Skates for a four year old

[sitzlejd 0]

My gf's 4 year old son wants to play hockey. He wears a size 11.5-12 shoe. I happened to be at PIAS and saw some CCM 152's for 15 bucks, size 10.5. I'm going to have him try them on, but I don't know how to tell if they really fit him properly or not. Any tips?

[raganblink 82]

Kids can be a pain to size because they don't give you any feedback. Unlace the skate up as much as possible, shove his toes to the edge of the toebox, and see how much space he has. Shouldn't be much, finger at the most.

[AIREAYE 248]

Should fit snug like a glove, no painful pinching. With heel all the way back in the cup area, toes should be brushing the toe cap or slightly further back and not pushing against it.

But let me tell you from personal experience that a 4 year old won't know anything and will only tell you if it hurts or not, just gotta go with that guideline.

PIAS should have a Brannock device you can appropriate or have an employee size him up in one. Don't just go by shoe size alone.

My link

[DarkStar50 680]

Chances are his shoe size is not his FOOT size. People buy shoes too big. If you cannot measure his foot on a Brannock device to get an accurate measurement, pull out the footbed of the 152s to at least see where his foot sits from heel to toe. In any event, $15 isn't a lot of money but you do want the first experience on ice to be a positive one. Make sure the skates fit or he will never want to skate again and you will be looking for a new GF.

[sitzlejd 0]

Haha, I hear ya Darkstar. I had him stand on the footbeds and they lined up pretty perfectly. Then he wore them about 10 mins and walked around a bit and said they didn't hurt. I guess we'll just let him get after it and change it up if he starts to complain about pain.

[Chadd 916]

PIAS should have a Brannock device you can appropriate or have an employee size him up in one. Don't just go by shoe size alone.

Brannocks are next to useless in most cases as well. The best way to see if they will fit is to put his foot in the boot.

[DarkStar50 680]

Brannocks are next to useless in most cases as well. The best way to see if they will fit is to put his foot in the boot.

??what do you use to measure feet??

[AIREAYE 248]

??what do you use to measure feet??

This. But I get where Chadd is coming from, we have 'reliable' and 'unreliable' brannocks, but even with the reliable ones there are days and feet where it's hit and miss.

They're not useless, they're...inconsistent. I've sized kids for a youth size 13 and they end up going a size or 2 up, same with a man who was sized up for a junior 4 but ended up in Senior 6.

[DarkStar50 680]

I guess it's just me but I have never had a problem using a Brannock device.

[JR Boucicaut 3810]

With small children, I prefer the Bauer stick over the Brannock. IT doesn't dial in small sizes well; even the new Bauer Brannock (the black one) doesn't list small sizes.