Mission 120AG fitting issue

[R_1 0]

First off, hello everybody, first time poster.

As an introduction to my issue, I have to tell that when my former skates broke down (the very first Vapor 8s, the ancestor of the line), I was completely broke and I do not have a "true" LHS anywhere close to where I live. My only option to not end the season early was to get those skates, as the guy who's selling them was compliant with me paying a bit every month. I had the choice only in size (not even width).

I got 9EE (Vapor 8's were 9D), baked them and first time I hit the ice was a disaster. They were, and still pretty much are, absolutely killing my feet, or more precisely my ankles. When I try to flex forward, it's first not only nearly impossible (maybe due to being brand new as well), but the right skate rub just a bit over my lateral malleolus, to the point that I have abrasion problem. A second bake, as JR posted in his review of that model, did not solve the issue.

So, I'm wondering the following:

-Is it just that my feet are not "meant" for those skates, or alternatively that the lower cut boots are not for me?

-As it's been a while that I had new skates, which seem that in the mean time picked up in stiffness, this is just transitory, and I should just suck it up, and hope that they will "fully" break in at some point?

-Last, I had to wear thicker socks than usual as they kind of feel a tad wider (would made sense since I've always been D, not EE), could that width be at the origin of that rubbing?

Any help over that matter would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: Here are some few pics of the issue

[mnhockey19 0]

i had the same thing with the rubbing. just put tape on my sock there, and after about 3 weeks of prob 10 hrs a week it stoped rubbing. and i can now use a low sock with no prob. this has been my only prob with the skate other then that i love them.

[Zac911 317]

have you been back to the guy you bought them from to discuss flaring the ankle cuff? this is a trick that works brilliantly. if you have not done it yourself i would suggest having someone who is familiar with it help you out.

[R_1 0]

No, I didn't really think of it. I guess I should give it a try.

On a side note, I'd like to know also if having horrid pain in front of the ankle when attempting to flex forward would also occur with other brand new skates. I truly have the feeling that every time I put those skates on and step on the ice, it feels like a pair a shackles. I have to lace them up pretty loose around the ankles, but then I lose edges pretty often.

[Zac911 317]

with an AG skate their is more work to do... they will not hold you upright like a 3 eyelet vertical boot, but with a little more work in weighting your edges and using your muscles-- the advantages really come to light. when i switched to AG i had a lot more freedom to move, but i had to learn how to control it better. simple training things like standing on a pilates ball makes a HUGE difference. it also helps with core strength and quad strength. the stride extension with this boot is far better than i have ever had with any other boot and transitioning is vastly improved. what i saw in your pictures i experienced myself. so on the next bake i had the cuff flared and it cured it the next time out. part of the problem may be that you are in an EE width and not a D. so many guys order skates in EE because, they think it is wider in the forefoot... when in reality it is wider in the heel and ankle. it is so important that your foot fills the internal volume of the boot properly. if you were in an old Bauer D ( which was known to be a touch narrow ) and now in an EE... it could be trouble. i would certainly try flaring the cuff-- DO NOT WRAP THE LACES AROUND YOUR ANKLES WHN SKATING. are you familiar with the process of flaring the cuff?

[R_1 0]

Hey, thanks a bunch on that. Truly appreciated. I kind of knew that I shouldn't expect the same support as my former skates. Hell, I was even hoping for something more giving, as in my (probably screwed) memory, my former supreme 3000 classic (circa 92-94, dead on before the guys at Canstar updated them to 4000) felt better and more flexible. I do not wrap laces around my ankle at all.

It's just that they're awfully trashing my feet, at the moment, that I always skated with thin socks (I need thicker ones right now because of the EE width I assume, which I knew I didn't need but had no choice upon it... Too long of a story to explain) and that I cannot remember my former high-end pairs of skates being such a huge pain in the (explict word) to break in, especially forward flex.

To even be more honest about it, I had/have the thought of ditching them. I guess I'm probably too much of some of the current generation which doesn't want to give too much effort (albeit being probably older than most of them) to get to the "goal". As well, and it maybe only in my mind/perception, even with the PITCH 3 on +1, I still have the feeling of being on my heels, very strange feeling.

Anyway, I guess I should have probably named the topic: "to ditch or not to ditch (the former having been favored) my new skates?" I nonetheless appreciate the help. Any further tips coming might tilt the balance to keeping them, and tune with them so as to get a better fit.

[Zac911 317]

Flaring the cuff will make a HUGE difference. some guys have gotten very spoiled with the amount of ankle support that their boots offer them. Bobby Orr didn't have that kind of technology and that guy performed Crosby magic at both ends of the ice. there is something to be said for edge control. yes it is harder, but it does make a difference. i know what you mean about the +1 feeling. have your steel profiled. i had No Icing Sports set mine up and i could not be happier. a profile can make a huge difference for some people. i have extremely high arches, so i had custom superfeet made as well. a funny short story- we got to demo the new product at the Joe back in November and without my steel i did not even make it 1 lap without eating it at center ice..... in front of everybody from montreal.... i felt like an illiterate dictionary salesman. all the bigshots were there and saw the whole thing.... can you believe they are so cool about the whole thing that i NEVER get any grief about it? YEAH RIGHT! my ears are still burning! LOL! believe me... setting your skates up makes a huge difference. every skater is a little different and it is understanding these nuances and knowing what to do that makes all the difference in the world. i am here to help. if you like i can call you and we can go over a few things. i was a Vapor guy for years and it took me a while to get used to the AG, but now that i have acclimated to it-- i dont think i could ever go back. i am here to help. hang in there and you will see a difference- just not overnight. remember the boot is different for a reason and your body needs time to adjust. in the age of superfast internet sometimes we forget patience. let me know if you want me to call you!

[R_1 0]

Thanks really for all the info, that's pretty reassuring to read. Unfortunately, as much as I would like you to call me so that we can discuss the several issues about the AG, I'm not living close to where I assume you might. I'm currently lost in the middle of Estonia, so even if I understand the magic behind profiling one's pair of skates, I do not think that the guy who's sharpening my skates would be able to do it, lest he even knows about how to do it properly. From reading MSH, I understood that Mission steel is quite "harder" than traditional Bauer could be. I felt that the first sharpening was pretty soft. Actually, when I step on ice the first time, I was wondering if the guy sharpened the skates at all.

As to the +1 pitch, I have to confess that I haven't try yet to play around with it, so convinced I was/am that coming from Bauer and their traditional forward pitch, that'd do the deal.

Don't get me too wrong, I kind of like the skates, but it's just that giving the current surroundings I feel a bit at my wit ends. I don't really like being yelled at because I f***ing lost an edge and someone made a great breakaway. Ultimately, it can also easily be that I'm getting too much of an old fart who cannot stand things being changed. In any cases, if you could give me some hints/tip about flaring the ankle cuffs, that'd be nice.

[Zac911 317]

ygpm

[shifter 0]

Flaring the cuff will make a HUGE difference. some guys have gotten very spoiled with the amount of ankle support that their boots offer them. Bobby Orr didn't have that kind of technology and that guy performed Crosby magic at both ends of the ice. there is something to be said for edge control. yes it is harder, but it does make a difference. i know what you mean about the +1 feeling. have your steel profiled. i had No Icing Sports set mine up and i could not be happier. a profile can make a huge difference for some people. i have extremely high arches, so i had custom superfeet made as well. a funny short story- we got to demo the new product at the Joe back in November and without my steel i did not even make it 1 lap without eating it at center ice..... in front of everybody from montreal.... i felt like an illiterate dictionary salesman. all the bigshots were there and saw the whole thing.... can you believe they are so cool about the whole thing that i NEVER get any grief about it? YEAH RIGHT! my ears are still burning! LOL! believe me... setting your skates up makes a huge difference. every skater is a little different and it is understanding these nuances and knowing what to do that makes all the difference in the world. i am here to help. if you like i can call you and we can go over a few things. i was a Vapor guy for years and it took me a while to get used to the AG, but now that i have acclimated to it-- i dont think i could ever go back. i am here to help. hang in there and you will see a difference- just not overnight. remember the boot is different for a reason and your body needs time to adjust. in the age of superfast internet sometimes we forget patience. let me know if you want me to call you!

WHat does that mean? :o Oh well it just takes time and, im actually the opposite. I owned grafs and loved it how much freedom i had, (similar experience) and now switched to vapors and have to skate more upright unless tieing them so loose to get the freedom i need.

[Zac911 317]

Flaring the cuff will make a HUGE difference. some guys have gotten very spoiled with the amount of ankle support that their boots offer them. Bobby Orr didn't have that kind of technology and that guy performed Crosby magic at both ends of the ice. there is something to be said for edge control. yes it is harder, but it does make a difference. i know what you mean about the +1 feeling. have your steel profiled. i had No Icing Sports set mine up and i could not be happier. a profile can make a huge difference for some people. i have extremely high arches, so i had custom superfeet made as well. a funny short story- we got to demo the new product at the Joe back in November and without my steel i did not even make it 1 lap without eating it at center ice..... in front of everybody from montreal.... i felt like an illiterate dictionary salesman. all the bigshots were there and saw the whole thing.... can you believe they are so cool about the whole thing that i NEVER get any grief about it? YEAH RIGHT! my ears are still burning! LOL! believe me... setting your skates up makes a huge difference. every skater is a little different and it is understanding these nuances and knowing what to do that makes all the difference in the world. i am here to help. if you like i can call you and we can go over a few things. i was a Vapor guy for years and it took me a while to get used to the AG, but now that i have acclimated to it-- i dont think i could ever go back. i am here to help. hang in there and you will see a difference- just not overnight. remember the boot is different for a reason and your body needs time to adjust. in the age of superfast internet sometimes we forget patience. let me know if you want me to call you!

WHat does that mean? :o Oh well it just takes time and, im actually the opposite. I owned grafs and loved it how much freedom i had, (similar experience) and now switched to vapors and have to skate more upright unless tieing them so loose to get the freedom i need.

with a more upright boot you will not get the same ankle articulation that the low cut offset cuff allows even if you skip an eyelet ( which will only help with forward flex ). what it means is you can get a better stride extension and transition better.