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It's definitely very difficult to thread the top two eyelets over the tongue with the skates on. What is much easier is threading the eyelets behind the tongue and then pulling the laces over.

Take a look at the CCM Jetspeed/Tacks girdles. I'm similarly sized and have been using these for a few years now and cansee going back to regular pants. The legs are height adjustable so you can dial in your preferred length. Not bulky or heavy at all.

New cats coming this year. Tfs has been on sale for a long time now. Over a year.

They're selling for a discount bc they are a few years old and discontinued. Although they were trues top end retail line when they first came out, I'd argue they don't really have the gimmicky features of Bauer and ccm top end skates. That said, true does seem to be a couple hundred bucks lower than Bauer and ccm in general. I'm sure this will change after they get a bit more exposure at the retail level.

Guys. You were totally right about sizing issue. Went to a different local hockey store at lunch time. spoke with the guy over there. Looked very knowledgeable and asked me lots of questions about my issues with the Ribcors 9.5D. He measured my foot and quickly said: Mister customer, you need to go down to size 9 or maybe 8.5. Mister customer, you got a narrower foot than average. Mister customer: you got to feel lost with the 9.5 ribcors and skate like an a$$. We tried different brands in the mid range level $500-700$cad (I dont want to spend $1200 and I only play once a week). True were no bueno for me. Awkward fit inside. Too much padding in some spots and not enough elsewhere. CCM JetSpeed - in the mid range they don't offer tappered fit on jetspeed so overall size 9 regular width felt ok not good. Room for improvement. Bauer Supreme Matrix (Similar to M5) - size 9 fit 1. Was comfy in it. But ankle felt unstable and balance point was hard to reach. Vapor X4. size 9 fit 1.Wow! I think we got a winner. Foot felt wrapped and supported. No dead spot inside the boot. Toe were brushing end of toe cap. Also tried size 8.5 fit 2 (they didnt have fit 1 size 8.5 in stock). Length wise, with the 8.5, it felt a bit tight and toes were slightly bending/curving. Even with knee in flexion. Not sure if this will be good or not. Bummer they didnt have the 8.5 fit 1 in stock. The guy at store told me: 8.5 is the fit I'd suggest if looking for a more "pro fit". Size 9 is "comfy performance fit" I didn't pull the trigger. Was in a hurry at lunch time and didn't want to take a decision too quickly. But will look to try size 8.5 fit 1 in the vapors.

Don't start thinking this way for starters. You will learn great edge control and balance from figure skating instructors. Many high level teams will bring in figure skaters to refine top level skater's technique. They are also good at teaching power skating. Everything a figure skater does is based on balancing and their edges plus they have to learn to generate power in short distances. No offense but there is a big difference between what most people feel is "being competent" and what is really good skating. Learn to skate with good technique first before messing with profiles. Learning to skate takes a lot of practice, repetition and falling. IMHO it's better to start with a stock, neutral profile and learn how to skate correctly.