Complete newbie to skates

[Whip 0]

Ive never had much expierence with buying skate but since I am going to be playing in a rec league this fall Ill need a pair good enough to play hockey in. I dont kno what to look for in a skate, like material, stiffness and all that. I have a pair of old ccm in size 6 which I had a lot of pain playing in (my shoe size is 7) I ve been told I have farley wide feet and that I am heavy for my height. I am looking for a decent pair of skates that I wont need to replace for a good time, money is an issue however I am willing to spend more for a good pair which I wont have to replace for a while.

I have no clue what to look for, stiffness, boot material and all that can someone explain and holders and all that and what I should be looking for? Fit is my biggest concern and I am pretty sure I need very wide skates and most of the pain come from the toe area so maybe a wider toe box. Which company makes the widest skate? or can I just buy any skate as long as its in EE?

Thanks

[Jason Harris 31]

I don't know whether our F1's are the widest but, from feedback I've been given, I know ours are among the widest.

[Chadd 916]

Width varies greatly from brand to brand. Vapor EE are no wider than an 8090 in D width. I will agree with Jason that the Salming F1 is very wide, now if I can just break him of his t'blade addiction...

[Jason Harris 31]

Oh, so what is this, an intervention?

[jimmy 194]

Oh, so what is this, an intervention?

I'm with Chadd. We shall overcome, .. we shall overcome... Repeat after me... :D

BTW, Every t-blade customer of mine has converted, Jason will eventually see the light.. He just might have never had a "good" sharpening, that's the problem.

[Whip 0]

I read from Jr's skate fitting article that the Nike V series is very wide and I am a CCM EE however to accomedate my instep I need to get Nike, I was wondering if I am Nike EE in the V series.

[vdubbin 0]

where do u live whip? maybe some of the guys that live in your area can send you to a good shop close to where you live. that way you will eb able to try some on and not worry about how they will fit if you order online.

[Whip 0]

Canada, Ive been to every shop in Edmonton, United, Totem, all sport checks and sports marts as well as Western and Belevdre and Klondike cycles and I ve brought Quest V-9s in a Jr 5.5, the length is perfect and I got em in EE. On my right foot which is bigger, there is still a hot spot on the forefoot but the skates have yet to be broken in. I was wondering will it loosen up once broken in? o r is the skates game ready fit?

One more concern, I am 17 weighting 165 and playing twice a week and a begginer skater, I am using a jr skate, does that mean the skates wont be stiff enoguht for me? and is the quest v-9 considered lower line or mid line because I can probally get a way with the v-9 jr if its stiff for a jr boot.

thnx

[sherwood21 0]

Canada, Ive been to every shop in Edmonton, United, Totem, all sport checks and sports marts as well as Western and Belevdre and Klondike cycles and I ve brought Quest V-9s in a Jr 5.5, the length is perfect and I got em in EE. On my right foot which is bigger, there is still a hot spot on the forefoot but the skates have yet to be broken in. I was wondering will it loosen up once broken in? o r is the skates game ready fit?

One more concern, I am 17 weighting 165 and playing twice a week and a begginer skater, I am using a jr skate, does that mean the skates wont be stiff enoguht for me? and is the quest v-9 considered lower line or mid line because I can probally get a way with the v-9 jr if its stiff for a jr boot.

thnx

Your skates should loosen up a bit, and as always if they don't then you will have to look at other options or punching them out, which makes a difference but the amount of punching you can do is limited. Skate on them for a week or 2, go to public skating, practice, games, and then see what happens.

as for the second question..You should be allright. Im in the same boat, I had 5.5 XX's and I weigh around 145. I ripped em apart in 2 months or so, but that's because i was on the ice every single day of the week. Im not familiar with the Quest series at all, but I would think that they should be able to handle you if you are only playing 2 times a week. As for the support, that's a whole different story..

BTW did you get them at United..?

[awall 0]

I recommend this article by Puckmugger on Epinions as it was where I started when I was looking for my first pair of skates. http://www.epinions.com/content_3832651908 Once you have read this you should have a good idea as to where to start, it helped me know where to start asking quesitons.

I also have a wide foot, I'm currently in a pair of CCM Vector 6.0's in E width. The first hockey shop I went to had a pair of Bauer Supremes that they were really pushing and I hadn't read Puckmugger's article yet and had not clue as to what I was looking for or what questions I needed to ask, all I really know was that the Supremes didn't fit right and were kinda more than what I wanted to pay for since I was just learning to skate. After doing my internet research I learned that CCM's and Graffs came a bit wider than other brands and started my search there. I found another local hockey shop and started asking my questions there. Due to my size, wide foot, and skating ability, and pocket book size the shop owner suggested a pair of Tacks. Well it turned out that at that time he was gonna have to order my skates because he didn't normally carry tha skate in my size, I found out the next day that the skate I wanted had been discontinued until the next year model and was not available. He suggested the Vector 6, but told me upfront that it would be more expensive than the Tacks. I went with the upgrade.

I have had my skates a good 9 months now and am satisfied with them. The only problem I have encountered is that here lately (i.e. the last 2 months) my skates have suddenly started wearing blisters on the sides of my heel. My guess is that now that I am actually playing hockey my stride is changing and stuff. I plan on having my skates baked and fitted to see if that fixes my problem.

What I learned about skating is that you can do all the research you want and get all the opinions you want, but you are really gonna have to try on a pair of skates to see what fits you best. At best we can tell you that this skate or that runs good for large feet and this skate or that has known weaknesses or defects. In the end you will need to find a good local hockey shop to help you try on some skates.

As far as internet buying, buyer beware. There are a lot of good companies out there, but if you have a problem you have to contact them and are at their mercy for returns or replacements and you tend to get the service you paid for. If you buy from a local hockey shop it is probably a Mom & Pop shop who really wants to keep people coming back and they tend to go the extra mile to make you happy. Of course your mileage may vary.

Awall