Skate help for an old timer

[sundog 0]

I have a skate dilema. I haven't played in several years and I am wanting to get back to playing. My old skates are CCM 652 Vacutacks. I love those skates but I went back on the ice and found I had no power and zero speed. I was the last man in on every play. After the game i checked my skates and realized that one holder Tuuk Custom + was cracked all the way through just above the blade and the other was cracked in a few differant places along the toe and heel areas.

So I have decided since I found that they dont even make the Tuuk Custom + any longer and the skates of today are are super light that I should look into just replacing the skates and frankly the boots have seen the better part of 10-12 years of playing. I did some reasearch and found I really wanted ot try the CCM U+09 skates out. BUT when I did I found a few things odd and could really use some advice on.

All my preconcieved skate knowledge is admitedly 13-15 years out of date, but these skates did not feel anything like what my feeleings of what skates should feel like. They were huge in the toe cap area, I even had to go down a half size and my toes still dont touch the front, the boots are super stiff I'm used to the eyelets once tightening lay on top of the boot and not stand up straight. And the inside just feels off to me not so much like a boot as much as just a misformed box. Now I have read that they have to be baked for them to feel comfortable but no one will let me bake them before buying and I just cant bring myself to buy them with the way they feel out of the box. I even tried a pair of bauers on and they felt a bit better but I still have the same problem in the arch and heel area being to narrow.

So I guess my questions are can someone that is familiar with my old boots recommend sometihng that would feel more like I am used to? Or do the CCM feel more like what I am used to after the baking? Or should I just replace the holders on my old broken down boots with LS2?

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated I keep changing my mind on what I am going to do on a nightly basis allmost.

Sundog

[epstud74 24]

They still have the Custom+ available..Not sure what you're getting at. Also, these skates will feel vastly different after baking. Where are you located?

[sundog 0]

I'm in the Washington DC area.

Yeah I saw some of the Custom + online none of my LHS carry them and they say they cant order. That is allways one of my options is to replace holders but after seeing how light the skates are today and considering how broken down my skates are I'm really leaning towards new skates.

Sundog

[epstud74 24]

I'm in the Washington DC area.

Yeah I saw some of the Custom + online none of my LHS carry them and they say they cant order. That is allways one of my options is to replace holders but after seeing how light the skates are today and considering how broken down my skates are I'm really leaning towards new skates.

Sundog

What skate brands does your LHS offer?

[Chadd 916]

Welcome to the world of new skates. They just don't feel like the boots of a decade (or more) ago.

[sundog 0]

mainly just CCM & Bauer one or two have some easton and I havent seen any missions, and the only one I know that carried graf just had the roof collapse totaling the building last week from the snow.

[jsykes 35]

sundog, also in the DC area and if you're willing to go to a few places and travel, you can find basically everything out there.

I was recently in the same boat, coming from 20 year old skates and finding that new skates are NOTHING like what we were used to. However, there are a few options if you like that "old school fit."

Grafs are close to that kind of fit and a more traditional boot and so are the Bauer Flexlites.

Grafs can be found at the Kettler Capitals IcePlex, Ashburn Ice House (Ashburn, VA) and Skatequest Reston (Reston, VA) if you want to try them. Skatequest especially has a good selection of sizes and widths and are good people.

Other options are Fairfax Ice Arena in Fairfax, VA and also the Gardens Ice House up in Laurel, MD. Gardens had a very good selection of CCM, Reebok, Bauer (including Flexlites), and Easton. They were even willing to do a "semi-bake" of the CCMs for me when I was trying them on. They didnt want to do a full bake, but would warm them up a bit to give them a little shape for you to help decide.

Give those places some calls and if you're willing to take some trips, you should be able to find something you like. Shoot me a PM if you have any questions or want some contacts at the places I mentioned. I've been to them all and tried on about every skate out there recently looking for a replacement that worked for me. There are very good folks at all the places I mentioned that were more than willing to work with me and were not at all upset if I had to go somewhere else to buy if they didnt have what worked for me.

Good Luck.

[sundog 0]

Thanks for the advice. I've been to a few of those places allready but will start venturing out to the Maryland places soon. The biggest problem I've found at kettler, the ice house and fairfax was my size not in stock. I may have to head out to the reston rink since reading through here on these forums I'm thinking I should try on a pair of grafs.

sundog

[jsykes 35]

Give Reston a call, they seem to have good stock on Grafs. Ask for Greg or Olga and tell them Jim Sykes sent you. They'll take care of you if they have what you need.

Also, if they didnt have you size at Kettler or Ashburn, ask to work with Tim. He runs the pro shop there and recently when I was looking actually ordered skates in my size for me without any deposit or commitment. Actually, he ordered two different skates in two different sizes each (4 skates) to make sure we found the proper one. He may be able to do that for you.

[th6252 25]

if bauer or ccm doesn't seem to be to your liking, maybe try reebok 9k or the newer 11k as they are supposed to be the successor to the tack fit (not quite though imo) and they also tend to have a wider heel as that is what it seems you're looking for. also, neither of those seem to be as stiff as the other top line skates out there. sounds ideal for your situation.

[OldNSlow 3]

Can someone tell me how long I need to wait to skate after baking skates? I've seen various references, but there doesn't seem to be a standard period. For example, can I skates 7-8 hours after baking skates?

As for sundog, I recommend trying the Graf G7 skates. You will recognize the traditional feel and flex once they're on your feet. Call a few places beforehand to ask because few shops carry the G7s.

[starsfan71 9]

Can someone tell me how long I need to wait to skate after baking skates? I've seen various references, but there doesn't seem to be a standard period. For example, can I skates 7-8 hours after baking skates?

As for sundog, I recommend trying the Graf G7 skates. You will recognize the traditional feel and flex once they're on your feet. Call a few places beforehand to ask because few shops carry the G7s.

I have always been told to wait 24 hours.

[usahockey22 0]

Sundog, from what you've described, I think you should give Reebok or Graf a try.

[heybrady 0]

There was another thread that said you can skate 7 to 8 hours later if you put the skates in the fridge or freezer (cant remember which) for a couple of hours after baking. Came from a reliable source.

[starsfan71 9]

There was another thread that said you can skate 7 to 8 hours later if you put the skates in the fridge or freezer (cant remember which) for a couple of hours after baking. Came from a reliable source.

I thought that was a myth and could damage the skates?

Then again that's just what I have heard....

[Rogueldr 0]

I had a similar problem when my 20 year old Bauer Custom Supreme 2000's bit the dust. I tried on the new Bauers and Eastons and none of them gave me the feel I was used to. They all felt like casts going to my ankle. Someone suggested I try a pair of Grafs and am I glad they did. They were the closest thing to my old skates and still plenty light. Now I'm actually looking for a nice used pair to turn into inlines.

[heybrady 0]

I thought that was a myth and could damage the skates?

Then again that's just what I have heard....

If you search you can probably find the topic. I think JR was the one who said an hour or two in the freezer would be fine.

Edit for link

http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index...&hl=freezer