TRUE TF9/TF7 skates

[EJB 488]

2 minutes ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

Yes, sizing is pretty similar. If you are a 6.0D Supreme then you should go with the same with TRUE. No difference in TRUE between junior and senior skates. 

Thanks, appreciate it.  

[calixguy18 8]

I got my pair of TF9s last week but haven't had time to get them baked. The fit is not great as expected since they haven't been baked (major heel lift, pressure points). The finish could be better- there are several pieces of material that are misaligned and a mysterious thumb sized scuff mark on the toe cap (not from rattling in the box).

I got a 8.5 W and compared to my previous skates, RBK 50k EE, CCM 80k EE, they aren't as wide but have move volume. I fail the pencil test badly in both previous skates while straddling the line on the Trues. Switching out the stock footbed with superfeet yellow definitely helps. Interestingly, the footbeds are exactly the same size and shape. 

I'll update after I bake. 

[EJB 488]

Skates just came and volume seems far less than her Supremes.  Fails the pencil test.  Not baked, doesn't seem like they'll work.  

[VegasHockey 1280]

4 minutes ago, EJB said:

Skates just came and volume seems far less than her Supremes.  Fails the pencil test.  Not baked, doesn't seem like they'll work.  

What skates is she currently wearing and what size? What size TRUE skates did you get? I find the TRUE skates seem to fit very close to the Supreme in terms of volume. 

[EJB 488]

1 minute ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

What skates is she currently wearing and what size? What size TRUE skates did you get? I find the TRUE skates seem to fit very close to the Supreme in terms of volume. 

2S Pros in a 5.5, TF9's in a 5.5, both D/R

Edited August 27, 2020 by EJB

[EJB 488]

The boots are SUPER similar, maybe it's the lacing?  But it's clamped on that curve between shin and top of foot.  You can see it with the pencil, though not a HUGE difference, maybe half the width of a pencil, but then when you pull the tongue down under the laces is where it changes significantly in comfort for her.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

6 hours ago, EJB said:

2S Pros in a 5.5, TF9's in a 5.5, both D/R

What size lady's shoe? 

[EJB 488]

2 hours ago, oldtrainerguy28 said:

What size lady's shoe? 

8 men’s, she doesn’t buy women’s specific shoes.

 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

On 8/24/2020 at 8:48 PM, 218hockey said:

Yes, that's my point. Not buying without being able to try or return.

If this True company wants to make inroads with their new and somewhat obscure (I don't know a single person that owns them) product then they are going to have to do things a bit differently. Of course they claim their product is better and different. Well guess what? We're happy (enough) with our current skate brand and it will take a try or some kind of convincing to switch. Somehow you've got to get people in them and on the ice.

Short story.

Back in the day when I was super into motorcycles I was driving my car home through an adjacent city and noticed a motorcycle model in a line of bikes outside a dealership. It was a model I had always been interested in that I had only read about in magazines. I turned around and inquired and the owner gave me a bit of a quiz about my riding experience, asked what size of helmet and gloves I wore, and asked how long I'd be gone. I absolutely loved it and couldn't stop grinning in my helmet. The next day I was at that dealership with my trade in. Never, ever would have happened without that dealer offering a test ride.

Maybe that isn't a great analogy and maybe I just have to realize if the skate boot fits well and the holders and blades can be the same as the skates we have now that all will be good?

Wait. True skates are an obscure product? Or The TF7/TF9 specifically that only just came out?

[Giltis 116]

7 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

Wait. True skates are an obscure product? Or The TF7/TF9 specifically that only just came out?

They're still uncommon/rare, I still get asked about them in older pick up groups in Ottawa.

[Sniper9 529]

6 hours ago, Giltis said:

They're still uncommon/rare, I still get asked about them in older pick up groups in Ottawa.

They're rarer than the big brands in terms of people having them but not in availability. Mainly bc they only offered customs prior to the tf7/9. The % of people having custom skates regardless of the brand is rare in itself. 

[mojo122 535]

It will be interesting to see how well it does at retail.  Easton Mako skates were a niche product.  Owned and skated in them with an LS2 holder/Nitinol runner setup and loved the skate.  However it didn't do well at retail.   

[althoma1 574]

The big box retailers in Toronto don't seem to be carrying them. I checked a local Sport Chek that carries high end equipment and they don't carry them. They aren't on National Sports or Pro Hockey Life's websites. As mentioned earlier in the thread, they're available via HockeySupremacy online and I've seen them advertised via social media at Majer Hockey and Just Hockey, but they don't have mass availability in my area yet; you have to either go to the smaller shops (which tend to be more knowledgeable about fitting anyway; so that's not a bad thing) or order online.

Not a big deal for me if I'm going to buy some at some point, however; some people go to places like National, Pro Hockey Life and Sport Chek to buy and might not pop into the smaller shops; so may not even realize that the True retail skates are an option. 

[mojo122 535]

15 minutes ago, althoma1 said:

The big box retailers in Toronto don't seem to be carrying them.

Tough time to launch a new skate line with retailers experiencing loss of revenue from the pandemic and the uncertainty of youth/adult hockey fully returning for 2020/2021.  

[VegasHockey 1280]

2 hours ago, althoma1 said:

The big box retailers in Toronto don't seem to be carrying them. I checked a local Sport Chek that carries high end equipment and they don't carry them. They aren't on National Sports or Pro Hockey Life's websites. As mentioned earlier in the thread, they're available via HockeySupremacy online and I've seen them advertised via social media at Majer Hockey and Just Hockey, but they don't have mass availability in my area yet; you have to either go to the smaller shops (which tend to be more knowledgeable about fitting anyway; so that's not a bad thing) or order online.

Not a big deal for me if I'm going to buy some at some point, however; some people go to places like National, Pro Hockey Life and Sport Chek to buy and might not pop into the smaller shops; so may not even realize that the True retail skates are an option. 

Stores that have a very solid relationship with Bauer or CCM will likely be hesitant to carry them.

For example, Pure Hockey only sells the TF9 and custom skate. They will not carry or sell the TF7. 

No store in AZ or WA has either model in stock. 

While I think the skate is amazing the fact is Bauer and CCM rule the market and TRUE is going to struggle to get big box stores to sell these skates as it will cannibalize sales of your there Bauer and CCM skates. 

Think of how hard it was for Tesla to "flip the script" in the automotive industry for a good example of how hard it is for a new brand to enter a market and disrupt it no matter how great the product is. 

Edited August 29, 2020 by SkateWorksPNW

[boo10 323]

3 hours ago, althoma1 said:

The big box retailers in Toronto don't seem to be carrying them. I checked a local Sport Chek that carries high end equipment and they don't carry them. They aren't on National Sports or Pro Hockey Life's websites. As mentioned earlier in the thread, they're available via HockeySupremacy online and I've seen them advertised via social media at Majer Hockey and Just Hockey, but they don't have mass availability in my area yet; you have to either go to the smaller shops (which tend to be more knowledgeable about fitting anyway; so that's not a bad thing) or order online.

Not a big deal for me if I'm going to buy some at some point, however; some people go to places like National, Pro Hockey Life and Sport Chek to buy and might not pop into the smaller shops; so may not even realize that the True retail skates are an option. 

Both the TF9 and TF7 are available on the Pro Hockey Life website.

As mentioned in other threads, CTC owns PHL, Sportchek, National Sports and Canadian Tire.  They've chosen to only sell low to mid end skates at National and Sportchek, (a few Sportchek stores such as Leaside have the high end models).  Canadian Tire stores only carry low end SMU models.  They are pushing everyone to PHL for the top end models.

[althoma1 574]

14 minutes ago, boo10 said:

Both the TF9 and TF7 are available on the Pro Hockey Life website.

As mentioned in other threads, CTC owns PHL, Sportchek, National Sports and Canadian Tire.  They've chosen to only sell low to mid end skates at National and Sportchek, (a few Sportchek stores such as Leaside have the high end models).  Canadian Tire stores only carry low end SMU models.  They are pushing everyone to PHL for the top end models.

The Leaside Sport Chek is one of the two closest to my condo and that's the one I checked. That's where I bought a pair of my Mako II's; so thought they might carry them, but they don't. I didn't see the TF9 and TF7 when I looked at the Pro Hockey Life site the other day. Maybe I didn't search well enough or maybe they added them recently. I do see them now, but don't see any mention of the rebate. 

Edited August 29, 2020 by althoma1

[boo10 323]

6 minutes ago, althoma1 said:

The Leaside Sport Chek is one of the two closest to my condo and that's the one I checked. That's where I bought a pair of my Mako II's; so thought they might carry them, but they don't. I didn't see the TF9 and TF7 when I looked at the Pro Hockey Life site the other day. Maybe I didn't search well enough or maybe they added them recently. 

They were not on PHL on release day, so probably went live after you checked.  I know they've been available on the site for about the last week.  I don't see anything on PHL about the True rebate program though.

[Hills 712]

On 8/28/2020 at 9:20 PM, althoma1 said:

The Leaside Sport Chek is one of the two closest to my condo and that's the one I checked. That's where I bought a pair of my Mako II's; so thought they might carry them, but they don't. I didn't see the TF9 and TF7 when I looked at the Pro Hockey Life site the other day. Maybe I didn't search well enough or maybe they added them recently. I do see them now, but don't see any mention of the rebate. 

PHL stock came later than other stores. They carry both models but didn't order a tonne of sizes per store.

[boo10 323]

Had the opportunity to try on the TF9 today.  Skate did not have to be baked for me to get my foot into it.  They are quite wide in the forefoot.  If stores aren't baking these when people try them on, I don't think they are going to sell well.  The unbaked fit is somewhere between meh and awful.  I played dumb with the person helping me because I wanted to see what he would tell me.  Needless to say, I was less than impressed.  The guy was extremely helpful, but not well versed on the True skates.  People that visit sites like MSH know that these skates need to be baked to get an accurate impression of the fit, but the general consumer will just think they don't fit well and move on to something else.

As far as the actual skates, I was very impressed with both the TF9 and TF7.  Fit and finish was top notch.  The TF9 can definitely compete with the top models from Bauer and CCM.  I think True has put out a great product.  Let's just hope that they sell well.

[Miller55 333]

12 minutes ago, boo10 said:

Had the opportunity to try on the TF9 today.  Skate did not have to be baked for me to get my foot into it.  They are quite wide in the forefoot.  If stores aren't baking these when people try them on, I don't think they are going to sell well.  The unbaked fit is somewhere between meh and awful.  I played dumb with the person helping me because I wanted to see what he would tell me.  Needless to say, I was less than impressed.  The guy was extremely helpful, but not well versed on the True skates.  People that visit sites like MSH know that these skates need to be baked to get an accurate impression of the fit, but the general consumer will just think they don't fit well and move on to something else.

As far as the actual skates, I was very impressed with both the TF9 and TF7.  Fit and finish was top notch.  The TF9 can definitely compete with the top models from Bauer and CCM.  I think True has put out a great product.  Let's just hope that they sell well.

Yeah, these Trues have their work cut out for them to break into the market. It would be a bummer if they don't sell well because stores don't push a bake as an integral part of the fitting. Ultimately it's on True to get that information out to the public and to the stores that are carrying it. It's definitely a must. 

[Sniper9 529]

2 hours ago, Miller55 said:

Yeah, these Trues have their work cut out for them to break into the market. It would be a bummer if they don't sell well because stores don't push a bake as an integral part of the fitting. Ultimately it's on True to get that information out to the public and to the stores that are carrying it. It's definitely a must. 

Wonder if there's something in the paperwork saying this much at least. That the skate must be baked for proper fit. 

I find big box stores are generally pretty bad with true in general, even at the custom level. 

[Miller55 333]

1 hour ago, Sniper9 said:

Wonder if there's something in the paperwork saying this much at least. That the skate must be baked for proper fit. 

I find big box stores are generally pretty bad with true in general, even at the custom level. 

True ought to be including that, but it seems that there are quite a few areas where the shops are not carrying the TFs, probably out of loyalty to Bauer/CCM and some hesitation to see if there are qc issues with the Trues.

Locally, the best few shops (all smaller) are not carrying the Trues and have stopped doing customs because they were just one headache after another. They stock Bauer, CCM and Graf (Owner is an old school power skating instructor, swears by Graf). Then there are the big boxes carrying Trues that probably have no idea how to fit them properly. And then there are some shops that will order TFs to try on, but aren't stocking them. And there's a few big boxes that aren't carrying them at all, most likely because if the Bauer dominance. 

[mojo122 535]

10 hours ago, Miller55 said:

Yeah, these Trues have their work cut out for them to break into the market. It would be a bummer if they don't sell well because stores don't push a bake as an integral part of the fitting. Ultimately it's on True to get that information out to the public and to the stores that are carrying it. It's definitely a must. 

 

8 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

Wonder if there's something in the paperwork saying this much at least. That the skate must be baked for proper fit. 

I find big box stores are generally pretty bad with true in general, even at the custom level. 

If they need to be baked just to see if it fits then that could possibly deter small shops as well as bigger retailers from carrying them or carrying decent stock.  Why carry a new skate that you might have to bake multiple times before moving it off the shelf or have it sit there indefinitely?

6 hours ago, Miller55 said:

True ought to be including that, but it seems that there are quite a few areas where the shops are not carrying the TFs, probably out of loyalty to Bauer/CCM and some hesitation to see if there are qc issues with the Trues.

Locally, the best few shops (all smaller) are not carrying the Trues and have stopped doing customs because they were just one headache after another. They stock Bauer, CCM and Graf

Not out of loyalty but strictly economics.  Money in versus money out.  Stores' goals are to stock what sells and then replenish and not tie up money on inventory that doesn't move.  Bauer and CCM own the retail market share when it comes to skates and I don't see that changing anytime soon.  Might be the reason why Warrior has done everything BUT skates.

[krisdrum 233]

In case y'all haven't seen.  Seems like a solid comparison of the products from YouTuber "Hockey Reviews":

https://youtu.be/pSvs62cyyPw

Edited August 31, 2020 by krisdrum