Holders misaligned front to back

[icedr 0]

The holder on the left skate of my new Vapor X:30s is about 2-3mm closer to the toe than the holder on the right skate. Is this something I should be worried about, or is it within normal limits? If it's going to affect my skating, I will take them back and get them replaced. But if I'm just being too picky, I will stick with these since they don't seem to have any other problems and I don't want to risk getting a pair with even worse problems. The left/right alignment seems to be correct on these, it's just the front/back alignment that's off. I'm still too new to really know how much my skating could be affected by this, which is why I asked for advice here about whether this is a real problem.

[jimmy 194]

It is unlikely you'll have any skating issues with that minor difference in alignment. Almost all skaters have feet of different sizes and feet will move inside the skate or be off by 2mm or more. Best way to tell though is to skate on them and see. I'd be more concerned with left/right alignment but you are OK there.

[elihl6 0]

As Jimmy replied, you will probably not notice it. If you were more advanced, then it might make a difference, but just about all skates are "slightly" off. If it really bothers you, you could take them back. Although, I know of at least 1 LHS nearby that will guarantee, actually paying a bit extra, they will remove the holder, adjust per your specs (height/weight/etc.), contour/profile, as well as add appropriate footbeds.

So in short, it can be corrected, but you will probably not notice. Even my One95s are off a mill or two.

[Jordan 13]

Not to high-jack the thread; but, why are there so many misaligned skates manufactured? It doesn't seem to me to be that difficult to make up a jig to get it right every time.

Bindings on snow skis are mounted using a jig that guarantees correct centering and correcty front to back positioning.

just curious?

[jimmy 194]

Not all manufacturers have major problems, some much more than others. This year for me two pairs of skates actually came out of the box with different size holders installed on left/right. Nice quality control, huh.

[westcoastsniper 0]

the installation instructions are written in english... which poses a problem for the people installing the skates....

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

Not to high-jack the thread; but, why are there so many misaligned skates manufactured? It doesn't seem to me to be that difficult to make up a jig to get it right every time.

Bindings on snow skis are mounted using a jig that guarantees correct centering and correcty front to back positioning.

just curious?

re: ski mounting jigs... that's easy to make a jig that is meant for mounting something dead center on an object that is square and symetric (not the shape, but that the angles are all nice neat and pretty)... skate boots have contours and curves to them, and it's not quite as easy to replicate perfectly time after time...

so, ok, why dont they align based on the sole? it would make a lot of sense, but even the soles and the trim and all that is not 100% the same. There's slight enough changes that the jig they do have for the drill paterns may not line up dead center on the boot each time.

sure they could be more careful, but at what cost.... most people dont notice, and those that do know how to get it fixed, and usualy do with little complaint. I'd be disinclined as a business to put forth too much more effort. wrong holder sizes is a different story, though.

[Larry54 243]

The holder on the left skate of my new Vapor X:30s is about 2-3mm closer to the toe than the holder on the right skate. Is this something I should be worried about, or is it within normal limits? If it's going to affect my skating, I will take them back and get them replaced. But if I'm just being too picky, I will stick with these since they don't seem to have any other problems and I don't want to risk getting a pair with even worse problems. The left/right alignment seems to be correct on these, it's just the front/back alignment that's off. I'm still too new to really know how much my skating could be affected by this, which is why I asked for advice here about whether this is a real problem.

Is the holder misaligned relative to the outsole or relative to the boot? Sometimes the outsole can be a bit off so while the holder might be misaligned to the outsole, it's actually aligned relative to the boot. I had some CCM 652 skates once where the holder seemed 2mm too forward on one skate compared to the outsole, but the outsole was actually 2mm too far back so the holder was actually positioned correctly.

[icedr 0]

Is the holder misaligned relative to the outsole or relative to the boot? Sometimes the outsole can be a bit off so while the holder might be misaligned to the outsole, it's actually aligned relative to the boot. I had some CCM 652 skates once where the holder seemed 2mm too forward on one skate compared to the outsole, but the outsole was actually 2mm too far back so the holder was actually positioned correctly.

I'm pretty sure it's relative to the boot. I'm looking at the holders and comparing how close they are to the front of the toecap on the boot. When I'm doing counterclockwise crossovers, I feel like I'm way up on my toe when I push my left foot underneath. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be worried about this at all, and maybe the misalignment isn't what's causing that anyway.

[Jordan 13]

Well...my son who has had probably only 5 or 6 pairs of skates has had 2 pairs of Bauers (one pair of X:30s and one pair of X:60s) that had badly mismounted holders. Bad enough that you could see it cause problems in his stride.

Frankly, that is NOT a very encouraging rate of failure in quality control.

As for the boot being "curvy" it would be very simple to create a centering jig that worked off of the sides of the boot/sole. My example of the jig for skis, was just to make a point, but interestingly, skis are neither straight along the edges nor are the sidewalls square to the top surface.

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

but the sole isnt precisely aligned with respect to the boot....

[Jordan 13]

it could be designed to find the mid-point with respect to the boot.

[Chadd 916]

It has been done as a test but the manufacturer chose not to do it due to the expense. At least that is what I was told a couple years ago.

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

It has been done as a test but the manufacturer chose not to do it due to the expense. At least that is what I was told a couple years ago.

exactly as i stated earlier... yeah they could do a better job, but the job their doing is more cost effective. most people dont notice/care, and the ones that do get it fixed without raising too much hell

[icedr 0]

Thanks for the replies. I took the skates back to the LHS to be looked at, and they claimed that they didn't see any misalignment. I'm not so sure about that, since everyone else I showed the skates to saw the difference right away. But regardless, the consensus is that it's not going to affect my skating so I'm going to forget about it and just work on getting the skates broken in.

[althoma1 575]

I know I'm bumping a 5 year old thread, but it's regarding the same topic (front to back alignment) so I thought that was better than starting a new one.

I ordered some clearance Makos (the originals) in my size last week. I've already been using Makos for about half a year now and have enjoyed them so much I've sold off all but one of my stockpile of KOR skates. I have the last pair of KORs up for sale and expect they will sell in the near future, but I wanted to have a backup pair of skates around since I referee quite a bit these days and want to be able to grab a pair of skates immediately from my closet if something happens to my main skates that will take more than a day to repair (or if they can't be repaired).

Anyway, the order was placed online because it was a great deal that included free shipping and I already new my size. The order was processed and shipped the same day and I had the skates the next day. Great service, but I do notice that the holder on the left skate is mounted a little further back than the right one (as well as both holders on my current skates) - on the other skates the holder goes right to the end of the boot, but there's about a 2mm gap at the end on the left skate. What makes it even more noticeable is that the holder on the left skate actually overlaps with the plastic piece in the middle with the vent holes. All the pictures of the bottom of the boot of the Makos I've seen online do not show any overlap with the holders and plastic piece with vents.

I gather from this thread that a 2mm difference in front to back alignment isn't a huge deal. Beyond the front to back alignment, my concern in this case is that the slight overlap with the plastic piece in the middle will cause more stress on the rivets and I'll end up with loose rivets over time.

Left skate with overlap:

Right skate with no overlap:

Both skates together:

The skates have not been baked or sharpened - they were only taken out of the box. The online store I bought them from still shows stock in my size and does offer free returns for refunds/exchanges. I do want a backup pair at the clearance price so I wouldn't want to return them, but I'm considering trying to exchange them if they have another pair in my size with a better mounting job. I would of course have to submit an RMA request and if that's approved pack them up and take them to a Fedex depot. I'd then have to wait for the Fedex delivery of my replacement pair (which can be a pain and if I miss it I might have to travel to a depot and wait in line to pick up the package).

I'm just wondering if the skate experts here think I should bother taking the time to try to exchange them (the only cost involved would be a little time and I do have skates to wear in the meantime) or if the 2mm or so overlap of the holder and plastic piece in the middle isn't a big deal and I should just keep this pair.

[jimmy 194]

Exchange them, there is no easy fix for that on a carbon skate. Could be why they were on clearance. If I were you, I'd get another pair.

[althoma1 575]

OK, thanks jimmy. I'll submit the RMA request.

[althoma1 575]

Update: I submitted the RMA request Monday night, it was reviewed and approved Tuesday and I dropped the previous pair off at a FedEx depot yesterday, but was told it wouldn't be picked up until today.

I happened to come home after running a few errands and heard an unexpected knock on the door. It was FedEx and they had a package for me - it was the replacement pair of skates. The company I'd ordered from, Hockey Supremacy, had shipped out the replacements the same day they approved the RMA. The customer service representative inspected the remaining pairs they had in my size, made sure she found one where the holders were mounted flush with the skates and did not overlap with the plastic piece in the middle with the vent holes and had them shipped out the same day.So while it's unfortunate there was an issue, the issue was dealt with in a fast, courteous, efficient and effective manner.

[jimmy 194]

That's awesome, sounds like great customer service. I knew a customer who had to go to 6 chain stores and look thru every Bauer skate they had to finally find one without a misaligned holder. Sadly, skates made in the orient seem to have this issue more and more. We inspect every skate that comes to the store and check the mounts. If they are off, the skate goes back to the manufacturer.