The Pencil Test

[CAmmon 2]

As far as the skinny ankles go, which skate company is the best for that?

[furlanitalia 1]

Hmm, I always felt one90's were the best fit, but the one95's were the best performance (with a great fit). There's a definite volume difference in them, I know that, but would it be enough to cause a problem?

[gxc999 7]

Actually, it was my understanding that if your foot doesn't touch the pencil, that means there is too much volume in the skate, and that's a fail. If your foot pushes the pencil off of the eyelets, that means there isn't enough volume, and that is also a fail. If your foot just grazes the pencil, then it's a Pass.

Kinda like Goldilocks.

But then again, I could be completely wrong.

That seems like a rather exacting standard. I dono if a majority of people, even in well fitting skates, would pass that.

[furlanitalia 1]

So here's a pic from my one95's. That's my right foot where I get pain on the outside of my ankle (left side of the picture) unless I throw some foam under the tongue.

I can fit a finger between the pen and my foot, which is far more than on my one90's or xxx's. So, the ultimate question, is this a fail?

[Law Goalie 147]

I'd say it's certainly not ideal.

[flyers10 57]

furlanitalia, have your tried to have that outer ankle bone area punched out?

[furlanitalia 1]

No. They didn't hurt for the first year I had them, so when they started hurting I took them in and the hockey shop just suggeste I re mold them. So I did. Maybe I'll go back and get them punched out, but the pain seems to be from the tongue being between my ankle and the boot. Maybe I'll cut the tongue down a bit.

[furlanitalia 1]

Oops, sorry triple post. On iPhone at the rink; guess it didn't register.

[flyers10 57]

Sorry to bring back an old thread but it was asked under here before but never answered.

What brands/lines of skates tend to work well for someone with skinny ankles so not to have excessive open space around them?

[Larry54 243]

Sorry to bring back an old thread but it was asked under here before but never answered.

What brands/lines of skates tend to work well for someone with skinny ankles so not to have excessive open space around them?

Here's my take on it in a previous post i another thread.

[flyers10 57]

My X60s were giving me some heel issues and a bit too deep in top 3 eyelets and lower 4 eyelets.

I tried on some S17's and did the pencil test on them. The upper 5-6 eyelets were great, fit my skinny ankle well and great heel lock, but the lower 4 or 5 eyelets started to have too much depth and got worse getting closer to the toe box. I have a skinny/shallow foot from just before the ball to the toes. How bad is it for the lower eyelets to have too much depth?

[IPv6Freely 2092]

PFFT... who needs a pencil to determine they have volume issues?

[fatwabbit 93]

Optimus... I hope those arent your skates?

[IPv6Freely 2092]

They sure are! LOL. I bought them not too long ago too (not long enough for me to be "allowed" to get another pair). I skip the 6th eyelet (including the lacelock) from the top now, and that helps a bit. It's not even lace bite I'm getting, it just feels like my foot is being crushed. It's actually not too bad as long as I keep the middle fairly loose and the toebox and ankle nice and tight.

I didn't know about the pencil test when I bought them :(

I also didn't think to bring my sidas insoles with me when getting fitted. I know they add a good amount of volume. I wish I could find the original RBK insoles!

[ChaceR 0]

Alright guys, I hate to bring up an old thread but I came across it when searching 'depth issues'.

So currently I'm in a Reebok Platinum skate, which is basically based on the 8k with some upgrades that is carried by a LHS.

I bought these skates about a year and a half ago and at the time I was fairly new to playing any type of hockey outside of shinny and pond stuff.

After getting them baked and playing with them about a month, I started getting issues with pressure points on my inner ankle bones, along with my skate tongues twisting at the top 3-4 eyelets and clear depth issues (bulging at the top of the foot)

To make a long story short, I'm shopping for new skates and this time, I'm taking the time to do my homework and I've tried almost every skate I can think of. The supreme line clearly fit the the best with no clear pain or pressure after a good 10-15 minutes of sitting and walking around the shop and no 'bulging' of the tongue at the top of the foot.

Now, I brought a pencil with me when i tried on skates, and there was not one pair where it did not touch my ankle fairly significantly. I'm talking Graf's, Reebok, Bauer Supreme's, but the Supreme's seem to be best fit.I guess my question is, how fool proof is this test?

[hockeymass 11]

Alright guys, I hate to bring up an old thread but I came across it when searching 'depth issues'.

So currently I'm in a Reebok Platinum skate, which is basically based on the 8k with some upgrades that is carried by a LHS.

I bought these skates about a year and a half ago and at the time I was fairly new to playing any type of hockey outside of shinny and pond stuff.

After getting them baked and playing with them about a month, I started getting issues with pressure points on my inner ankle bones, along with my skate tongues twisting at the top 3-4 eyelets and clear depth issues (bulging at the top of the foot)

To make a long story short, I'm shopping for new skates and this time, I'm taking the time to do my homework and I've tried almost every skate I can think of. The supreme line clearly fit the the best with no clear pain or pressure after a good 10-15 minutes of sitting and walking around the shop and no 'bulging' of the tongue at the top of the foot.

Now, I brought a pencil with me when i tried on skates, and there was not one pair where it did not touch my ankle fairly significantly. I'm talking Graf's, Reebok, Bauer Supreme's, but the Supreme's seem to be best fit.I guess my question is, how fool proof is this test?

Did you kick all the way back into the heel? Did you try on any CCMs?

[ChaceR 0]

Yes, I always kick my heel a few times to make sure that heel is nice and locked in.

I didn't try any CCM's, but my roommate currently skates in a CCM U+ Special edition. I'll try his on, we have the same boot size.

But again, is this pencil test fairly accurate? I mean, if so, I'm running out of options here.

[hockeymass 11]

Yes, I always kick my heel a few times to make sure that heel is nice and locked in.

I didn't try any CCM's, but my roommate currently skates in a CCM U+ Special edition. I'll try his on, we have the same boot size.

But again, is this pencil test fairly accurate? I mean, if so, I'm running out of options here.

Yes? I mean it's fairly straightforward. If your feet and ankles don't completely fit into the boot, the skate doesn't fit.

[blue_line 2]

I have a large instep. Deepest boots that I know of are Bauer Flexlite 4.0, Easton S15 and S17, some Grafs (G3 fit me well for some reason even though the marketing said it was a shallow instep), and Bauer One.9. CCM CL work ok.

Things that don't work Bauer One.8, Vapor line (but Vapor XXX worked, go figure), Supreme One60, One80, One100, Bauer 8090, EQ50, EQ40, most Grafs, RBK, CCM U skates, CCM Vector line, Mission S500, and many others that I tried on in a quest to find a boot that fit without going custom.

In the past 7 years, I've skated on Graf 709, Vapor XXX, S15, S17, G3, and now One.9.

If you are bulging (i.e., failing the pencil test), there will be a large amount of stress and pressure on the top of your foot, which may result in sore tendons (lace bite), reduced blood flow, or other chaffing. It may also break the boot down quicker. The pencil test and the lace pattern (parallel eyelets) are used by good fitters to make sure that your foot fits in the boot.

YMMV

[chrisg19 5]

I have a large instep. Deepest boots that I know of are Bauer Flexlite 4.0, Easton S15 and S17, some Grafs (G3 fit me well for some reason even though the marketing said it was a shallow instep), and Bauer One.9. CCM CL work ok.

YMMV

I also have a high instep, which makes skate fitting difficult. I have tried all of the above except the Grafs. I found the Flexlites to be no deeper than the One95/One100. In fact the depth across my forefoot was pretty much identical. A skate I tried on recently that had plenty of depth was the Easton EQ50. If instep is a problem I would take a look at that skate.

[speed 0]

Hi

I have Bauer Supreme one.8 size 6.5D and lace bite problem :-)

I failed pencil test from eyelet 2 to 7. So i changed the lace patternt from inside out to outside in and now skates are usable. But it's not perfect and i decided to buy deeper skates probably CCM U+ CL size 7D. (the footbed is equal to the supreme 6.5D) or 6.5D.

The width and length of one.8 are ok. I Tried one.8 7D and i passed pencil test, but they are too long for me :(

I read CCM U+ are higher volume. The nearest skate shop is far away from my home.

Do you think CCM U+ 7D will solve my problem ?

[strosedefence34 175]

Hi

I have Bauer Supreme one.8 size 6.5D and lace bite problem :-)

I failed pencil test from eyelet 2 to 7. So i changed the lace patternt from inside out to outside in and now skates are usable. But it's not perfect and i decided to buy deeper skates probably CCM U+ CL size 7D. (the footbed is equal to the supreme 6.5D) or 6.5D.

The width and length of one.8 are ok. I Tried one.8 7D and i passed pencil test, but they are too long for me :(

I read CCM U+ are higher volume. The nearest skate shop is far away from my home.

Do you think CCM U+ 7D will solve my problem ?

PIC

Its a possibility without trying them on. CCM and Reebok are said to have a deeper fit. If you like bauer you could try the nexus line. The only thing I would be worried about is how a nexus D compares to a supreme D

[flyguy1 1]

When fitting skates, should the pencil test be done on the whole boot like the picture above? Or just top 4 eyelets? And when selecting the right skate, should one ultimately pass the pencil test on the whole boot (all eyelets), have a snug fit with no hotspots/pressure points and have proper length?

[speed 0]

I think you must pass pencil test for all eyelets. Yes proper width, length and depth. I didn't know about this pencil test and i fu.cked up.

[speed 0]

I have a large instep. Deepest boots that I know of are Bauer Flexlite 4.0, Easton S15 and S17, some Grafs (G3 fit me well for some reason even though the marketing said it was a shallow instep), and Bauer One.9. CCM CL work ok.

Things that don't work Bauer One.8, Vapor line (but Vapor XXX worked, go figure), Supreme One60, One80, One100, Bauer 8090, EQ50, EQ40, most Grafs, RBK, CCM U skates, CCM Vector line, Mission S500, and many others that I tried on in a quest to find a boot that fit without going custom.

In the past 7 years, I've skated on Graf 709, Vapor XXX, S15, S17, G3, and now One.9.

Hey blue_line what's the depth difference between one.8 and one.9 ?