Above40

I have given Superfeet (both yellow and carbon) a good testing over the last 6 months or so and they don't seem to be an upgrade for me. I originally started using them due to arch pain in new skates and having a semi low arch, combined with a wider forefoot. Just trying out footbeds to deal with general issues with fit. To summarize why I think they aren't working for me, it basically feels like I am skating on my arches and find it difficult to get my weight on the balls of my feet. It (feels like) it takes too much ankle flex to get into a position where i can use the front half of my blade when maneuvering. Heels and apex of radius are readily accessible. I'll admit, some of this might be technique (being back into the sport after a long many ears away) but I've had enough skates in to where I want to perhaps try something else. I'd like to know if anyone can chime in regarding balance point and the possibility of moving the radius apex fwd/back might help feeling better balanced over my skates. When I drop two eyelets I can flex my ankles enough to get things feeling ok but I lose a lot of lateral stability and my upper ankles start knocking around in the top opening (Tippiness). If I tighten them down and really lock my ankle in, things get much worse and Im basically skating on my heels or getting sever lace bite pressure when trying to get balanced/neutral. Im in newer Tacks model 9070. Stock radius on aftermarket hyperglildes. I've experimented with shimming under heel and forefoot (within the boot) trying to slightly change my foot position inside the boot but doesn't really seem to help that much. Walking around the house it seems it feels slightly more natural when i use the stock footbed (pretty thin) with a second layer of stock footbed under my forefoot (slightly less than half). Would moving the balance point /apex back a little ways help me get over the balls of my feet easier? Essentially is this the same as getting a fwd pitch or is there a difference? My intuition might be wrong but I don't think shaving down the toe of the skate is going to help...all else being equal wouldn't that make matters worse? (Front of blade would be even further out of reach if balance point of blade on boot remained the same?) I'm thinking something like an 11' radius but just slightly moved back... .I'm relatively new to all this. Forgive me if I sound like a dope. If anyone can see a clearer picture of what might help me...I'm all ears. Thanks

I'm skating now almost a year back into it after 25 away. To summarize my experience with the new stiff skate boot offerings... From 9060's to Super Tacks and a few in between, They all felt hard as a rock. ( Im 200lbs, not hockey agility fit but relatively fit) I think the major problem for me with an ultra stiff boot was the heat molding and break in, wanting the boots to feel like part of my feet rather than an obstacle to overcome. Even after bakes and punches they always felt a bit "tippy" for me when going inside to outside or neutral to an edge. Abruptness/ un-smooth transitions across the edges because my ankles apparently aren't strong enough yet. Basically/probably relying on the boot for most of the support. I think this could have been avoided by starting with a flexible boot that I could lace up nice and snug where I feel supported but that still move "with" me, rather than an imperfect shell around my foot. Something with more natural/gradual deflection/bending that feels like more of an extension of what I'm trying to do out there. Perhaps a NS/NSX rec-level skate? I'm not clanking around inside of my 9070's but there is that brief moment when doing certain things where I know the skate is gonna "tip" that tiny bit where it doesn't feel like part of my foot and I'm not in control at that time. Figure 8 kind of edge drills etc. I just started practicing 1 ft slaloms and they are truly frightening but doable. Things have gotten much better but it seems like I'm still not in sync w my skates.

Any advice on a helmet with a deeper fit for better ear coverage? Should my entire ear be covered? Personal preference, I'd like them covered best I can. My coconut is bigger /taller than avg. My old CCM bucket is from 1993 and it has more or less these slotted panels that completely cover my ears down to my jaw bone. I tried on a V08 which I thought would fit pretty deep from what I've read but only covers about half my ears! I can handle an earlobe hanging out but it does look kinda silly when the earhole doesn't come close to lining up with the hole. I tried next size larger and it sits almost exactly the same depth. I'll probably eventually make it to the hockey shop/store and see what they have to say on the matter but until then...I'm open to any advice on brands/models to try out or possible aftermarket solutions? Looking in the $80-150 range. Also, I have enough head volume as it is and I'd like to avoid models with excessively thick padding/shell thickness. To borrow a phrase I read elsewhere... trying to avoid the upside down armchair-on-my-head look. 🙂

i did submit this question to support before coming here. Haven't rec'd reply yet. There's something I'd like to buy and not miss so it's a little time sensitive 🙂 figured I'd throw it out here see if I'm missing something/easy answer. // also can't make offers.. maybe i will trying adding a payment option and see if that frees up my ability to participate OK I figured this out. case closed for me. THX

I just joined recently meaning created an ID and got my address on file, verified email... Having trouble figuring out how to message a seller w a question about an item. I have not created a seller profile since i didn;t plan on selling just yet... when i click the message seller button that is near the purchase button I get taken to a page with no text field like something is missing or its not loaded correctly. I feel like the site is super buggy.. especially on mobile. I tried on desktop too.. just wondering if there's a reason I can;t message a seller like say entering payment info or making an offer first or something.. thanks for any advice.

I actually did submit a web form on their site a while back in order to get the ball rolling but I don't think I ever heard back. I can re-check my folders but I think I assumed they were swamped and weren't taking on new customers or something. They did specify not to email or contact them twice.. as if to say don't call us we'll call you.. kinda thing. I know what that's like so I just moved on. Learning curve coming back to hockey is pretty steep and I think my first priorities were getting on the ice and getting skates that fit so maybe a good time to revisit the profiling frontier. Thanks for the reminder. Thanks for the tip!

I have a holder/blade-related concern/question that is closely related to the OP post... All else being equal..is it harder to turn with longer runners? During my skate search I tried on and skated a few different sized skates from Bauer and CCM. I can squeeze into a Bauer rec skate size 9 and the blade feels sweet under my foot.. like a tennis shoe.. very responsive.. I moved away from that quickly as they only came in a R width and started my adventure into mid level skates that had EE widths. That was before I became a skate punching aficionado.. Anyhow..I was chasing a boot I could tolerate in my arch and foot width and I probably landed in too big of a skate. 10 EE. I had no experience knowing about how liners break in or how to interpret the new skate fit vs down the road....but anyhow, the 10ee feels like I'm on speed skates. I reckon I might have went from a 9' stock radius on a bauer to a 10' on ccm and a holder that is also longer. Something is not great... it's more in the way the skates behave when I turn like glide turns or when trying to do C cuts inside/outside, like am I fighting the straightness or length of the blade? Does what I'm feeling make sense? I might go get a generic 9' radius put on my runners but they might already be rounded to that after about 5 sharpens.. Also, I feel like I'm a bit more on my heels than I should be. Might be due to the superfeet.. I dont know. I'm going to shove in the stock footbeds next skate and see how they feel. Probably looser yet. Skate fit chart says I should be in a 9.5 for my foot length. Which I was in Bauer.. then I tried a 10ee in ccm and was hoodwinked by the awesome liner into thinking it was a tight fit.. I even felt the toe cap when they were new.....that snug fit went away as my foot pain subsided. So now they are relatively comfy but too big I think. I have to crank the laces and they still do that slight shift or flip flop as my weight transfers from inside to outside edge. The are properly heat formed/baked but never have that tight lateral lock.. stability-wise. I have real nice wrap around my ankle w the boot. The skate is a SMU from ccm. 9070 hybrid. I'd like to think my ankles and legs have strengthened up but maybe I'm not anywhere near there yet. I have nothing in memory to compare my recent skating too. It's been many years since hockey. and I wonder if my blades/skate size is holding me back somewhat now. I never even thought about this stuff when I was younger. I'm about 195/ athletic/fit...It feels like my ankles aren't big enough for the boot but my forefoot and volume say otherwise. Sorry for the ramble. I might plop down 50 bucks for some used rec skates in 9 just to see what happens. (they only make whole size in the Bauer NSX.) I'll figure it out eventually. Probably have to punch the heck out of a 9.5D and god help my arches. ANother question...are EE skates any different in the heel or mid foot and back? Maybe 9EE wouldn't be all that crazy to try either. Vapor is no. Tacks snap on my foot real nice, supremes feel lace bitey. Anything for feedback from anywhere in that rant I'll take. p.s.Hopefully it's not frowned upon to add onto a thread that seems to have run its course.

Vet88, your advice and steps for progress make a lot more sense after my last skate. I'm going to try to stick with that progression and also bring my weak side along for the ride.

Follow up: I decided to have my hollows switched up from 5/8 to 7/8. As far as practicing outside edge stops..made a world of difference..I was actually able to pick up my front foot practicing T stops in about 10 min. Did a few medium speed 2 foot stops w no chatter. The best part is that now it feels more like I'm actually practicing rather than being freaked out by the excercize and barely being able to do it at all. I still get negative feedback with some chatter if I get it wrong but it's not nearly as severe or ultra bitey, or scary. Higher freq chatter more like vibration rather than chop chop like before. I did notice I slip around a little more when my skates are upright but they bite fine when I get over on edge.. I just had to be more deliberate when turning. I could see trying 3/4 after a few more skates if they get too slippery. And dang I notice I'm using new muscles for sure. Feels totally odd to open my hips like that but I think I'm on the right track. I'm pretty stoked!

Thanks so much for the detailed advice.. super appreciated!! Sounds like this is going to take me a lot longer to learn than I thought. I'm used to figuring things out pretty quickly. So this IS a really a hard skill? Nothing wrong with my skates? lol I suppose I'll just have to just get over myself feeling like a goofball out on the ice. Sometimes there's just a few skaters when I go out during the week and some private lessons happening so I get pretty self-conscious getting out of my comfort zone. I'll keep at it.

For a person that is beginning to try to practice outside edge stops, what sharpening radius would you recommend for a 200lb skater? I started with 9/16" and then went to 5/8" and I still get instant dig into the ice unless I go very slow and put my stopping foot in back of my lead foot in a T with basically no attack angle (just enough to get the outside edge)There's some small details I wonder about like should I let my boot/ankle be slightly relaxed or super stiff? Straight ankle vs letting the ankle lead or letting the edge lead. I feel better when my skates arent cranked down but there's a point where the skate reacts to the pressure from the ice and wants to go a certain way...Is this something I try to control consciously or just let things go how they may? When I watch vids on Youtube it appears some skaters can drift across the ice w slide stop with their skates pretty much perpendicular to the ice. Does it take a shallow hollow to be able to do this? Thanks anyone for any tips. I get super choppy (chatter) from my outside edge when doing two foot stops also. I should probably figure that problem out first. I noticed a different person this happening to as well. Didn't seem to catch the attention of their coach (skating lesson session at rink). I don't recall having this issue when I was younger. Now it seems I'm always fighting that edge as it does not behave in a predictable or smooth way. Catches like crazy. Like stutters and skips along the ice with the Z pattern left on the ice. Almost feels like I want the holder moved out a little so I can get my weight on the inside of the runner more.. almost as if the sweet spot in angle my boot won't let me reach.. if that makes any sense. Like by the time I can get on my outside edge the angle is too aggressive. Maybe it's all in my head. I have about 4 public skates under my belt and pond skating over the winter. Been getting my skates to fit properly too. New skates, back to skating again. Two different battles that are interconnected. My skates are bakes and punched, pretty great fit almost past all physical pain of starting over again. All advice appreciated. I'm new to this forum so I hope I posted in the right place!