flip12

Have you thought about putting an elastic band around the tongue to keep it from flopping too much?

You could also put a toe lift in. That way your steel stays the same and you adjust the pitch in a way that’s less invasive and cheaper to correct or adjust.

Sergei Fedorov is one of the more prominent opponents of that view.

That looks like a 17” then maybe: https://www.ebay.com/itm/114158447686 See pic 4.

Looks like this image supports your 16" theory: From this listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/184270884716?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338722076&toolid=10001

Napoleon was actually of average or slightly above average height for his day. 5’2” is his commonly cited height. But that’s in French units, which converts to about 5’6” in Imperial. What about this?

Have you tried any of the more recent iterations of the Scott Van Horne boot: Mako (kind of counts), VH, or True? Curious what you might think of those compared to the Kors.

Interesting. Thanks for the detailed reply. Is there any chance of seeing this work in more detail?

@JD17 I personally like the Graf ones, but I that's the brand I liked the best before trying Scott Van Horne's boots. The other suggestions, like Elite's insole by @Buzz_LightBeer, and SpeedPlates by @Sniper9 are good ones too. The Graf ones are a bit basic, where some of the more recent innovations in insoles are big hits with some users. Plus, @mtn noticed a downgrade in later Graf footbeds... ... so the basic foam ones you might find now might have the same problem, right off the bat. To begin with, to test if the insoles are the main culprit, bring any old insoles you might have to your next skate and swap them in and out with the stock ones you've been using. If you have something else that eliminates most of the play in your heel lock, you're good to go with a solid alternative until you find something ideal. I don't have experience with aftermarket outsoles, and just happen to have a massive stash from collecting a crazy amount of skates over the last few years. I hope this is the right direction to fix your problem. It just sounds similar to what I experienced with the MLX outsoles, and I was amazed at how much of an effect it had on my skating. The same with the stock MLX tongue. Those elements have changed iteratively over the last 10 years, but they still seem to resemble the ones I have in their basic properties and they're properties that don't align with my preferences: insoles too spongey and tongues too stiff. Luckily, they're rather easily changed and the problems solved, if one knows where to look.

Most of the greatest skaters since the 90's have worn the "7K" style shin, and McD's one of them. It's the classic Jofa shin without the Hyper-X feature. It looks like it dates back to '81 or '82, with some tweaks coming in the following years. It's been a relatively stable piece since 1990, with minor variations. I'm not sure which version McDavid's got, but it's easy to see it's that lineage from the profile of the shin just below the knee cap. It's a little old (2018) but this picture shows that at that point he might have still been using 7Ks, but you can just see how they have that hd foam upper shin strip where the Hyper-X piece would be. CCM's been tinkering with that area the last few years, but it used to just be 7K or 8K style.

Just a thought, but could the heel in your insole have compressed? I find with squishier insoles that I get a lot of vertical heel play in my boots, especially after some use. Now I use stock Graf insoles with a simple firm foam in my MLX because I hated the gummy insoles they came with for precisely that reason. The firmer insoles don't mess with the feel of the boot nearly as much as the softer ones did.

It's insane that essentially the same shin pad Connor McDavid uses debuted already in the early 80's!

The anecdote about how starts are taught today is illuminating. The combination of inside edge and outside edge pushes makes for a promising start in many situations. I've noticed it's a start that's even used in short track speed skating. There has to be some tested merit to it if athletes whose sole full-time job is to skate fast are using it at the highest level. Here's the most recent example I've come across, watch Erik Gustafsson, #56 for the Flyers: He crosses over the whole way back chasing Sheary and it just doesn't look convincing this is his fastest approach back. I thought the idea with a CAG One radius was the flat middle section was for gliding and pushing, which would maximize the amount of steel on the ice. I've never tried one though, so maybe I'm missing something.

What footbed are you using?