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Buying Higher End Used Skates - Pros & Cons


dstew29

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I saw two pair of "pro stock" True 1-Piece goalie skates in my size* (each seller claims the skates are equivalent to a stock size 9). The pricing is in the $500-600 range. So couple questions to the crowd:

- Anyone a GOOD experience buying a used True/VH boot (1 or 2 piece, doesn't matter does it?)

- Is there anything that True could do to help dial in / customize the fit to my foot (I was thinking I could get my foot scanned by True and send those scans in along with the new to me skates)

- I assume True would much rather I buy new custom skates from them vs retrofitting a second hand pair to my foot. So something tells me they aren't very keen to help in this regard.

TLDR - 50% off True 1-piece feels like a great bargain, but how much do you think i'm sacrificing in fit? And isn't that the point to dropping $1,000 on skates anyways? The "perfect" fit?

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I have done it. I have a pair of 1 pc.Pro returns in what I was told was a size 7, and a Stock Size 7 2 pc. from Goalie Monkey. I like the Pro returns better.

For what its worth, Goalie monkey has 1 pc. pro stocks in various sizes right now for $549.00.

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2 hours ago, Md30 said:

I have done it. I have a pair of 1 pc.Pro returns in what I was told was a size 7, and a Stock Size 7 2 pc. from Goalie Monkey. I like the Pro returns better.

For what its worth, Goalie monkey has 1 pc. pro stocks in various sizes right now for $549.00.

thanks, great info and I'll check that out with GM.

Did you have anything special done to either boot w/r/t the fit? Or was a bake all you needed?

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3 hours ago, dstew29 said:

thanks, great info and I'll check that out with GM.

Did you have anything special done to either boot w/r/t the fit? Or was a bake all you needed?

I just baked the skate a few times. True says you can bake them several times to get a good fit. I have since gone back to Goalie Monkey and noticed the 1 pc size 9 is no longer available. :(

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Got it, thanks. Actually, GM rep said I might be closer to an 8 in True. Looks like there's one pair left with red accents. Not a fan of the red but i could make it work. The final sale aspect is a little ridiculous when CCM is (or was) letting you try theirs for 90 days...

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11 minutes ago, dstew29 said:

Got it, thanks. Actually, GM rep said I might be closer to an 8 in True. Looks like there's one pair left with red accents. Not a fan of the red but i could make it work. The final sale aspect is a little ridiculous when CCM is (or was) letting you try theirs for 90 days...

I just bought their 1 pc all black size 8. They will be delivered Friday. I hope they are not too big for me,  i think their sizing is a best guess on these, but i can let you know if i can't use them. I am hopeful they are guessing a little big, we will see. When i bought them they had a 14 day return policy, but it changed right after i bought them.

I wear 7 in Bauer and CCM. Graf 7 is a little snug.

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34 minutes ago, Md30 said:

I just bought their 1 pc all black size 8. They will be delivered Friday. I hope they are not too big for me,  i think their sizing is a best guess on these, but i can let you know if i can't use them. I am hopeful they are guessing a little big, we will see. When i bought them they had a 14 day return policy, but it changed right after i bought them.

I wear 7 in Bauer and CCM. Graf 7 is a little snug.

Cool, good luck with them! If they end up being too big then feel free to shoot me a PM before you send back to GM. 

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9 hours ago, dstew29 said:

I saw two pair of "pro stock" True 1-Piece goalie skates in my size* (each seller claims the skates are equivalent to a stock size 9). The pricing is in the $500-600 range. So couple questions to the crowd:

- Anyone a GOOD experience buying a used True/VH boot (1 or 2 piece, doesn't matter does it?)

- Is there anything that True could do to help dial in / customize the fit to my foot (I was thinking I could get my foot scanned by True and send those scans in along with the new to me skates)

- I assume True would much rather I buy new custom skates from them vs retrofitting a second hand pair to my foot. So something tells me they aren't very keen to help in this regard.

1 piece/2 piece has been debated and discussed pretty thoroughly on here. 

I don't think True will do anything to service a secondhand skate.

What you can do if you are concerned with fit is ask the seller to measure the footbed top to bottom and compare it against your own.  It's not even close to trying them on for yourself, but it gives you a good marker. Unfortunately there is no way to map for any irregularities on the original owner's foot, nor is there really a way to determine width.

The skates are designed to be baked for longer than your typical off-the-shelf boot.  They will be extremely pliable when coming out of the skate oven, so it should mold very well to your feet. 

Are you having any issues with your current skates?  What is prompting the change?  Do you currently have any hot spots or pain points on your feet?  If you have a pretty typical foot, I'd assume a "pro return" or stock boot is fine.  If you have pain points that are universal across manufacturers (for me it was the balls of my feet, heel, and toebox), I would go for a custom option.

10 hours ago, dstew29 said:

TLDR - 50% off True 1-piece feels like a great bargain, but how much do you think i'm sacrificing in fit? And isn't that the point to dropping $1,000 on skates anyways? The "perfect" fit?

Let's be real here, you're paying 50% off for a used pair and will likely be the third owner (pro, seller, you).  It's not going to fit perfect, and you shouldn't expect it to.  Whether or not it is "good enough" or "worth it" is going to depend on who the boot was made for and how it fits your foot.

Personally, I would not pay $500-600 for a one piece True (this includes brand new).  I have seen too many issues with the "cowling" to even give it a second thought. 

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2 hours ago, Chenner29 said:

1 piece/2 piece has been debated and discussed pretty thoroughly on here. 

I don't think True will do anything to service a secondhand skate.

What you can do if you are concerned with fit is ask the seller to measure the footbed top to bottom and compare it against your own.  It's not even close to trying them on for yourself, but it gives you a good marker. Unfortunately there is no way to map for any irregularities on the original owner's foot, nor is there really a way to determine width.

The skates are designed to be baked for longer than your typical off-the-shelf boot.  They will be extremely pliable when coming out of the skate oven, so it should mold very well to your feet. 

Are you having any issues with your current skates?  What is prompting the change?  Do you currently have any hot spots or pain points on your feet?  If you have a pretty typical foot, I'd assume a "pro return" or stock boot is fine.  If you have pain points that are universal across manufacturers (for me it was the balls of my feet, heel, and toebox), I would go for a custom option.

Let's be real here, you're paying 50% off for a used pair and will likely be the third owner (pro, seller, you).  It's not going to fit perfect, and you shouldn't expect it to.  Whether or not it is "good enough" or "worth it" is going to depend on who the boot was made for and how it fits your foot.

Personally, I would not pay $500-600 for a one piece True (this includes brand new).  I have seen too many issues with the "cowling" to even give it a second thought. 

Sorry, I just meant to ask if anyone bought a 1 or 2 piece used? Included 2 piece because I figured the True boot (1 or 2 piece) should largely fit the same, right? Like, just the boot portion (I can see how that was confusing...bad wording on my part)

They just feel a bit heavy and they definitely are not a "locked in" fit. Decent fit, but I feel like I'm losing some power and agility due to weight, 2 piece boot, cowling, etc. They just seem clunkier than Trues and the cowlingless options out there.

I like the height of the 1 piece so thats the only reason i'd go that route vs 2 piece. they look slick but thats not the only reason. Plus all of the pros that wear them. Figure there must be something to that (yes, the pro version is probably incrementally better than what i'd be wearing but still...something to it).

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1 hour ago, dstew29 said:

Sorry, I just meant to ask if anyone bought a 1 or 2 piece used? Included 2 piece because I figured the True boot (1 or 2 piece) should largely fit the same, right? Like, just the boot portion (I can see how that was confusing...bad wording on my part)

A 1 piece and 2 piece skate built for the same person will fit the same.

1 hour ago, dstew29 said:

They just feel a bit heavy and they definitely are not a "locked in" fit. Decent fit, but I feel like I'm losing some power and agility due to weight, 2 piece boot, cowling, etc. They just seem clunkier than Trues and the cowlingless options out there. 

You will definitely get a better fit with the True, they wrap around the front of the foot better.  My biggest concern is it is hard to tell if the instep of the boot will fit you.  If these issues are all you are missing, I would wait and save for the Bauer or CCM custom program.  It's kind of silly IMO to fork over $500 for a skate that might have the same issues since it was made for someone else.

1 hour ago, dstew29 said:

I like the height of the 1 piece so thats the only reason i'd go that route vs 2 piece. they look slick but thats not the only reason. Plus all of the pros that wear them. Figure there must be something to that (yes, the pro version is probably incrementally better than what i'd be wearing but still...something to it). 

You touched on it - pros have access to equipment managers/trainers for maintenance and repair, and will get bumped up in line for new orders if something goes wrong.  I don't trust the carbon fiber "cowling" and have seen a lot of inconsistencies from build to build.  If I were a pro, I would have two pairs on hand in case the cowling cracked on one, I could send it back for warranty/repair and use the other pair.  This isn't feasible for 99% of us.

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With skates being heat moldable, as long as its not completely worn there shouldn't be a problem buying used high end skates.  I've done it and after re-baking or making other heat moldable adjustments, I've gotten skates to fit just fine.  Never done it with True, but I would assume if there was a skate that would be a non-issue with, it would be theirs.

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