Leaderboard

Being old enough to have worn similar tube skates at a young age, I can confidently say those skates were about as stiff as a pair of Converse High Cuts. That tape is just holding the tongue and tendon against his leg, but there is zero stiffness. Tape is well above his ankle. On a side note, Lanny just looks wrong without the walrus stache.

Skate eyelet lock.

I hated them at first, but eventually grew to like them. Was actually disappointed to see them go the way of the Dodo. Having said that, you can achieve almost the same result by lacing outside-in on that eyelet.

Yeah, their custom is amazing. My brother-in-law shattered his ankle in a game years ago, really bad injury. After he recovered nothing retail would fit him. He has a pair of custom 709s that he has been using ever since and they still look almost new and he tries to skate at least a few times a week.

That lace lock is my #1 hockey tech that disappeared that I’d love to bring back.

This is mostly on point. The basic principles of Graf fit are the breakdown of the numbers. If it's a three digit number, the first number refers to the quality of the skate line. The higher the number the better quality skate. In addition to this, any skate that begins with a G is equivalent to a 7 and would be a top of the line skate. I believe there is such a thing as an F, and that would be a drop below top of the line. So a 7/G would be a top end skate, a 6 or 5 or F would be a lower level skate. This number has nothing to do with fit. The second number is the heel fit, with 0 being standard and then increasing fit a wider heel. The final number is the forefoot fit, with 3 being the narrowest and least coming overall and 9 being the widest and deepest overall. In addition to all of this, there are 3 width options: Narrow, Regular and Wide. So the numbers are basically the fit profile dimensions, and then they can take those same proportions into 3 different widths. So you can have x03, x05, x07, x09, x35, x55 etc. In terms of fit, and the x will vary depending on the level of the skate. And then you can mix in the width options. The peakspeed line fits like a 735 imo. 7 would be top end, 3 means a bit wider heel, 5 is a standard forefoot width. The depth is a bit more than a 703. This will fit similar to a Vapor in a wider width than D. The Classics fit as above. The G9000 I don't know about because the only way to see them is to special order from Switzerland. My shop offered to do it, but only if I guarantee that I will buy them. Obviously there's no chance I'm going to buy a skate sight unseen, so yeah, can't speak to that. G7 is the same fit as a 707. I would say this is like a Supreme E or EE, where a 709 might be closer to a Nexus. The G7 has a comp quarter package though, inline the 707 which is the standard leather style. If you're in a Vapor D then you'll probably do best in a 703, assuming the Vapor is a good fit. You might also like a 735 or a 705.