VH Footwear/TRUE by Scott Van Horne

[FivehoIe 3]

All - I've had my VH skates now since Mid August and have skated probably 60-70 times in them.  For background I played Jr hockey and D-3 in college.   I've had flat feet which have caused problems my whole life and these are the first no pain skate I have ever had(I use the CCM red footbeds).  

My Question is for anyone else here who has the skates - I find that if I do not skip the 2nd eyelets they simply are restrictive to my deep knee bend(I'm a very good low skater).  I literally cannot lace them up the "normal" way, is it possible my tracing were done incorrectly?  My next issue is that even when I use howie's wax laces, I find that my skates loosen up and I have to re-tie 3 times/game and I never had to do that with my Graf 703's or my old Bauer's.

Any input would be much appreciated!!

[nicker87 47]

4 minutes ago, FivehoIe said:

All - I've had my VH skates now since Mid August and have skated probably 60-70 times in them.  For background I played Jr hockey and D-3 in college.   I've had flat feet which have caused problems my whole life and these are the first no pain skate I have ever had(I use the CCM red footbeds).  

My Question is for anyone else here who has the skates - I find that if I do not skip the 2nd eyelets they simply are restrictive to my deep knee bend(I'm a very good low skater).  I literally cannot lace them up the "normal" way, is it possible my tracing were done incorrectly?  My next issue is that even when I use howie's wax laces, I find that my skates loosen up and I have to re-tie 3 times/game and I never had to do that with my Graf 703's or my old Bauer's.

Any input would be much appreciated!!

I'm not as strong a skater as you are, but I've always skipped the top eyelet with my VH and any other composite skate I've used so I could get my desired knee bend. You say you were in Graf 703s, which would have been a softer boot compared to the stiffer composite boot of VH which could be why you're noticing the difference. 

 

As for the skate loosinging up, try rebakeing them. You might get a little more warp out of the boot. For what it's worth I've never had mine loosen up on me and I've have them just over a year. When I'm lacing mine up I pull the laces over my foot just snug and then tighten it up as I move up my ankle. 

[FivehoIe 3]

I like the support up high on my ankle, boots feel to "short" if I skip the top one, hence why I skip #2 instead.  It actually gives me more room to bend w/o being restrictive.   As for my lacing style I prefer to tie really tight up until mid ankle and loosen up as I get closer to the top.  

[flip12 714]

@FivehoIe I found I had to mold my MLX boots with my ankle flexed in forward stride position so that it wouldn't cut into my peroneous muscles for the ankle eversion needed for forward acceleration strides. Not everyone skates with their ankles flexed outward as well as forward, especially nowadays, yet it looks and sounds like others struggle with that motion in their VH, such as Puljujarvi in this backchecking sequence. Now, I don't know if Puljujarvi's at the end of a shift and dead tired there, but he didn't look that awkward when he was skipping the top eyelet in Vapors. Seeing him struggle there made me immediately recall my first experiences in MLX boots. I got the idea to mold with my peroneous group flexed from this video where SVH demonstrates molding the full range of motion into a pair of short track boots.

I'm not sure this will address your problem, but it sounded like it might be related, so it's worth a shot. The beauty with VH is they can be remolded again and again so problem areas can be addressed.

Hope this helps.

[JJP2222 1]

Just got my first pair of VH's Monday.  Background, I have two different sized feet - so have always felt like my smaller foot (the right) is swimming in stock skates. I was surprised to still find an inordinate amount of room in my right VH skate in the toe box or the front third/quarter of the skate.  Which for me kind defeats the purpose of going the custom route at this high price point. I was laser scanned, so it's not like I sent bad measurements. I've seen a lot discussion on this board about rebaking to get a better heel lock but what about the toe?  Anyone have a similar experience or had to rebake to compress the toebox? (If it's even possible)...  I guess I could always throw one of those powerfoot inserts in but was kind of hoping the custom route would solve my sizing problem.  Thanks

[Monty22 832]

Have you reached out to VH to discuss your issue? 

[JJP2222 1]

Called, no answer. Emailed, no response yet but to be fair it's only been 20 hours. Obviously I'm impatient but will be heading back to the shop that did the scan/fitting in the next day or so either way. It seems like people on this board have addressed just about every issue under the sun with these skates. I was hoping to hear a range of opinions before I just took what the guy at my local said as gospel.

[Larry54 243]

2 hours ago, JJP2222 said:

Just got my first pair of VH's Monday.  Background, I have two different sized feet - so have always felt like my smaller foot (the right) is swimming in stock skates. I was surprised to still find an inordinate amount of room in my right VH skate in the toe box or the front third/quarter of the skate.  Which for me kind defeats the purpose of going the custom route at this high price point. I was laser scanned, so it's not like I sent bad measurements. I've seen a lot discussion on this board about rebaking to get a better heel lock but what about the toe?  Anyone have a similar experience or had to rebake to compress the toebox? (If it's even possible)...  I guess I could always throw one of those powerfoot inserts in but was kind of hoping the custom route would solve my sizing problem.  Thanks

Have you tried attaching the tongue as far forward as possible so that the skate's velcro tab attaches to the top end of the velcro on the tongue? There are a couple VH videos on fine adjusting the fit: 

 

 

Edited November 30, 2016 by Larry54

[MikeBoyarchuk 45]

9 hours ago, JJP2222 said:

Just got my first pair of VH's Monday.  Background, I have two different sized feet - so have always felt like my smaller foot (the right) is swimming in stock skates. I was surprised to still find an inordinate amount of room in my right VH skate in the toe box or the front third/quarter of the skate.  Which for me kind defeats the purpose of going the custom route at this high price point. I was laser scanned, so it's not like I sent bad measurements. I've seen a lot discussion on this board about rebaking to get a better heel lock but what about the toe?  Anyone have a similar experience or had to rebake to compress the toebox? (If it's even possible)...  I guess I could always throw one of those powerfoot inserts in but was kind of hoping the custom route would solve my sizing problem.  Thanks

Hey @JJP2222

No matter how custom the fit of the boot (does sound like yours may be a little off though) there will always be room in the toe cap because they can't have the plastic right on your toes. We have a special thinner POWERFOOT insert made especially for VH or Mako skates (smallest toe boxes on the market) and have several VH guys in them and liking them. Touch base with me directly if you need any additional info on them and good luck. 

 

edit: Just read @Larry54 post and it seems like they may have an even thinner toebox option. As he mentioned there is foam between the toes and the plastic so the plastic isn't up against his toes, but sounds real close. However, this does seem to be shallower than most VH toe boxes. Good thing with the POWERFOOT is that it's guaranteed for 30 days so if you try them and find they're too thick you can always return them.

Edited December 1, 2016 by MikeBoyarchuk

[Larry54 243]

JJP2222, here's another thing to consider. If you selected a holder length that's sized for the skate of your bigger foot, the length of your shorter foot's skate may have been made as long as the other skate to accommodate the holder. So while it would mean more space in front of your toes, there shouldn't be more space width-wise or above your foot than the other skate though.

[JJP2222 1]

Thanks Larry54, I didn't really consider the holder issue and you're probably right to a certain extent as the holder does stick out a millimeter or two past the boot heel on both boots. So to update, my local shop added some foam to the toe box - then we rebaked, did the tension band method and heel clamp.  It's definitely snugger.  I'm actually going to have the same thing done for my larger foot.  I am concerned however that the foam/rebaking is just a temporary solution that will degrade over time and I basically received a set of skates that are ~half size too long.......Any thoughts or suggestions?

[smu 29]

On 2016-12-06 at 4:57 PM, JJP2222 said:

the holder does stick out a millimeter or two past the boot heel on both boots. So to update, my local shop added some foam to the toe box - then we rebaked, did the tension band method and heel clamp.  It's definitely snugger.  I'm actually going to have the same thing done for my larger foot.  I am concerned however that the foam/rebaking is just a temporary solution that will degrade over time and I basically received a set of skates that are ~half size too long.......Any thoughts or suggestions?

I have read and vet 88 has alluded to an article earlier to the effect that if your holders are mounted a little to the rear it also makes your pitch move forward as you are already further over your normal pitch thus allowing, hopefully in your case, less lace bite and better forward crossovers. This can be argued, but it may make no difference in this thread, but will change the pitch no matter.

[vsawchuk 8]

Hey Guys,

I just put in my order for VH Skates and I have to say although I'm extremely excited I'm also a little nervous... I do have one question- When ordering I didn't see a place to tell them how I'd like the runners to be profiled and sharpened... So I just put it in the notes section at the end of the order. I hope that is correct but please let me know if it's not.

Thanks!

[Larry54 243]

5 hours ago, vsawchuk said:

Hey Guys,

I just put in my order for VH Skates and I have to say although I'm extremely excited I'm also a little nervous... I do have one question- When ordering I didn't see a place to tell them how I'd like the runners to be profiled and sharpened... So I just put it in the notes section at the end of the order. I hope that is correct but please let me know if it's not.

Thanks!

I e-mailed about sharpening before ordering mine. They said they didn't have the facilities for sharpening but could outsource the sharpening for a fee of $10.

Edited December 9, 2016 by Larry54

[vsawchuk 8]

21 hours ago, Larry54 said:

I e-mailed about sharpening before ordering mine. They said they didn't have the facilities for sharpening but could outsource the sharpening for a fee of $10.

Thanks Larry. I tried to call before ordering yesterday to ask and no one answered. I may ask them to just cancel the steel if possible since I already have two spare sets of steel at the house.

[ibeck 38]

I've been following this thread since day 1 and have seen lots of happy customers and lots of questions and answers. I'm interesting in buying a pair of custom VH but obviously worried they won't fit since I've never tried a pair on first. Has anyone ordered and the size was off or didn't fit how you liked? Did you send them back for adjustments or did VH make you a new pair?

I see jzp22222 has a similar issue as to what I'm trying to avoid.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

1 hour ago, ibeck said:

I've been following this thread since day 1 and have seen lots of happy customers and lots of questions and answers. I'm interesting in buying a pair of custom VH but obviously worried they won't fit since I've never tried a pair on first. Has anyone ordered and the size was off or didn't fit how you liked? Did you send them back for adjustments or did VH make you a new pair?

I see jzp22222 has a similar issue as to what I'm trying to avoid.

If they're that far off I'd just be asking for a new pair to be made. I honestly wouldn't worry about it too much. His situation is very much an anomaly. 

[Larry54 243]

1 hour ago, ibeck said:

I've been following this thread since day 1 and have seen lots of happy customers and lots of questions and answers. I'm interesting in buying a pair of custom VH but obviously worried they won't fit since I've never tried a pair on first. Has anyone ordered and the size was off or didn't fit how you liked? Did you send them back for adjustments or did VH make you a new pair?

I see jzp22222 has a similar issue as to what I'm trying to avoid.

Like I've said in a recent post, when I got my first pair 3 years ago, they were too narrow in the forefoot near the toe cap because when I made my tracings and took the circumference measurements I barely put any weight on my feet. They suggested a way to stretch the width but they also offered to do it for me if I marked the spot and sent them the skates. I managed with difficulty to stretch the width on my own but really compressed the foam so there was no more cushioning in that spot. It ended up not being an issue and they served me well for 3 years but for my new pair I made sure I traced and measured correctly. And trace and measure barefoot whether you wear skate socks or not so they don't end up too big, either.

I also posted how I felt that my first pair was longer than I wanted. The holder size that you select might affect the length of the boot. Seeing how the holders barely fit my boots, I figured they made the boots longer than I needed in order to fit the holders. So this time not only did I select holders one size smaller but I also really REALLY made it clear in e-mails before ordering my new pair that I wanted absolutely minimal space ahead of my toes. So to be sure, it might be a good idea to know before ordering what holder length you need for your ideal boot and also make it clear by e-mail what you want. If you don't mind space at the toe, or even desire it as a buffer against puck impact, that's another thing, but just be aware that the holder length that you select might affect boot length.

Being in Montreal, I assume you won't be scanned and measured by a rep but will be doing the tracings yourself. If you went through a rep, you could hold him responsible for the fit, but doing it yourself, you want to be as precise in your tracings and measurements as possible.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Hmm. You selected your holder size? I don't think I was ever asked what size I wanted. They just gave me what fit my boot. 

[smu 29]

28 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

Hmm. You selected your holder size? I don't think I was ever asked what size I wanted. They just gave me what fit my boot. 

I believe your steel size is stamped on your holder thus they go hand in hand, you get what you need with "holder size".

[Larry54 243]

44 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

Hmm. You selected your holder size? I don't think I was ever asked what size I wanted. They just gave me what fit my boot. 

In the online order form for player skate, on the second page, you select holder type, holder size and steel. On the last page they even ask what your current holder size is. If you're talking about goalie skate, I have no idea.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Larry54

[IPv6Freely 2092]

55 minutes ago, smu said:

I believe your steel size is stamped on your holder thus they go hand in hand, you get what you need with "holder size".

Correct.

[Monty22 832]

Came across these Wisniewski pro stocks in my size and in fantastic shape. Fit great without a bake, should be close to perfect once I have the time. Not sold on the white quater pieces though, they may end up dyed black..

[ibeck 38]

Thanks for the replies, I thought about finding a place that does 3d scans and sending it over likes that. 

[Sid 3]

I am wondering if those are custom toe caps on those or a new style?