stupid skate fitting question...

[dix0r 0]

hey guys - my quest for skates that fit me properly continues. sorry for all the dumb threads.

so anyways, i've been skating in graf 703's and i'm pretty happy with them - of everything i've tried on, they're definitely the best. however, my heel isn't totally locked in, and the toe cap is too narrow for me - i get pretty big callouses on my big toes. also, depthwise, they're a little shallow for me. i feel like i skate pretty well in them, so its more a comfort thing. i heat fit them yesterday (after owning them for a while) and it seemed to help a bit, but they're still not quite there.

based on that, i'd assume i have a very narrow heel and a wide forefoot, or at least wide toes? i'm in an 8.5 graf regular width. any recommendations of other skates i should try on, or is there somebody in orange county or LA that's really good at fitting people? i can't afford to buy another pair of skates i'm not happy with. also, i've had 2 friends get custom grafs that were measured by the regional rep and neither ended up liking their skates.

also, how do you measure your feet with those brannock devices? there's one in the pro shop i work at but nobody was trained how to use it. according to it, i'm a size 9 in bauer, but my foot width is either off-the-chart narrow or i'm placing my foot wrong or something.

i guess what it comes down to is i'm not sure if i should try custom skates next, or stick with my skates that i'm mostly happy with. any advice is appreciated :]

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

What the hell is a Brannock Device? Is it a dooms-day machine or something?

"Dr. Evil..... hand over the Brannock Device.... or else...."

[jjalb29 0]

We're all against brannock devices (for Ogie: measures the size and width of your foot) at our LHS, we're not allowed to use them. My suggestion would be either try a Nike Flexlite, very wide in the front and narrows towards the back, or maybe a vector, the toe box's are a little wider than that of Grafs from what I've experienced, but vector has the narrowest heel out of the CCM/RBK family.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

Why are you guys against Brannocks? It gives you a starting reference.

[forbs02 20]

The Brannock is good for visually showing a parent that their kid should be in a size 3 skate instead of the size 5 they are dead set on buying. :D

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

Eh, shoving the kid's foot forward and putting the parent's fist in the heel of the skate is better :)

[DarkStar50 679]

I have used a Brannock device for over 25 years in fitting skates. It is accurate to measuring your FOOT!! Then when I bring skates a full size smaller or more, everything falls into place with the fitting. If I measure on the Bauer gauge and then we want to try CCM as well, its a PIA. Measuring width on Brannock is simple, too. I never use the measuring devices provided by the vendors.

[ktang 34]

hey guys - my quest for skates that fit me properly continues. sorry for all the dumb threads.

so anyways, i've been skating in graf 703's and i'm pretty happy with them - of everything i've tried on, they're definitely the best. however, my heel isn't totally locked in, and the toe cap is too narrow for me - i get pretty big callouses on my big toes. also, depthwise, they're a little shallow for me. i feel like i skate pretty well in them, so its more a comfort thing. i heat fit them yesterday (after owning them for a while) and it seemed to help a bit, but they're still not quite there.

based on that, i'd assume i have a very narrow heel and a wide forefoot, or at least wide toes? i'm in an 8.5 graf regular width. any recommendations of other skates i should try on, or is there somebody in orange county or LA that's really good at fitting people? i can't afford to buy another pair of skates i'm not happy with. also, i've had 2 friends get custom grafs that were measured by the regional rep and neither ended up liking their skates.

also, how do you measure your feet with those brannock devices? there's one in the pro shop i work at but nobody was trained how to use it. according to it, i'm a size 9 in bauer, but my foot width is either off-the-chart narrow or i'm placing my foot wrong or something.

i guess what it comes down to is i'm not sure if i should try custom skates next, or stick with my skates that i'm mostly happy with. any advice is appreciated :]

My previous skates were 703s (Regular) also, and I made a switch to the Vectors. I had the same problem that you did with the toe cap's being too narrow. As jjalb29 says, the toe caps are wider on the Vectors and the heel is about the same for me. I think the Vectors are a smidge deeper, too.

[dix0r 0]

thanks for the help guys. unfortunately, my last pair of skates before the 703's were vectors, and those didn't work out too well either - but, i was cramming my feet into size 7.5's (i was promised they'd break in more), so maybe i oughta try on the next size up. however, my heel did seem to move more in those than my grafs, so i imagine that would only be worse on bigger sizes.

i guess i feel like my options are:

• find a pair of skates that fits properly (i feel like i've tried on everything)
  
• blindly order graf 703's with narrower heel and wider toecap, and hope they fit.
  
• allow the graf rep to fit me, although 2 friends have gone this way and received poor fitting skates
  

any advice? and is there anybody in SoCal who is very knowledgable that could fit me? seems like most of the shops around me just push for sales and don't really help you find the best skate for you...

[jimmy 194]

Brannocks are excellent. I do like the CCM digital guage. I hardly use the Brannocks anymore though because the digital is accurate and so easy to use.