in when hot.

Sure enough... worked like magic! I would have never believed they would open up enough to get my feet in (and I came from Makos), but they did. They still have that one spot on the outside where the ankle bends that makes them a little tough to put on and off. I saw the video on how to open that area up, but I think I'll leave it for now and put up with the slight bit of trouble putting them on in order to keep the extra wrap through that area. They definitely feel great in my living room. Just need to sharpen them up and try them on the ice now.

The regular tendon guards have no flex. do these flex even a little?

They flex very little however, I'm scared to flex them more for fear of harming the rivet. I know that I wouldn't be comfortable flexing them to the extent shown in the picture a couple pages earlier in this thread. At any rate, I contacted Scott to make sure that he didn't accidentally put the regular tendon guard on and he assured they didn't. He said that it isn't very flexible initially but becomes more flexible with some use.

Edited August 12, 2014 by AfftonDad

[ccarrigan 2]

Sure enough... worked like magic! I would have never believed they would open up enough to get my feet in (and I came from Makos), but they did. They still have that one spot on the outside where the ankle bends that makes them a little tough to put on and off. I saw the video on how to open that area up, but I think I'll leave it for now and put up with the slight bit of trouble putting them on in order to keep the extra wrap through that area. They definitely feel great in my living room. Just need to sharpen them up and try them on the ice now.

They flex very little however, I'm scared to flex them more for fear of harming the rivet. I know that I wouldn't be comfortable flexing them to the extent shown in the picture a couple pages earlier in this thread. At any rate, I contacted Scott to make sure that he didn't accidentally put the regular tendon guard on and he assured they didn't. He said that it isn't very flexible initially but becomes more flexible with some use.

I had to open eyelets 4,5,6 to get my foot in and it didn't really affect the wrap. If you're having issues it's a pretty quick fix.