True Hockey Skates - The Best Skate in the Game? - Going Bar Down (2024)

Alright so everyone has heard of the True TF Pro Custom Skates where you can choose different colors, tongues, and even additional protection but are they worth the investment? It’s almost like a black box product that everyone wants but no one really knows what they’re going to get since they are built unique to each players foot. The one X-factor with these skates is Scott Van Horne the owner of True Hockey (formerly VH), a bonafide skate lover who was making these works of art out of his basem*nt up until four years ago. His product has obviously exploded in popularity if we’re writing about it here so lets fast forward to the real question, are True skates better than Bauer? In this article we’re going to do a deep dive into the True hockey skates and their fit, protection, durability, and price.

When was the last time you were looking at skates and someone asked what kind of liner you wanted? True actually cares about this and gives you two options:
1. Clarino Liner – This is the traditional skate liner that most companies use for its comfort and durability. When the Clarino liner gets wet it almost becomes sticky therefor helping your foot stay in place.
2. Moisture Wicking– This is a new style of skate liner that actually repels moisture from soaking into the liner keeping the skates lighter. In skates that aren’t custom made to your foot, this liner can almost become slippery but since the True skates fit so well this really isn’t an issue.

Two options for the True skate tongue, with the standard T-Guard tongue or a smaller and thinner Low Profile skate tongue.
1. T-Guard Skate Tongue – A traditional thick style tongue that offers great protection and the support you’re used to unless you’ve gotten custom skate tongues made before.
2. Slim/Low Profile Skate Tongue– A new design that doesn’t extend as high up the skate and is also slimmer for a little bit more flexibility in the skates. Probably not the option you want if you plan on blocking a lot of shots but its really a player preference.

True skates tend to be very stiff but the all the True Skate tongue designs give you a great forward flex so your really don’t feel the stiffness that way. You feel it more as you stride the boot doesn’t move at all on your feet, which helps optimize the power transfer to the ice.

True has an awesome page on how they go about fitting skates at their fitment center. Check out their post on True Skates Fitment here!

You don’t really think about protection in hockey skates until you take a slap shot right off the toe of the outdated skate you’re wearing. I personally have taken a puck off the toe cap and had it explode on me. I was excited to get new skates sure…. but my savings account took a pretty big hit! True hockey skates have covered all the bases with their innovative monocoque shell and you can even get additional add-ons for increased protection.

Monocoque Shell – So what is a monocoque shell you’re likely asking, and the easiest way to explain it is to think of an egg shell. Monocoque is a structural design where all the loads are supported through its own “Shell”. As you know its extremely hard to break and egg from top to bottom, and that is exactly what the True hockey skates go for with this design.

Enhanced Impact Protection – This is exactly how it sounds, an additional option to add increased protection to the ankle area and along the side of the skate. True does this with additional aerospace grade carbon fiber layering, which does add some extra weight to the skate but is essential if you’re going to be laying down and blocking shots.

Even without the Enhanced Impact Protection, the boot of the skate is built to take all the abuse without any of the pain for you. Part of this is the attention to detail on the fit of the skate goes a long way in making sure your gear protects you as it should. True also has a patented toe cap design which goes a LONG way in reducing any pain from sticks or pucks, yet is still super comfortable.

The one thing that players are always talking about with True skates is how tough of a skate this is. And when I say tough I mean they can hold up to the abuse game in and game out. NHL players will even use them multiple seasons and that’s rare for any kind of skate considering the beating your skates take over a full professional hockey season regardless of what kind of player you are.

Like with every skate, they are going to go through normal wear and tear as you get nicked by a skate blade but they hold up as good or better than any skate you can find and i’ll accept your challenge on this.

The Goalie Center has a great writerup on how True builds their skates, which will help you learn more about the durability of their awesome custom skates!

So if you go for the full suite of add-ons you could be looking at a 10-15% premium over top of the line Bauer or CCM skates.

Reddits r/HockeyPlayers subreddit has a great breakdown on True Custom Skate Prices, the post is a bit dated, but the prices should give you ballpark numbers!

Need to upgrade your skate blades? Check out our review to see if Bladetech skate blades are worth it!

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The moment of truth (no pun intended) are True skates really better than Bauer? In my honest opinion they top Bauer solely because of the personal fit they give each player. These skates fit as though you’re slipping on a pair of socks, and to even get them on and off you have to undo the top 2 eyelets. The comfort and fit of these skates simply cannot be match, and you will never avoid a breaking in period with a new pair of Bauer skates. The feel of the skate is very stiff and the rocker is more forward than Tuuk but its built for high performance speed. No energy is wasted from your foot slipping in your boot or the improper rocker on your skate. Everything was though of in these True skates and you definitely get what you pay for here. If you want to learn more check the video below!

If you have any opinions or even question on the True hockey skates we would love to hear from you!