krisdrum

Thanks, that is super helpful. I'm thinking maybe the cut to size stick on stuff might be the best option. And glad you mentioned the EvoShield stuff, as I was looking at that as well, he played little league for a hot second years ago and the sternum / chest protector was mandatory for him. Works great on a non-moving area, but I'd think there is enough movement and flex in the rib area to make that annoying.

It was bound to happen. My kid is a 1st year bantam and has survived most of his first year of checking unscathed. Until this weekend. Took 2 nasty hits in 2 separate games to almost the same spot on his left ribcage. First one was painful, but he recovered quickly with some meds and ice. Second one knocked the wind out of him and took him out for the rest of the game (happened during his first shift). He is a D man, but tends to like the lighter more mobile gear. Currently in Jetspeed FT4 Pro shoulders that from the look of them don't have a ton of protection outside of the sternum, spine, shoulders and clavicle. Should I be looking to upgrade him to something more robust like the Tacks line? Padded undergarments? Layer of D3O to beef up protection in spots? Wrap him in bubble wrap and let him play golf for the rest of his life? Open to suggestions.

My take? The carbon fiber outsole and boot transfers the feel of the ice and the inputs from your body much more efficiently than other skates. There is little to no "slop" in the system and that creates the sensation of far more grip. As for laces, I've found you can significantly downsize your lace length. As you mentioned, you don't need to tie them very tight, so you aren't pulling as much lace slack up when tying. The eyelets/facing aren't flexing to the same degree as other skates, so again, less slack needed. I remove the laces from the top eyelet when removing the skates. At second eyelet, laces are barely still in, maybe an inch or two of slack. That gives me enough room to unlace the rest of the boot wide enough to get my foot out, once I break the "suction" by pushing down on the back of the skate (not the tendon guard) and pulling my foot up and forward. It takes a few extra seconds to relace the top eyelets when putting them on, but I find that far more preferable to having insanely long laces. I was using 96" previously. Dropped down to 84" with the TF9, waxed laces in both cases.

I have the opposite issue (short legs) and really like the adjustability of the Tacks/Jetspeed girdle system. Been wearing a size Small Jetspeed for the last year or so. I usually wear a 33 or 34 waist in my street/work pants. The Jetspeed has plenty of velcro to get a nice wrap on the waist. I tried a SuperTacks medium and found that velcro wrap works, but is significantly shorter and would provide less range of adjustment. The lesson is - try before you buy if you can find them in a store, or find a few sizes used for cheap and try a few options to find the right fit.

My kid cracked the heels in his Cat9s. True replaced them with a receipt and photo evidence. It was super easy. I've had no issues with my TF9s. Granted he is on the ice 5-7 days a week. I am 1, if I am lucky 2. And as someone who has had foot issues since I started skating a few years back, the Trues are by far the most comfortable skates I've worn. Not even close.

@Leif 1) Trying on retail Trues without them being baked is a waste of time and effort. True's own policy is they MUST be baked for try-on. If this shop won't allow that, find another one that will. The fit of an unbaked True is NOTHING like the fit of a baked one. 2) Not having your toes brushing the front of the boot in your custom Bauers shouldn't be a factor in getting a proper fit in the Trues. Sounds to me like the width of the toe cap on the Bauers wasn't properly sized for the width of your foot and you have a less than ideal fit in those custom skates. I went down a full size from my Grafs to the TF9s and a half size from my Ribcors. Our advise is to get the snuggest fit possible without pain or significant discomfort in a baked pair of TF9s knowing they will break in and provide another 1/4 size or so after a few skates. Also be aware that this often times put folks on shorter blades than they are used to and you may find it helpful to explore a profile that puts more blade on the ice to compensate for the difference. I just came to this brilliant conclusion recently after about 2 years on my TF9s and I am kicking myself for waiting that long.

Can it explain the constant twisting tongue in outwards direction? Definitely could be explained by the boot being too big/loose and allowing you to pronate and push the tongue out of the way with your lower leg Can it explain the injuries on my interior ankle bones? Also could be a contributing factor either by the boot being too long and allowing your foot to slide forward or too wide and not fully securing your foot. Since the marks on the inside of your ankle, also could be caused by excessive pronation as your foot collapses to the inside edge My opinion - based on the information you've provided - I see no way punching the inside area of the boot causing your ankle bone issues will fix anything. It sounds and looks to me that you have much bigger fit issues than needing a punch. Take that with a grain of salt given I am no expert.

Ok, so the 2 cotton socks was an experiment. In my mind, being able to even fit in there with 2 thick socks on points towards needing a more tapered and/or smaller fit. I can feel the difference between a super thin and slightly thicker skate sock in my True TF9s. Best fitting skates I've ever had, but they are pretty wide, so doesn't sound like it would be a good match for your foot shape. Getting my skates on with 2 thick socks would be impossible.

Yeah, I flaked on commenting on "2 pairs of socks". Unless they were paper thin, ain't no way I am fitting into my skates with 2 pairs of socks on and even then, not sure I could do it. My skate socks are as thin as I can get them and I'd probably go barefoot if I didn't hate the clammy feel of wet boots on my skin. More evidence your skates are too big. Are those cotton socks? Do your feet sweat while skating? Might be exacerbating the rubbing issue with socks that are holding moisture against your skin and making it soft. Wool (thin), synthetic, even silk would all be way better options.

Interesting. I guess I can see that from a shape perspective. I guess I usually think about the curve of the blade and open/closed-ness first. Then the blade shape and lie. But I am definitely no expert. I definitely find the Mac to have a much straighter heel and mid than the retail P88, which is pretty consistently curved heel to toe to create that mid-pocket. So to your point, the Mac is "toe heavy". I'll have to compare the shapes later, that could explain why I have taken to the Mac pretty easily.

As a former P88 user, this is really helpful and makes sense. I might have to try it, as I've been using P90TM and P90M recently as well as the MacKinnon curve, which seems closer to a P28, but has some P92-isms. Just looked at the curves on the site. So you have the "Pro712". Interesting that you still feel like it plays like a P88 with a bit of toe added considering how different the blade looks compared to a retail P88. The original "Pro71" looks more appealing to me, but who knows. It is a bit of a crap shoot.

Seems the OP needs the arch support provided by the Superfeet. Without it (stock insoles), his arch is collapsing and his foot is lengthening. The arch support of the SF is raising his arch and pulling his toes back. I'm guessing with the SF in, the boot is now too long for him and giving him room to slide forward, rubbing that spot on something (eyelet probably).

Thanks all. I should add a bit. Blades came off a new pair of skates. A warranty replacement, so luckily I already had additional steel I knew was good. Was looking to add the new steel into rotation when I noticed the warp. The holders appear to be straight and aligned. I'll see if I can get them straightened.

I have a set of steel that are backups to the backups and just noticed the blades don't lay flat on a tabletop. Both are warped towards the toe enough that looking down the blade, I can clearly see them being off. Is there any way to straighten these out? Or are they just doomed to stay this way forever?

Thanks all. Spoke with Jason Binnie at Binnie's in Pittsburgh as well and he also recommended a Zup. Went with the Zup Small based on his input. Got my blades back the other day, but of course am sick, so am missing tonight's skate to give them their first run. Hopefully will feel better and can at least give them a test run this weekend at an open skate or stick and puck if I can find one.

I know at least with my son, he was falling forward and backward a lot. So giving him more steel on the ice helped him significantly and allowed him to focus on other aspects of skating besides purely balance. It helped make the game a bit easier and more fun for him at an impressionable age.

My son benefitted from going to a longer radius around this age, maybe a bit older. Around the age he really started to play a lot. Can't recall exactly, but I think his skating coach put him on a 15', I remember it being pretty long. Maybe for a year or two, it helped stabilize him as he was developing. He has been on standard factory profiles since.

I actually saw these and the True in person last night (needed a sharpening) and was wrong, they do include shins (the online retailer I looked at yesterday did not mention the shins) and looked like a nicer set compared to the True for the same money. A bit more attention to detail and from my perspective - superior protection design from lessons learned over the years.

And he even mentions how he uses a different lie than many. I have a feeling a side by side of his curve vs. the retail version would be eye-opening and not very similar.

They didn't have stuff like this when my kid was that age, so no direct experience. We spent a lot of time in a local used hockey store getting him stuff as he grew. It felt like every month or so we were getting something or trading up. The Bauer not having shins included would likely be a deal breaker for me compared to the Sherwood for the same price. And I do like the ease of use aspect of just 2 integrated pieces of equipment. Based on a quick review, I'd go for something like the Sherwood over the Bauer. I recall Bauer had a "Prodigy" line, that was more similar to the Sherwood stuff. Might be worth looking into. Probably find used for a decent price. You didn't ask, so feel free to ignore ... but are you planning to get them separate skate lessons prior to learn to play or in addition to? My son didn't have full equipment and a stick on ice with him for nearly 2 years of skating and I think he is a far better player today because of it than if we had put him directly into learn to play. His skating has been an advantage throughout his time in the sport. Now granted we've continued to put significant focus on that as he grew up, so it is a bit murky to look back, but as an adult learning to play, I can fully appreciate the increased capability and enjoyment I've gotten as my skating has gotten better compared to other hockey specific skills.

I'm no expert, but I see stuff like the P90TM as a combination of many of the attributes of a P92 and a P28, taking aspects from both and creating a "combo" or "hybrid" of the two.

Just like folks who loved their heel and mid-curves back in the day not understanding the love of the P92, things continue to evolve. The 28 has been readily available and a popular option for what? 10? 15? 20 years now? That whole generation of players have grown up with it as a stock retail option. They've logged thousands of hours with it. They know it inside and out, like the back of their hand - they've adapted to it. And due to the popularity of "combo" blades like the P90TM, many more are moving in the same direction.

$20 difference. Could be or could be slightly less robust construction. I see they have customer service, maybe see if they can clear it up for you.

Didn't find any videos for "QRE", but found a video for the QRE Pro. From there it looks like there was a QRE 30, 20, 10. Warrior always confuses me with whether the high numbers are higher end or low numbers, but take a look and maybe compare with the pictures. I see there really isn't a description on PSH.

I have small feet, currently in a pair of TF9 size 4, so running 238 runners. The stock True steel profile made me feel like I was trying to balance on a rolling pin. I had a local shop do a Prosharp Quad profile (not sure which version he ended up using, I'm assuming the XXS), which definitely helped, but think I might want to try something even more stable, given how short the runners are. Should I be looking at the Zuperior profiles (seem marketed towards agility) or the more basic dual profiles like the Combi 10/13 or the Detroit?