Skate issues

[miss0033 0]

I am a high level hockey official, and I am sick of going through 1 pair of skates per year.

I have vapor XXs and they were ok, vapor XXXs and they were the best skate Ive had. The XXXXs did fit my feet and could get a deal on the Easton S15s which unglued on me in short order. At the time the league I worked for could get me some CCM skates so he put me in the U+'s which look like a bomb went off inside them after about 3 months. The X:60s had just came out at this point and I took CCMs U+ replacement pair and swapped them even-up for my X:60s. I am now on my second pair (in 2 years) and the red liner is separating from the black liner on the inside. I have had a few eyelets replaced. And I have never had lacebite until I had this skates and it has gotten pretty bad. I use the "bunga pads" to help, but would prefer to not skate with them. I have a farily narrow foot with a medium to high arch and wear a size 11.5 Nike shoe, 9.5 X:60 skate currently. Interestingly enough I barely, barely fail the pencil test in the X:60s but have extreme pain with the bunga pads. I feel the tounge and there are grooves where the laces fall in, and basically no material behind there. I switched from waxed to un-waxed laces years ago.

Went to LHS #1, got my foot measured, and he put me in Reebok's which felt ok, but I like the locked in feeling of the heel in the Bauers, so he put me in a D-AA which has some different ankle stuff. He told me He could tell my foot was too deep for bauers and the supreme and vapor were basically the same skate with different stiffness in the boots. That didnt sound right to me, and switching brands this late in the season could be an adjustment period especially going from Lightspeed TUUKs to E-Pros... He told me to try superfeet footbeds (that has a heel lift, so that would make my lacebite WAY worse...) to help with foot pain if I didnt want to switch brands.

So I went to LHS #2 and he used all sorts of tools to measure me, and he said well if the XXXs were your favorite skate, maybe you should stay in bauer. So he put me in a Supreme One100 9 and a C width. I came in at a B width measurement, but he said i should be safe with a C. He also fit me up for a pair of Graf Custom footbeds, which I did purchase and feel awesome (minus the lace bite) in my X:60s.

I am sorry for the new topic, but tried to search and didnt find a definitive answer. Are the Supremes a little deeper than the X:60s? Why would one guy put me in Reeboks (arent they for wide feet?) and another in C width Bauers (for narrower feet...)? How much would it be to go custom. He said I would need to spend an extra $100 just to get the C width, so if I wanted to go quarter sizes or something custom, he could get a bauer rep in for not much more money. Will the One100s not promptly fall apart like my other skates have?

Nobody around here has the Flexlites to try on, should I even consider them based on Info above?

The LHS#2 guy also said I could go graf for comfort, and their custom fit would be cheaper. But I have seen guys pour water out of their grafs and the end of a game and I already have sweaty feet and soaked socks, so I dont need to add to the problem.

Thanks for ANY help guys!

EDIT: "also of value might be that I havent laced the top eyelet in skates for years (except the S15s which I did)"

[mfd1068 0]

I would stick with LHS #2 from what you have said. He has given you options of a couple brands and has detailed the custom option from Bauer. I just purchased some x60's last week,getting back into hockey after 5 yrs due to a hip replacement. My foot size is similar to yours 11.0 - 11.5 but with a normal width D(in skates). I went to several LHS and the fitting experience was very different each time,so much so I was very confused about what size I was! I was looking at Bauer One 100"s and ccm U+cl's . The last store I was at, the fitter was very good and explained some things to me about proper fitting. The x60 was clearly the best fit and I have skated in them 3 times with no issues.

With the amount of time your on the ice I would wonder if any brand would hold up to that usage? Years ago I played and refereed using Graf's with no issues at all.In fact they were a super comfortable and performing skate at the time. If I did not have a bad experience with my last pair of Graf's ( fitting & Quality) I'd most likely still be using them. I would look into the custom option to see if the lace bite issue can be dealt with effectively. A question for you...did the graf custom footbeds improve your skating experience? I'm thinking of going that route(currently using Superfeet) but they are pricey. Thanks

[miss0033 0]

I would stick with LHS #2 from what you have said. He has given you options of a couple brands and has detailed the custom option from Bauer. I just purchased some x60's last week,getting back into hockey after 5 yrs due to a hip replacement. My foot size is similar to yours 11.0 - 11.5 but with a normal width D(in skates). I went to several LHS and the fitting experience was very different each time,so much so I was very confused about what size I was! I was looking at Bauer One 100"s and ccm U+cl's . The last store I was at, the fitter was very good and explained some things to me about proper fitting. The x60 was clearly the best fit and I have skated in them 3 times with no issues.

With the amount of time your on the ice I would wonder if any brand would hold up to that usage? Years ago I played and refereed using Graf's with no issues at all.In fact they were a super comfortable and performing skate at the time. If I did not have a bad experience with my last pair of Graf's ( fitting & Quality) I'd most likely still be using them. I would look into the custom option to see if the lace bite issue can be dealt with effectively. A question for you...did the graf custom footbeds improve your skating experience? I'm thinking of going that route(currently using Superfeet) but they are pricey. Thanks

The biggest problem with wear is I drive 4.5 to 5 to 8 hours to get to some of my games. The gear sits in my car. My skates and helmet (two most important pieces to me_ I take out of the bag, isoles out and soakers off, and try and let dry out in the back seat rather then sit in the bag wet. It still doesnt seem to help as the rivets rust, and inside liners take a ton of abuse.

As for the footbeds. I work with guys who have tried shock doctor, superfeet, graf slip-ins, etc. Most of them end up going back to stock. They are a "Custom" generic footbed,so unless you ahve that shape, it isnt going to do much for you. My arch never aligned with the superfeet arches. One guy told me his graf customs he felt made him not only more comfortable but quicker. I figured I would give it a shot. I am glad I did. Honestly I do feel quicker. The skate feels "glued" to the bottom of my foot. There really isnt any negative space between my foot and the skate now. It is comfortable (again minus the lacebite in my skates). They charged me $65, but he said he gave me a good discount because I told him I would be getting my next pair of skates from them regardless of what they were, and I ordered a new visor, whistles and a couple other minor things. After having them I easily wouldve paid $100. Plus they can go skate-to-skate. You arent stuck with them for one pair of skates.