anybody not lacing their top eyelet?

[Hockey DeVoTee 1]

Knee bend is everything in the skating stride. Taping high around the top of the skate boot, wraping laces around the ankle.... anything that limits knee bend will shorten your stride. Full extension full recovery.

I miss the top two & give myself about 5" of lace... tie a knot & cut the remaining lace.

[Sassmasta 0]

Its wierd though...I feel more comfortable with the wrap because I am afraid of my ankle rolling, however I know it does cut a couple inches off of my stride which is bad..I've tried every lacing technique in the book, but nothing helps that feeling...and its only on the left skate, the right skate I dont lace the top eyelet and I just tie it normally, but the left one I feel weak without the wrap.

[pantherfan 0]

...............cut the remaining lace.

i would never do that its so annoying when the lace falls out the eyelet and you need to thread it through

[Fletch 219]

I didn't lace the top eyelet up at sticktime last week- I didn't like the way it felt. I usually have the top eyelet laced, but a little looser than the others.

[Hockey DeVoTee 1]

Pantherfan............... That is what the KNOT is for! Eliminating the lace from ever being pulled through the eyelet.

[freq019 0]

I started not lacing the top eyelet because my laces were too short now I love it and wouldn't lace them up all the way even if I could. Although on my inline skates (tours) I do lace them all the way up, but that boot is so darn comfy I don't mind or notice.

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

Ah, that could explain it as that is what I do (in fact... thinking about it now... I think I actually leave the top two eyelets open - I'll have to look when I get home, rarely even think about it anymore as it's just habit and I don't pull my laces out after a game).

Not that anyone cares, but in case it helps with the topic at hand, I do, in fact, not lace up my top 2 eyelets on my 1152's.

[Sven 1]

I also leave the top eyelet open, its just better... dunno why

[thunderbirds_are_go 0]

You get a bit more forward flex with the top eyelets unused. I started out not using the top two eyelets on my Vector Pro's, but since I'm not skating as much these days I find that I need to only miss the top one now - I find that when I'm skating more often the muscles in my feet and ankles keep everything in position, but when I'm not I need the extra stiffness for support.

[Roach 0]

Knee bend is everything in the skating stride. Taping high around the top of the skate boot, wraping laces around the ankle.... anything that limits knee bend will shorten your stride. Full extension full recovery.

I miss the top two & give myself about 5" of lace... tie a knot & cut the remaining lace.

Does it follow that shin guards that extend to over the tongue of your skate restricts knee bend? I know this is more of personal preference, but do you recommend a shorter shin pad so that it would rest above the tongue?

[Hockey DeVoTee 1]

No ...... as long as your shin's aren't taped down to your ankles your fine. My shins come just below my second eyelet and I tape below my knee and just below my calf muscle. No restriction just personal preference.

[Roach 0]

No ...... as long as your shin's aren't taped down to your ankles your fine. My shins come just below my second eyelet and I tape below my knee and just below my calf muscle. No restriction just personal preference.

Got it! Thanks much for the clarification! My shins come up to about the same level on skates, and I wear a shin sleeve and a single strap under the knee to hold it in place.

[bekster 0]

Sorry for bringing up an old topic .. but my question is very similar:

I started to not lace the 3rd eylet but the 2nd and 1st. I gives me a better forward flexion but withount loosing ankle stability.

But the area around the 3rd eyelet kind of bulges out a little bit (when i lean forward) .. is this bad for the durability of the skates?

[hurricane 0]

I heard only if you lose agility on the ice, then this means you could hurt your ankles and your ankles are'nt snug enough in the boot.

[thejackal 46]

Just to mirror what Chadd said, I used to skip the top eyelet when I had Tacks, but I go all the way up now that I skate mission.

[Deathmoves 0]

I do my skates up all the way! I am using vapor XXX. B)

[jharrah28 0]

how would this be better or worse for skating on vapor xxx?

[ChrisGass9909 0]

i skip the 2nd eyelet and go from the third to the first

[Project_2501 0]

I go all the way up on my Vector Pro's but they've softened up quite a bit from me always having them the full way up and I feel I can flex as much as I need to. And playing D I like the extra support when skating backwards... Dunno why.

[maestro 0]

I lace up all the way on my Vapor 10s. I prefer the feel of a really stiff skate, but that's just PP as many have mentioned.

[BushLeagueDangler08 0]

I lace all the way up because i prefer to have more of a tight fitting-stiffer skate rather than having my skates feel lose around the ankle. Not lacing the first eyelit or two is really a comfort and personal preference thing IMO

[cougar 0]

i used to not lace the top eyelet on my vectors, but now i switched to vapor XX's and i lace them all the way up, it fells like i can turn better, and they are more stable

[icedevil31 4]

I skate on the Nike Flexlite 12 and I do not lace the top eyelet.

[JGraz15 53]

I am a bit surprised by all the people who don't do up their top eyelet. I have always looked at it as the skate designers know more what they are doing than I do.

In addition, I know most pros lace their skates up all the way. That being said, pro skates are 100% custom...custom # of eyelets, custom cut, custom stiffness...so this may be a moot point

[Cavs019 702]

I normally leave the top undone, and my custom XXX's were cut an eyelet lower.