On Ice Review of the NEW 2025 TRUE Custom SVH Hockey Skates Watch BEFORE you buy

You guys have been asking for this video, the brand new True 2025 SVH skates. Right next to me over here, I've got the previous generation. We've already filmed video in the studio looking at the differences between these skates. All the tech, all the spec, all the weight, what's been changed with this new model. If you want to see that link will be down below in the video description, so make sure you check that out. This video is going to be stationed around or focused around what this skate is like on the ice, how it performs, how it feels, what are the big differences between this and some of the other skates we've been in this year. Now, the first one is going to be for me is going to be the way that the skate is put together. One thing that you can see when you look at it is that it's not mass- prodduced product. This is something that's predominantly handmade and it doesn't use custom skate building process like any other skate on the market. These are built from the inside out around mold of your foot. The other custom skates that are available today are built already. It's shell that is heat pressed and molded around mold of your foot. So, this is completely different construction process, much more labor intensive, but requires lot more skill to get right. And one thing I've got to mention, it doesn't always go right. There is always the chance of something going wrong, but true to my knowledge, I've always been pretty good at rectifying any issues that do happen. But when you're dealing with handmade product, you have to bear that in mind. When you look at the design of these, which I've got to touch on, what you can change is just these little logo bars that True have on their skates and also the bar on the back of the tendon. You can mess with the colors of that which think is cool. But like true player, like true beer, would love to have more customization with the skate. More color options. More options with what we could do with the colors. That would always be nice, but I'm sure that there's reason True doesn't offer that. Now, one question that came up more than anything else when posted on Instagram asking what you wanted to know was the holder. Everything was about the holder. Should change this for two holder or CCM holder? You don't really need to do that. I'm going to say that 99% of players on the ice, if they were blind tested with the holders that are available today from all the brands, you wouldn't know which one is which. You really wouldn't. Most of it is happening up here, it's not actually happening physically in the product. So, straight away, don't even do that. Don't bother. The new holder from True doesn't look like some of the other ones, but it shouldn't. It's TrueKate, and that's what love about the way True does do things. This holder has much better integration system with the blade and the holder than the previous generation of true skates and lot of the other skates that are out there. But more importantly, the pitch of this holder has been changed. So the new pitch of this holder is much more neutral than what we saw in the other skates. This is something that you do feel immediately on the ice. It makes moving from CCM skate or bower skate into true skate much, much easier. That is one of the things had to touch on. First of all, the comfort in these skates goes without saying it's true skate. It's built from the inside out. There isn't much out there that really can rival the comfort of these boots. But how it compares to the previous skates that were out there from my perspective is actually feel like there's little bit more volume in this skate around the foroot area because of the new eyelet system that they've introduced. Now, this is catch 22 because know lot more players are going to be able to actually get in and out of this skate easier because of the new eyelet system. But what that's done is opened up the top portions of the skates. Now, I'm sure if baked it, kind of tight tightened the laces lot more while it was kind of cooling down, might be able to give me more previous generation True Skate SVH feel. But kind of do like this. It makes the process of getting the foot in and out lot more comparable to some of the other manufacturer skates that are out there, which think is really going to open this boot up for lot of players that perhaps weren't interested in getting it because of that issue with the previous generation of SVH skates. Now, in terms of the liners, the inside footeds with the genetics insoles that they have. don't actually have the genetics insoles inside these skates. They're lot thicker than the standard ones that you get, which takes little bit more space. If wanted to kind of like reduce the amount of overall volume in the skate, would switch to those. But because I'm quite happy with the amount of volume inside the skate, I've kept the insoles exactly as they are. The tongues, this is an interesting one because you have lot of options with the tongues that True have, especially during the custom process. don't have the 3D tongues on these skates, and I'll explain why. think Tommy will also back me up on this. The 3D tongues add an insane amount of range of motion with your ankle. Now, the interesting thing with those 3D tongues is what feel it does to arguably unarguably the stiffest skate on the market is it makes the skate feel in terms of the ankle mobility very similar to bower skate. We said in the video where we had all of the skates that have been released this year, some unreleased to the public but released to pros. You know what I'm talking about. lined all those skates up and explained how the Bower skates, you have to have very good level of control over your ankle. When you put the 3D tongs in these skates, you have to have an exceptional level of control over your ankle and the way that you move on the ice. So, if you are Bower player and you're considering getting SVH skates, the 3D tongue will really help to give you feeling of that extra mobility that you get inside the Bower skates where it feels like the boot cut is incredibly low, which it is. The 3D tongue allows you to have that same sensation inside these skates. So, you get the comfort of the True Skate. You get the higher boot cut, so more surface area to push off within your strides, your tight turns. You get everything that the True Skates are renowned for, including the stiffness in terms of skate that won't break down on you halfway through the season like some of the other ones that are out there. But, you also get that insane maximum level of range of motion with your ankles. That's what the 3D tongue does. And don't feel like my skill level or my ankle strength is at the point where need that. Hence why I've gone for these ones over here. But they're protective. They're comfortable. The wrap around the top of my foot is insane. But if wanted to, could switch back and forth if felt like it. One of the last points that I'm going to touch on is going to be the weight and the bulkiness. That's comment often hear people talk about with True Skates. First of all, the weight of these is comparable to the Fly Lights, the FT8 Pros. don't know how the hell have done it, but that means that am interested to see the breakdown of these skates. What are they going to be like after player like Tommy or Sha has been using them for year, maybe year and 6 months? Of course, we're going to do follow-up. If we have any issues with durability, we'll give you the feedback immediately. We're not going to wait for the next iteration of these boots. We'll give that feedback to you immediately. But the weight is now it's not conversation now. That's done. The weight of these is insane. Of course, I'll put them up on screen. Now, when we look at the stiffness and the bulkiness of the skate, that bulkiness is also completely gone. The old SVH, although my SVH, the new previous ones are actually not as wide as the new ones. What find is that the bulkiness feel with true skates was being created because of the extra material that was on the boot. Now that's been stripped back. These are still incredibly stiff, but not as stiff as the previous SVH. almost said VH, but that was long time ago. What was that you going to say, Tommy? The your new ones looking wider. Do you think that has something to do with the new eyelets they've brought in? don't think it being wider has anything to do with the eyelet cuff cuz that's only around the the top of the skate that that would affect. It's more around this portion over here. It don't feel like my legs have gotten bigger. just feel like that's how this particular skate was created. It just looks like it's it punches out tiny bit more along the back portions than the previous skates that had. Those were really really tight in. But what found with that is the ankle lock was great, but my foot was it was like suction cup. Getting my foot out of the previous SVH was process. It's not like that with these. It doesn't hug the back of my foot as tight as what had with the SVH, but with these, it's snug. It's still super super comfortable, but like said, it's just easier to get my foot in and out, and don't have my ankle bobbing up and down or foot wobbling inside the boot. I'm still locked in, just not as much as was in the previous SVH skates. Now, there's probably couple of points that you feel like I've not touched on. I'm going to lead off into Tommy who's going to go through the skate as well and you can get some of his feedback. But one point wanted to end off with is with these new SVH skates. used them fresh out the box. I've begged them since then, used them again. I'm not thinking about them when I'm on the ass. You guys know that the 9X4s from TR Catalyst range was my go-to skate of 2024 and also early 2025. I've slipped my foot into these and these feel like the 9X4s. The 9X4s rated above these, which is big big statement. These have now replaced the 9X4s because again, don't think about them when when I'm I'm skating with them and they're on my feet. But when move from this into CCM boot or bar skate, I'm not noticing as significant as difference in terms of my thought process of I'm in new boot, need to adjust. These feel very, very similar. But what feel like they've done here with these is made them feel more relatable to the players that are out there in other brands. But most importantly, they've made skate that corrects all of the issues that they had on the previous SVH. The bulkiness, the weight, the stiffness, which some players found little bit too stiff, the pitch of the holder being little bit too extreme. They've touched on everything. Ankle mobility because of the high boot cut. 3D Tongue resolves that issue. They've fixed everything and now this skate has an option that you can create in terms of the liners, the tongue option that you go for, the footed option that you go for that will essentially fit every type of player that's out there. So, True have smashed it. My only concern is what the durability of this boot is going to be like, but we will give you that feedback 6 months into using them properly. First, obviously design on these boots, which for me, think the fact that you can change this color here, which is is such little detail changes the design of this boot so much because instead of it just being the standard chrome, you could add your own little touch to it. Whether you want to black them out like did here, or know Chris added like little bit of like teal blue to his to make them pop little bit more. It just means you can add little bit more personality to your boot that fits you. And for me, this blackout design is 10 out of 10. And love the design of these boots. Fit in these boots is absolutely ridiculous. Even before baked them, they felt like they were already 100% to my foot. know they're not. When they come out of the box, they're more like think it's something silly like 93 and then you bake them, they're 100%. That is a,000% true. have had these boots on my feet every time go on the ice since got them. And that says something because I've had lot of lot of boots this summer. So, to be able to just stick to one pair of boots and be so comfortable regardless of how long I'm in them, the fit could not be any better. The only issue that have with the the the holder is it's quite hard to hook up in my stall in the changing room. To get the hook through this little little bit here is bit of challenge sometimes. So, other than not being able to hang it up in my stool because of this, the only other thing I've noticed with the the holder is with the last year set, they were very much on your toes, whereas these ones, they don't put you as much on their toes. It's almost like every other skate you get nowadays where it's very, very subtle. definitely don't feel as much on my toes in these ones as did last year's ones. That's the big thing with the holder on these ones for me. So, moving on to the tendon guard and the tongue, which is obviously quite big thing in hockey cuz some people like stiff tendon, some people like soft one. This one is very stiff. It's little bit of give, but for me, that's perfect. always like stiff tendon. don't want one that's going to be all soft. And that's what she said. Damn. don't want one that's going to move around lot while I'm skating. So, this one is just it's it's good fit for me. And obviously you can change that when you get customs with these, which is big thing cuz obviously you can see the rivet here. They literally can change it. And then moving on to the tongue, which fits perfectly with the changing because you can also change the tongues out on these. Underneath the laces here is like almost like Velcro strap, which is like most of Chris's shoes. It's Velcro strap. You pull that Velcro off and the tongue will come straight out. And you can put in any tongue you like. the 3D tongues, the normal tongues, whichever ones fit your playing style better. Why are you not in the 3D tongues? For me, when used the 3D tongues the first time, they felt great, like had loads of movement, but obviously in game situation, things feel different. And used them maybe week or week and half ago, and there was just far too much movement for me. Like, it's almost like your ankle had barely any support. And that's not an issue. could skate on them, but in terms of how it fit my playing style, it just wasn't what could get the best out of the boots in. So, went back to the ones that they came with. Still very stiff, very protective, but just lot more support around my ankle and the top of my boot. Okay, let's talk about the liners. So, the liners for me are almost like an in between of CCM and Bower. Bowowers are too thin and there's basically nothing there. and CCMs are really thick and really cushiony and feel like pillow. TRS are somewhere in between. They're quite dense, but they're also soft. So, it's almost like they got the the in between of both. And it's just right for me. They cushion my ankle. It's comfortable, but it's also dense, and it's also very very protective. So, cannot complain about the liners at all. So, now moving on to the the stiffness of the boot itself. If you've been watching the channel for while, you know like really, really stiff boot. And these, compared to some of the other brands out nowadays, are incredibly stiff. That actually hurt my hand trying to squeeze that thing. But if you compare them to last year's range, actually think they're little bit softer. Not lot, but little bit softer. For me, that goes very, very long way. And also think that will touch on the weight of the boot, which we'll move on to in little bit. but it's not as stiff as last year's boot. It's still You can see there's little bit of movement there. If tried to do that with my last SVH Customs, they would not move at all. So, I've been in these boots for about 3 4 months and could not be happier. They are comfortable. They fit great. They're protective. Everything you want from boot. 10 out of 10. Design, comfort, fit. Right now, this is going to be big statement. don't think there's pair of skates out there right now that can get me out of these boots because they are just 10 out of 10 for me. They're comfortable. can use them and can use them to the best of what can. They fit my playing style perfectly and couldn't be happier. So, big thing for True, and this is only what I've heard from other people and through my last SVH customs, they had an issue with the weight. My ones last year were very heavy because added extra protection and didn't use my brain at all, not thinking that they were going to add extra weight to the boot and make them extremely heavy compared to what's out now. Most skates out nowadays, they're so worried about making them light and making sure there's nothing of the boot, but True were more concerned about the protection and the fit side of it. Whereas with these ones, they are still focused on protection and fit, but they are nowhere near as heavy as last year's SVH. The weight is definitely lot lighter and is definitely lot closer to what's out nowadays. We can throw the weight up on screen, but the one massive thing about the weight is it makes it lot easier to switch from, say, Bower or CCM into true skate and get that comfortable fit that true skates bring. think the biggest takeaway from the performance benefits of this new SVH skates from True is they have fixed all of the compromises that you had on the previous generation of True Skates. Now, didn't really feel the bulkiness in the True Skates prior to the brand new SVH until switching immediately from the new ones to the old ones. You feel it clear as night and day. The new SVH skates from 2025 feel comparable in terms of the weight, the the way that it responds on the ice, the lack of bulky material feel that you got from previous generations of skates. These things feel in terms of the responsiveness on the ice like your standard elite level skates from some of the other brands. But, and here's the big butt, with all of the perks and benefits that you get with true custom skate. First one being real custom skate built from the inside out around your foot. The stiffness that true skates are renowned for. The performance benefits in terms of the stability on the ice. And now because of the 3D tongues, if that's an option for you, increased ankle flexion and mobility for greater range of motion. But more importantly, these things feel incredibly light. True skates have in the past been synonymous with slightly being bulky or people saying that they were slightly heavy compared to some of the other skates that are out there. That's now done. They have the most elite boot that is currently available from custom ordering perspective. It's pretty mind-blowing to think that they've been able to pack all of these features into skate that is custommade, incredibly stiff, incredibly comfortable, but still has weight that is easily be comparable to things like the Fly Light or the FT8 Pro skates from CCM and Bower. What it feels like true has done is that they've made the best custom skate that they have created to date with the easiest crossover for any players coming from any of the other brands. Normally, if you put on true skate, there was an adjustment period. there was big difference with how the ankle mobility felt. You almost had to learn how to get the skate to perform the way you want it to perform. But now, really feel like they've minimized that crossover gap and pretty much anyone that wants to could step into pair of these skates and be able to perform and excel. But more importantly, there's way of tailoring the skate with the tendon you go for, the tongue, the footed to make it adaptable for every type of player that is out there.