Skates And Sticks And Sales And Things

[Kgbeast 195]

On 7/30/2016 at 0:46 PM, Jamarquan said:

....Store One told me Nexus skates in 8.0, Store Two told me RibCor in 8.5, Store Three told me Tacks or Vapors in 7.5)

... I am kind of lost here. How Taks and Vapors can be suitable to the same foot? Or Nexus and Vapors? Tacks and Nexus have deep instep, while Vapors have pretty shallow instep, Width is different too... Heel size is different. This seems a bit all over the place to me. You really need to tighten this up. Figure out the fitting method... pencil tests and stuff, do it yourself and figure out what feels appropriately. You might need to go see a podiatrist before too long. I would hate to see you unable to wear anything but flipflops by the time you are 40.

[start_today 757]

On July 30, 2016 at 4:20 PM, Jamarquan said:

Extra steel (LS2 / LS3 / LS4 / Hyperglide / SB Black) and foot beds (Superfeet or CCM). 

 

 

 

You don't need extra steel, especially if you're on a budget for skates. Yes, your steel may break mid game, but odds are it won't. It's sounds like you have local shops, so if it does break, you can buy from a shop on Monday and have it profiled and sharpened and ready by Tuesday, if not the same day. 

Spend that money on better skates. Cross the new steel bridge IF you come to it. 

You also don't NEED fancy footbeds, unless it's absolutely necessary for a better fit. Lots of guys play on stock footbeds and do fine (lots of other people swear it's a male or break fit for them).

This board is great for advice and learning, but it's easy to get caught in the hype of neat add-ons when your still trying to fix the base equipment. 

[Vet88 673]

On 31/07/2016 at 7:46 AM, Jamarquan said:

Again, they fit well and didn't pressure me, and were more stiff, but I'm still worried over the 7.5 - 8.5 thing. My feet are still growing and I want to make sure I've got the right fit, but I've been given three different recommendations by three different stores, which has me worried. (Store One told me Nexus skates in 8.0, Store Two told me RibCor in 8.5, Store Three told me Tacks or Vapors in 7.5)

Side side note: Is it worth learning how to shoot lefty? I can pickup an old Stealth S7 for $10 on HM.

You say your feet are still growing so you need to make a decision of do I buy the right sized pair for me now or a pair I can grow into? If the latter you should only buy up to 1 size larger and I hate to recommend that because for the time you are trying to learn to skate in them your feet can end up rotating in them which causes extra wear on the boots and poor skating habits. To determine your foot length, stop listening to the recommendations and fit them yourself, heres how - pull the laces right out, pull the tongue right out (this is to stop the tongue and top of the boot catching on any put of your foot as you try the boot on), with the socks you are going to wear put your foot into the boot and slide the foot forward until the toes are brushing the toe cap. Then bend forward and see if you can slip a pencil down between your heel and the back of the skate. If you can you are in skates the are too big for you. Ideally you should have between 1mm - 2mm of gap between the back of your heel and the skate. With length sorted, now test for volume - push your heel into the pocket and lay the pencil across the boot around the second and third eyelet down. If the pencil cannot lay flat across the skate because your leg is in the way (just touching is ok) then the boot is too shallow (not enough volume) and you may have lace bite issues down the track (this can be fixed by doing other things). Then lace the boot up and test for heel lock, can you move your heel side to side, up and down, walk around the store in them and see how it feels. Hot spots can be punched out, sides can be stretched but it is near impossible to make a oversized boot fit smaller feet.

 

And yes, if you are learning to play then buy the correct handed stick for you, your dominant hand should be on the top.

[Jamarquan 201]

Hello everyone, 

To the points the last few comments have made, allow me to reply.

To the point about three stores sizing me for different skates, I have to say I'm not really sure. I have average heel, forefoot, and toe sizes, and I'm damn sure my shoe size is a 9.5. The "expert opinions" of HockeyGiant, Pure Hockey, and a smaller LHS are beyond me. Also, I too would hate to have to wear only flip flops. (Writing comment in 85 degree heat with AC off and wearing hoodie and sweatpants, and long socks.) (Exposure to the outside world is scary.)

 

Second, about the steel and foot beds: Bauer foot beds (the dinky little felt ones, no clue about the SpeedPlate) gave me arch pain and heel soreness, so I figure some arched inserts are in order. With the steel is a similar story. Tuuk SS has been the steel on the last three of my skates, and while I've never used them, the higher end runners must have something to them that make them $100.

 

Finally, the sizing issue: The problem, and smart business move on the part of Pure Hockey, HockeyMonkey, etc., is that they hold these big super sales in late summer, when nobody really needs new skates. Sell skates now for cheap, sell another pair later for more when the customer outgrew them. Obviously I'm not using them for another five weeks or so, but it'd be good to have them broken in (baking included in all likeliness) for the season. The only problem with breaking them in is that they'll start to mold to my feet as they grow which will create obvious fit problems. However, this didn't really occur in my Supremes, and they weren't baked. 

I can try the fit methods on Saturday, when I'm planning to go back to PH to sort this all out (not necessarily buy any skates but know which type of skates fit best and find them cheap.)

About the sticks: I've been playing for four years now and have always shot righty. However, my right is my dominant hand, putting it on the bottom, which, by the logic of the dominant hand on top, would mean I should be shooting lefty. 

 

Edit: I should have clarified an earlier post: the new steel would replace stainless runners.

[Kgbeast 195]

3 hours ago, Jamarquan said:

About the sticks: I've been playing for four years now and have always shot righty. However, my right is my dominant hand, putting it on the bottom, which, by the logic of the dominant hand on top, would mean I should be shooting lefty. 

 

Edit: I should have clarified an earlier post: the new steel would replace stainless runners.

I have picked up from your earlier posts that you have been playing for a while, since a young age... I guess in wrong skates (hence the spurs and stuff). Parents often get larger skates for kids to grow in and buy hard skates as well because they are not "the cheap skates"... I wish manufacturers did not make a high end stiff ass skates for  tykes. You might need to see a figure-skate shop and consult with them about your skate fit. They would be more knowledgeable about how to handle such things as spurs in your age. Most likely, it will need to be a snug fitting skate which will need to be punched out for the spurs and things of that nature.

Learning shooting left and be ambidextrous is pretty awesome... If you want to do it, do it.

Pretty strange thing about the "stainless" runner. I did not know you can get carbon steel runners for any skate you get. I know that there are carbon steels that are much better with ice than stainless and hold edge much better, but I did not know someone makes the runners from that... than again, I am only assuming that Step runners are stainless, they might be some high-carbon-molybdenum brew.... newer thought of looking that up,.

 

 

[Jamarquan 201]

Hello everyone,

I've finally picked up a new pair of skates for the upcoming season. Went back to my LHS, and made sure to do as much as I could to get the right fit and size for me. After pencil testing and such, the last two skates were the Bauer Supreme 170 and the CCM Tacks Vector Plus (Source For Sports SMU that somehow got brought down to the US.) I ended up going with the Tacks. The fit felt right out of the box, but not necessarily comfortable, which should be ok as I'm breaking them in. I'll be on the ice Monday to see how they do. Thanks everyone.

 

In regards to the idea of learning to shoot lefty, I've been trying to think about what type of stick to buy. Not necessarily low kick or mid kick, but Junior or Intermediate shaft sizes. The lower flex of a junior is a plus, however when standing normally with my arms at my sides, my int sized stick is resting entirely on the heel. Not being an expert on lie, would going down to junior compound or alleviate the problem? 

 

The other issue is length. I could buy a junior and plug it, but that's what I did with my old NXG, to mixed results. The other problem with plugging a junior is that it nullifies the potential benefit of the lower lie.

 

 

Edit: Link to SMU skates: http://www.thehockeyshop.com/ccm-tacks-vector-plus-senior-skates.html

 

I bought these not necessarily because they were more expensive than the Supremes, which, in the eyes of many parents and kids, translates to better, but because they both had a very good fit, so the decision came down to features. The Tacks just had more useful things (ventilated outsole, higher quality runners, better tongue, etc.) Nothing was bad about the Supremes, the Tacks were just better. I also was able to get them for 250 and not 330 by selling my old skates back to the LHS. God forbid that the Tacks don't last the whole season, in which case I'll happily wear the 170s.

 

[tpedersen3118 58]

On ‎8‎/‎6‎/‎2016 at 9:44 PM, Jamarquan said:

In regards to the idea of learning to shoot lefty, I've been trying to think about what type of stick to buy. Not necessarily low kick or mid kick, but Junior or Intermediate shaft sizes. The lower flex of a junior is a plus, however when standing normally with my arms at my sides, my int sized stick is resting entirely on the heel. Not being an expert on lie, would going down to junior compound or alleviate the problem? 

 

Seems like you got a good deal on new wheels!

As far as shooting lefty... As I understand it, you've been playing for ~4 years and shoot right handed. Why are you now wanting to shoot left handed? I'm not seeing a benefit to you by doing this. Stick with what feels natural.

[Jamarquan 201]

13 hours ago, tpedersen3118 said:

 

Seems like you got a good deal on new wheels!

As far as shooting lefty... As I understand it, you've been playing for ~4 years and shoot right handed. Why are you now wanting to shoot left handed? I'm not seeing a benefit to you by doing this. Stick with what feels natural.

Well, allow me to explain myself. If you've heard abut why Ryan Miller decided to play goalie, regardless of its truth, it's a similar situation. My team last year had /no/ lefties, so I'd like to learn how to do it for that reason because our right only lineup was easy to shut down. Obviously, that's not very convincing, but also I think it's important to broaden horizons and try new things. And for around $20, it seems worth learning to do.

 

The sticks I was thinking of, if you've got any experience with their respective lines, were the Stealth s7 (s19 line / int / 65 / p7), and the Reebok 6k (11k sickkick 3 / jr / 50 / p40 or p87a). The reason for going back down to JR is the whole thing with lie. Whichever would work better for me.