need knowledgable skate advice

[bleedblue94 0]

please i need help choosing skates. ive had vapor xxx's for about the past 8 months and they are breaking down. the reason why appears to be my heel has been slipping more and more over the past couple months causing premature wear in the ankle areas of the skate. so now im needing to get skates. 5-10 180lbs. ive been advised to get skates that are made for a more narrow heel and those suggested have been graf 703, graf 735, or rbk 9ks.

please help me make an informed decision. i know most of you will say simply go to the lhs and try them on but the only stores within 2 hours do not have skates in stock in my size at this point in the season... ive checked already. also my other concern is when i got the vapor xxx's they seemed to fit perfectly and i originally had no concerns of heel slippage, so now im worried to make a mistake again.

tia

[srv2miker 0]

CCM tacks don't have a particularly narrow heel, but I find their intergrated heel lock systems works pretty well in eliminating sloppy boots.

[bleedblue94 0]

CCM tacks don't have a particularly narrow heel, but I find their intergrated heel lock systems works pretty well in eliminating sloppy boots.

so itd be safe to say the 9ks would also be helped bc of the lock?

anymore opinions?

[srv2miker 0]

CCM tacks don't have a particularly narrow heel, but I find their intergrated heel lock systems works pretty well in eliminating sloppy boots.

so itd be safe to say the 9ks would also be helped bc of the lock?

anymore opinions?

No, the RBKs don't feature the the technology I'm talking about. The pump should help in that area, although I have never tried them. I think you are thinking of the "lace lock" which both skates have. The heel lock is different.

[jjtt99 0]

As an owner of RBK 9k's I can tell you they do not have a narrow heel. The pump system will help a bit, but a narrow heel will move in there -- especially if you're wearing slippery socks.

[deadmanjolt 1]

A quick cheap alternative to new skates right away might be Superfeet insoles.

I dont think there are many skates with a narrower heel than the Vapors. You mihgt have to go custom to get a AA heel. Is the rest of your skate fitted well? Toes feathering the cap? Width locking in the forefoot?

[bleedblue94 0]

A quick cheap alternative to new skates right away might be Superfeet insoles.

I dont think there are many skates with a narrower heel than the Vapors. You mihgt have to go custom to get a AA heel. Is the rest of your skate fitted well? Toes feathering the cap? Width locking in the forefoot?

yes the rest of the skate seems to fit fine. as for quick solutions im kinda in a bind bc as of right now the ankle padding is completely gone from around the inside ankle bone... making it very painful to skate in them

CCM tacks don't have a particularly narrow heel, but I find their intergrated heel lock systems works pretty well in eliminating sloppy boots.

so itd be safe to say the 9ks would also be helped bc of the lock?

anymore opinions?

No, the RBKs don't feature the the technology I'm talking about. The pump should help in that area, although I have never tried them. I think you are thinking of the "lace lock" which both skates have. The heel lock is different.

oh yeah youre correct ... my fault

[Hockeydog 8]

Graf 704's had a pretty narrow heel, and had padding that really locked my ankle in place. Not sure if the 703 has the same insides.

[flyguy1697 0]

First off why don't you send your bauers back because it has not been a year and if the are breaking down I sure as hell would. Before bauer i wore graf an they hold your heel in quite well, I wore the g5's and the 705's and they did the trick.

[bleedblue94 0]

First off why don't you send your bauers back because it has not been a year and if the are breaking down I sure as hell would. Before bauer i wore graf an they hold your heel in quite well, I wore the g5's and the 705's and they did the trick.

bc as i understand it the boot is only covered for 90 days while the blade/holder is covered for a year .... believe me if i could i would send them back

[usahockey22 0]

I also need skate with a narrower heel, and the ones I have been looking at are Graf 703/G3, Rbk 9k, and I have also heard that Eastons fit narrower in the heel...although I think I am just going to get customs at this point.

If you fit pretty well into a standard bauer, and have a narrower-regular foot overall, then the 703 or G3 would probably work pretty well...but of course you should try them before you buy.

Edited December 22, 2006 by usahockey22

[dix0r 0]

do you take the laces out of the top few eyelets and really open the tongues up before taking your feet out of the skate?

i have problems finding skates that lock my heels in - graf 703 was good, and easton synergy was very good.

[bleedblue94 0]

I also need skate with a narrower heel, and the ones I have been looking at are Graf 703/G3, Rbk 9k, and I have also heard that Eastons fit narrower in the heel...although I think I am just going to get customs at this point.

yeah i use to wear easton and dont remember ever having this problem ... but im not in love with the synergy skates personally

do you take the laces out of the top few eyelets and really open the tongues up before taking your feet out of the skate?

i have problems finding skates that lock my heels in - graf 703 was good, and easton synergy was very good.

i dont lace the top 2 eyelets bc i like to get that extra forward flex.... so yes i open the skates up when i take them off .... its not like i rubbung and wearing the heel down when i take my skates off/put them on

so as im understanding now people are suggesting easton and grafs? not rbk 9ks correct?

[stick9 890]

Your heel won't move in a Graf.

RBK's are a little wider. I was worried my heel my heel would lift when I bought my 8k's. It wasn't a problem.

[bleedblue94 0]

Your heel won't move in a Graf.

RBK's are a little wider. I was worried my heel my heel would lift when I bought my 8k's. It wasn't a problem.

what kinda heel do you have? what skates did you wear before?

[stick9 890]

Your heel won't move in a Graf.

RBK's are a little wider. I was worried my heel my heel would lift when I bought my 8k's. It wasn't a problem.

what kinda heel do you have? what skates did you wear before?

I'd say I have a narrow or narrower then average heel. I was wearing Graf 703's for the past five or so years.

It's so hard to tell what will work for you without trying them on. Also look at CCM Vector's. They have a narrow heel and mid foot.

[bleedblue94 0]

Your heel won't move in a Graf.

RBK's are a little wider. I was worried my heel my heel would lift when I bought my 8k's. It wasn't a problem.

what kinda heel do you have? what skates did you wear before?

I'd say I have a narrow or narrower then average heel. I was wearing Graf 703's for the past five or so years.

It's so hard to tell what will work for you without trying them on. Also look at CCM Vector's. They have a narrow heel and mid foot.

what prompted the change from graf to rbk?

[bleedblue94 0]

wondering bc the 9ks are the way im leaning

[bleedblue94 0]

no one?

[Chadd 916]

wondering bc the 9ks are the way im leaning

If the Bauers are too wide in the heel the RBKs would be a major mistake. You should look into a 703/G3 first and go from there. You could even consider ordering Vapors with an AA heel.

[LkptTiger 1]

I don't think heel slippage would be due to boot break-down - or at least that isn't a problem that I encountered when any of my numerous pairs of XXs or XXXs went completely soft.

If you want to get away from Bauer, try a Graf skate, for sure. I've been nothing but happy with the 735s I have now, but I had durability issues (even more so than with any pair of Vapors I owned) with the multiple pairs of G-35s I tore through beforehand.

[bleedblue94 0]

I don't think heel slippage would be due to boot break-down - or at least that isn't a problem that I encountered when any of my numerous pairs of XXs or XXXs went completely soft.

If you want to get away from Bauer, try a Graf skate, for sure. I've been nothing but happy with the 735s I have now, but I had durability issues (even more so than with any pair of Vapors I owned) with the multiple pairs of G-35s I tore through beforehand.

im not saying that the heel slippage is due to break down ... the break down has been due to heel slippage in my case. a couple months after wearing them my heel began slipping and that caused my ankle bones to rub and break down the padding in the ankle areas.

can someone please tell me how do vapor heels generally compare to an easton heel? like i said earlier i use to wear eastons and dont recall ever having this problem so im trying to determine if this is bc my heel is too narrow for the skates? or if its a lcing issue with the vapors thats allowing my foot to move within the skate after about 1.5 hours of skating

[LkptTiger 1]

Eastons are considerably wider than Vapors. You'll definitely notice a difference.

[dix0r 0]

Eastons are considerably wider than Vapors. You'll definitely notice a difference.

in the heel or forefoot?

i haven't tried on vapor skates in a long time but i remember my heel moving a lot in the vapors, and it locks in nicely in eastons.

[Deerok 3]

I had the same situation as you. I ended up ordering a custom pair of XXX's and they are perfect (although I may have gotten the ankle pads a bit too thick because they are killing my right outside ankle bone).

I went with the double AA heel, and have not had any problems with heel slippage. I should point out that they are still in the process of being broken in.

Additionally, since my heel did slip on my old XXX's I got in the habit of underlacing the the 4th eyelets down from the top, which helped a little.

Good luck.