Appropriate lacing of skates?

[DigDug 5]

Pardon the ignorance from a newbie, but there was no better place to ask than this forum.

I was properly sized for new skates (CCM 692 9.5 E width) and had them baked. However, when I skate, I still feel pain in my feet as if my feet are being squeezed - I'm pretty sure the skate is wide enough, and I'm starting to think that I'm not tightening them up correctly.

1. I've been tightening the hell out of my skates, pulling on the laces at each set of eyelets as tight as I can, all the way up the "ladder" to the top eyelet. Am I unecessarily tightening the laces near the front too much, causing this pain? What do you guys do? The reason I do, and why I'm afraid to go easy in the front is that I guess I've always thought that if the skate is not snug enough, I'll bust my foot when skating.

2. I notice that alot of good skaters on the ice don't use the top three eyelets, so I've been doing that as well. I kept noticing that my ankle wiggles on cross-overs and I just don't have the ankle support that is necessary for me to do those things. Should I be lacing them up to the top eyelet, and if so, how am I to bend me knees, since doing so really restricts that sort of movement? Are my ankles just that weak? Is it just a matter of building up ankle strength?

I apologize if these are dumb questions, but I really want to be doing things right, from the get go. I'd rather learn things right the first time than unlearn bad habits and form.

P.S. There's a really cool site Here on the art of lacing and tying shoes. There's some really neat lacing styles and looping that seem like they would lend a great hand to skates as they make it easier to (1) tighten the skates and knot it without loosing the lace tension/tightness and (2) tie knots that don't come undone easily.

[2-Keys 1]

when i tie my skates i tie the bottoms and middle as tight as i can but dont use the top eyelet. (im using bauer vapor XLite) i leave the top a little looser but pretty tight since i dont lace them all the way. you just need to build ankle strenght. it will be hard at first but once your ankles are stronger you will be able to skate better because you ahve a better range of motion and can really use your edges. i learned to tie my skates like this from the laura stam power skating program. so i figured if it was good for them its good for me.

[DigDug 5]

Darn, I was hoping that wasn't an answer. The ball-of-the-foot section f*cking hurts (not the bottom of the foot in that area, but the whole section feeling like someone has grabbed it in a handshake and has squeezed the hell out of it for along time) when I tie it tight!

[wickedwrister 0]

NM

[Marrick66 0]

Perhaps going with wax laces or the outside in method of tying would work. You can tie the forefoot loose and the ankle tight.

[asdfa 0]

sounds like your tieing the forefoot too tight. also, you should tie your skate the way you feel it needs to be tied, not the way "good skaters" tie it. since your skates are new, the sides probably still haven't totally broken in, so when you tie them really tight, instead of the sides of the boot bending and curving over the top of your foot, they're just squeezign it.

[DigDug 5]

sounds like your tieing the forefoot too tight. also, you should tie your skate the way you feel it needs to be tied, not the way "good skaters" tie it. since your skates are new, the sides probably still haven't totally broken in, so when you tie them really tight, instead of the sides of the boot bending and curving over the top of your foot, they're just squeezign it.

Ahh, I think you are exactly right. But will they ever break in if I *don't* tie them tight?

Since you seem to have hit the nail on the head, what are your thoughts on tieing it all the way up to the top eyelet?

Thanks a bunch!

[twiztidwrista10 3]

I have pain in my arches if i tie my skate too tight over the arch area. I leave the laces over my toes and arch looser. Then when i get to my ankle i tie them tight. The keeps the heel locked like it should. My point is maybe try tying it looser over the area of pain.

[Chadd 916]

I have pain in my arches if i tie my skate too tight over the arch area. I leave the laces over my toes and arch looser. Then when i get to my ankle i tie them tight. The keeps the heel locked like it should. My point is maybe try tying it looser over the area of pain.

That's similar to what I do. If I tie my skates too tightly along the top of my foot it hurts like hell.

[DigDug 5]

Thanks for all the input, guys.

I was thinking that it may be more useful for me to tighten my skates while my foot is planted on the ground with some pressure on the boot. The "footprint" of the foot seems to be wider when standing than when the foot is resting on the heel/blade edge, the position its been in when I'm pulling the laces tight.

[srv2miker 0]

You say your skates were properly sized, but are you 100% sure? You may need to get some punching done to the sides of the toe box. I wouldn't lace your Tacks that low (ie third eyelet from the top). I usually just leave the top one or two undone, beause the other eyelets hook up with the intergrated heel lock. If you're getting heel slippage, its probably because those are untied.

A few questions:

Does the skate hurt in the toe box, or the forefoot?

Do your arches hurt as well?

Do they hurt immediately, then dull eventually?

[NuggyBuggy 0]

If my feet hurt, especially if it feels like the bottom of my feet hurt and/or they feel cold, it's almost always because I've tied them too tight over the arches. I read somewhere that tying them too tightly in this region can constrict a vein?artery?nerve? causing the pain. So as others have suggested, I find tying them looser helps. I usually will just pull them so there is no slack in that region, tighten hard around the ankles, then tie not-too-tight higher up. Even knowing this, I will sometimes still leave the laces a tad too tight over the arches, and my feet will hurt, so sometimes in between shifts I will be seen rapidly retying my laces so as to get rid of some of the pressure there. A tiny bit can mean the difference between hurting like hell and feeling great.

Also, I was told at a Laura Stamm powerskating class to leave the top eyelet or even two unlaced, as this will allow you to use your ankles more. It felt weird at first, but I figured I was paying them money for their advice so why not listen to them ?

[DigDug 5]

My heel isn't slipping at all. When I refer to ankle weakness, I mean that if I attempt to do a cross over, my foot will buckle as my other leg has almost completed the crossover. From reading this thread, I'm betting its because I haven't been lacing the upper eyelets, and as the the foot being crossed over starts to lean, my ankle can't stay straight. It's hard to explain.

To answer you questions:

I'm pretty sure its sized properly. I kicked my foot into the back of the skate and laced up the skate. My toes just *barely* tickle the front of the skate. I'

Skate doesn't hurt in the toebox at all. My toes just barely touch the front of the toebox. Here's where it hurts:

You'll notice that its *not* the widest part of my foot that's hurting which is why I don't think the width of the skate is the problem. And its a dull ache as if my foot was put in a vice.

My arches don't hurt. And while my foot doesn't start to hurt immediately, they start to hurt 15 minutes in, and then does dull eventually.

I just don't understand why skating has to hurt so much.

[Andoy 5]

I've experienced the same problems. Just tie them a little looser (not too loose) and you should be fine. Your skates will soften over time and that's when you can tie them as tight as you can.

As for your other thing you should try to use every eyelet if you are starting out. Once you learn how to use your edges you can experiment with skating with an eyelet untied if it feels like you don't have forward flex.

[beaver5 1]

I have the same thing chadd said.

i dont tie the first 6 rows of lace. just pull them so there is a little slack.

then coming up the ankle i reef on those laces.

works great

:)

[twiztidwrista10 3]

^ That picture is exactly where I get my pain.

[DigDug 5]

Glad you like the picture! I stole it from wikipedia and used a little Photoshop action it. :)

[stickfixchaska 0]

I think every hockey player gets pain in that region of their foot. Like they said, Loose over the part that hurts...then make sure your heel and ankle is locked down tight.

I always lace up to the top. Doesn't seem to effect my skating in a bad way...

[jcp2 2]

Maybe the skate is too shallow for you. I was too narrow for the older Bauers, so I moved to CCMs (old Kevlar 762s) for a few years. I also had the pain you described, but if I didn't lace them tight enough, I would get slippage. I was getting more comfortable in an Easton Ultralight, but my problem was solved when I moved into wide Graf 705s. It turns out that I have a wide AND thick foot. Now that I have a good fit, lacing is not such an issue for me. I sort of tighten the bottom, pull tighter as I come up to the ankle, and lace to the top (my Graf is lower cut than a Bauer or Easton boot, where I left the top eyelet unlaced). I don't have to pull really, really hard anymore, but I also have waxed laces, which stay in place better by themselves.

Also, I learned about foot volume and possible fit options from this site. Apparently, there are other choices besides "Bauer" versus "CCM", which is what I grew up with.

[srv2miker 0]

If the pain is spread out over the entire forefoot, it could be either a lacing issue, or as some have said it could be the boot is too shallow. The lacing puts pressure on the top of your foot, which corresponds to pain. It dulls after a while because the big vein that runs along the top of your foot gets compressed and cuts of some circulation.

If the pain is localized in one specific area, you probably need the boot to be punched out.

[smoketrail 0]

Don't want to hijack this, but I noticed some pros lacing their skates funny. Saw in a recent pic of Kris Draper in the Olympics. Don't know if anyone else has noticed this, maybe they can post a pic. Any one have any idea how he made that lacing pattern?

[Sven 1]

If the pain is localized in one specific area, you probably need the boot to be punched out.

Would it be possible to punch out the area marked on the picture ?

[badsk8ter 0]

I had the same problem. Like a couple of other people, I now leave that area fairly lose. I only tighten the top three eyelets of my skates. The pain dissapeared.

[Roach 0]

I have pain in my arches if i tie my skate too tight over the arch area. I leave the laces over my toes and arch looser. Then when i get to my ankle i tie them tight. The keeps the heel locked like it should. My point is maybe try tying it looser over the area of pain.

I'm tie the exact same way with loose toes and arches and tight around the ankles but leaving the top eyelet undone.

[psulion22 402]

I'm tie the exact same way with loose toes and arches and tight around the ankles but leaving the top eyelet undone.

Me too. On my old pro stock 952's I didn't use the top two eyelets. On my V12's I keep the top one undone. Basically, I only tie three eylets tight, the one with the heel lock and the two under it (it was the two on either side on my 952's). That keeps my foot in place, but allows ankle movement and doesn't cause any pain. The pain is from the skates being tied too tight over the top of your foot. Like other people have said, the laces will cut off the circulation to your foot if they are too tight over the top (that's where the main blood vessels are) and cause cramping. Generally, you'll get pain on the top and sides, and on the bottom in the fleshy part outside of the arch. As far as your ankles wobbling, that is definitely from them being weak. I used to tie the ankles tight and wrap the laces around. My skating coach told me to lace my skates like I do now, and at first I could barely stand up. The edge control is much better this way though. Once my ankles got stronger, I becames a much better skater and player than I was before.