Jump to content
Slate Blackcurrant Watermelon Strawberry Orange Banana Apple Emerald Chocolate Marble
Slate Blackcurrant Watermelon Strawberry Orange Banana Apple Emerald Chocolate Marble

BlueNux

Members+
  • Content Count

    81
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Feedback

    N/A

Everything posted by BlueNux

  1. I got new Jetspeed FT370 skates a few weeks back. The skates felt comfortable before being baked (perhaps too comfy) and the reputable LHS I went to tightened them incredibly tight during the baking process, even using a lace tightener. The bauer bump I have continues to get aggravated - the very reason I got new skates. At this point, the skates are hilariously lacking in heel lock. These were my first heat moldable skates and had no idea that skates expand this much. Has anyone experienced this before? Was there an issue during my baking process? Jetspeeds were supposed to be great for heel lock and I now feel out of options. If anyone has had similar issues, what did you do? I absolutely hate wearing bunga pads - they dampen the feel of the ice. I tried the FT1s again and they do have a tighter heel lock, but lack volume (which may give a false sense of heel lock). I thought all the high end skates fit similarly across price points, but apparently not. I took a ruler and measured the distance from the bottom of the FT1 and FT370 to the middle of their 5th/6th eyelets and noticed nearly a quarter inch difference! I also don't think the heel lock difference was big enough to not experience the same issue after baking.
  2. Yes, I’d recommend usually for people to try new skates in person, but the issue here is that 1) your LHS is 6 hours away, 2) LHS have extremely limited inventory right now and won’t have the sizes you need (even worse may push you skates they want to get rid off), 3) you seem to know that you have a particular feet that may need EE and most LHS stock D, and 4) you get to try the skates at home and take your time to do all sorts of random tests over and over again (like the pencil test). You should not go in with the mindset that your new skates will need to be punched. If it feels like it need punching right out of the box, it’s not a right fit. If you need wide toe caps, try the new RibCor, Tacks, or Nexus in D. If they’re pinching, try the EEs. If your toes don’t feel as snug as the other parts of your foot but there’s no pinching, try EE in Supreme and Jetspeed. Before you go to the store or purchase online, make sure to read and do the following: https://www.icewarehouse.com/lc/icehockeyskatesizing.html A final point: do not let a wider forefoot make you feel like you need a longer skate. A lot of people complain about pinching toes in narrow skates like Vapors and think they need bigger skates. This is not true. Measure your feet and be conservative (it’s probably smaller than you think and I’d fit you half size down even from what you measure at home). The width is independent of the length and those skates I recommended above are the ones with wider toes. The right skate should have minimal to no pinching pre-bake and at least one of your foot’s toes should brush the toe box.
  3. Buy from ice warehouse. Free return shipping if you are a IW member, which is very simple to be part of. Obviously, they are a business, so if you end up trying several skates from them, please either end up buying from them or at least other stuff since we all need to keep them going as a business. You get the benefit of 15% off non-MAP items as well as tax free if shipping outside of CA (but no free sharpening or baking unlike LHS, which means price often evens out). I would recommend you to go to a local store that has a Bauer 3D Skate lab to get a machine measurement of your foot and a starting recommendation for skates. If the LHS has the exact pair you want, that’s great - get them. If they’re out of sizes (as is common this time of year given low inventory), use that as a guideline to buy similar pairs from IW. You can take your sweet time trying them on without the pressure of a salesperson and make a final decision. Edit: just reread and noticed your LHS are super far. Scratch my ideas regarding skate lab. Measure your feet according to IW website guide and err on the side of shorter length and width even if the guide shocks you with smaller skates (skates will only feel roomier overtime and you don’t want to lose heel lock). I can attest the guide is pretty darn accurate. Don’t have an ego over your foot size like most men - it’s the main reason I recommend the skate lab since you can’t cheat it. Get 3-4 skates given your measurement and keep the one that feels best.
  4. If you're having issues with slipping while normal skating, the issue is with your form and balance. Too many people, particularly beginners, blame skate sharpening. If you can't even take forward strides with speed without fear of slipping, you need to get used to the new skates and blade profile. I've gone without sharpening for 2-3 months sometimes and can still do single leg edge drills comfortably (hear the grind/rip sound of your blades cutting the ice). You should still be able to skate normally even on dull blades if you can properly center your body weight over the edges. If you give your current skates to a more experienced skater, I guarantee he'll make them work. I agree with @Vet88 - your old skates may have developed poor skating habits that you will now have to overcome with properly fitted skates. Don't blame the sharpening. Get over this mental roadblock. Instead, you should challenge yourself to incorporate more deliberate lean (legs, hips, shoulders) and counter balancing so your weight is always centered properly over your skates whatever the maneuver. For me, the main reason for sharpening is to help me lean more aggressively at an angle and to be quicker on each stride.
  5. Here are my thoughts on 70K after recently fitting every model of skates out there. Overall, I would classify all the CCM skates as different variations of medium fits and Bauer skates as accurately advertised in terms of fit. FYI my foot shape is: med forefoot, med mid-foot, med/narrow heel, med instep. 70K: I would not consider the 70K a low volume boot as claimed by retailers. First thing I noticed is that it has a spacious forefoot and toe cap, both in terms of width and height. Heel lock is really comfy - snug given a ton of memory foam to lock in heels, but soft enough to adapt to wider heels. Medium instep edging very slightly towards the shallower end, but the flexible lacing area and tongue really allows it to accommodate larger insteps. Easy to get knee bends and just incredibly comfortable overall. I do feel the boot will expand over time with regular use everywhere, so wouldn't recommend these as option #1 if you have true medium profile foot. Even if they feel cushy initially, I'd check other skates for a more anatomical, snug, glove-like fit. Target foot profile: wider forefoot and enjoy more toe space (this is a must), med or med/wide for mid-foot and heel, medium or med/high instep. Jetspeed, Supreme, and Vapor skates all felt like they had less overall space than the 70Ks. Width for 70K comparable to Tacks imo, but very different instep and overall feel especially at the heel.
  6. Update! I finally got the 4 skates in 7D to try: Jetspeed, Supreme, Tacks, and Vapor, all around 3rd tier down from top (so x800, FT380, etc.). To recap my feet profile: size 7 length, standard forefoot (2.7-2.8 length/width ratio), standard/slightly shallow instep, medium arch, and standard/slightly narrow heel. Jetspeed: The best overall fit out of the 4. Passes the pencil test, only slightly rocking even at the worst point. I love that the toe cap isn't so tall so it feels more snug. Overall, everything felt snug, though not as tightly wrapped as the Supremes. The heel lock everyone raves about on the Jetspeed was not as secure as I had hoped. Actually, I felt these had the least tightest heel lock out of the 4. It's still snug, but I feel like the ankle foam could be slightly thicker to better grab my heels. Does anyone know if the FT1s fit a bit differently from the FT380s? I imagine not having the outsole can provide the FT1 a different fit. If the FT1s have a more secure heel lock and a feather more snug wrap, my search is complete since the FT380 was already my favorite. @Nicholas G Supreme: They felt great - evenly snug throughout, although the toe cap felt a bit roomy. Heel lock was best. The surprising failure of these were the instep volume. The pencil test passed the 3rd eyelet, pivoted slightly on the 4th, but started rocking below that. Laced up, the stiff middle part of the tongue dug in right where the pencil test failed. Upon knee bend, the lace/tongue would dig in even more but this time up near the 3rd/4th eyelet area too. I see why the lab recommended these to me - they're the best option from Bauer for my feet. Tacks: This one confused me. I failed the pencil test in similar fashion to the Supremes, even though I've read that the Tacks were supposed to have the most volume. It could be because the heel lock on these are the tightest of the 4, so my foot doesn't actually sit completely flush against the back of the skates. The skate felt like it had slightly more volume elsewhere than the other 4. A worse overall fit than the Jetspeed. Less pain around instep during knee bend than Supreme, but not as tightly wrapped around my feet elsewhere. Vapor: Worst pencil test mark of the 4, with the pencil slightly pivoting on the 3rd eyelet, more on the 4th, and rocking past the 5th eyelet down. Surprising since the 1X in 7D I tried at my LHS felt much better than these x800s. Though the 1Xs also had some pressure on the instep, they weren't nearly as bad - maybe the lace-bite tongue in the 1X makes a difference. Also, slight pinching in the middle of the boot and right beneath the fore foot. I was able to pass the pencil test with flying colors in my old X:20 7.5D - this just goes to show you that you have to be precise with skate sizing, since half size difference can allow you to pass the pencil test, but then you'd end up with a longer skate that can cause heel lock issues in the future.
  7. You should try untying nearly all the laces until the tongue really flops out. The store I went to was out of the 7D (3D Skate Lab recommended) in many skate models so I asked to try some 6.5D just to test width differences between models. Couldn't squeeze my foot in at first with the way the laces were loosened by the salesperson, but after completely loosening all the laces down to like the bottom 2-3, my foot fit in fine on all the models I tried (though all my toes were quite pressed). You'd be surprised what you can fit into. I think the lab is really on point with measuring length and width of all the details of the foot since they're black and white numbers, but can be slightly off on recommendations since comfort is so personal. So I actually tested this in store as well. On the lab, my left foot was measured at around 7, while my right foot was measured at slightly under 7. On the blue Bauer brannock stick, my left foot was just over 7.5 and my right foot was just under 7.5. This is why my first skates were in 7.5D Vapors since I got them long time ago and the LHS only had access to the Bauer measuring stick. Note that I did not wear socks on the skate lab, but did wear socks on the brannock stick. This wouldn't result in a difference greater than 2mm though, since the socks I wore were very thin skating socks provided by the store. I'm also the type of person who jams my heel back against the brannock stick to try to fit as tight a skate as possible - I only say this because the store person noted that most guys who come into the store have an ego about foot size (both length and width) and try to wiggle their way to a larger measurement even if half a size. In my opinion, after this whole experience, I would recommend everyone to trust the skate lab when it comes to foot measurements, or subtract half a size from the Bauer brannock tool assuming you really press your heel when measuring. The lab doesn't just measure your length and forefoot width, but give you details on everything from instep and other measurements. It's also really hard to cheat it. I tried standing on the lab twice and both times the numbers were exactly the same, so it's very consistent assuming your feet didn't experience something that would change their shape between tests (for example, I'm sure your foot size changes before and after a game of hockey due to all the pressure).
  8. Thank you for providing this empirical observation Nicholas! I actually got a chance to try the Ribcor 7D in a LHS today and the forefoot/toe area was very roomy compared to Vapors. I'll pick between Vapors, Tacks, Jetspeed, and Supremes in 7D. Also, I was told today at the LHS that a new AS1 Tacks is being released this year that will be custom. Is there any public info on this? What's even the point of picking between Jetspeeds and Tacks if ultimately the interior size/fit/volume of the skate will be customized for each foot anyway?
  9. Long time lurker finally posting for advice! I'm in the market for new skates since my current Vapor X:20 skates size 7.5D (comparable to today's x400) are starting to present issues. Specifically, the interior foam that wraps the heel and ankles are really flattening out and I'm feeling my heel rub up and down. I'm suspecting that this is the reason for the bauer bumps on my heels (slight bruise with a blister forming under the callus heel skin). I've never experienced these issues until around 2 weeks ago. I went to a store and tried the Bauer 3D Skate lab. It recommended a 7D Supreme - most of my foot measurements were medium or between narrow/medium. When I tried the Supremes on, the length was perfect but it was 'meh' in terms of comfort. Understanding that skates feel different after baking, trying on ice, and breaking in, I don't want to dismiss any option too early and would like your recommendation on what skates I should try. If I had to describe my foot, I would say it's definitely a size 7 skate in length, standard forefoot width (I recall slight pinching for a few months when I initially broke in my Vapors), low instep (to this day I've never experienced even a hint of lace bite with my Vapors), and normal arch. When I measured my foot at home, my length was around 26cm (10.2") and forefoot width 9.5cm (3.7") for a length/width ratio of ~2.75. I'm not sure whether I have a narrow, narrow/medium, or medium heel and that's the main challenge (I stupidly forgot to note this measurement from the 3D Skate Lab and it's far away so can't go back). I really want a new skate that will have tight heel lock with padding that will keep the lock for a long time. Vapors are supposed to have the tightest heels and I still ended up with heel lock issues, but that could largely be because of the skates being low end and used quite a bit over the last year (around 10 hours on ice per week). For the new skates, I definitely want a stiffer boot that will last the next 5+ years. In addition to Supreme S180, I'm considering the Jetspeed FT1, Ribcor 70K (the only other skate in 7D I tried in store and they felt comfortable, not sure because of ideal fit or because they're more cushioned/roomier than the Supremes), and the Super Tacks. I don't know how an ideal skate should even feel in-store (is it actually good for there to be some tightness?). I am a long-time Icewarehouse customer so I plan to get 2-3 skates to try and return the ones that don't fit well.
×
×
  • Create New...