Peter Pin

I used blacksteel from step back in the days on my Ribcor skates. I enjoyed these.... especially for the edge/sharpening retention. However I'm not good enough of a skater to be able to say the glide was better than on regular steel. I think the profiling as more to with it than the steel itself. I will see if I go all in for the DLC or just for the JRZ old school steel. yep will keep the stock bauer as backup just in case but won't have them profiled. Curently Elite Polaris is my go-to profile. Fun fact I'm located in Quebec city so really close of JRZ headquarter.

Reviving this thread. I took advantage of the current discounts on older version of Vapor skates. Current skates are the 2023 Vapor X4 -still in good shape- but no matter what I pulled the trigger on the 2023 Vapor X5 Pro as they were discounted (about $650cad with Fly X). I feel so great in size 9 fit 1 that could not resist to buy the X5s. I just realized Fly X runners have super bad reviews on the interwebs. Lots of cases where they just broke in 2 parts, inside and outside period of warranty. Consensus seems: they suck. So I may be in the market for better runners even if I didn't use the X5 on ice yet. 🙂 @Sniper9 are you using the regular JRZ stainless runners or the higher end black DLC runners? Looks like they offer both options. How do you like these?

I used Elite EL 4-2 quad for about 2 years with 11/16 ROH (sometimes 3/4) overall I like the profile. Super fast, stable but felt it lacked of acceleration and agility sometimes. I had my skates profiled with their newer POLARIS quad this week. 11/16. Supposed to be similar in speed and balance but with little extra acceleration and agility. Tried it once at free skate session yesterday and immediately felt better bite and explosion from a stop. Maybe a little less stability but more agile. Can't wait to try it at tonite's game.

So some of you maybe saw my recent skate fitment journey. Had my new Vapor skates profiled with quad 2, 11/16 roh, just like my previous Ribcors overall I like this profile but I’d like maybe a little more grip/bite/explosion and more agility (had difficulties to initiate quick turns tonight). i don’t mind losing some glide since I find quad 2 has plenty of it. Quad 2 feel light and smooth but id like maybe a tiny more heavy feeling. should I stay with quad 2 and focus more on sharpening (9/16)? or should I try a different profile? Never tried a zuperior profile btw. First game with these skate I was with stock 10´ radius. Not a huge fan but I like how it felt heavy in some way under my feet.

Definitely

Not sure if they were 2 piece. They were the 2021 modal.

Just back from first session. Good level Wednesday beer league. First impressions: wow this skate fits like a snug glove to my foot. Never felt that supported and wrapped in a skate. And no pressure point super comfy. The fact the fit is perfect makes feel like the skates are super Light and smaller in my feet. as far as Profile. 10ft radius with 9/16 roh didn’t felt good. Glide wasn’t good at all. Grip and quick turns were good but fatigue came pretty fast. I was just unable to keep speed. I’m used to quad II and that session made me realize it. Maybe 10ft with 3/4 roh would have been better but now I’m thinking about going Quad II profile the skates tomorrow.

Finally pulled the trigger on vapor X4 today in size 9 fit 1 Tried size 8.5 fit 1 and my toes felt stuck together and folded in the toe cap. BTW We tried the Bauer 3D skate lab scan thing and it said I’m size 9.5 fit 2. Hummm. So I gave size 9 fit 2 a try and it was too loose and didn’t wrap my foot enough. Just didnt feel as good as fit 1. Will give the skates a try tomorrow night. didn’t have enough time to have the blades profiled so currently on stock Bauer 10ft profile. But will probably end with quad II profile just like my past two pairs.

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.

I'm located in Canada. Pure Hockey is a no go. Agreed I need to have an open mind, and keep Supreme/Tacks/Jet Speed on my list. At least give these a chance. As far as the Ribcors being discontinued, I'm aware of it but I think some stores still have some 100K in stock in some sizes in tapered fit. And the the fact I liked so much my previous Ribcor pair makes me keep these on the contestant list.

yep. makes sense. girl’s maths?

Bought from my local Source for sports during summer 2023. In shop the skates felt great... but I mean, trying skates 10 minutes isn't the real deal. I just realized something that I wasn't aware of. The skates are a 2021 CCM Ribcor modal. Back in 2021 early, CCM changed their Fit system. They introduced Tapered (narrow) fit. So they had Tapered/Regular (D)/Wide (E) My previous Ribcor were from 2019. 9.5D They felt really great and more tapered than the 2021s. Current are 2021 9.5D So with the change in CCM fit system in 2021, the 2021 D is more likely wider (less tapered) than the 2019 ones. Thats probably why I have issues with my current Ribcors. I will definitely pull the trigger on new skates. Vapors Fit 1 and Ribcors tapered fit will be on my hunting list. I will take my time to try them properly and discuss with someone knowledgeable in store. It's just a bad timing budget wise since we are redoing our kitchen/living room at home currently. 😶

Blisters are only on inside of ankle. outside isn't armed at all. So with all comments and data collected, my guess is: not filling the boot enough/not well fitted + pronation = tongue twisting outwards, causing no more tongue on interior side of ankle bone = no protection + rubbing/friction on lining = blisters only inside Potential cheap short term fix (but not the best out there). Make sure superfeet insoles help to support arch and reduce pronation (foor rolling) + doing pronation killer exercices + play with thicker socks to fill the boot a bit more. Potential not cheap fix = buy better fitted skates (more tappered and shorter) ....not a 100% sureshot though

Yeah the 2 socks combo was just an experiment. But this makes me realize and conclude I'd be better with more tappered/small fit. Can it explain the constant twisting tongue in outwards direction? Maybe. Can it explain the injuries on my interior ankle bones? Maybe. But if fit isn't close and tapered enough, I'm not sure it would be a good idea to have the skates "punched" at this special spot were the ankle bone seats.

Ok just a quick note. Yesterday I tried 2 pairs of cotton socks for the very first time in those skates. I really don’t intend to play always like this. It was just to test the too big size hypothesis. I usually use my dedicated sherwood skates socks that are on the thinner side. Yeah the fact that it felt more comfy and supported make me wonder maybe I’d be better in size 9 and or different fitting skates. Current is 9.5 D. Maybe I’m more like a size 9 fit 1 with Bauer? I never owned Bauer skates. Tried some pairs when shopping and don’t recall having felt good in them. Always been more comfy with Reeboks and CCMs And no, i don’t especially sweat a lot when I play.

Makes sense. The stock CCM insole is flat and offers no support at all. SF has more arch support. Which may make the total boot length too long for me. Went again at public outdoor rink yesterday night. With the stock insoles, plus 2 pairs of socks (just like in the good old days). Felt better, less arming on ankle bone. Still the tongue was twisting outwards at the beginning of session. Jesus.... playing hockey in a beer league once a week is quite a journey!!!! 🙂

All agreed. That’s why I’ll take my time and try some fixes before buying news skates.

Thanks for you advices and inputs Hills just a FYI skates and SF insole were bought at different time and different shop. I will definitely give some Vet’s suggestions a chance before throwing $800-$1k on a new pair, better fitted. But maybe it will be required some day.

Superfeet are size E (skate 9-10) under recommendation of local hockey shop employee (which wasn't a 15 year old kiddo) I agree there is clean yellow in front on the Superfeet. I could probably play a 9.... not sure about 8 1/2 though. Since on my 9 1/2, the front end of my toes are flirting with the toe cap. Not super roomy over there. edit: BTW just want to specify. I used the same SF insoles with my previous 9 1/2!!! Ribcors and I didn't have any issues like this. Yeah the previous pair were a tad more entry level but not a huge notch vs my new pair.

So here are some pictures. One shot with skate in my foot yesterday after outdoor rink session with daughter. Tongue twisting outwards. As far as sizing, my big toe goes beyond insole. You tell me if it should go farther over insole.

Well since you are second person to talk about potential sizing issue (maybe half a size or a full size too long) and I really want to solve this issue, I'll keep this hypothesis in mind. But as I wrote earlier. Sometimes I'm size 11.5 in some shoe brands. Not always 11. So we probably have similar feet, length wise.

I'm sometimes a 11.5 shoe in some brands. I tried 8.5 Vapor, Ribcors, in the past. Too tight. I could probably fit a 9 size (pro-fit) skate but I'm pretty confident my 9.5 Ribcors aren't too tall. And I don't think my current issues are skates length related.

Wow great info thanks. comment on answer 1 make sense. Pronation is the elephant in the room probably. The simple fixes you proposed are the ones I'll try first: Removing SuperFeet and going with stock CCM insole that are flatter/thinner on heel + Lipstick trick with punch at local Skate Shop i. If I can start by just reducing or even better removing pain caused by this would be a great start. Cause honestly this affects my game since when I put 100% pressure on skates during accelerations and quick turns, its hurts/burns real bad. I thought about taping the tongue but wasnt sure it was a great idea as it could induce some stiffness through the front. I'll maybe try it whatsoever. New high end skates will probably be on my way if I can't sort this out with the simple/cheap fixes on the Ribcors Will definitely dig more deeply in the pronation fixes and exercises. Especially if it can help my skate ability and in other sports (I play high level ultimate frisbee as well) I had multiple ankle injuries in the past (several sprain/fracture) on both side. Maybe my pronation has something related to this. Thanks very appreciated

Thanks for your comment. I'm shoe size 11. These are 9 1/2 skates. I'm feel length is perfect for me. Agreed they are not super deep and don't wrap much.