Wide toe and forefoot but narrow heel

[akravetz 29]

I have been having the damnest time trying to get fitted for skates. I am on my third pair and so far, nothing seems to fit well. I don't get, and I know you are tired of hearing about this, how a new skate is supposed to feel? I have heard uncomfortable until broken in, I have heard a bit of pain until broken in and I have heard, tight but fits great.

I was measured at a size 8 and was looking at some Vapors. I tried on a pair of X3.0 but wanted the 4.0s. Orderd those and while the toe is fine, and the heel is fine, the mid-foot (on the outside) leaves a bit of an indentation in my foot after I wear them around the house for a few minutes. I plan on baking them at some point but I don't know if that is how a skate should fit pre-bake or not.

Someone told me to look at Supremes but I tried on a One60 and the ankle wasn't comfy. Coudn't get past that. Easton EQ30s seem okay but I read here about the problems with the EQ line and how there was quality control issues. I plan on having these skates for a while so is that a big deal? thoughts from the peanut gallery.

We don't have a skate shop here in town with a lot of options. When I go to either ST. Louis or Chicago, I can check out a store there but where I live, there isn't much so we are stuck doing mail order for the most part. The local shop is big into CCM but I was told those run narrow. Help from an experienced person.

My brief skating bio. On the ice four times or so a week. One for a public skate with my kids, one with my beer league team and twice as coach of my son's mini-mite team (he's six). There, I am not a stud player but a hack who is trying to learn the game later in life. Thoughts.

Andy

[Jordan 13]

If your foot is actually wide at the front and narrow at the heel...after all, it is a matter of degree.

No vapors for you.

Look at, Bauer Supremes, CCM Crazy Lights, Flexlites, Graf 735/G35...possibly a few others.

[akravetz 29]

First off, thanks for the answer. I have a question again. When I try on my new Vapors which are not baked. They are okay in the toe, the heel but show a bit of compression in the mid-foot on the outside of the foot. Is that acceptable. I confess, after games, I don't look at my feet in the skates I own now (which are One20s. I am a newbie and wanted to get a pair that had more support without spending a fortune, hence the 4.0s)

It's really hard, I think, for a relateive newbie to get a skate fit right as it's all on how it feels and new skates are not supposed to feel great from what I can tell by reading this forum, other forums and talkign to fellow players and people in stores. I might be overanalyzning this but well, I want to get it right, whatever that means.

Andy

[AIREAYE 248]

Flexlite or Stealth; look at the S7s or S12s as they should be on clearance. Maybe even S11s if you can find them.

[IPv6Freely 2096]

Sounds like you have a similar fit profile to me. I need deep and wide, but a narrow heel.

I went from some Easton SE2 skates that were WAY too big (wore them for about a month at the start of my hockey "career") to some RBK 8Ks that aren't deep enough (though, oddly enough, ever since I put Superfeet in them, they've been quite comfortable), to some Graf G70s.

The Grafs are deep and wide as needed, but I get a wee bit of heel movement. Not a ton, but more than I'd like. Graf doesn't seem to make a skate that has a narrow heel and deep instep.

You should probably give up on anything Bauer. Stick to CCM or RBK if you need width, or Graf if you want a little more "custom" (since they have so many fit profiles).

[natbat 0]

First off, thanks for the answer. I have a question again. When I try on my new Vapors which are not baked. They are okay in the toe, the heel but show a bit of compression in the mid-foot on the outside of the foot. Is that acceptable. I confess, after games, I don't look at my feet in the skates I own now (which are One20s. I am a newbie and wanted to get a pair that had more support without spending a fortune, hence the 4.0s)

It's really hard, I think, for a relateive newbie to get a skate fit right as it's all on how it feels and new skates are not supposed to feel great from what I can tell by reading this forum, other forums and talkign to fellow players and people in stores. I might be overanalyzning this but well, I want to get it right, whatever that means.

Andy

You can't fully judge a pair of skates before baking......That was my current situation with my Bauer one80's.

[mhkehoe 1]

Definitely try the Bauer Flexlite. Narrow in the heel, but a lot more forgiving in the midfoot and toe than Vapor.

[akravetz 29]

Thanks for the advice. I was leery about Eastons as I have read here about the quality issues. The wife said I could get a decent pair of skates but nothing hugely expensive hence the Vapor 4.0s which are about 200. nothing huge but better than the ones I had for about 18 months which are starting to fall apart. Grafs i have heard are great but more expensive than I wanna spend right now. Are Eastons okay? Sure, I am not a NHL guy but I do want some skates that are going to last. Whatever I get, I don't have the option of going back and getting a second pair.

[Chadd 916]

It seems like pretty much every brand has been suggested here, proof that you need to actually try on the skates. One of my best friends has a similar sounding foot and ended up in RBKs after trying on just about every boot on the market.

[akravetz 29]

I appreciate all the help. I am headed to another town looking for a skate shop. Hopefully, they will help me out. I'll update this thread to let people know what happens, not that they care but someone might glean some information from it.

[akravetz 29]

Well, the skate guy measured me (same as the other store but this time, checked the width and instep) and found that I was a size 7 or 7.5 rather than an 8, which I was told I was at the other store. So I am completely confused but this guy, who is an retired shoe guy, seemed to know his stuff. He's steering me towards either the Baur One60s or the Flexlite both in the Wide version. He has a pair of Graf 570s which he says are good but they are too much. So that's that. We'll return the Vapors and move on. Thanks to all for your help. honestly, while it seems like nothing, it means a lot to a relative newbie who is trying to learn.

Andy

[strosedefence34 175]

Bumping an old thread for a friend.

His current skates are Supreme One.5's. He thought he needed vapors so he found a deal on some APXs in EE on ebay bought them and tried them on and said they where too narrow in the forefoot too wide in the heel. He then found a deal on some One.8's in a D and he said the heel was good, but they weren't wide enough in the forefoot. I asked him if he tried on nexus skates he said yes the heel was fine, but the forefoot was too wide. So it sounds like he is in-between an E and EE. I asked if he baked the One.8s and he said he did. I suggested re-baking with some padding in the forefoot to stretch the skates out a little he didn't seem to open to that. Does anyone have any other options as far as different skates to try on for a normal heel, but slightly wider forefoot? Based on his feed back about the nexus skates and vapor skates it seems like a EE in supreme is out. Sounds like he has an A sized heel with a E.5 width if that makes sense.

[althoma1 575]

I find the Easton Makos to be snug in the heel and mid-foot, but open up at the forefoot and especially the toe box (the toe box is also more ergonomic than my KOR skates). The Makos in D may feel too tight for him before baking, but they're highly responsive to heat and should be able to expand enough for a moderately wide foot.

Personally, a Supreme D is far too narrow for my paddle of a foot and even EE is quite snug in the forefoot (but I get some heel lift with a Supreme EE). The model of Nexus skates I tried on was wide enough in the forefoot, but felt a little too wide in the heel and midfoot. I have a narrowish heel, average mid-foot and extremely wide forefoot and ended up with EE Makos. It sounds like your friends forefoot isn't as wide as mine so he may be OK with D Makos.

Before I picked up the Mako skates I was skating in KOR Shift 2 skates (only come in one width - D) and they were narrow enough in the heel, but a bit wide in the mid-foot and I had some pinching around the baby toe where the toe cap meets the boot (this pinching is what prompted me to pick up the Makos even though the KORs were still in great shape). The Shift 1's had a tighter mid-foot and I preferred those to the Shift 2's for my foot, but I like the Makos even more because they open up more at the toe.

[Davetronz 109]

There isn't a ton of skates on the market that address a player with a really narrow heel, wide forefoot and a high instep with depth volume. After years of trial and error I find myself in VH Footwear. The only other skate that comes close to working is the Mako line, or a custom Graf with a Bauer holder and steel. If someone made a retail deep skate in C/AA with an E-EE toe cap, life would be great. Haha

[orelayer 4]

I have the same foot type and have had as many problems with ill fitting skates. What I did was find a skate that fit great in the heel. (Graf 935) The forefoot was very uncomfortable. I kept punching those painful spots out till I got the perfect fit. That is what worked for me.

[Ps12 11]

My heel is narrow compared to the width of my forefoot. Eq50s fit great for my heel but i had to constantly punch out the forefoot. Developed a mulders click because of the tightness.

I wear a size 7 sneaker 4E. I really should get a 6E because even with 4E i am pushing out the sides of the forefoot

Currently i wear VH and my feet are much happier. When people see my skates they cant believe theyre so wide.

If youre feet are wider than average custom may the best way to go.

[Asian Tomatoe 30]

The graf, 8035/9035s might work. I have a wide forefoot and narrow-ish heels with a thick mid foot and outside of the Easton s12/s17 or u+cl/ u+12, the 8035/9035 was the only current retail skate that fit me well . I basically hand a foot shape that needs the depth of a nexus but the shape of a supreme/Easton stealth series.

If the depth is good in the one. 8, I would really try to convince your friend to at least rebake or get it punched.

[AronB 4]

I have a similar foot to the OP...wide forefoot, mid to narrow heel. I had a tough time finding goalie skates..ended up in Graf 9035's after trying EE Reebok 11K's and EE Bauer One100's. Just decided to play out again and in getting fitted for skates the other day was that guy with 6 skate boxes around him. Nexus were god in the forefoot but too wide in the heel, Supreme's were out all together in EE. Found the Tacks toe box wider than anything Bauer offered, then tried on the Reebok Ribcor. That skate fit like a glove unbaked.