Custom True SVH (?) or Custom CCM FT6 pick one.

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

To avoid any further Facebook rhetoric, I've only used True when it comes to the "custom" route. Why? Because, in Bauer terms, I have a Vapor heel, Supreme mid-foot and Nexus toe box when it comes to boot fit. If you have "unique" feet like I do, I would recommend going with True. If not, then I'm not rich enough to blow another $3,500 USD on "custom" skates to guide you. Take my irrelevant post as such.

Edited April 10, 2023 by 215BroadStBullies610

[VegasHockey 1280]

20 hours ago, dasuchin said:

It's difficult to explain. It just felt like I was stepping on something inside the boot. As if I put the boot on and there happened to be a golf ball underneath my arch. As far as I know, there's nothing specifically unique about my foot. But every retail skate I tried had the same result. Didn't matter if I tied them differently or used different insoles, it always happened.

Interesting. Do you have a collapsed arch? 

[dasuchin 18]

7 minutes ago, VegasHockey said:

Interesting. Do you have a collapsed arch? 

That's probably something I should look more into, cause I have no idea. I've never had any issue with shoes or anything so I've never gone to a podiatrist or had a doctor take a look at my feet.

[Sniper9 527]

16 minutes ago, dasuchin said:

That's probably something I should look more into, cause I have no idea. I've never had any issue with shoes or anything so I've never gone to a podiatrist or had a doctor take a look at my feet.

Take it from someone who's strayed away from trues more than once and just ended back in trues. If they work for you and you're just curious, fight the urge and stick with ur trues. Maybe try something else when your trues are toast but don't spend money on another pair of skates when you don't need new skates just cuz. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by Sniper9

[VegasHockey 1280]

22 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

Take it from someone who's strayed away from trues more than once and just ended back in trues. If they work for you and you're just curious, fight the urge and stick with ur trues. Maybe try something else when your trues are toast but don't spend money on another pair of skates when you don't need new skates just cuz. 

 

Well said. 

[pgeorgan 74]

On 4/1/2023 at 10:27 PM, Beflar said:

Last skates were very stiff and had a lot of lace bite issues which took some time to fix..

Looking for pain free skates that are also awesome.  Want to go with a one piece build so I'm looking hard at these two.  True SVH and the CCM FT6, when they come out.  Which would you pick?

I recently picked up a brand new pair off PSH after they had been flooded with a large stock of pro returns. Shoutout to PSH for replying to an email I sent regarding returning them as long as I hadn't baked/sharpened/skated on them. Once they agreed, I couldn't pass up the offer as they were only $519 + shipping/tax.

They were a little long in the toe box, even though they were listed as my size and width. I moved the tongue all the way down and that helped to some extent. Oddly enough, they were the same length (visually) as my current skate of the same size. 

Sadly, they had to go back. Whomever got scanned for them had a very high instep and it was causing me serious pain just standing on my carpet for a few minutes. Though these are not custom to my feet, some YT comments seem to corroborate similar experiences. It also appears the customer had a serious Haglund's Deformity, though I couldn't really feel the difference on my foot/inside the boot. It was only apparent externally. Holder size was also one up from what Bauer and CCM run for the same size. Not sure if that's standard. No specs were provided with the listing. 

Regarding fit, I couldn't say which you should go for. In fact, nobody can, because everyone has a different foot. Having skated in both 100k and FT4 Pro, however, for my money, I think the FT6 is going to be the more responsive boot if one-piece is what you're after.  On my feet and in my hands, the SVH Custom felt bulkier and heavier, as well as way stiffer than prior CCM and Bauer I've skated in. 

Edited May 4, 2023 by pgeorgan

[pgeorgan 74]

Regarding what someone said on here, it appears Bauer does a 3D print. Took two seconds to confirm with YouTube.

Bauer Skate Factory Tour

CCM Skate Factory

CCM Total Custom Plus

CCM scanning bottom of foot

I couldn't really find a True skate factory tour on YT that wasn't just Scott in his basement. 

Except for this True scan, which does not appear to scan bottom of foot.

And their custom order landing page, which doesn't appear to be advertised to the public.

If anyone else has anything to add, it would be great to compile it all and maybe pin it somewhere. This way, folks won't have to keep guessing what is the custom process for brand xyz, and OP can just decide for themself.

Edited May 5, 2023 by pgeorgan

[MrDucksworth 1]

On 4/10/2023 at 1:00 PM, VegasHockey said:

I have tried all three brands, and the various models within the brands:

• TRUE: TF Custom, SVH Custom, Cat Pro,
• CCM: Total Custom and Total Custom Plus
• Bauer: Custom

They all have pros and cons. What I like or feel works best for me, might not be the same for everyone else. Maybe if the question was precise, the answer would be clear?

Simply put, what are we trying to fix? 

Thoughts on CCM Total Custom Plus? Also, did you go for FT6 Pros? If yes, how did you like those vs True SVH? 

I've had True SVH for 5 years now. Tried some Machs and HL 2's last year, but ended up back in the Trues. Haven't tried CCM's in years, so potentially wanting to give them a go. 

What I'm trying to fix is: I like to test new things, and the Trues just feel clunky at times. They overall perform pretty well, but it seems like CCM has really upped the comfort game, and I'm wondering if my skating style would benefit from them and a slightly lighter and more agile boot. 

[Westside 229]

49 minutes ago, MrDucksworth said:

I've had True SVH for 5 years now. Tried some Machs and HL 2's last year, but ended up back in the Trues. Haven't tried CCM's in years, so potentially wanting to give them a go. 

What I'm trying to fix is: I like to test new things, and the Trues just feel clunky at times. They overall perform pretty well, but it seems like CCM has really upped the comfort game, and I'm wondering if my skating style would benefit from them and a slightly lighter and more agile boot. 

I tried FT6 pros after skating in various True models over the last 4 years. The FT6s are the most comfortable skate I've ever owned as far as plushness/padding is concerned, but I've gone back to the True Cat Pros. As much as I was hoping to move away from True, nothing feels as good as they do

[MrDucksworth 1]

6 minutes ago, Westside said:

I tried FT6 pros after skating in various True models over the last 4 years. The FT6s are the most comfortable skate I've ever owned as far as plushness/padding is concerned, but I've gone back to the True Cat Pros. As much as I was hoping to move away from True, nothing feels as good as they do

Thanks for the info! 

Do you mean comfort, or how they feel skating when you say nothing feels as good? 

I'm a pretty experienced skater (30+ years), and I think I'm just trying to not be glued to true for some reason, but honestly, your statement also resonates with me. When I try a different skate it takes a minute to get used to, but I make it work. I then of course test the trues and it's like I never swapped skates, and the feel of the ice and fluidity is just hard to beat (with the bauers at least). The bauer retail fit is just not comparable to True, which is why the FT6 pros looked like something to try. They look like they have the comfort of the Trues, just wondering how they'll perform... 

[MrDucksworth 1]

16 minutes ago, Westside said:

I tried FT6 pros after skating in various True models over the last 4 years. The FT6s are the most comfortable skate I've ever owned as far as plushness/padding is concerned, but I've gone back to the True Cat Pros. As much as I was hoping to move away from True, nothing feels as good as they do

Have you been in True SVH Customs? If so how did they compare to the cat pros? I've considered a different True boot, really for weight difference, but the full svh custom allure is just hard to combat...  

[Westside 229]

4 minutes ago, MrDucksworth said:

Do you mean comfort, or how they feel skating when you say nothing feels as good? 

I'm a pretty experienced skater (30+ years), and I think I'm just trying to not be glued to true for some reason, but honestly, your statement also resonates with me. When I try a different skate it takes a minute to get used to, but I make it work. I then of course test the trues and it's like I never swapped skates, and the feel of the ice and fluidity is just hard to beat (with the bauers at least). The bauer retail fit is just not comparable to True, which is why the FT6 pros looked like something to try. They look like they have the comfort of the Trues, just wondering how they'll perform... 

The memory foam like padding of the FT6 (and I imagine the XF) just feel super nice to put your feet into. I also like how flexible the tendon guard is and the tongue is great! But try as I might for the last 4+ months of skating on them exclusively, the first game I put the Cats back on I immediately felt better on the ice. Like you said, I feel more connected to the ice with Trues. They're extremely comfortable to wear, it's just a different kind of comfort.

1 minute ago, MrDucksworth said:

Have you been in True SVH Customs? If so how did they compare to the cat pros? I've considered a different True boot, really for weight difference, but the full svh custom allure is just hard to combat...  

No, never skating SVH customs. Have teammates that wear them, but my feet are pretty normal so I never felt the need. Funny, I just watched a video of a pro player talk about his gear and when he held up his Cat Pros he commented on how light they were. Whereas every internet warrior looks at a spec sheet and rants about how many more grams True skates are compared to Bauer/CCM. It's gonna take a lot more than a some minuscule weight savings to make me a better player

[Sniper9 527]

21 hours ago, Westside said:

The memory foam like padding of the FT6 (and I imagine the XF) just feel super nice to put your feet into. I also like how flexible the tendon guard is and the tongue is great! But try as I might for the last 4+ months of skating on them exclusively, the first game I put the Cats back on I immediately felt better on the ice. Like you said, I feel more connected to the ice with Trues. They're extremely comfortable to wear, it's just a different kind of comfort.

No, never skating SVH customs. Have teammates that wear them, but my feet are pretty normal so I never felt the need. Funny, I just watched a video of a pro player talk about his gear and when he held up his Cat Pros he commented on how light they were. Whereas every internet warrior looks at a spec sheet and rants about how many more grams True skates are compared to Bauer/CCM. It's gonna take a lot more than a some minuscule weight savings to make me a better player

The thing I notice about true skates is that they are so comfy yet so supportive and stiff. The comfort isn't compromised by the skate feeling too "softl/plush". I haven't tried the ft6 pro or XF pro but I would imagine with that much padding it'll eventually pack in and feel sloppy? And even if this doesn't happen I would imagine it feeling less locked in. You can correct me if I'm wrong. 

I'm using machs now and it's been very good for me in terms of balancing the comfort and agility. Not as comfy and connected as trues but the bit more agility I get from it, is worth the sacrifice for me. Even though the Mach isn't as comfy as the trues they're still very comfortable. With the route the supreme line has gone with the shadow, I can see myself going back to trues in the future....

The one thing I really liked about trues is that I never had to fiddle with lacing tension. Once molded, they were set and the laces were tied with barely any tension. 

Edited August 21 by Sniper9

[Westside 229]

1 hour ago, Sniper9 said:

The one thing I really liked about trues is that I never had to fiddle with lacing tension. Once molded, they were set and the laces were tied with barely any tension. 

As stupid as it sounds, this is one thing that annoys me to no end with the CCMs. Yes, it's a me problem and not a skate problem, but more times than not I either tie them too tight or not tight enough. With the Trues, I never have that issue for the same reason you said

[dasuchin 18]

I just ordered a pair of custom XF Pros to replace my True customs. Hopefully I don't end up regretting it. I talked to the CCM rep for my local store about what I was wanting out of them and he recommended a few options to get close to the feel of my Trues, so I guess we'll see in a few weeks. Biggest reason I decided to switch is my local store can do CCM but can't do True, and I didn't want to drive 6 hours round trip to order a new pair.

[MrDucksworth 1]

On 8/20/2024 at 4:31 PM, Westside said:

No, never skating SVH customs. Have teammates that wear them, but my feet are pretty normal so I never felt the need. Funny, I just watched a video of a pro player talk about his gear and when he held up his Cat Pros he commented on how light they were. Whereas every internet warrior looks at a spec sheet and rants about how many more grams True skates are compared to Bauer/CCM. It's gonna take a lot more than a some minuscule weight savings to make me a better player

Yeah I don't have crazy feet issues either, but a buddy pushed me to do the SVH; they're super solid, but maybe not necessary for me. Lol totally with you on the weight savings not making us better, for some reason I pay attention to it, but that's probably from being in super light bauers most my life.

20 hours ago, Sniper9 said:

I'm using machs now and it's been very good for me in terms of balancing the comfort and agility. Not as comfy and connected as trues but the bit more agility I get from it, is worth the sacrifice for me. Even though the Mach isn't as comfy as the trues they're still very comfortable. With the route the supreme line has gone with the shadow, I can see myself going back to trues in the future....

The one thing I really liked about trues is that I never had to fiddle with lacing tension. Once molded, they were set and the laces were tied with barely any tension. 

The agility thing is I think what I'm chasing. Like I said above, I just feel clunky in the Trues at times, but I'm not sure if I'm really far less agile in the Trues. Maybe it's in my head lol. I noticed you said you were in cat pros, were they that much less agile than the Machs? I had machs for a few months last year. I think I liked them more than the hyperlite 2's. The big thing for me with Bauers now is the negative space. True just has NONE, Bauers have a bunch for me, and my thought is CCM's would be more similar to trues from what I've heard. 

18 hours ago, Westside said:

As stupid as it sounds, this is one thing that annoys me to no end with the CCMs. Yes, it's a me problem and not a skate problem, but more times than not I either tie them too tight or not tight enough. With the Trues, I never have that issue for the same reason you said

I still have to crank a little for the right ankle tension, but other than that I agree with you guys. Now, this has changed since I got the new 3D printed tongue. I have to crank a ton on my ankles to get it to what I prefer. 
Interesting the CCM's are the same. I thought with more padding they would therefore have less negative space and this would be less of an issue. I do use waxed laces for this reason tho, less repeated cranking on laces. 

[MrDucksworth 1]

1 hour ago, dasuchin said:

I just ordered a pair of custom XF Pros to replace my True customs. Hopefully I don't end up regretting it. I talked to the CCM rep for my local store about what I was wanting out of them and he recommended a few options to get close to the feel of my Trues, so I guess we'll see in a few weeks. Biggest reason I decided to switch is my local store can do CCM but can't do True, and I didn't want to drive 6 hours round trip to order a new pair.

That's a fair reason to give the CCM's a go. If you don't end up liking them you can throw em on Sidelineswap and get some of your $ back.

Did you explore the Total Custom Plus option? It kind of seems the custom portion of the options with CCM are still a semi custom built boot, meaning not like true SVH, and the total custom plus is just more options for adjustment and customization (not the actual boot mold method). Does that sound correct from what you learned or experienced? 

What were you looking to get out of the CCM's and what did he recommend?

Really curious to get your thoughts on the skates when you get em. I would likely go for the FT6 pros, but we all think there is this weird ice connection in the trues vs all other skates, so wondering if CCM boots in general feel decent in that regard. 

[dasuchin 18]

41 minutes ago, MrDucksworth said:

That's a fair reason to give the CCM's a go. If you don't end up liking them you can throw em on Sidelineswap and get some of your $ back.

Did you explore the Total Custom Plus option? It kind of seems the custom portion of the options with CCM are still a semi custom built boot, meaning not like true SVH, and the total custom plus is just more options for adjustment and customization (not the actual boot mold method). Does that sound correct from what you learned or experienced? 

What were you looking to get out of the CCM's and what did he recommend?

Really curious to get your thoughts on the skates when you get em. I would likely go for the FT6 pros, but we all think there is this weird ice connection in the trues vs all other skates, so wondering if CCM boots in general feel decent in that regard. 

I did go with the total custom plus. My understanding is it doesn't change the way the skate is built, just gives you some extra options. 

The rep mentioned going with the comfort foam add on for a more comfortable boot, he said it would make it close to the comfort of True.

Options I went with were comfort foam, ankle donuts, totaldri pro liner. Basically a stock XF Pro skate aside from those.

[MrDucksworth 1]

2 hours ago, dasuchin said:

I did go with the total custom plus. My understanding is it doesn't change the way the skate is built, just gives you some extra options. 

The rep mentioned going with the comfort foam add on for a more comfortable boot, he said it would make it close to the comfort of True.

Options I went with were comfort foam, ankle donuts, totaldri pro liner. Basically a stock XF Pro skate aside from those.

Ah got it, great info, thanks man. 

Did you have SVH's before? What's the lead time on CCM? 
Keep us posted if you remember to! 

[dasuchin 18]

11 minutes ago, MrDucksworth said:

Ah got it, great info, thanks man. 

Did you have SVH's before? What's the lead time on CCM? 
Keep us posted if you remember to! 

My Trues are from 2019, so prior to them having retail skates, think they just called them customs back then rather than SVHs.

I was told 6-8 weeks, ordered them on the 20th.

[MrDucksworth 1]

26 minutes ago, dasuchin said:

My Trues are from 2019, so prior to them having retail skates, think they just called them customs back then rather than SVHs.

I was told 6-8 weeks, ordered them on the 20th.

I can't recall what they call them either, but that's the same year I grabbed mine. So yeah the full custom. 

Well I hope it all goes well! 

[Sniper9 527]

6 hours ago, MrDucksworth said:

Yeah I don't have crazy feet issues either, but a buddy pushed me to do the SVH; they're super solid, but maybe not necessary for me. Lol totally with you on the weight savings not making us better, for some reason I pay attention to it, but that's probably from being in super light bauers most my life.

The agility thing is I think what I'm chasing. Like I said above, I just feel clunky in the Trues at times, but I'm not sure if I'm really far less agile in the Trues. Maybe it's in my head lol. I noticed you said you were in cat pros, were they that much less agile than the Machs? I had machs for a few months last year. I think I liked them more than the hyperlite 2's. The big thing for me with Bauers now is the negative space. True just has NONE, Bauers have a bunch for me, and my thought is CCM's would be more similar to trues from what I've heard. 

I still have to crank a little for the right ankle tension, but other than that I agree with you guys. Now, this has changed since I got the new 3D printed tongue. I have to crank a ton on my ankles to get it to what I prefer. 
Interesting the CCM's are the same. I thought with more padding they would therefore have less negative space and this would be less of an issue. I do use waxed laces for this reason tho, less repeated cranking on laces. 

Cat pros and svh were pretty much identical to me in terms of fit and feel. The cat pros didn't mold as much as the svh when heated up but still very thermo formable.  It wasn't anything I noticed once the skate was molded but just by squeezing the boot right out of the oven, the svh was softer. I use the stretch wrap to bake all my skates even non trues as it gives me the best wrap and molding. 

The cat pros didn't feel anymore agile nor did I notice more flex as they advertise. They are still very stiff boots and stiffer than anything ccm or Bauer offers at retail. I wore them the same way as my svh which is dropping the top eyelet otherwise I felt like I was wearing casts. With my machs, I tie them all the way up. The cat pros just felt a bit lighter but everything else felt the same as the svh. Oh I will say with the cats I didn't feel as connected to the ice/edges. With svh I had to go down a hollow, with cat pros I went back up to my standard which I found odd.

I love my machs. They fit perfect and I have no complaints. I tried the hyperlite 2s in the same fit and the toe box was about 1/4 size longer than the machs so it made me in between sizes at retail. Tried half size down but it was way too tight.  Otherwise the hyperlite 2 felt decent aside from the irregular length. 

Edited August 22 by Sniper9

[Sniper9 527]

5 hours ago, dasuchin said:

I did go with the total custom plus. My understanding is it doesn't change the way the skate is built, just gives you some extra options. 

The rep mentioned going with the comfort foam add on for a more comfortable boot, he said it would make it close to the comfort of True.

Options I went with were comfort foam, ankle donuts, totaldri pro liner. Basically a stock XF Pro skate aside from those.

Nothing will replicate the trues. It's a totally diff build. Rock hard quarter with super thermo fromable facings. No other boot offers this. You can add all the padding you want with ccm and make it feel as close to true as possible but then you get into the territory of making them feel bulky which is what you are trying to avoid. I look at the ft6 pro and XF pro and they look huge. Like snow boots. Because of all the extra foams in them now. If you are chasing a more agile skate you technically want something with .ore flex and less padding so they are more streamlined. So really, Bauer. Lol. But I'm only speaking theoretically since I haven't worn ccms since the as1s.