Vet88

Been there, done that, including going to china and sourcing sticks. Regardless of who you buy from, you get what you pay for and no warranty (unless you lock them up in a supply agreement and even then it can be risky). If you want a cheap stick with dubious performance and durability and no other expectations (other than the graphics you want splashed on it) then go for it, aliexpress has have lots for sale and your purchase is covered if it doesn't turn up. If you are looking for a cheaper stick with known performance, warranty etc then look at all black sticks or similar, they take the risk of dealing with chinese manufacturers.

This. I did the same thing and had the same results and it really pissed me off. Then I learnt the technical part of shooting, how to do it properly. My shot went to s**t for about a year, nothing worked properly because the mechanics were so different and I was having to unlearn everything bad and relearn the good. Then the pieces started to click and with the same stick that I shot wristers at 65mph, 18 months later was consistently at 73mph with the occasional mid 70's. No gym work, no stick change, just solid technique.

Not that i'm a fan of ebay but one thing they do do well is that they are there to look after you if anything goes wrong. If the seller does not ship the item, you don't get it (for whatever reason) or what you get is not what you brought - you open a dispute case and 99.9% of the time eBay will find in your favour and return your payment. The onus is on the seller to fix things, if they don't then eBay steps in and covers you. In some ways it's a hell of a lot easier dealing with a seller on eBay than a surly manager in a bricks and mortar place.

Ankle flexion is critical if you want to get maximum power and edge bite, "controlled" ankle flexion of around 15 - 20 degrees from neutral is the optimal range. It's not pronation (or supination) as per se that is the issue, it's over pronation as your ankle collapses inwards under load that is the issue. I put it like this, if it wasn't for the boot holding you up you would fall to the ice. And if your ankle bending when doing a 2 foot glide in a straight line, you have alignment issues, regardless of how long you have been skating.

For a full blown 2 foot plant roller stop, I'd agree. Until one has learnt to skate laces untied there is a fair degree of risk involved with this stop. However inline T stops, if executed the normal way one stops, are generally safe. The reason for this is because in a T stop you roll the ankle inwards a little more (as compared to ice), this allows the friction of the wheel to break easier. It is very hard to pitch over when you are pronating into the stop. As to anything else, even if you fall it is generally very safe. I've caught an outside edge a number of times, twice it was on high speed film as part of the research project and we were able to analyse what sheer forces were put thru the ankle. The thing about going laces untied is it allows the boot to rotate on the foot, so when you catch an edge the boot rolls around the foot. The next event is the foot reacts to the pressure and begins to fold in the direction of the caught edge. Because the foot isn't locked in the boot, this sheer force then travels obliquely into the knee which will fold in the direction of the ankle. by this time the hip is reacting and rotating with the leg, basically everything folds gracefully under the body. The fall may look like crap but the damage is more a pride issue as opposed to anything physical. Sure, hammer anything hard enough and it will break, I've seen a lot of broken legs that were locked into a boot, I have yet to see or hear of anyone who has trained to skate laces untied breaking anything. I've seen some close calls, kids who think they can skate better than they actually can. If you stay within your limits and progressively advance as your skills advance, it is a safe way to train. And lastly, it's not strong ankles, this is a misnomer. It's your biomechanical alignment over the skate blade that is the critical issue, if it is correct the forces of the stop / turn etc are travelling directly thru the middle of the ankle / leg. The bones are taking most of the generated force, the muscles are playing a supporting role. This is what skating laces untied teaches you, correct alignment over the skate blade / chassis. The more you train, the better your alignment is, the less you are at risk.

Can you give us any information about the steel you use, hardness, source etc. As a skater and a sharpener, the ability of the steel to - 1: sharpen easily 2: retain its edge - is more important to me than a potential 5% performance margin, especially for those grinding it out at a beer league level. If the steel is top quality, this alone is worth any uptick in price.

Thanks to all for the replies. I'll have to look into these as I have an exposed area beside the side of the tongue. Maybe thats why doughty wears them that way as it looks like he goes tongue under shins.

If I see this right, Doughty laces the top 3 eyelets under the tongue? Anyone ever heard him say why?

Thats a good start. Next time take a puck or a green biscuit, do a mix of skating and puck handling for about 30 minutes. If you can get thru 30+ minutes with no pain then I'd be looking at how wide the skates are and consider getting them stretched where it is hurting. You can check this yourself if you have suitable measuring tools - measure the width of your foot, measure the width of the skate, measure the thickness of the skate, some simple maths will tell you if you have enough room or not.

don't tie them at all, you should be able to pull the boot on and off your foot without any trouble. You will wobble at first but if you stick to just slow straight line skating you will get it very quickly.

I go back to my earlier post, put your skates on, don't do the laces up, go for a simple straight line skate at a slow speed. Skate around the house if that is the only option you have got. Skate as long as it normally takes for the pain to kick in, if you don't get the pain then try tensing your toes and seeing if the pain starts. If you get no pain then the problem is either: 1: how you skate and are aligned over the chassis. 2: narrowness of the skate. 3: how tight you are tying the skate. 4 a combination of 1 or and 2 or and 3. A skate wider than your foot should not cause arch pain unless your problem is 1. Then your foot is most likely rotating in the skate and this can lead to all sorts of pain. Or the arch shape in the boot is too forward or back to naturally fit your arch, if you crank the laces down to force your foot into a locked position in the boot this could lead to arch pain.

If you are just putting the insert into the boot you may not get that much relief. You need to cut the insert where the arch sits, you are adding material under the foot and taking it away under the arch.

Possibly try this - get a foot insert and cut out the arch area so that it fits around any arch profile in the boot. The idea is to raise your foot above the arch profile in the boot and therefore release / reduce any pressure on your arch from the boot. Go for a skate, if this helps it gives a good guide as to where a lot of the pain could be coming from.

Why do you think they are too big? Reading your last 2 posts, it sounds to me as if they are still too narrow which is leading to numbness and pain. After a skate, do you have any red areas around your foot?

Even custom skates may not help. I'd look at 2 things, either the boot is pushing into your arch (do you have a red mark around your arch after wearing skates) or the skates are too narrow around the arch (or both). At the very least you should be able to put on skates and move around the store without them hurting you. I'd ask you to do this, don't do the laces up or tie up the bottom 3 eyelets only. Now go for a very slow straight line skate and slow corners. Anyone can do this regardless of your skill level. Without the laces tied you are removing any pressure from the boot (the wrap pressing the arch shape into your foot) and allowing your foot to sit more naturally in the boot. If you are willing to try this you will wobble all over the place, this is to be expected as your muscles attempt to control the skate. This will reduce quickly as you concentrate on slow straight line skating. If the pain reduces it gives you a good indication of what is causing the problem (boot pressing into your arch) and this would explain why taking out the insole helps. If this is the case you can get the arch punched out or try forefoot gel pads to lift the front of the foot.

I use this test, take your laces out, pull the tongue right out. Put your foot in the boot, lift in the air and wiggle it about. If the boot easily falls off then its too wide / long.

Yes and no. You can move the boot inwards in certain areas like around the ankle, apply heat and clamp it or wrap it and, if the boot is thermomoldable, it will move inwards. If you have good alignment over the skate blade the boot will generally hold that shape as long as it is stiff enough. If you have poor alignment over the skate blade (eg pronate) the boot will always open up again and return to its original shape.

How long are you skating before the pain kicks in? Is it the same for both feet, pain and timing? You have low arches, do you pronate at all?

Thats like asking how long is a piece of string. Do you take lots of slap shots, face offs, grind away in the corner etc etc. For example I went thru 4 DT1's in about 3 months (I was doing a lot of slapshot practice everyday) yet a team mate of mine still had his original a year later. Admittedly the DT1's didn't have a great rep but it all depends on how you play / practice and what form of abuse you put the sticks through.

Not if its fitting ok for the rest of the foot. If it's just the outside of a forefoot, he would be much better placed to get the boot stretched to meet that forefoot size and still have a good fit everywhere else. I just don't get why people go up in size when it hurts "here". Fix the "here" and keep the good fit everywhere else.

I personally never liked the open shield set up, skate on a dirty rink and the dirt always seems to get into the bearings. I prefer the Swiss setup with a rubber inner shield, removing the rubber shield is dead easy and it keeps the bearings clean for longer.

Unless this pandemic runs its course (herd immunity) or a vaccine is released very soon I just don't see how anyone in the US is going to be playing hockey for much longer, regardless of what age or league. The covid numbers are going off the charts and at some point you are either going to have to admit that the country has given up on controlling it (and go into self isolation as best you can until it washes thru / vaccine arrives) or go back into lockdown. When I see this kind of crap going on, I just wonder wtf... https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/coronavirus-us-man-dies-after-attending-covid-19-party-thinking-virus-was-a-hoax-2261601

They wont show up but... If it works anything like our law, you get a judgement in local court for infringement and then get customs to help enforce it, ergo no product can enter the country. Going after them in China is next to impossible but stopping their product coming over the border has some limited chance of success, at least publicly. Then you can also start notifying in country resellers that they cant sell the product, now you begin to hurt the sales and that is about as good as you can get unless you have really deep pockets and some serious clout with the state apparatus in China.

The 4k was a low mid entry pad when it was introduced and it stayed that way during its production years. Any pad should do the job but how well they do it is dependent on the type and amount of foams etc used.

Rbk pads are generally very durable - 7k / 8k / 9k / 11k - I've used them all. Their biggest failing is the straps which stretch after a short time, I always ended up taking them to a tailor and getting the straps replaced.