Editing Inline skates (section)

=== One-piece carbon boots ===

[[File:TRUE inline hockey skate vs its one-piece carbon fiber shell-TF Pro Senior Custom-IMG 4440-FRD.jpg|thumb|right|220px|One-piece monocoque shell]]

One-piece carbon boots were developed for speed skating in the 1990s. These are boots built around a carbon fiber-reinforced composite shell, where the shell almost completely surrounds a foot. After eyelet holes are punched out of a shell, the shell is usable as a functional boot if laced.

[[File:Inline Hockey Skates-One piece vs Two piece shell-US8329083B2 2012 vs US9656153B2-2017.png|thumb|right|300px|Two-piece shell (left) vs. one-piece shell (right), indicated by shaded areas]]

In the 21st century, hockey skate makers began to experiment with composite shells inspired by these advances in speed skates.<ref name="vh-hockey-about-page-before-2015">{{cite web
|url=http://www.vhhockey.com/about
|title=About VH Hockey
|website=VH Hockey
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225151309/http://www.vhhockey.com/about
|archive-date=2015-02-25
|access-date=2025-01-18
}}</ref> For instance, in 2004, Easton Sports filed for a patent on an "unitary shell" made from fiber-reinforced resin, with sections of integrated walls arising from the sole.<ref name="us-patent-7950676-easton-unitary-shell-w-wall-sections-2004">{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=7950676
|fdate=2004-09-10
|pubdate=2005-06-02
|gdate=2011-05-31
|title=Article of footwear comprising a unitary support structure and method of manufacture
|inventor1-first=Edward M.
|inventor1-last=Goldsmith
|assign1=Easton Sports, Inc.
|assign2=Bauer Hockey LLC
}}</ref> Easton's Synergy 1300C came out in 2005, with a unitary shell made with carbon and aramid fibers. This is widely recognized as the first retail hockey skate with a composite shell.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.hockeyworld.com/Easton-Synergy-1300C-Hockey-Skates-05-Model-Senior
|title=Easton Synergy 1300C Hockey Skates ('05 Model)- Senior
|website=Perani's Hockey World
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250119155948/https://www.hockeyworld.com/Easton-Synergy-1300C-Hockey-Skates-05-Model-Senior
|archive-date=2025-01-19
|access-date=2025-01-19
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.hockeyforum.com/threads/easton-synergy-skates-break-in.34507/
|title=Easton Synergy Skates Break-In?
|website=Hockey Forum
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119155226/https://www.hockeyforum.com/threads/easton-synergy-skates-break-in.34507/
|archive-date=2025-01-19
|access-date=2025-01-19
}}</ref> A rigid shell exacerbates inherent conflicts arising from key design goals for a hockey skate: being lightweight, economical, a firm support structure comprising an outsole and a quarter package, and lastly, fitting this support to the different foot shapes of individual players. The fitting issue can be mitigated by adding a layer of heat-moldable materials to the quarter package, such that a player can finish the final molding process of a boot at a skate shop or at home. Heat molding became possible in 2006, with the Easton Synergy 1500C.<ref>{{cite magazine
| author      = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
| title       = What's New: Recreation
| url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=dEsX3WG3hEwC&pg=PA26
| magazine    = Popular Science
| volume      = 270
| number      = 1
| date        = January 2007
| page        = 26
| access-date = 2025-01-18
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=https://sidelineswap.com/gear/hockey/skates/7718248-easton-synergy-1500c-ihs-hockey-skates-size-9-5-e-black-men-skate-ice-sr-wide-w
|title=Easton Synergy 1500C IHS Hockey Skates
|website=Sideline Swap
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250119160351/https://sidelineswap.com/gear/hockey/skates/7718248-easton-synergy-1500c-ihs-hockey-skates-size-9-5-e-black-men-skate-ice-sr-wide-w
|archive-date=2025-01-19
|access-date=2025-01-19
}}</ref>

Other hockey makers take it one step further, creating a single, unbroken composite shell that also incorporates the "facing" portion where eyelets are located. These '''one-piece''' [[monocoque]] shells are almost usable by themselves as functional skate boots, if laced and mounted with inline frames.<ref name="xinhaidude-carbon-fiber-inline-skates"/> With the advent of "one-piece" shells, the traditional hockey boot construction is now known as employing a '''two-piece''' shell, comprising a quarter package attached to an outsole.<ref>{{cite web
|title=One piece vs two piece hockey skate construction - Which is best?
|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QpSxqWy9lo
|website=youtube.com
|publisher=Hockey Tutorial
|language=en
|format=video
|date=2019-11-05
}}</ref> A heat-moldable monocoque shell requires no breaking-in, unlike traditional hockey skates. All tuning needs are done by baking skates in an oven before wearing them, as often as needed.<ref name="got-hockey-interview-w-scott-van-horne"/>

[[File:MLX Hockey Skate-ca 2010-IMG 5847-FRD.png|thumb|right|150px|MLX hockey skate]]

The use of monocoque shell in hockey skates traces back to Scott Van Horne who started to make and sell custom composite speed skates in the 1990s.<ref name="reboot-hockey-interview-VH-hockey-on-van-horne">{{cite web
|url=https://reboothockey.wordpress.com/tag/scott-van-horne/
|title=Reboot Hockey Interview: VH Hockey
|others=dialog with founder Scott Van Horne on MLX, Easton Mako, VH Footware, custom hockey boots, ankle support, dorsiflexion, etc.
|date=2015-08-05
|website=Reboot Hockey
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250118050009/https://reboothockey.wordpress.com/tag/scott-van-horne/
|archive-date=2025-01-18
|access-date=2025-01-18
}}</ref> He incorporated VH Footwear in 1999, and made custom speed skates in the 2010s.<ref name="vh-hockey-about-page-before-2015"/><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.vhspeedskating.com/resources/
|title=Skate Fit / Find Your VH Size
|website=VH Speed Skating
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723120911/http://www.vhspeedskating.com/resources/
|archive-date=2008-07-23
|access-date=2025-01-19
}}</ref> Van Horne  worked with [[Dave Cruikshank]] to file hockey skate patents in 2009 and 2011, on a composite shell and removable tongue / tendon guard.<ref name="us-appl-20110101665-van-horne-cruikshank-mlx-lowcut-shell-tendon-guard-2009">{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=20110101665
|status=application
|fdate=2009-10-30
|pubdate=2011-05-05
|title=Hockey skate
|inventor1-first=Scott
|inventor1-last=Van Horne
|inventor2-first=David
|inventor2-last=Cruikshank
|assign1=Dasc LLC (MLX), then to Easton Sports, Inc.
|assign2=Bauer Hockey LLC
}}</ref><ref name="us-patent-8596650-van-horne-cruikshank-mlx-lowcut-shell-tendon-guard-2011">{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=8596650
|pridate=2009-10-30
|fdate=2011-10-11
|pubdate=2012-02-02
|gdate=2013-12-03
|title=Hockey skate
|inventor1-first=Scott
|inventor1-last=Van Horne
|inventor2-first=David
|inventor2-last=Cruikshank
|assign1=Easton Sports, Inc.
|assign2=Bauer Hockey LLC
}}</ref> This shell foreshadowed that used in inline skates with a hybrid soft boot in the 2020s, and became the basis for the retail MLX Skate released in 2010 by Cruikshank's new company.<ref name="xinhaidude-carbon-fiber-inline-skates"/><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.mlxskates.com/story.html
|title=Our Story
|website=MLX: For Skaters By Skaters
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127093730/http://www.mlxskates.com/story.html
|archive-date=2011-01-27
|access-date=2025-01-19
}}</ref> Easton Sports bought MLX in 2011, and worked with Cruikshank to release a new Easton Mako skate in 2013, based on the MLX Skate.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://modsquadhockey.com/forums/topic/61887-easton-mako-skates/
|title=Easton Mako Skates: 2012-09-26
|website=Mod Squad Hockey
|date=26 September 2012
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129081356/https://modsquadhockey.com/forums/topic/61887-easton-mako-skates/
|archive-date=2020-01-29
|access-date=2025-01-19
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=https://hockeyworldblog.com/2013/03/15/easton-mako-skates-review-initial-impressions/
|title=Easton Mako Skates Review: Initial Impressions: 2013-03-15
|website=Hockey World Blog
|date=15 March 2013
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323103901/https://hockeyworldblog.com/2013/03/15/easton-mako-skates-review-initial-impressions/
|archive-date=2013-03-23
|access-date=2025-01-19
}}</ref> Easton was later acquired by Chartwell Investments which subsequently sold it to Bauer.

{{multiple image
 | direction = horizontal
 | total_width = 340
 | footer = TF Pro inline skate (left) vs. ice skate (right)
 | image1 = TRUE Inline Hockey Skates-Riveted Frame and Wheels-low perspective view-IMG 4591-FRD.png
 | image2 = TRUE Ice Hockey Skates-Riveted Frame and Wheels-low perspective view-IMG 4603-FRD.png
}}

By then, Van Horne had gone back to perfecting custom speed skate boots. In 2012, he created tooling and a process to 3D-scan a skater's foot, and to 3D-print a custom last based on which a speed skate boot is shaped.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.vhspeedskating.com/products/vh-custom/
|title=VH Custom
|website=VH Speed Skating
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519113618/http://www.vhspeedskating.com/products/vh-custom/
|archive-date=2012-05-19
|access-date=2025-01-19
}}</ref> By 2015, VH Footwear had adopted the same tooling and process for hockey skates, filed a patent application, and marketed them under the brand VH Hockey.<ref name="us-patent-9656153-scott-van-horne-VH-footwear-monocoque-shell-2015">{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=9656153
|fdate=2015-05-14
|pubdate=2016-11-17
|gdate=2017-05-23
|title=Skate boot with monocoque body
|inventor1-first=Scott
|inventor1-last=Van Horne
|assign1=VH Footware Inc
|assign2=Suntrust Bank
}}</ref><ref name="vh-hockey-about-page-before-2015"/><ref>{{cite web
|url=https://sharpskates.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/review-vh-footwear-custom-skates/
|title=Review: VH Footwear Custom Skates: 2015-02-03
|website=Sharp Skates
|date=3 February 2015
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707051201/https://sharpskates.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/review-vh-footwear-custom-skates/
|archive-date=2016-07-07
|access-date=2025-01-19
}}</ref> [[True Temper Sports]] bought VH Hockey in 2016, and started to mass produce retail hokey skates with heat-moldable monocoque shells, as well as scaling up 3D scanning of feet at retail stores for custom True hockey skates,<ref name="got-hockey-interview-w-scott-van-horne">{{cite web
|first1=Dana
|last1=O'Connor
|title=Ep 21 Scott Van Horne - True - Legendary Skate Builder - Got Hockey
|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6GAJoJh7VE
|website=Got Hockey
|others=See transcript for this 45 minute chat with Scott Van Horne
|language=en
|format=video
|date=2023-09-07
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=https://hockeyworldblog.com/2016/11/22/true-temper-sports-acquires-vh-footwear/
|title=True Temper Sports Acquires VH Footwear: 2016-09-22
|website=Hockey World Blog
|date=22 November 2016
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119225824/https://hockeyworldblog.com/2016/11/22/true-temper-sports-acquires-vh-footwear/
|archive-date=2025-01-19
|access-date=2025-01-19
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=True Hockey Skate Factory Tour
|others=Scott Van Horne showing the manufacturing process of a True hockey skate with a monocoque shell, as specified in VH Footware's US patent 9,656,153
|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_mb4-tL9NA
|website=youtube.com
|publisher=Inline Warehouse
|language=en
|format=video
|date=2023-07-26
}}</ref> leading to inline hockey skates such as the TF9 Roller Skate, and the TF Pro Custom Roller Skate in 2020.<ref name="the-hockeyshop-prod-page-True-TF9">{{cite web
|url=https://www.thehockeyshop.com/products/true-tf9-senior-roller-hockey-skates
|title=TRUE TF9 Senior Roller Hockey Skates
|website=The Hockey Shop
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250119220702/https://www.thehockeyshop.com/products/true-tf9-senior-roller-hockey-skates
|archive-date=2025-01-19
|access-date=2025-01-19
}}</ref><ref name="coast-to-coast-prod-page-True-Pro">{{cite web
|url=https://coasthockeyshop.com/products/true-pro-custom-roller-hockey-skate
|title=True Pro Custom Roller Hockey Skate Senior
|website=Coast to Coast Hockey Shop
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250119165038/https://coasthockeyshop.com/products/true-pro-custom-roller-hockey-skate
|archive-date=2025-01-19
|access-date=2025-01-19
}}</ref>