Skate fitting help

[scott8659 1]

I am looking for a new pair of skates for a very hard to fit foot. I have a small to flat arch but a very high instep and thick forefoot. My LHS does not have any wide skates in stock so I have been ordering different pairs online to try on. Problem is I don't know what can be fixed with baking or punching out and what cannot. My LHS is not helpful here either and I have been told by several employees that they don't even punch out skates. Here are the ones I have tried on so far.

CCM U+ 08 size 6w. These had the best volume but it seemed like my heel was lifting a little. They also put a lot of pressure on the outside front half of each foot and this is an area that I'm not sure would be addressed with punching it out.

RBK 6k size 6. Not as deep as the CCM and had the same pressure on the outside portion of my foot along with a hot spot under each ankle.

RBK 7k size 6w. This one was strange. I expected it to fit with my 6k experience but my heel didn't seem locked (similar to the CCM) and my right foot ached after a few minutes. It almost seemed as if they were too wide and I could rotate my foot slightly. My right foot supinates and it seemed like I could twist it slightly and the pressure was gone.

Graf Ultra G70 size 6.5w. This one felt the best but I didn't get a great heel lock. It also wasn't deep enough in the forefoot (same with RBK's). My foot is high right behind the ball area and it was definitely sticking up in that area on the Graf.

I also took out the footbed and lined it up with my foot. In all cases I have about 3/4 of an inch between the end of my toe and the end of the footbed. Does this indicate the skates are too long? How much space should I have between the end of my toe and the end of the footbed? Also, the Graf footbed seemed to be the only one wide enough that it covered the entire bottom of my foot.

Is there any hope or am I looking at Custom skates? One person at the LHS mentioned the new Bauer Nexus skates but I have doubts they will be deep enough.

[lassek20 1]

since you were close to a good fit with the grafs i would recommend using the foot dimension skate selector the have on thier website. that is if you havnt already. good luck

[stick9 905]

Sounds like in addition your foot specs you also have a narrow heel.

I have heel lock issues with CCM and Reeboks too. You might want to try an Easton. It's simulir fit wise to the CCM/Reebok with a narrower heel (worked for me). Although, the arch in the Easton is not as flat, so that may be an issue for you.

[Biscuit+Sauce=Cele 0]

The Nexus will be a "bigger" fitting skate all around. It is built off of the traditional designs of the 8090 (correct me if I am wrong). The only problem I see is, if you do have a narrow heel as mentioned above by stick9, the Nexus wouldn't be for you. Graf is probably the only brand to go with if you haven't found a skate yet with other brands. Easton might work for you in a EE but not too sure as I haven't used them at all. I would look at the Graf G35's or the Supra 735's. They will have a narrow heel but shold still have a good overall volume for your foot. If all else fails, you could either go with customs from Graf or CCM/Reebok. It's usually around $100 up charge, but it would be totally worth it.

[scott8659 1]

I don't believe my heal is narrow. Using the pictures on the older Graf fitting form I have a wide heel. I am currently skating in Easton Stealth 12's but they don't have enough depth/volume. I can't tie them tight enough to get a good heel lock or my foot cramps bad.

To help me decide if the length is an issue how much room should I have in the back of the skate if I slide my foot all the way forward? With my current Eastons and the others I have tried I can easily slide my finger between my heel and the back of the skate.

[Biscuit+Sauce=Cele 0]

It really all depends on how you like your skates to fit. I personally have almost no room in my skates when I slide my toes to the front of the cap. I do this, so when I tie my skates and then are locked back my toes feather the caps. I personally like a really small skate - size 10.5 shoe/ 7.5 skate. There is no set amount of space IMO as it's all per pref. If you have a wider heel and a high instep (depth/volume) these are the skates I would recommend ---Graf G75's, Graf G7/Supra 709, CCM Crazy Lights. These are some of the wider skates that I know of and have a good amount of depth. Now without actually seeing your foot (pics are really hard to go off of) this is what I would say.

[ahbroody 1]

Maybe Graf 709. I have similar foot. The issue with 709 is the heel is supposed to be wide and the 70 series has a medium heel I thought. So that may make the boot fit really sloppy if you were not getting heel lock in the 70 series.. Not sure about G7 as I thought you had to be a really strong skater to use them as the ankles are so loose?

I do not recommend the 735 or G35s. They are a lower volume 70 series. Cant see how that would work. I have a pair of G35 in wide while workable they are not ideal. I get a decent amount of discomfort using them from the lack of depth. The instep depth is medium. A while back I tried on a 709 & was suprised at how nice they felt.I really want to buy a pair but I need to find a used pair.

[stick9 905]

I'm skating in the S12 as well, which has a pretty narrow heel. It's the only skate I've been able to get a rock solid heel lock in. Anyhoo, you shouldn't need to crank down on your laces to get you foot to seat properly in the boot.

You might be oversizing your skates, which is causing you crank the hell out them to secure your foot. You should be able to feather the end of the skate with your big toe. I wear a size 9 street shoe and skate in anything from a 6.5 to a 7.5 depending on the brand.

As for proper depth, have you tried the pencil test? Do a search here for a complete run down on it. It's an easy and quick way to see if the boot is deep enough for you.

[Vet88 674]

For length, take the laces out, wear the socks you use to play in, foot in boot and push it forward until your toes feather the toe cap. Bend your knees slightly forward and get someone to look down the back of your heel. For a perfect fit you should have between 1mm - 2mm of space between the back of your heel and the boot. If you can slide a pencil or pen or finger down the back of your heel the skates are too big for you.