Help with skate sizing issues

[Sharks #5 0]

I am currently overdue a new pair of skates but I am in a predicament as I live in the UK and am having trouble getting the skates I want from any hockey shops over here so cannot try any on for size. I am currently in Reebok 7k's 2-3 years old and have come to realise that they are too big for me in the length. I have measured my feet and the larger of the 2 comes up as 265mm which is a UK 7.5 or US 8.5 but I am now unsure about the width. My current skates are a D width but I carried out a calculation dividing the length by width and got approximately 2.5 which apparently makes me an E width but I know these calculations can be proven wrong.

Anyway, I will get to the point... Is there a way using my current skates to figure out if they are wide enough for me and possibly also work out how much I can lose from the length? I think that I may be able to go wider on the forefoot but my heel is quite narrow so obviously don't want to have any problems there.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Sharks #5 0]

I am currently overdue a new pair of skates but I am in a predicament as I live in the UK and am having trouble getting the skates I want from any hockey shops over here so cannot try any on for size. I am currently in Reebok 7k's 2-3 years old and have come to realise that they are too big for me in the length. I have measured my feet and the larger of the 2 comes up as 265mm which is a UK 7.5 or US 8.5 but I am now unsure about the width. My current skates are a D width but I carried out a calculation dividing the length by width and got approximately 2.5 which apparently makes me an E width but I know these calculations can be proven wrong.

Anyway, I will get to the point... Is there a way using my current skates to figure out if they are wide enough for me and possibly also work out how much I can lose from the length? I think that I may be able to go wider on the forefoot but my heel is quite narrow so obviously don't want to have any problems there.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[KC8NIY 0]

It's obviously going to be very hard to find a good fit without actually trying on new skates, but you'll need to start with some additional information. What length are your 7k's, and how is the fit other than being too long? Do they rub the sides of your feet, or are they loose? You also mentioned getting the skates you want... what model is that and why?

[jbss71 1]

What size are the 7ks?

[Vet88 674]

If you search the forum you will find some threads that have a lot of discussions on different skate lengths. However I'll cover the basics here:

Your current skates are a good enough guide. Take the laces out, wear thin socks, put your foot into the boot and let your toes feather the toe cap. Bend forward at the ankle then measure how much gap there is between the back of the heel and the boot. Ideally you want around 1mm - 2mm gap for a perfect fit, anymore and the skates are too big for you (assuming you aren't growing anymore). For each cm gap that's one size you can go down.

Top of the line boots can be stretched length and width by up to 1 size, this allows for those of us that fall into the 1/4 gap size to get a perfect fit by getting a smaller size then stretching it out.

As to width, if you are currently in a D and comfortable then stay there. Why would you want to go wider and have your foot flop around in your skate? You can always widen a good boot but you can't shrink it.

Based on your foot measurement I would say you are a:

US7.5 in Rbk, CCM, Easton, Alkali, Bauer (see exception below) and Mission post 2009 (Boss SE line and Axiom lines)

US9 Mission pre 2009 (Mission Black, Boss etc lines)

US8 in Bauer RX line (eg RX60)

Bauer APXR line (sadly they are way to expensive for my tastes and we can't find anyone to sponsor our team into these...... I don't know if these follow the RX or Vapour line for sizing, someone else may like to make a comment on this)

Revision - anyone want to comment on their sizings?

Hope this helps.

[Sharks #5 0]

The 7k's are a size 8D and I would say that they are about 10mm too long. As for the fit, I seem to have pain in the arch of my foot and on the top of my foot in the lower laced section. I am thinking about going for the 11k's as I do believe reebok to be a good fit for me but have also been looking at the APX as I would now like a more responsive boot.but am struggling to get them in an EE width over here

[Sharks #5 0]

Thanks. I'm concerned that if I lose a size in the length that this will affect the width and I know they are tight around the end of my feet. Thanks for the size guide, but what I have read says that I am a 7 in bauer and reebok as you have to lose half a size from your US shoe size?

[romdj 26]

I wouldn't worry about the width,except if you feel that your rbk toe cap is really too narrow..because assuming you're going to purchase higher end skates,the heat moldability will really help...but before going any further,it is important that you specify which skates you're thinking on purchasing as each skate line has different fit and size associated. I also suggest you take your usual eu size and compare on iw sizing charts....works for me.can't say it'll work with everyone though...

[Vet88 674]

romdj is right about width but If I were you I'd ignore what the guides say and rely on what you have (your Rbk 7ks) and what others can tell you (lots of other threads here eg read the review of the X60's by Henry). For example I used the online charts to buy RX60's and found they were half a size smaller than what the charts say (and others have found this problem too).

If you are looking at a particular skate then ask here and see if anyone can compare the size to Rbk's. If you are after Rbks then the choice is simple, you need US7.5.

Edit - Oops, missed your post where you say the skates are about 10mm to long. If this is the case you need to be looking at a size 7 (based on your foot being in a size 8 boot) but I find that odd. My son has tried on 9ks and 10ks, a US6D fits him perfectly and his feet are 25cm long. I have a team mate in CCM V10's 7D and his foot is 26cm long. If your foot is 26.5cm long then a size 7 would be too small for you unless you get it stretched around 1/2 a size (which does lead to a perfect fit). Its hard to see down the back of the heel and work out the measurement, try using different round objects like a pencil, pen, marker etc to find one that just fits down into the gap then measure this. I suspect your guess of the gap is a little over estimated.

[romdj 26]

+1 for vet all the way

[Jordan 13]

Try on every different type of skate that you can that your friends have...it isn't perfect, but it should get you in the ball park as to what brands/models fit your feet the best.

[JR Boucicaut 3801]

Did you seriously have to create TWO EXACT threads?

[althoma1 574]

romdj is right about width but If I were you I'd ignore what the guides say and rely on what you have (your Rbk 7ks) and what others can tell you (lots of other threads here eg read the review of the X60's by Henry). For example I used the online charts to buy RX60's and found they were half a size smaller than what the charts say (and others have found this problem too).

If you are looking at a particular skate then ask here and see if anyone can compare the size to Rbk's. If you are after Rbks then the choice is simple, you need US7.5.

I agree with most of this, but disagree on the size he'd need in Reeboks. If he currently has 8's and they're 10mm/1cm too long then it sounds like he'd need to go down a full size to a 7.

Trying on friends skates like Jordan suggested is a good idea.

[Sharks #5 0]

I wouldn't worry about the width,except if you feel that your rbk toe cap is really too narrow..because assuming you're going to purchase higher end skates,the heat moldability will really help...but before going any further,it is important that you specify which skates you're thinking on purchasing as each skate line has different fit and size associated. I also suggest you take your usual eu size and compare on iw sizing charts....works for me.can't say it'll work with everyone though...

I'm either looking at the reebok 11k's or the Bauer APXR's but I can only get the bauers in a D width. I am going to try on my team mates xr5's which are an 8D but I figure this will help me on the width front. The sizing charts I have found state that I should be a 7 in both the bauer and the reebok.

romdj is right about width but If I were you I'd ignore what the guides say and rely on what you have (your Rbk 7ks) and what others can tell you (lots of other threads here eg read the review of the X60's by Henry). For example I used the online charts to buy RX60's and found they were half a size smaller than what the charts say (and others have found this problem too).

If you are looking at a particular skate then ask here and see if anyone can compare the size to Rbk's. If you are after Rbks then the choice is simple, you need US7.5.

Edit - Oops, missed your post where you say the skates are about 10mm to long. If this is the case you need to be looking at a size 7 (based on your foot being in a size 8 boot) but I find that odd. My son has tried on 9ks and 10ks, a US6D fits him perfectly and his feet are 25cm long. I have a team mate in CCM V10's 7D and his foot is 26cm long. If your foot is 26.5cm long then a size 7 would be too small for you unless you get it stretched around 1/2 a size (which does lead to a perfect fit). Its hard to see down the back of the heel and work out the measurement, try using different round objects like a pencil, pen, marker etc to find one that just fits down into the gap then measure this. I suspect your guess of the gap is a little over estimated.

Thanks. I am leading towards the APXR's as I can easily return them by post over here however I can only get them in full sizes and the 8 was huge on me. I will however try my reebok on again and try and get a more accurate measurement from my heel to the back of the boot. I forgot to mention that I have pretty bad bauer bumps which could slightly affect the measurement I took in relation to the size that I need.

When measuring down the back of the heel, I take it I need to measure the bottom of my heel? Sorry if this is a stupid question. Thanks for your help!

[Vet88 674]

I normally use the middle of the heel as this is the rearmost point of the foot.

APXR's are a nice choice, I'm jealous..... I don't have any info on the sizing relative to Rbks but if you were able to try one on then use the measure to the back of the heel as your guide and remember that for every spare cm you go down a size.

[romdj 26]

Seems to me that we're narrowing down either to a 7d or 7.5 it all makes sense to me that you choose a 7d after heatmolding it and all...they should fit like a glove... i'm jealous too about the apxr they look just sublime.... but yes,if you know people that wear 7 sized skates could be good for you to try...you might want to watch out for the cap as the 11k's is wider...anyways..good luck!

[Sharks #5 0]

I tried on an xr5 in an 8.5d and the bauer rx25 in a 7.5d. I would say I had a 10mm gap with the xr5 and around 3-4mm with the rx25 but in both I found the toe cap quite narrow. It didn't crush my feet at all but I couldn't fan my toes out at all. However I had good heel lock in both.