Graf fit

[tsanga 0]

When was the last time you were at Sports World USA? I was at General Sports not too long ago and they had about 3-4 different Graf models..The same goes for Westwood Sports in Bloomington, not sure about the Apple Valley store though..I'm sure one of the board members could pipe in with that.

I visit Westwood-Bloomington regularly, and called both Sports World and General Sports today. If I get a chance, I'll swing by Sports World today, although it's very out of the way for me.

Westwood has cut down the number of Graf's they carry, at least from what I can see on their shelves between last season and this season.

[epstud74 24]

When was the last time you were at Sports World USA? I was at General Sports not too long ago and they had about 3-4 different Graf models..The same goes for Westwood Sports in Bloomington, not sure about the Apple Valley store though..I'm sure one of the board members could pipe in with that.

I visit Westwood-Bloomington regularly, and called both Sports World and General Sports today. If I get a chance, I'll swing by Sports World today, although it's very out of the way for me.

Westwood has cut down the number of Graf's they carry, at least from what I can see on their shelves between last season and this season.

I'm guessing Westwood's issue with Grafs is that kids want the lighter and more "advanced" skates such as the Vapors and Stealths along with the Vectors/Rbks. It doesnt make financial sense to carry many different yet expensive models of the same brand with only 2-3 series of them being of the latest technology. Graf is very expensive and apparently has a poor record of service with some of their vendors, but right now especially around here it seems as if the Vapors and the One90s are the vogue and the older, yet still expensive Graf skates are for the beer league guys who want a skate that will last 2-3 years or more.

You will still see plenty of Mission skates out there too, but the "Big Three" seem to be Easton, CCM/RBK and NikeBauer.

[cbart 1]

When was the last time you were at Sports World USA? I was at General Sports not too long ago and they had about 3-4 different Graf models..The same goes for Westwood Sports in Bloomington, not sure about the Apple Valley store though..I'm sure one of the board members could pipe in with that.

I visit Westwood-Bloomington regularly, and called both Sports World and General Sports today. If I get a chance, I'll swing by Sports World today, although it's very out of the way for me.

Westwood has cut down the number of Graf's they carry, at least from what I can see on their shelves between last season and this season.

I'm guessing Westwood's issue with Grafs is that kids want the lighter and more "advanced" skates such as the Vapors and Stealths along with the Vectors/Rbks. It doesnt make financial sense to carry many different yet expensive models of the same brand with only 2-3 series of them being of the latest technology. Graf is very expensive and apparently has a poor record of service with some of their vendors, but right now especially around here it seems as if the Vapors and the One90s are the vogue and the older, yet still expensive Graf skates are for the beer league guys who want a skate that will last 2-3 years or more.

You will still see plenty of Mission skates out there too, but the "Big Three" seem to be Easton, CCM/RBK and NikeBauer.

Also check Dave's Sport shop in Fridley...Good selection there

[dix0r 0]

Arches look a little low for 703's........at least older ones. My circa 96 pair had a ton of arch in them.

i ground a bit of material off the stock insoles with a crossgrinder for a customer, he said it did the trick...

[tsanga 0]

Got the chance to try some G3's at Sports World today.

Depth wise, I'd say it's just about right. You guys were right all along.

Width wise, it's ok, although I would have liked to see what a narrower boot feels like. Although I understand finding a narrow G3/703 is like spotting a dodo bird.

Not too much arch in there either, as some of you suspected.

Price wise, Sports World has an absolutely fantastic price on the G3 right now.

[tsanga 0]

BTW, what I tried was the Ultra G3.

What are the differences between Ultra G3 and the older Supra G3, besides looks?

[tsanga 0]

Well, with help from all you guys, I came home from the LHS with some new G3 Ultra's today.

Here's my experience:

1. I ended up with 8.5 Regular. This is 2 sizes below my dress shoe size. I wear 9D in Bauer, and have fitted well in 9 Regular while trying on Graf's before. But my right foot is almost 1/2 size smaller than my right, so really 9 for left and 8.5 for right. I usually fit the left foot when I buy shoes, but this time, the LHS had 9 in Wide only (too roomy for me). So I figured, why not fit the smaller foot, then stretch the left if I need to, after break-in. With a lot of experience fitting ski boots, I knew that since I was trying these skates at the end of the day, my feet would be as big as they would get (feet swell during the course of a day).

2. This pretty much kills any idea I had of putting the Tuuks from my Bauers onto the Graf's.

3. On the pencil test, the pencil is darn close to hitting the tendon on the front part of my foot. But still sitting flat on the skate sides.

4. Unlike all the 7xx skates I have looked at in the past, these Graf's actually have a size tag on the tongue! (Although hidden under the laces.) The size is also handwritten underneath the footbed on the insole, and molded into the bottom of the outsole (With 7xx skates, I had previously seen the size on the outsole on Swiss skates, but why not on the Canadian ones, who knows).

5. My LHS didn't have the machine to form the Sidas footbeds. They were in the box, flat as a pancake, ready to be molded to my foot and skate, but looks like I'll be sticking with my Superfeet grey. The stock Graf footbed inside the skates are just flat pieces of foam.

6. I couldn't be happier with the price. Caught a wonderful sale on the Ultra skates at this particular store.

First skate Monday!

[epstud74 24]

Got the $399 special at SportsWorld USA? I was in there this afternoon, picked up a Graf brand ball cap and RBK bag, but noticed the big drop in prices on Graf skates.

[tsanga 0]

Got the $399 special at SportsWorld USA? I was in there this afternoon, picked up a Graf brand ball cap and RBK bag, but noticed the big drop in prices on Graf skates.

Yeah, sweet deal, isn't it? Ultra's for the price of 7xx.

Good service too...the only thing is I wish they had one more pair of 9R in stock, so my left foot could fit better. But my right foot couldn't be happier in the 8.5R.

[Hockeydog 8]

cool deal! I've been mostly watching this thread. How's the stiffness on the G3?

Let us know how the first few skates go.

[tsanga 0]

An update, as requested....

First skate was today.

- Boots are very stiff.

- They hug my foot much better than my old skates. Of course, that's what I wanted after all! I can now get the skate snug around my foot without having to yank on the laces like I'm doing a bicep curl.

- So, obviously much more responsive.

- Only a couple pressure spots: on the side of my right heel, and the top of the laces on both boots across the knot. Need some more time for break-in. But no movement inside the boot.

- Uh, that left skate needs to be bigger. Again, I'll give it some more break-in time, but my left big toe was a bit numb afterwards.

- Holy forward lean! Now, I had my old Custom+ profiled forward, but the Cobra's are even more forward. I liked it for skating forward - much more of a "sprinter's stance" feel. But I had a hard time with transitions. Jury's still out.

- Cobra's also felt way stiffer and unforgiving. As expected, based on others' comments.

- The mesh-like liner surprisingly felt much drier than the microfiber liner I'm used to, after almost 1.5 hours of ice time. How come everybody else is sticking with Clarino?