Skate baking

[tony1233 0]

while ,most (if not all) new mid to high level skates have the fully "bakeable" upper, would I be putting myself at a disadvange if I ordered a pair of vapor 40's and didn't get them baked ? The only place that do them here is my LHS and I don't want to order a pair of skates from hockeymonkey and take it to him to get them baked. However, since I am a working student I can't afford the 569 or so that it would cost to purchase them at his shop. So I just wanted to know if I would hurt the performance of the skates at all ?

[Hockeyman11385 1]

No, many people don't bake their skates and it doesn't reduce the performance. The advantage of being able to bake them is that it improves the fit and reduces break in time. Personally, I would get them baked. If the LHS is that out of touch with the current pricing of the XXXX's, I don't blame you for not buying them there. You may ask them if they will take $380-$400 (online price + baking + first sharpening), assuming you are from the US. If they don't like the offer, buy them online and take them in for baking.

[th6252 25]

do skates that come from the monkey come sharpened? if not, you're gonna have to bring them in for a first sharpening anyways, so might as well get them baked at the same time.

[Hockeyman11385 1]

Even if they did come sharpened, how do you know what hollow, radius, and pitch they are?

[duch 0]

I have personally rarely, if ever had new skates baked when I first bought them. The only thing it seems to effect is the immediate fit, they are a bit stiff until they break in and that takes about eight to ten games. Never had a performance problem with new skates to date. Try wearing them without baking and let them wear in on their own . Eventually they'll mould to your foot profile but it just takes a bit longer and requires a bit of patience. If there are hot spots or you get blisters you can still opt to get them baked or punched out after this time period, you really have nothing to loose waiting and it won't hurt the skates. Better yet they're also already partially mounlded to your foot profile which will make baking them even better for your fit afterwards. Just something to consider.

[shoeshine boy 243]

you have 2 options for baking them: 1) taking them to the LHS and paying them a small fee to bake them or 2) bake them yourself. you can do it at home at a low temperature, usually around 150 degrees.

[th6252 25]

Even if they did come sharpened, how do you know what hollow, radius, and pitch they are?

what my point was was the fact that he'd have to take them for a 1st time sharpening which typically costs more, at least with places around here. and if that's the case, i'm assuming he'd be taking them to the lhs he spoke about and they'd know they were new skates. so why bother trying to "hide" the fact that he got the skates elsewhere?

all this of course is under the assumption that he normally gets his skates sharpened at the lhs, if not then nevermind and minus 2 posts for me :(

[gerbe3:16 19]

My oven worked just fine!! ;)

Some people will absolutely 100% say don't do it yourself, but it's always an option.

[VakarLajos 5]

My oven worked just fine!! ;)

Some people will absolutely 100% say don't do it yourself, but it's always an option.

your oven can work. BUT if it doesn't, Bauer is going to ask you what shop you took them to......and theeeennnn?

[Officer Dangle 0]

Sharpening a skate for the first time around here costs 8 or 10 bucks depending on the shop. Even if they come sharpened, I'd do it again anyways. Who knows how they sharpened them.

Baking a skate is only going to relieve minor pressure points immediately. Chances are, those pressure points were going to go away the more you skate anyways. Also, Vapor XXXX's are made to fit really well out of the box anyways. I think Bauer only recommends 3 minutes in the oven or something.

You may end up just buying them online. Alot of local shops can't match online prices without losing money or not making enough of it. I work at Sports Authority, and even we can't match online prices because websites offer them so low.

Just my two cents...

[automorph 0]

another crappy factor is the ovens.....

i) bauer or other oven?

ii) condition/age of oven

You may need to bake longer than recommended time

[tony1233 0]

well the LHS doesn't do the sharpening but, they're the only place that locally does the baking. I could check with "sportchek" but, I'd rather not after the job they did sharpening my skates when the skate shop was closed god only knows what they'd do to them in a giant oven. but, if I were to do it myself how long would I have to do it ?

[team50 20]

well the LHS doesn't do the sharpening but, they're the only place that locally does the baking. I could check with "sportchek" but, I'd rather not after the job they did sharpening my skates when the skate shop was closed god only knows what they'd do to them in a giant oven. but, if I were to do it myself how long would I have to do it ?

Does anyone else find it odd that his LHS has a skate oven, but doesn't sharpen skates?

[Hockeyman11385 1]

I think he gets them sharpened somewhere else that doesn't have a skate oven.

[tony1233 0]

I think he gets them sharpened somewhere else that doesn't have a skate oven.

you would be correct on that one. The skate sharpening shops here are a small "pro-shop" which is in the stadium so there isn't any room for the oven and the other skate sharpening shop is done at a furnace, fireplace and paintball store lol. Those are the only good sharpeners here and both of them are damn good, but of course we also have Canadian Tire and Sportchek neither of which are very good IMHO.

[Officer Dangle 0]

well the LHS doesn't do the sharpening but, they're the only place that locally does the baking. I could check with "sportchek" but, I'd rather not after the job they did sharpening my skates when the skate shop was closed god only knows what they'd do to them in a giant oven. but, if I were to do it myself how long would I have to do it ?

Does anyone else find it odd that his LHS has a skate oven, but doesn't sharpen skates?

I was just about to say that haha. If you don't trust how they sharpen your skates, don't let them bake your skates.

If worst comes to worst you can just preheat your oven to whatever the temperature is and throw them in there for 3 minutes. Just be careful lacing them up when you put them on. Try not to pull up on the laces because you could potentially pull an eyelet out. Then just pop a squat with your ankles flexed forward a little as if you were skating and you're good to go.

[tony1233 0]

Thanks.. seems like that migh be what I have to do!

[JR97 2]

I haven't baked my last 2 pairs of bakable skates. Maybe I'm lucky, but they were fine out of the box. In contrast, back in the day my all leather skates were murder for months until they broke in. I would put them under the heater vent in my truck on the way to rink to soften them up pre-game. Worked like a charm most of the time once I figure out that trick.

As far as buying online and 1st time sharpening, I had my last pair 1st sharpening done at the municiple run rink instead of the LHS. Pre-paid the $5 and got them the next day no issues. Whereas the LHS wanted $20 on a first time sharpen for skates not from their shop.

[th6252 25]

Thanks.. seems like that migh be what I have to do!

be very careful with the suggestion above if you decide to do it at home. he makes it sound a bit more simple than it really is. as has been stated many times here, if you have a convection oven, great...should make it much easier as it will provide the skate with much more even heat due to the circulation of air. if not, be very careful. you'd be surprised at how tough it is to hold the temp that low on a conventional oven.

at the very least, use a digital oven thermometer, that way at least you have an idea as to what the real air temp is inside the oven. don't just trust the dial as it can be WAY off.

also, regardless of whether you're using a convection or conventional oven, make sure you catch your target temp on the downslope and not the upslope. in other words, get your oven to about your target temp, or just above, shut the oven off, wait for the temp to settle to your target, then place the skates in. that would likely be the "safest" way to do it. and again, be careful.

[calixguy18 8]

I don't see why you just don't take it in to the shop with the oven to bake it? Will you be the town shame if they find out you bought it online or something? Tell them it is much cheaper online and if they can remotely match it you'll buy it from them. If not, then it's not hard to see why one would buy online instead of in the shop. Even the guy at the shop should understand that.

I bought my last few pairs of skates online and had them baked and sharpened at the rink. I was never charged extra for the first sharpen. Why do they charge more for it?

Also, the newer generations of skates are meant to be baked. Skates like the U+. I don't know if the XXXX falls into this category.

FYI, the skate ovens aren't full sized ovens. The mission one is the size of a large toaster oven.

[goblue913 0]

I'm not gonna lie. I've seen no adverse effects from my skates whenever I bake them on my own. For inline, I take all the wheels and bearings off and for ice I just throw them in. Each pair I'll put the oven on 190-210 and let them sit for 7-10 minutes. Take them out, tie them tight, and play a little xbox while I'm waiting for them to cool off. Works every time.

[Ivan 1]

I had my first skates done at an LHS in TX. They told me to walk in them right after I put them on. Back in 2001. Bauer 7000. SInce then - my oven on my own. Convection baking oven works great.

[P5man 0]

go for it in your own oven. what's the worst that can happen? you ruin your $500 skates over paying a $20 fee. Not a big deal

[Ivan 1]

go for it in your own oven. what's the worst that can happen? you ruin your $500 skates over paying a $20 fee. Not a big deal

Right on. Especially when there are no skate baking ovens in Ukraine Aside for one old guy with a little younger (than him) Graf oven which doesn't provide for temperature adjusting. and who refuses to put the skates in the oven one at at a time. Only $650+$ for customs+ $N for shipping.BIllions served :D

Well actuallly you gotta know what you're doing. If you don't - don't do it. Agree.

[aal 3]

Years ago I bought some grafs, and they came with instructions on how to bake them in your oven. I never tried it though.