Jump to content
Slate Blackcurrant Watermelon Strawberry Orange Banana Apple Emerald Chocolate Marble
Slate Blackcurrant Watermelon Strawberry Orange Banana Apple Emerald Chocolate Marble
ggmunsen

New True Catalyst Skates

Recommended Posts

How much can one expect the newer Catalyst line of skates will expand or widen with baking? 
reason for asking is cause i ordered a pair of Catalyst 5x4 for myself in Wide, (Fit3 vapors now) and the Cats are really crushing my forefoot, especially behind the big toe where i have bunions.. 

Do the cats widen that much with baking, or will i probably need to punch them aswell like i had to with the vapors??

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

No, actually the Cats are one size up.. I’m a size 7 Fit3 in vapors, and the Cats are 7.5 Wide..

Fit3 and EE Bauers are longer than Fit1, Fit2 and D width Bauers.

my toes are jammed against the toecap, so they are not to long. Will be perfect lengthwise after baking, the question is, if they will widen enough to fit my forefoot after baking. 
 

my only issue with the Bauers is that the toecap are to narrow and dig in between the first and second joint on my big toes. The Bauers are punched right behind the toecap, to accomodate bunions i have on my big toe joint.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
34 minutes ago, swede said:

No, actually the Cats are one size up.. I’m a size 7 Fit3 in vapors, and the Cats are 7.5 Wide..

Fit3 and EE Bauers are longer than Fit1, Fit2 and D width Bauers.

my toes are jammed against the toecap, so they are not to long. Will be perfect lengthwise after baking, the question is, if they will widen enough to fit my forefoot after baking. 
 

my only issue with the Bauers is that the toecap are to narrow and dig in between the first and second joint on my big toes. The Bauers are punched right behind the toecap, to accomodate bunions i have on my big toe joint.

I'm the same: 9.5 R in True, 9 Fit 1 in Vapor. Bauer's Birkenstockier toe cap makes the difference.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
8 hours ago, swede said:

No, actually the Cats are one size up.. I’m a size 7 Fit3 in vapors, and the Cats are 7.5 Wide..

Fit3 and EE Bauers are longer than Fit1, Fit2 and D width Bauers.

my toes are jammed against the toecap, so they are not to long. Will be perfect lengthwise after baking, the question is, if they will widen enough to fit my forefoot after baking. 
 

my only issue with the Bauers is that the toecap are to narrow and dig in between the first and second joint on my big toes. The Bauers are punched right behind the toecap, to accomodate bunions i have on my big toe joint.

Well only way is to find out. No one has your feet. General answer is yes it would open up a bit but to how much you actually need, only way is for you to do it. You can always stretch the boot too. With trues it's easier bc the entire boot is one shell and doesn't have a junction where the plastic toe cap is attached to the quarter package. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I guess so.. 

well, the True 30-day money back fit warranty applies also in Europe, so i guess i don’t have anything to loose baking them..

interresting to see if they can expand that much width wise in the forefoot and how it will effect the toecap since the toecap is glued on the outside.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not sure about True, but retailers sell them at a significantly discounted price. Typically online and under a different name or as an ‘outlet’ 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 11/14/2024 at 7:59 AM, swede said:

No, actually the Cats are one size up.. I’m a size 7 Fit3 in vapors, and the Cats are 7.5 Wide..

Fit3 and EE Bauers are longer than Fit1, Fit2 and D width Bauers.

my toes are jammed against the toecap, so they are not to long. Will be perfect lengthwise after baking, the question is, if they will widen enough to fit my forefoot after baking. 
 

my only issue with the Bauers is that the toecap are to narrow and dig in between the first and second joint on my big toes. The Bauers are punched right behind the toecap, to accomodate bunions i have on my big toe joint.

I had problems with Bauer rubbing the sides of my big toes, it could be painful, even with customs. Those hard toecaps are horrid.

My True TF9 opened up noticeably after baking. but were still tight round the forefoot. Each time I skated, they felt just a bit looser and today they are like cosy slippers. A year later I bought TF9 inlines, and the weird thing is right away they felt just like the older TF9. So either they were a tad wider, or my feet gradually adapted i.e. changed shape. Unlike Bauer, the side pressure from the TF9 was spread out over a sizeable area. Anyway, yes the TF9 forefoot expands a little bit when heat moulding. It has a thin plastic skin over a carbon fibre shell, except at the very front where it is thick plastic. I think Cats are pretty much the same. On this page you’ll find a photo showing the construction of the Cat Pro: 

https://www.truetempersports.com/en-us/hockey/hockey/hockey-more-information/custom-skates/catalyst-pro-player-skates.html

You won’t get more volume, but it should squash down a bit. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I had to return the Cats.. They are not for wide feet even tough the size was 7.5 wide.. Even after baking they squeeze my forefoot way to much. Not even punching the entire forefoot out would be able to fix the width issue.

Back to tweeking my 3X instead..

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, swede said:

I had to return the Cats.. They are not for wide feet even tough the size was 7.5 wide.. Even after baking they squeeze my forefoot way to much. Not even punching the entire forefoot out would be able to fix the width issue.

Back to tweeking my 3X instead..

They may not be wide enough for your feet but it doesn't mean they aren't for wide feet. Just depends HOW wide you need them.  Depending how long you baked them it also could've not been hot enough. 

And you would t be punching the forefoot, to increase volume/width you'd stretch them which is a different process, but you'd need to leave it at the shop for a couple days at least to do it properly. 

Edited by Sniper9

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I baked them acording the instructions that came in the box. The heel and ankle  molded nicely, but the forefoot would not. 
So, i dont know.. I returned them while i still could!

I can still use my Vapor 3X skates, but i need some extra silicone pads between the big toe joints.

Vapor Fit3, with old Vapor EE forefoot and Old toe cap would be perfect.

Edited by swede

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
23 hours ago, swede said:

I baked them acording the instructions that came in the box. The heel and ankle  molded nicely, but the forefoot would not. 
So, i dont know.. I returned them while i still could!

I can still use my Vapor 3X skates, but i need some extra silicone pads between the big toe joints.

Vapor Fit3, with old Vapor EE forefoot and Old toe cap would be perfect.

Fwiw, the instructions I think call for 5-7 mins baking time? In reality it should be like 7-10. When I baked it cat pros which are the same as the 9s shell, it was barely moldable after 7 mins. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
25 minutes ago, Sniper9 said:

Fwiw, the instructions I think call for 5-7 mins baking time? In reality it should be like 7-10. When I baked it cat pros which are the same as the 9s shell, it was barely moldable after 7 mins. 


Definitely agree with this. 5-7 minutes at 175 is not enough. 200 for 5-7 or 175 for 8-10 is the way to go 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Instructions in the box said 6-8 minutes at 83-92C° (180-200f°).. I baked them for 8 minutes at 90°C, but still could not get them wide enough. The conditions for returning skates are a little more restrictive in europe, so i didn’t want to risk not being able to return them.

Rebaked my punched Vapor 3X for 6 mins at 90°C yesterday and did the shrink wrap thing really hard on them.. I did actually get even better heel lock and fit around the heel and ankle. Hopefully the heel sunk a little more into the heel cup, which would give me some clearence up front where the toe cap meets the boot.

Edited by swede
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 11/22/2024 at 1:16 AM, swede said:

Instructions in the box said 6-8 minutes at 83-92C° (180-200f°).. I baked them for 8 minutes at 90°C, but still could not get them wide enough. The conditions for returning skates are a little more restrictive in europe, so i didn’t want to risk not being able to return them.

Rebaked my punched Vapor 3X for 6 mins at 90°C yesterday and did the shrink wrap thing really hard on them.. I did actually get even better heel lock and fit around the heel and ankle. Hopefully the heel sunk a little more into the heel cup, which would give me some clearence up front where the toe cap meets the boot.

I’ve had really good success with this.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/395922170271?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=27p3wmyqr46&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=NojP-f63SaC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
 

I got mine off Amazon for $100 but I don’t see them anymore.  I heat the forefoot inside and out with a heat gun and get it pretty hot while being careful not to get it too hot and melt anything.  Then I insert it until it hits the front of the toecap and start cranking.  I crank on it until there’s enough resistance where you can tell it might break if you try to spin it more.  It’ll get harder and harder to spin but you’ll be able to tell when you r basically reached capacity.  I have a wide forefoot and this worked perfectly for me

I was going to add a picture to show the difference but I don’t know how 

 

Edited by caseyjones

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In a size 6.5 with insoles and steel removed, the 7x4 is 20 grams lighter than the 9x4.

I’ve been skating in the 7x4’s, aside from a bit more difficulty getting foot in than I’m used to due to the more custom mold, they are the best skates I’ve ever used and I’ve always used top model Bauer or CCM.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow. Interesting they’d replace the Cat line so quickly and before the Hzrdus line. New holders, new tornado design, back to a fully wrapped heel. Judging by the name, steel, and liner, I’d guess this is their mid-range option like the current 5x4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
8 hours ago, Westside said:

Wow. Interesting they’d replace the Cat line so quickly and before the Hzrdus line. New holders, new tornado design, back to a fully wrapped heel. Judging by the name, steel, and liner, I’d guess this is their mid-range option like the current 5x4

Makes sense. Catalyst is one gen older than Hzrdus.

Edit: Duh. I see what you meant. They just updated Cat so you'd expect a HZRDUS update next, and then maybe a new line replacing Cats.

Edited by flip12
Realized my mistake.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
59 minutes ago, Left Wing King said:

Tried the Hazardous ones on today, my God they're horrible, the tongue thing digging into the top of your toes, even an EE fit isn't that wide compared to a Bauer out of the box

Were they baked before you tried them on?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Left Wing King said:

Tried the Hazardous ones on today, my God they're horrible, the tongue thing digging into the top of your toes, even an EE fit isn't that wide compared to a Bauer out of the box

Horrible for you, you mean.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...