G-Form Lace Bite Pads

[innotastic 12]

feels like a silly question, but that $10 is for... one or two lace bite pads? ie does the $10 cover both skates?

[JR Boucicaut 3760]

Yes, a pair.

[pizzakid13 5]

should have mine today and skate tomorrow. here's hoping.

[pizzakid13 5]

i fooled around with the pads last night and i needed both stacked up together to feel any relief. so i did not try them today. i used the memory foam instead and that worked pretty good. by the end of the session, i could feel it a little more. afterwards, i examined my skates and from what i can tell, the reason my tongues are cutting into my shin causing the lacebite is because of the tongue insert on the bauers. i looked at the total ones and that insert is replaceable. so i took it out and felt the remaining material to see what was underneath and it was just the same felt/foam as the rest of the tongue.

now, on the one80s, that insert is sewn into the mesh. i think that mesh can be snipped open and the insert removed. i might try that. if it is worse, then i'll just put it back in.

as a side note, can these pads be stuck to each other?

[ktang 34]

i fooled around with the pads last night and i needed both stacked up together to feel any relief. so i did not try them today. i used the memory foam instead and that worked pretty good. by the end of the session, i could feel it a little more. afterwards, i examined my skates and from what i can tell, the reason my tongues are cutting into my shin causing the lacebite is because of the tongue insert on the bauers. i looked at the total ones and that insert is replaceable. so i took it out and felt the remaining material to see what was underneath and it was just the same felt/foam as the rest of the tongue.

now, on the one80s, that insert is sewn into the mesh. i think that mesh can be snipped open and the insert removed. i might try that. if it is worse, then i'll just put it back in.

as a side note, can these pads be stuck to each other?

You could remove the stitching, instead of cutting the mesh. Then you can remove the insert (mine was glued on the bottom side to the tongue), and replace it with a thick piece of felt (my felt is 1/4" thick) and then sew the mesh back on. When I did this I only had to remove the stitching on the top third; that gave me enough access to separate the inserts from the rest of the tongues and then remove them.

I'm thinking that if you do the tongue insert replacement, you will only need one lace bite pad per skate, or maybe none at all.

[IPv6Freely 2087]

I can't get them to stick very well. I put them on the tongues last night and this morning both pads were detached, sitting in the boot. Ah well.

[pizzakid13 5]

You could remove the stitching, instead of cutting the mesh. Then you can remove the insert (mine was glued on the bottom side to the tongue), and replace it with a thick piece of felt (my felt is 1/4" thick) and then sew the mesh back on. When I did this I only had to remove the stitching on the top third; that gave me enough access to separate the inserts from the rest of the tongues and then remove them.

I'm thinking that if you do the tongue insert replacement, you will only need one lace bite pad per skate, or maybe none at all.

i designed my own pad out of a pool noodle. i carved out under the 1/2 moon shape of the noodle and it contours perfectly to the bottom of my shin. firm enough to withstand the pressure and soft enough on the tendon. i hope to try it out tonight. if it works, i'll take a pic.

[ktang 34]

i designed my own pad out of a pool noodle. i carved out under the 1/2 moon shape of the noodle and it contours perfectly to the bottom of my shin. firm enough to withstand the pressure and soft enough on the tendon. i hope to try it out tonight. if it works, i'll take a pic.

That's ingenious. But, be careful of the pool noodle's material breaking down over time, too. When it happens, though, you'll be an expert in this repair.

I can't get them to stick very well. I put them on the tongues last night and this morning both pads were detached, sitting in the boot. Ah well.

I've been having the same problem with Bauer 8090 tongues (felt inside). What kind of skates / tongues are you using?

[IPv6Freely 2087]

I've been having the same problem with Bauer 8090 tongues (felt inside). What kind of skates / tongues are you using?

RBK 8K, stock tongues. I managed to get them to stay long enough to get my feet into them last night, but I didn't find they did anything for me. It was actually my first time using waxed laces too, so I was able to get my skates nice and tight - and I'm starting to think it's not actually lace bite thats getting me, but just my skates aren't wide/deep enough. It feels more like my foot is being squished from the sides, and its the outer side of my foot that actually hurts the most. I've been thinking of replacing my SIDAS insoles with the original RBK insoles, hoping to reduce the volume a bit.

I don't plan to continue using these.

[pizzakid13 5]

you can tell if its lace bite if you sit barefoot and gently rub your tendon and it is sore. it hurts because it is bruised.

could not try out the noodle last night. have to wait til next week.

[IPv6Freely 2087]

you can tell if its lace bite if you sit barefoot and gently rub your tendon and it is sore. it hurts because it is bruised.

Yeah, that's definitely not me. I just get relief when I unlace my skates because it's like my foot is being compressed, as I said. Perhaps I need to look at EE skates instead of E.

[pizzakid13 5]

probably a depth/width issue. i thought RBKs were good for that?

[IPv6Freely 2087]

probably a depth/width issue. i thought RBKs were good for that?

Great toebox width (an issue with my old skates), but I definitely fail the pencil test, and obviously this issue with my laces compressing my foot. Width could be solved with EE skates, but I'm not sure that would help the depth issue. I think next year I may look at some Grafs.

Actually, I wonder if these could be widened by a good LHS pro shop? They can usually lengthen, but I'm not sure about widening. That might help a bit if it's possible.

[sharks25 9]

I think that the main factor is the depth. The width would cause your arch and bottom sides of your feet. Do your feet ever fall asleep or go numb?

[pizzakid13 5]

graf 709 are deep and wide.

[IPv6Freely 2087]

I think that the main factor is the depth. The width would cause your arch and bottom sides of your feet. Do your feet ever fall asleep or go numb?

Eventually they stop hurting.. probably just went numb. Heh. I put my shins on over my skate tongues so I can't even realistically re-tie my skates once I'm all geared up. It's the bottom outside of my foot. On this diagram, where it says "outer arch" is where it hurts.

graf 709 are deep and wide.

I tried on some Graf 709s. All they had was 9.5R so they were a bit big, but I got a feel for the depth. Much better than my RBKs. If I went Graf I'd probably go for a 9W (but would obviously have to try them out first). I cant afford new skates for a while, but it's never a bad time to start doing research.

I was thinking of replacing my Graf insoles with the stock RBK ones, to increase some depth. It won't change too much, but I think having just slightly deeper boots will do more good for me than shaped inserts at this point. I just need to try to find them (hopefully I didn't throw them away...)

BTW - Anyone else out there looking to try to combat lace bite? I'd be happy to give away these pads to somebody who will make good use of them. They aren't going to help me, anyway.

[pizzakid13 5]

finally tried out the noodle pad today. it works great when it stays in place. it did slide out of position even if i put it in my sock.

the contoured shape is exactly what you need to keep the pressure off. next thing i need to do is find a way to trim the thickness while keeping the protection. a hard plastic top would be just right.

the tongue insert should be shaped this way so it doesn't dig into the shin.

[innotastic 12]

tried out the g-form pads last night for a short skate. i used to use pipe insulation cut up into a funny little horseshoe to take pressure off my left foot tendon. this worked great except it took up a lot of volume in my skate and having to pro-wrap and tape it to my leg was tedious every game. also having to make a new horeshoe every 8 or 10 skates was also a hassle.

the lace pads worked well, it was comfy, relieved pressure, just as advertised. it definitely helped that it was much lower profile than the pipe insulation i was using before. for comfort sake i think i'll use one in both skates rather than just left my foot.

for some background, i have double felt tongues, with the plastic lace bite bar removed.

[IPv6Freely 2087]

I just want to clarify that I don't think the pads are a bad product (as much as I couldn't get them to stick... ), but more that I don't think they're going to help me with my width and depth issues. I need something deeper than a RBK 8k, and my next pair will likely be EE instead of just E.

[pizzakid13 5]

tried out the g-form pads last night for a short skate. i used to use pipe insulation cut up into a funny little horseshoe to take pressure off my left foot tendon. this worked great except it took up a lot of volume in my skate and having to pro-wrap and tape it to my leg was tedious every game. also having to make a new horeshoe every 8 or 10 skates was also a hassle.

the lace pads worked well, it was comfy, relieved pressure, just as advertised. it definitely helped that it was much lower profile than the pipe insulation i was using before. for comfort sake i think i'll use one in both skates rather than just left my foot.

for some background, i have double felt tongues, with the plastic lace bite bar removed.

double felt? any pics?

[innotastic 12]

double felt? any pics?

no pics, its just a one80 tongue that has a second layer of white felt sewn to it.

so i've skated with the lace bite pads for over a month now, 2-3 times a week. i can safely say my lacebite is completely gone, except for when the placement of the lace bite pads are abit off. they don't stay on very well, but i'll take that. the pads are very comfy and i can put full pressure on my skates now as long as they aren't unreasonably tight.

[smitty 0]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let everyone know that our Canadian website is now up and running, and our stuff should be in a lot of stores throughout the country soon! gformcanada.com

We will also have some new products geared more towards hockey coming in the near future. I'll keep everyone updated!

[Tailboard Jockey 25]

I just got my G-Form lacebite pads in the mail today. I couldn't get them to stick to the felt on my 8090's, even after shaving it smooth with a razor. I decided to cut out some velcro tape and stick it just on the wings of each pad. The center channel is now a little deeper than normal. I'll be using them tomorrow for coaching, so I'll post an update next week.

[bigsnake76 2]

I just got my G-Form lacebite pads in the mail today. I couldn't get them to stick to the felt on my 8090's, even after shaving it smooth with a razor. I decided to cut out some velcro tape and stick it just on the wings of each pad. The center channel is now a little deeper than normal. I'll be using them tomorrow for coaching, so I'll post an update next week.

I ended up getting some loc-tite brand glue [vinyl, plastic, rubber] flexible adhesive and gluing velcro to the gform pads. Let dry for 24 hrs and you have yourself a lace bite pad that will stick to a tongue no problem. The pads stay in place and will not fall off nor will the velcro come off. The glue is 3 bucks at lowes or home depot. I put a large strip of velcro on every thing but the wings. Let me know if you need a pic and I'll post one.