My custom skate saga (and a few question...)

[Jeff 0]

Hey all, I purchased some custom One95 skates a while ago, and thought I would post my story, and maybe learn a thing or two in the process...

Alright so here is the short version: I was in NorCal on business and figured I would stop by a certain someone's shop, even after hearing some negative stuff about the joint. I end up going with the One95 in 10c/aa for left boot, 9.5c/aa for the right skate. After choosing the other various stuff (C+ holder, felt tongue, tan leather, extra memory foam, etc.) he told me that he was going to go +1 in the upper due to me choosing the felt tongue...

I return home to L.A., and, by luck, happen to be given a pair of brand-new Vapor XXXXs in 10d. They felt great, aside from them being slightly too wide, and my heel sliding around a little, causing Haglund's to start forming...

Fast forward 4 months: My custom skates arrive in the mail. I try them on and immediately notice that the right skate does not fit. I pop out the insole to see the following notes: 9 C/AA. The left skate was a little tight as well, so I figured I would bake 'em, skate on them a couple times and see if they broke in at all. No dice, so i contact you know who, who is rather insistent that the order was correctly placed by him, and that he requested a size 9 in the right (even going so far as to e-mail me the custom order confirmation from NBH.)

After reminding him that I specifically remember him saying I was a 9.5 and that he must have absentmindedly notated 9 instead of 9.5, he asked me to send it in so that he could try stretching it. A couple days go by and he informs me that he stretched the boot and tendon out, everything should be fine.

Tell that to my right big toe nail that has blackened from being crammed against the toe cap. The stretching helped slightly, but I felt like there was some other stuff that made the skate fit akwardly. I was chatting with the shop manager one day at a local shop about the skates, he tends to size for customs in Graf, but has experience with NBH as well. After looking at my foot in both the custom One95 as well as the Vapor XXXX, he confirmed what I had suspected: I should not have been sized +1 in the upper. In fact, he was baffled as to why someone would go +1 due to a felt tongue. I did feel as though my foot was secure in the heel, but not elsewhere, if that makes sense.

So, basically he told me he would be happy to size me in Grafs or NBH. I decided to go with Vapor XXXX, since they felt "almost" perfect, instead of rolling the dice on the Grafs. Changes this time are: ditching the C+ holder, no +1 in the upper, C width/AAA heel with the memory foam positioned a little differently than stock, gripliner instead of Clarino (for drying and less-slip factor) and moving the eyelets a little bit.

In the end, I am not going to lose too much sleep over it, as I am giving these to my younger bro (his feet should fit these perfectly) but I figured some of you might want to think twice when getting custom skates, and really make sure you know what you are getting, and whom you are getting them from. I am financially ok, and willing to pay the price to have a skate that fits, I can't help but imagine how much more pissed I would be if I was eating ramen for a month to pay for them...

Alright here are some thumbnails with questions:

1) From these pics, do the holders appear misaligned? (Keep in mind L is 10, R is 9.) I feel as though something about the skate is causing me to not have as much edge control as on the Vapor XXXXs. (Could be the +1,, or Custom + holders though...)

2) There is some space between the toe cap and the boot on the right skate, as evident in the pic below. Is it normal for there to be this much variation (there is no gap on the other boot) or did the NorCal numbnutz do something when stretching it?

3) By looking at both skates, there seems to be a big deviation in how the eyelets match up. If you look at the pic below, you might be able to see what I mean. On the right skate: the inner eyelet at the bottom is much more forward than the outer eyelet. Is this common, for one boot to have the eyelets match perpendicularly and the other not?

Thanks guys, I cannot wait to get these things out of my sight. My freakin' toe and ankle bumps second and third that emotion.

[calishark28 0]

Man I'd be pissed if I paid all that money for a pair of custom skates, waited all that time and then they didn't fit cause someone messed up. I live in norcal, where did you go?

[ahbroody 1]

he would be referring to east west in san mateo if I had to guess.

I cant afford shit right now let alone customs. If it was me I would be pissed. didnt you get an order form or something from them?

as to the other stuff hopefully jr will chime in he would know best

[calishark28 0]

Oh man East West Hockey... I hate that place! I've had the worst experience there.

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

thats rough. i'd be furious. did they not measure your foot?

[durke 0]

I would like to get customs next time I buy skates, because my right heal has slippage in every skate I've tried on (slightly smaller). This scenario has scared me of the whole idea. Mistakes are going to happen, my main concern is how they take care of the situation afterwards.

Living outside the U.S. I often visit the NorCal area, and although I've never been to EastWest I've thought about using them for this exact purpose. Does anyone in the area have any experience with HockeyX Sports when it comes to customs?

Anyways a really interesting topic for me since I would like to do this some day, and I can't say I could afford to throw away that kind of money.

[stuie7 6]

I emailed him asking to do a pair of One95s from tracings a few weeks ago and the responce I got was "NO TRACINGS SUCK".

I must say Im really disapointed after reading this..

[durke 0]

I emailed him asking to do a pair of One95s from tracings a few weeks ago and the responce I got was "NO TRACINGS SUCK".

I must say Im really disapointed after reading this..

I can respect a personal opinion, but I wouldn't be able to accept a custom skate that was anything other than a perfect fit. That is the whole purpose of going "Custom".

[fultonreed 1]

Had custom KOR - too bad they are no longer available. They sent me a kit that encompassed my entire foot & ankle.

[s4gobabygo 0]

that looks terrible. i can't say the holders look misaligned, but with the large difference in size between left and right, it's hard to say.

[stuie7 6]

I emailed him asking to do a pair of One95s from tracings a few weeks ago and the responce I got was "NO TRACINGS SUCK".

I must say Im really disapointed after reading this..

I can respect a personal opinion, but I wouldn't be able to accept a custom skate that was anything other than a perfect fit. That is the whole purpose of going "Custom".

Tracings and the correct depth Graf boot for my foot type will do for me when the local alternative is retail :)

[johnpace2 0]

I would call my credit card company and challenge the charge from EWH. Plain and simple, you did not get what you paid $700+ for.

[cdoug55 0]

+1 for contacting your credit card company and telling them the facts. Most likely they will suspend the payment and contact the store. I don't care how financially secure you are. If you pay $700+ for a "custom" item, whether it be skates, shoes, or anything else, that item better be what you ordered. I am no expert, but you shouldn't need to have to stretch and do all this additional work to custom skates. I would call the store back and say he did not order them correctly and you want it fixed or you are halting payment simple as that.

[s4gobabygo 0]

OT: is there a delay after a skate is released before it can be ordered custom? i'd like to get some custom X60's. (don't flame me for using "x60" in a sentence, as seems to be common practice around here)

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

only problem with the credit card thing is he accepted the skates, and used them.

[calishark28 0]

EWH does this thing where they feel that their opinion is the only one that matters and what you think is wrong. They don't understand that if you want things a certain way they should do it for you. They can give their opinion but in the end the only one that matters is the customer's.

[JohnnyCanuck 0]

AFAIK, Most, if not all, reputable skate shops/ LHS' will "Guarantee" fit of high end skates for at least 30 days.

I bought freaking seconds for crying out loud and they said while they would not be able to warranty certain aspects of the skates (for obvious reasons as they are seconds with cosmetic blemishes) that they would absolutely guarantee fit and comfort for 30 days...

I have heard about guys getting customs and them being wrong and the shop having to burden the cost of getting the customs done right...

+2 for the comment above that no matter how well off you are financiallt that you should get what you paid for, and clearly you didn't

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

AFAIK, Most, if not all, reputable skate shops/ LHS' will "Guarantee" fit of high end skates for at least 30 days.

I bought freaking seconds for crying out loud and they said while they would not be able to warranty certain aspects of the skates (for obvious reasons as they are seconds with cosmetic blemishes) that they would absolutely guarantee fit and comfort for 30 days...

I have heard about guys getting customs and them being wrong and the shop having to burden the cost of getting the customs done right...

+2 for the comment above that no matter how well off you are financiallt that you should get what you paid for, and clearly you didn't

here's the thing with customs, though... they're usually unrefundable and you pay in full in advance.

that said, a shop that fucked up and has any sort of reputation would take a loss in this situation, in the name of providing good customer service.

[JohnnyCanuck 0]

WRONG!!!!

If a LHS did the fitting etc and brought in skates that ended up not fitting you, you have to have recourse!!!

Who is the professional skate fitters!!! FFS, if I owned a shop and one of my employees screwed up I would fire his ass or make him pay for his error and order my customer a new pair asap!!! not try punching and screwing around with the skates that my doucher employee ordered wrongly!

[johnpace2 0]

AFAIK, Most, if not all, reputable skate shops/ LHS' will "Guarantee" fit of high end skates for at least 30 days.

I bought freaking seconds for crying out loud and they said while they would not be able to warranty certain aspects of the skates (for obvious reasons as they are seconds with cosmetic blemishes) that they would absolutely guarantee fit and comfort for 30 days...

I have heard about guys getting customs and them being wrong and the shop having to burden the cost of getting the customs done right...

+2 for the comment above that no matter how well off you are financiallt that you should get what you paid for, and clearly you didn't

here's the thing with customs, though... they're usually unrefundable and you pay in full in advance.

that said, a shop that fucked up and has any sort of reputation would take a loss in this situation, in the name of providing good customer service.

I guarantee you that if this happened to me, my credit card company would have my back. It's happened before (in other types of scenarios) and they've always come through.

It doesn't matter if he used the skates... The customer used the skates because the seller tried to fix the problem by stretching out the boot and the seller told him to try it out. However, I would cease using the skates right away...

[cdoug55 0]

It can't hurt to talk to the credit card company and explain the situation even if you did use them. I think when it comes to skates it would be pretty hard to know if they don't fit properly if you don't use them at least once. The store just doesn't want to eat their mistake. This is why you go with Amex they will always have your back.

[wonderenzo 0]

material deleted

[calishark28 0]

Dude what's going, something looks shady

[li7039 0]

you may want to take that phone number out of there

[wonderenzo 0]

Thanks, i thought i deleted everything out. didnt see that one.