Graf 609

[ju87 0]

I recently tried on a pair of 609 in a size 7 UK (size 8 North American?) EE. I currently skate on CCM Vector 5.0 in a North American size 7.5 E.

I'm looking for an alternative to my Vectors because they hurt my arch on the sides. I did some research on this board and realised that my Vector's might not be deep enough for my foot. I did the '3rd Eyelet' test described and the skates failed. When I lace up my skates, I noticed that around the 3rd eyelet area, the tongue bulges out noticably.

Anyways, as a result of my research on this board, I tried the 609's as they were said to be a deep skate. Unfortunately, the only size available to me is a EE. My heel feels v.secure in them, but in the front section feels a bit loose-ish. Otherwise, the fit is pretty good, my toes feathers the toe-cap.

My question is, would the loose-ish feel in the front part of my foot cause any problems? I know that the 609 is a leather skate and will stretch out a bit, but will it stretch out v.signifcantly?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. There are only 2 LHS in my country and neither has any significant choice of brands I can try on, so I'm limited to what's available, and that is only the 609, Vectors, and RBK's.

[mcgyver29 0]

I moved from Tacks to Grafs as well, but I found the 705 in a E width fit me better, and no arch pain. The 705 could be a little deeper, but I found the 609 to be too wide in the heel in an E width, maybe a regular width 609 would fit you better.

I have also found with most skates that as you go to a wide width you can drop half a size. Proper skate fit is the most important thing, if the store doesn't offer a skate that fits your foot, you may want to move on...

Hope this helps...

[smoketrail 0]

I've recently changed from NBH to Graf 705 E for the same reason. The fit great for me and I don't get the pain as much, it's mostly my messed up feet (weird shape, history of torn or sprain interior foot tendons). I suppose to keep skates light weight these days, one of the ways to to use less material. I remembered way back in the day boot wrapped around the top of the foot more. When you laced up skates, the criss cross of the laces was only about an inch wide. Now, it's like 2 + inches. This doesn't suit people with high arches or flat feet.