Boots was never one to get brand new equipment when he was learning to play. It was always hand me downs from other families and usually the equipment was already well worn but this was fine with Boots becuase it meant he still had something that he could use to play the game that he loved. As Boots progressed in his career, he has of course moved away from hand me downs and has brand new equipment provided by the team as well as sponsorships. But Boots doesn't love the feel of brand new equipment except for gloves. You can't beat a fresh pair of mitts. Boots will often get a trainer or someone else with the same size skate as Boots to either swap our their worn pair for the brand new ones or get them to wear his skates for a while to break them in so he can use the pair that now has some relaxed feel to it. He's worked with companies before in trying to get a more worn feel on a brand new pair of skates but it's not the same.