Fit causing issues?

[jwr 0]

I have been trying to break in a pair of Bauer 7000 skates for the last couple of weeks. I had no issues and skated very well in them the first 3-4 times. Since then I have been dealing with lace bite on one foot, pain in my forefoot area on both feet, and an increasing loss of feel out on the ice. I was contemplating punching and or skate baking when I stumbled on the possible issue. These skates are a size 8D the foot beds say 8 1/2 which doesnt concern me that much. But comparing foot bed size to my old skates the new skates are approx 1/4" to 1/2" longer. As a comparison I used a carpenters pencil between my heel and back of skate when my toes are up against the toe cap and I can rotate the pencil longwise (1/2") on both skates. My two previous skates I can just fit the pencil in between with my foot in the same position. My two previous skate were old Canstar Bauer 8 1/4C and 1998 Bauer 5000 7.5D. These 7000's are a 8D. My reasoning here is that skate felt good the first couple of skate because my heel didnt completely seat in the heel pocket. Now that it is completely seated my foot is in all the wrong places causing pain and loss of edge control. Since I think they are too big I am over my skates too much to find proper balance and contributing to my lace bite issue. Sound feasible or am off on a tangent here. Would say a 1/2 size too big cause issues? Thanks in advance.

[jwr 0]

Anyone?

[Buzz_LightBeer 976]

i would say not as drastic as youre noticing. i never wore 7000's but they were notorious for not fitting well and taking way long to break in. you could try a heel lift under your insole to try and correct the problem

[shotblock 0]

Well I am wearing 7000's right now. I grew out of a pair of missions, So i went and baught a temporary pair for the season. I still havn't bought new skates since I love these skates alot. The one thing i noticed was my used pair was still pretty new. So i had to break them in and to tell you the truth there still pretty stiff. As for any problems, i havn't had any. I have thick feet. I would go ask someone at a sports store about that because since I have had zero issues I can't say. One question what do you think of the weight of this skate?

[MLSman 22]

The Bauer 7000 is known as one of the stiffest boots ever made. It will take some time to break in if you are doing it the old fashioned way. Don't pay attention to the footbed size. My 9D One90 has an 8.5 footbed. My advice would be to start with a bake and replace the footbed with a much better one like Superfeet or Shock Doctors. Then, if it is still uncomfortable, have them punched out in the areas of discomfort. I love the 7000 boot, but I can tell you they take work to get comfortable.

[indaslot 0]

I would say that 1/2 size could cause huge issues. My son was improperly fitted with a 12 RBK 9K. He was unable to break them in and experienced severe pain. He switched to a Graf G5 Ultra and experienced no problems other than the usual break in period, about 5 practices. And be careful with the lacebite as it can progress to tendon issues that you don't want to have.

[duch 0]

I know this isn't much consolation but the fit issue is the reason I gave up on Bauer skates. Bauer's on ice performance is great but I could never get them to fit just right so I switched over to CCM"s and haven't had an issue since. I agree with Buzz Lightbeer on this one, I would try a heel lift with a good insole. It may be a quick and inexpensive way to illeviate the problem. Otherwise you might try just loosening the lacing over the bridge of the tongue on the skate that is bothering and just snug up the laces near the top three eyelets. This may help to minimize a bit of the lace bite until the puppies get worn in which as already mentioned may take some time with the 7000's. The only skate stiffer than the 7000's where the Easton Z-Air composite which a buddy of mine had and it toke him almost a year and a half to get them semi-comfortable to the point where he wasn't experiencing similar problems as you are. I hope this helps you out.

[jwr 0]

Thanks for the comments. Believe me I knew about the stiffness issues with the 7000's boots and that is why I wanted them. They are actual less stiff then my old pro stitched skates. So the stiffness is not really a concern. My concern is the length. I wear a 9.5 sneaker snug for reference. I have a high arch, smaller heel, wider forefoot, and med to high volume foot as well. I should further clarify that with my old skates I can just fit a ball point pen in between heel and skate with my toes up against toe cap. Where on these it is a good 1/4"-1/2" of space doing the same thing. I wear a very thin sock when skating. So I tried a thicker sock just to see if it made a difference and I could tell the difference with my pain in my forefoot area, it was a lot less. But, I hate wearing thick socks. I may try a different footbed but length is length correct?

I stepped up a 1/2 size over my normal because I was told that the new Supreme last was 1/2 size smaller than the old. Any truth to that? Like I said previously I had no issues the first couple of skate which suprised me. I have never had zero problems when first skating on new skates. Yeah, I am worrying about the lace bite-I have a nice knot now on top of my ankle that I dont know if I had before. I have tried all the lace bite tricks as well. Keep the comments coming.

[jeffw 1]

I had a similar lace bite problem when going from Pure Fly's to S500's.

I finally narrowed it down to the fact that the S500's were more roomy inside and I had to pull the laces tighter to keep them snug on my feet. Some foam padding on the sore area took care of the lace bite but I ended up going back to Pure Fly's because the S500's were just too big.

[indaslot 0]

If you have not tried real lacebite pads, you might want to give them a try.My son got his online from API hockey. At first glance, you would say they are way too thick and impossible to wear, but they do compress and solved the problem quickly. Also, try ice massage (freeze water in a styrofoam cup, peel it back and massage directly on the sore area several times a day.) IMO you should take the skates to someone who is very knowledgable and have him/her check out the fit. I finally took my son to a different store where I had intended to punch out the skates in a last ditch effort to make the pain tolerable.They saw immediatly that the size was wrong. My LHS was gracious enough to call the Graf rep who spent 30 minutes fitting him for his present skates. BTW, they took back the RBK's minus $100 and credited me for the Graf's. A class act.

[jwr 0]

Again, thanks for all the comments-keep them coming they are very much appreciated. I saw those lacebite pads and actually ordered them the other day. I actually was told by my proshop when I went for a punch job that they thought the skate was too big by a 1/2 size. I actually bought these skates off a buddy of mine who wore them 2x for $150.00-so I am not out that much. Just trying to cut corners as a family man. I originally was going to get Graf 703/705 skate and was offered these skates instead. For $150.00 I couldn't pass them up-although now I am thinking otherwise. My mistake and I take full responsibility. I am just perplexed how a 1/2 size could cause this many issues. By the way what was the Graf reps trick to measure proper length?

[indaslot 0]

He had been wearing the G9's prior to buying the RBK's and they were an 11 reg.He checked the fit of those, including the width of the lacings he also stood on the footbeds.He then tried on a 705 and he observed that the narrower heel was a better fit that the G9.Like most people,he has one foot bigger than the other but it is preferable to go with the smaller foot size as a skate can be stretched if need be.I guess the trick is to find a skate with no "dead space" inside, but that does not pinch at the same time. as I mentioned before, the 1/2 size was a huge problem for my son. He had pain on both the inside and outside arch and trouble bending his knees.Perhaps you could sell those skates and start over. Graf has so many size options for all types of feet and they have been a blessing for my son. It is always a personal preference though and I can't say enough about knowledgable salesmen!