New True Catalyst Skates

[flip12 712]

15 minutes ago, PBH said:

That might be your specific experience, but every single pair we have sold the customer has gone up in size vs the TF skates. 

On 7/14/2022 at 2:21 PM, Asian Tomatoe said:

I found the Catalyst skates to be the same sizing as the TF series except that there is a thicker foam piece in the front of the toe.

I was lucky able to bake both a size 6.5 and a size 6 and, as stated by everyone else, baking really changed how the skate felt from pre-bake.

Pre-bake, the size 6 felt way too short and and the 6.5 was the right size but post bake, my feet settle in towards back more and it was too large and wide.

The skates, open up a lot when baked but i did notice that there is a large front pad that affects the perception of sizing.

For reference, I'm a size 6 fit 2 in the Hyperlites and a size 6.5 fit 2 in Ultrasonics. Mach skates I only got to try on a size 6.5 fit 2 and those seemed to be perfect with a wider toe cap than the Ultrasonics.

Didn't get to try on a size 6 to see if the wider toe cap allowed me to fit smaller but the 6.5 had my toes barely brushing the toe cap pre-bake.

Also his -^

[Jbear 113]

40 minutes ago, PBH said:

Cat Pro is a softer boot with more flex in the facing, it also doesn't wrap the foot the same way the SVH custom and TF do. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CgTGcfxosxD/

What is sizing like for the Cat Pro?  If I'm a 7.5 D/Reg. AS3 Pro...would I be looking to try a 7 CatP?

[krisdrum 233]

20 hours ago, Jbear said:

What is sizing like for the Cat Pro?  If I'm a 7.5 D/Reg. AS3 Pro...would I be looking to try a 7 CatP?

The Pro will be based on a foot scan at your local dealer.  The Cat9,7, and 5 are standard retail sizes. 

[nisselrm 21]

Slightly off topic, but is the SVH model currently available for order? Has anyone been able to see pricing for them?

edit: placed my order today!

Edited July 24, 2022 by nisselrm

[beedee 227]

I tried on the Catalyst 7 in a 6.5 today and a Catalyst 9 in a 7. I tried them on right after trying on the TF9’s in a 6.5 and a 7. They Catalysts felt much more snug in the ankle/upper ankle area. Also noticeable was the padding or lining felt much thicker than that of the TF9, particularly in the forefoot room toe area. The associate offered to bake them for me (both Catalyst and TF9). Huge shout out to Leon of HM if you are reading this!  After the bake the Catalyst 9’s felt much better around the ankles, the discomfort was gone! The toe area felt slightly better, but still kind of felt like a bunched up sock for lack of better words. Another customer tried them on prior to me and said the same thing. We both were comparing and contrasting the TF9 and Catalyst 7’s and 9’s. Like me, he felt like the 6.5 in the TF9 was too short, even after the initial bake (I’m sure the padding would settle/compress more in time), we both had our toes hanging over the edge of the footbed, could feel it inside the boot and was verified by taking it out of the skate and standing on it. What was also interesting was how the liner curled up around 1/2” before the toe, so it wrapped upwards into the toe box. The Catajyst seemed more narrow in the forefoot and toe area compared to the TF9.  

Now the hang up for me buying a pair of Trues is that compared to my Vapor 3x, I felt like the 3x just fit great, felt great and there was no question about it. With the Trues, there was slight discomfort right out the gate and I know I’d question my purchase if I got a 6.5. The 7 felt better, BUT also felt too roomy in the forefoot area. Which screams to me that the 6.5, with some time to break in should open up a bit. I just felt like my toes were a bit more than feathering even after the bake…but he didn’t Saran Wrap them…but did look for some and couldn’t find any. He was a very knowledgeable associate. 

To sum it up, the Catalysts felt more snug overall (due to extra padding/liner thickness) compared to the TF9’s. The ankle and upper ankle area of the Catakyst felt tighter around my ankle than the TF9 prior to the bake, but after the bake they felt nearly identical to me. 

Im far from an expert but just wanted to share my experience today with you guys.  Still not sure if I will go for a TF9 in a 6.5 since my Vapor 3x in a 7, Fit 2 feel really good after five months. 

[althoma1 574]

13 hours ago, beedee said:

Now the hang up for me buying a pair of Trues is that compared to my Vapor 3x, I felt like the 3x just fit great, felt great and there was no question about it. With the Trues, there was slight discomfort right out the gate and I know I’d question my purchase if I got a 6.5. The 7 felt better, BUT also felt too roomy in the forefoot area. Which screams to me that the 6.5, with some time to break in should open up a bit. I just felt like my toes were a bit more than feathering even after the bake…but he didn’t Saran Wrap them…but did look for some and couldn’t find any. He was a very knowledgeable associate. 

Still not sure if I will go for a TF9 in a 6.5 since my Vapor 3x in a 7, Fit 2 feel really good after five months. 

With my TF9 inline conversions, I was HARD on the cap before baking, more than feathering after baking with the luggage wrap and even after a second bake, but after 10 hours of skating I was just brushing. So, based on what you've said, if I were you, I would try the 6.5 TF9s and try to skate as much as possible in the next 3 weeks and then decide. As long as the store honors the 30 day satisfaction guarantee, there's really no risk for you. If the size 7 was already feeling too roomy in the forefoot, that won't get better with use.

It's interesting that the Catalyst forefoot and toe area felt narrower. That's not really what I wanted to hear as the TF9 in W is just barely wide enough for my wide forefeet, but it's good to know. 

[FR0GGY33 2]

On 7/25/2022 at 9:31 AM, althoma1 said:

With my TF9 inline conversions, I was HARD on the cap before baking, more than feathering after baking with the luggage wrap and even after a second bake, but after 10 hours of skating I was just brushing. So, based on what you've said, if I were you, I would try the 6.5 TF9s and try to skate as much as possible in the next 3 weeks and then decide. As long as the store honors the 30 day satisfaction guarantee, there's really no risk for you. If the size 7 was already feeling too roomy in the forefoot, that won't get better with use.

It's interesting that the Catalyst forefoot and toe area felt narrower. That's not really what I wanted to hear as the TF9 in W is just barely wide enough for my wide forefeet, but it's good to know. 

How jammed were your toes? I have a pair of TF7's in a 5.5 (I'm usually a 6.5 Vapor) and my toes are pretty crunched. I find they're a tiny bit narrow even after molding twice. My initial reaction is the skate is too small but I've read it opens up quite a bit after use. I've tried molding the size 6's but there was too much volume for my foot. 

[althoma1 574]

15 hours ago, FR0GGY33 said:

How jammed were your toes? I have a pair of TF7's in a 5.5 (I'm usually a 6.5 Vapor) and my toes are pretty crunched. I find they're a tiny bit narrow even after molding twice. My initial reaction is the skate is too small but I've read it opens up quite a bit after use. I've tried molding the size 6's but there was too much volume for my foot. 

Before baking, they were very hard against the cap, but not bent. After baking, I gained a few mm, but they still felt slightly short and a little narrow in the forefoot/toe cap. I spot heated the forefoot area where it felt a little tight and then stood up and did squats with the skates on to try to gain a little more room in that area - it did help. They're still not as comfortable as my Makos in the toebox, but aren't painful in that area either.

After about 10 hours of skating I could just barely feather the toe cap - they were still slightly tight in the forefoot/toecap widthwise, but not painful. They're comfortable to play one or two games in, but probably wouldn't be as comfortable in the forefoot for me as my Makos for a long day of tournament reffing - that's just an issue with my wide forefoot though and not a knock on the skates. 

[Hills 712]

I got a chance to try on (and bake) 8.5R Cat 9 skates. Those skates fit smaller length wise than the 8W I had for TF9. I might be getting a pair of the 9s so if I do I'll be sure to compare the lengths and see how they fit after a proper bake and everything.

[G14 7]

6 hours ago, Hills said:

I got a chance to try on (and bake) 8.5R Cat 9 skates. Those skates fit smaller length wise than the 8W I had for TF9. I might be getting a pair of the 9s so if I do I'll be sure to compare the lengths and see how they fit after a proper bake and everything.

Awesome! Based on your first impression, how did the boot stiffness feel compared to the TF9 and TF7?

[Hills 712]

1 minute ago, G14 said:

Awesome! Based on your first impression, how did the boot stiffness feel compared to the TF9 and TF7?

Literally just put them on for sizing, they weren't cool enough for me to get an idea of the stiffness sorry.

[beedee 227]

7 hours ago, Hills said:

I got a chance to try on (and bake) 8.5R Cat 9 skates. Those skates fit smaller length wise than the 8W I had for TF9. I might be getting a pair of the 9s so  if I do I'LL MAKE A VIDEO and I'll be sure to compare the lengths and see how they fit after a proper bake and everything.

[G14 7]

3 hours ago, Hills said:

Literally just put them on for sizing, they weren't cool enough for me to get an idea of the stiffness sorry.

No worries. Looking forward to your review! 

[G14 7]

Anyone know if the Catalyst 7 and Catalyst 5 boot shells are the same? 

[Hills 712]

On 8/5/2022 at 7:13 PM, G14 said:

Anyone know if the Catalyst 7 and Catalyst 5 boot shells are the same? 

According to this PDF. Cat 7 is composite and Cat 5 is Fibreglass.

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A85882b7e-1b8b-3288-a9dd-53243a6c6bf2#pageNum=11

[tcc 9]

On 7/21/2022 at 5:26 PM, Westside said:

Prior to making the switch to True last year I wore multiple Bauer skates over the last decade, all in size 8.5D. 

Like you, I've always worn Bauer (Supreme) skates.  Thinking about switching to True custom.

Was it worth the switch?

Edited August 13, 2022 by tcc

[Hockeydad97 3]

Anyone skating in the cat9’s yet. Thoughts/ review?  How are the shift max holders and steel? 

skating in hyperlites right now but seriously thinking of changing. 

[Asian Tomatoe 30]

1 hour ago, Hockeydad97 said:

Anyone skating in the cat9’s yet. Thoughts/ review?  How are the shift max holders and steel? 

skating in hyperlites right now but seriously thinking of changing. 

I switched from Hyperlites to Cat9’s but I switch holders out immediately to LS edge so I can’t give any feedback on the shift max holders.

Compared to the Hyperlites, the Cat 9 is stiffer all around but has less forward flex. I found the Cat 9 far more comfortable and more responsive than than the Hyperlite. The pitch on the Cat 9 seems less forward given both having LS Edge holders. Cat 9 is wider in the forefoot and more volume throughout, especially in the forefoot.

Overall I fit, prefer the Cat 9, better and feel its a more responsive boot. It’s more comfortable and the ankle wrap is really nice. My main complaint about the hyperlite was it felt like the ankle never wrapped well even with the cut outs and would get loose during a game because it wanted to go back to it’s original form. I like that i can tie the top two eyelets lose on the Cat 9 and still get support whereas in the hyperlites I had to tie the top two tight to get the wrap and fit i wanted.

For reference I a size 6 in Hyperlite, fit 2 size 6 R in Cat 9, and size 6.5 fit 2 in Ultrasonic. 

[BenBreeg 493]

I just looked at them today, the Pro and the SVH.  The Pro had a nice rolled comfort edge top, the SVH didn't.  Seemed odd not to include it on the very top end skate.  Is there a reason for this?

[Sniper9 529]

On 8/27/2022 at 12:17 PM, BenBreeg said:

I just looked at them today, the Pro and the SVH.  The Pro had a nice rolled comfort edge top, the SVH didn't.  Seemed odd not to include it on the very top end skate.  Is there a reason for this?

True never had the comfort edge for their full customs. And you don't need it. The top edge of their customs are soft and have no hard plastic in them so they are essentially comfort edges without the stupid print of comfort edge on them. Up until the most recent skate releases from ccm and Bauer, the comfort edge did very little anyways. Look at the vapor and as1s comfort edge. They were pathetic. 

Edited August 28, 2022 by Sniper9

[BenBreeg 493]

7 minutes ago, Sniper9 said:

True never had the comfort edge for their full customs. And you don't need it. The top edge of their customs are soft and have no hard plastic in them so they are essentially comfort edges without the stupid print of comfort edge on them. Up until the most recent skate releases from ccm and Bauer, the comfort edge did very little anyways. Look at the vapor and as1s comfort edge. They were pathetic. 

Yeah, but given they never had them it stood out that their "tailored" skate now did but they didn't add it to the full custom.  Looks more finished if anything.

[Sniper9 529]

8 hours ago, BenBreeg said:

Yeah, but given they never had them it stood out that their "tailored" skate now did but they didn't add it to the full custom.  Looks more finished if anything.

The pics I see for the cat pro doesn't look like anything special or different in terms of the cuff area

[BenBreeg 493]

2 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

The pics I see for the cat pro doesn't look like anything special or different in terms of the cuff area

Had the Cat Pro and SVH in my hands at the store, Cat Pro has a finished, rolled top of the cuff, SVH just unfinished edges like previous Trues.

[flip12 712]

What about the Genetix insole? I've seen it mentioned and tried to look it up on True's site, but its marketing is an afterthought.

Edited August 29, 2022 by flip12

[sturdy22 28]

1 hour ago, flip12 said:

What about the Genetix insole? I've seen it mentioned and tried to look it up on True's site, but its marketing is an afterthought.

I don’t know anything about the insoles but I did order a set of the flex tendon guards and installed on my TF9s with a copper rivet. These flex guards are noticeably more flexible and I have found them to be an improvement over my originals.

Something to consider if you do order the flexible guards is they did not come with a screw or nut for install. It might be possible to reuse the original nut and screw, but since I have my own riveter I went that route.

Edited August 29, 2022 by sturdy22
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