Whats a good skate for a wide footed beginner?

[Hooah4 12]

I am very new to the boards, and apologise for wasting peoples time.

I am a beginnerish skater, 6'3'' and wear a size 13 shoe. I have wide feet and am looking for a pair of skates that are good for wide feet.

I am not looking to pay through the nose because, as I said, I am a beginner.

Any help would be appreciated

Go raibh maith agat.

My advice:

1.Go to your local shop and try a bunch of skates on. IMO look for a pair around $200 (US).

2. Do not buy skates over the internet. You need to find out what fits you and you can't do that online. Just because Pro A uses this and Pro B uses that does not mean it will fit you. You need to find out for your own, and not let the ad-man decide for you.

[hockechamp14 0]

Actually, Scott, I'm quite impressed you walked into that firing line.

As I said, I've met Scott and he's a good guy. Having spoken or written to him and others on this board, I'm quite confident that if involved parties were to meet under different circumstances they would have hours of enjoyable conversations discussing hockey. However, I think a certain bias may have been built into the equation.

Hopefully, Scott will visit us in the future and you'll see what I mean when I say he's sincere. :)

PS Sorry, JJ, I added to the thread before I read your post! :o

He seems nice, he can have 0.02$ and I'll have mine. :)

[awall 0]

I want to jump in here really quick and offer my opinions here because they might be relavent or somehow insightful or quite possibly just boring. I just started learning to skate and Hockey this year. I will be starting my first I-League team this weekend.

When I started looking for my first pair of skates I stopped at one of my local hockey shops and explained to the guy there that I was just learning to skate and wanted a skate to that would be good for a beginner, but would also be good enough to actually play in. He had me try on a pair of bauer supremes that I didn't like all that much and I thanked him for his time. I discovered that I had a wide foot and knew I diidn't like the Bauer's I tried on.

I did what any computer geek would do and turned to the internet where I first came across Puckmugger's reviews. They were enjoyable and informative, especially to someone who didn't know what to look for or what questions to ask. I learned that CCM skates tended to be wider and might fit my big feet better. I was able to goto another shop and ask better questions and I got better advice and ended up with a pair of Vector 6's that I like very much.

My advice in the short run is to look at all the reviews you can find and then go to a good LHS and try the skates on. See what you like and what you don't. One thing I've learned about hockey equipment is that everyone has opinions, preferences, and biases.

[puckmugger 0]

I did what any computer geek would do and turned to the internet where I first came across Puckmugger's reviews. They were enjoyable and informative, especially to someone who didn't know what to look for or what questions to ask. I learned that CCM skates tended to be wider and might fit my big feet better. I was able to goto another shop and ask better questions and I got better advice and ended up with a pair of Vector 6's that I like very much.

Awall,

Thanks for the note there. I’m glad I could help. Newer players are exactly the audience that I write for. It seems like a much more hard-core audience here that has a pretty solid grasp on what to look for in their gear. As a newcomer to the sport five years ago I made some pretty crappy decisions buying both my goalie and skater gear and that’s the very issue I am trying to help people avoid. It’s easy to be suspicious of the motivations of a shop employee who you don’t know. Are they trying to get rid of last year’s stock? Do they work on commission? (Probably not). But regardless, it is their job is to try to sell you skates.

It was heartbreaking to me when I was managing the hockey store to watched parents put their kids in the absolute wrong skate because they thought that I was trying to sponge another ten bucks out of them. Hockey should be fun, and if you don’t have the right gear, it can suck. My motivation for writing is to make it easier for people like that to understand the importance of buying the proper gear.

Scott

[Hipster 5]

I'm going to add my kudos to the information puckmugger has put out. I'm an e-x hardcore player who was out of the sport completely during all the technology changes. I caught up a lot on the technology and design concepts by reading all the reviews I could on-line, including Puckmuggers and the one's here.

All information is good, IMO. you take it in and then see if your own observations are similar, if they are, then great. If a source consistently has opinions that are counter to your experience, then you find a better source.

Puckmugger has skewered a few products and a companies. His review of the VaporXX ensured that half the teenage Hockey world would hate him, but you know what? He was right. The XX's are not up to the demanding standards of a serious player. I don't care what anyone says about expectations of durability and performance, Those skates were not up to a reasonable standard, and Bauer got called on it.....Now their product in that line is much better.....so I see it as a good thing.

Take the reviews in and use them if they help you. If not...its an opinion. Hell, back when I was a midget, there was no way to get information about products other than from the guy selling it to you, or the guy next to you in the lockeroom who just bought it. Equipment, with rare exceptions, was crap compared to today.

A few on-line reviews are helpful, especially to identify frequently occuring problems....Example.....it was HERE that I found out the crack in my Bauer 4000 helmet, right by the adjustment screw was a common problem. I thought it was my fault for having tightened it too much....instead it was a design flaw.....I never would have known that without reviews on the internet.

[puckmugger 0]

Thanks Hipster. I'm glad that I could help.

[DarkStar50 679]

[

Yes, I've given the evil Nike/Bauer empire a good number of poor reviews, but only when they deserve them. I've given them quite a few good reviews as well. As far as whether you agree or not is up to you.

Scott,

Please explain the "evil" in Nike/Bauer.

Peter

[puckmugger 0]

Please explain the "evil" in Nike/Bauer.

Peter

Ah, just my wierd sense of humor. I guess I've always felt like Nike should have stayed out of the hockey biz. It seems like Nike and Starbucks are vying to take over the world at times.

Honestly though, I think they are making some really good protective. Eventually I am sure they will get the skate thing figured out too.

Scott

[Miike 1]

I guess I've always felt like Nike should have stayed out of the hockey biz.

Nike should stick to the golfing and other sports. Although i had my doubts Nike turned out to be ok, only because they're with Bauer.