Help with hockey skate choice

[Gentry 0]

I am forced to upgrade my son's skates a bit before I wanted to do so. His blade holder just broke, the local hockey shop quoted near $100.00 to fix them. He has old pro stock CCM U's. He is 15 and his foot will most likely grow one more time. The shop did not think it worth repairing them.

He plays high school hockey, and midget A. Defense if that matters. No scholarships heading his way for hockey!

All that being said, I am trying to get the best skates for the money. In looking at clearance and other sales, I am considering the following under $300.00 skates. I would prefer to go around $200 as his foot has remained at 9.0 ice skates for 2 years and I am pretty sure I will need to get a new pair within the year because of foot growth.

Looking at Bauer X60, Reebok Ribcor 28k,, CCM RBZ 70 or 80, CCM tacks 3052, or any other recommendations anyone might have.

I have been reading comments and the posts are so knowledgeable about so many of the different aspects of the skate. Thanks for any insight.

[z1ggy 81]

Not sure how the CMM U's are, fit wise.. But there is plenty of info here @ modsquad about the fit of all the latest offerings. I assume you will be going back to the LHS to buy these? He can get measured up again and knowledgeable staff should be able to point him in the right direction per your given budget.

If it's any help to you, I have a low volume, regular forefoot with narrow heel, and the only skates that fit me are Vapors, and the new Mako's. My current skates are Vapor XXV in 9D.

Also, your son's foot might actually not grow again, believe it or not. On boys, the hands and feel tend to grow the quickest while arms/legs etc will keep growing into the early 20s. My foot hasn't grown since I was about 14/15 years old. It may get slightly longer and maybe wider as he puts on muscle weight (I gained over 40lbs of muscle from age 16 to 17) but I don't think he is that likely to go from say a 9 to a 10+ skate size.

[jsykes 35]

How old are his current skates? Are they still in good shape?

Without knowing specifically what they are, I would imagine a pro stock CCM be a much higher quality boot than any of the skates you're considering and if that is the case and they are still in good shape and fit, then spending $100 to replace the holders seems like a much better investment than buying a cheap skate to get him by for now. $100 is better than $300 and you may end up with a better skate.

[ChunkyThunder 2]

Just to add to z1ggy's comment, my foot hasn't grown since I was in about 8th or 9th grade, I'm a sophomore in college now and my shoes from then still fit

[MarsB 33]

My foot grew from 9 1/2 to an 11 during four years of college. It can happen.

[z1ggy 81]

It totally can- not saying it won't, but it's definitely on the rare side for that to happen. Anatomically speaking, boys hands and feet grow first and are finished growing before their arms, legs, shoulders, chest, etc. My buddy could palm an NBA sized basketball by 8th grade, but he still grew another 3-4 inches after that. You might just be an exception.

I'm just trying to point out that the OP may actually be better off getting the skates fixed if they are still in good shape, rather than buying new ones because he assumes his son's foot will be growing.

[t6lock 24]

What are they doing for $100 to replace 1 holder? Cost of holder should be no more than 30 and installation should be $20 or less

Besides that, CCM U for me fit very narrow (to my foot normally in a vapor), and my friend upgraded from U+ Pro to 11k and has had nothing bad to say about that transition. If you are looking into new skates I'd look at the Vapors or Reeboks.

[mickz 107]

I am forced to upgrade my son's skates a bit before I wanted to do so. His blade holder just broke, the local hockey shop quoted near $100.00 to fix them. He has old pro stock CCM U's. He is 15 and his foot will most likely grow one more time. The shop did not think it worth repairing them.

He plays high school hockey, and midget A. Defense if that matters. No scholarships heading his way for hockey!

All that being said, I am trying to get the best skates for the money. In looking at clearance and other sales, I am considering the following under $300.00 skates. I would prefer to go around $200 as his foot has remained at 9.0 ice skates for 2 years and I am pretty sure I will need to get a new pair within the year because of foot growth.

Looking at Bauer X60, Reebok Ribcor 28k,, CCM RBZ 70 or 80, CCM tacks 3052, or any other recommendations anyone might have.

I have been reading comments and the posts are so knowledgeable about so many of the different aspects of the skate. Thanks for any insight.

Sounds like they're quoting you to replace a pair of skates instead of just one side. As long as the steel in your broken holder is still usable you shouldn't have any issues replacing just one side (as long as it's with the same model/size).

[boo10 323]

If you're set on new skates, I'd suggest looking for some crazy lights on clearance. They can be found for under $250.

[jimmy 194]

What are they doing for $100 to replace 1 holder? Cost of holder should be no more than 30 and installation should be $20 or less

Besides that, CCM U for me fit very narrow (to my foot normally in a vapor), and my friend upgraded from U+ Pro to 11k and has had nothing bad to say about that transition. If you are looking into new skates I'd look at the Vapors or Reeboks.

Agree, a holder and installation should be less than $50. If the steel is still good and only 1 holder is broke, replacing 1 holder is the way to go.

[Tech1208 27]

If he and you are happy with the skates, repair it and keep playing. When he out grows these, replace them with the next size and $300-400 skates that will last a long time.

[Gentry 0]

Thanks for all the replies to my OP.

The Steel is pretty new in his skates as he broke one last year in a tournament and I replaced both. To my eye his CCm U-Pro's are in good shape, very stiff outside and not beat up inside.

They were quoting to replace both holders. The holders had been upgraded previously upon purchase to Tuuk Lightspeed 2 holders.

The pro shop was not trying to upselll me to a new pair of skates, he was just wondering about spending good money on skates that might have one year left in them.

-Some have replied that the CCM U's are narrow and I agree. If I could find Crazy Lights on clearance at 250.00 I would probably go for those. I haven't heard too many suggestions on new intermediate skates. If the concensus is too repair then i will go that way. I figured these skates were state of the art 6 years ago and technology would make even intermediate skates as good or better.

[Monty22 821]

Epro holders are dirt cheap on ebay and many retailers. If the skates are in good shape and fit, change out the holder and play on.

[jonesy9020 77]

If you're committed to new skates, CCM U+12 skates can be had in the price range you're looking for, have a similar fit, and are on clearance at the Monkey and several other online retailers. They're very good skates

[jsykes 35]

If they have LS2 holders on them, they're still available and should be an easy fix to replace just one. If you're worried he is going to grow and you'll have to replace them in a year or so, its a much better choice to spend $50 to replace one holder now than buy new skates. Besides being unnecessary.

[wrangler 157]

Whatever you do, if you get new skates, make sure they fit properly. Don't fall in love with a model that doesn't fit quite right.