Advice needed - skate fit issue

[hockeyzebra 0]

First of all, hello everyone, new guy here!

This being my first post and all I thought I'd start a new topic and not hijack some old one.

I just recently got back into hockey. I don't have the time to play in a team anymore but thought that being a ref would be fun. So I got started on that. And it is fun! But that's not why I'm writing this message.

My problem is a pair of new skates I got.

They are Bauer Supreme One.9's (8,5D). And they are killing my feet.

I didn't know about this forum until yesterday, so I didn't know a thing about a pencil test for example. My skates are a couple of months old and I just thought that they're still braking in. But now I realise that probably isn't the case. They fit me pretty well for the most part. Heel lock is solid, my toes just graze the tip while I'm standing, don't touch it while in a skating position knees bent. But the tongue is pressing quite hard onto the top of my foot (hey sorry if I get some words mixed up, I live in Finland so my English is far from perfect). When I bought the skates I also put on waxed laces and the problem was way worse. (Because wax laces get tighter, right?) One time it got so bad that after some 20 minutes skating I couldn't feel my toes anymore. They went totally numb. I switched to regular cotton laces and it's not that bad anymore. But I do fail the pencil test. The tongue is clearly pressing against my foot and when I tighten the laces, the pressure gets so bad that it's definitely noticeable. I just don't get comfortable in the skates.

So yesterday I read a whole bunch of topics and messages here describing various problems related to skate fit issues and I'm now thinking that this problem isn't going away. Am I right? This isn't related to the skates braking in? I mean, if the skate is too shallow then it is too shallow, it's not getting any deeper. I'm not very happy with this situation because I love the skate otherwise. I'm just glad that the shop where I got the skates from promised to give me money from these skates if I take them back and get some new ones. So financially this is not a catastrophy.

But what do you think? Should I just stick it out and hope that the problem goes away? Or should I just go to the shop and get a new pair? I got the impression that Supremes are deeper than Vapors, so they are both out of the equation. That leaves the Nexus, CCM and Reebok. Any of those offer a deeper skate?

[AIREAYE 248]

Depth problems are very hard to fix. I've heard of people switching out to a softer/thinner tongue without a high density plastic insert, but that's definitely not a guaranteed fix at all. Before committing to a new skate, have you given lace bite pads a shot? Nexus and CCM are both deeper than Supreme, so I would give those a try for sure if it comes to it.

[raganblink 82]

you can also try reversing the way you put your laces in, that will help relieve some pressure.

The normal way to do laces is to put them under and then bring them around, do it the opposite way and bring the lace over the eyelit and under so as it is exiting it is on the tongue, as opposed to normally when the lace as it is entering is touching the tongue.

I have to do this on my right foot as it is slightly thicker then my left. It helps relieve a little bit of pressure. Other then that, The only things that would help would be a different tongue, something like the one95 tongue I think would help you quite a bit. It is substantially less thick as the one.9 tongue, it would help you.

[SirJW 207]

You could go back to the shop explain the problem and try on a few other types of skates to see if another model feels better. If you bought your first pair there they might offer an exchange as part of the deal.

[hockeyzebra 0]

You could go back to the shop explain the problem and try on a few other types of skates to see if another model feels better. If you bought your first pair there they might offer an exchange as part of the deal.

And that's exactly what I'm doing next Friday. (I have high hopes for the Nexus 1000/800 and also definitely going to try CCM CL's and Reebok 20k/18k's)

Thanks a lot for the excellent advice! I'll report back here this weekend and let you know how it went .

[hockeyzebra 0]

Update!

I went to the store today, returned the One.9's and tried a bunch of different skates.

Reebok 20k felt OK, nothing special. Failed the pencil test just barely. Heel was OK but after using the pump I felt some pressure on my ankle. Difficult to explain but it was on the outer edge of my right foot and the pump didn't put more pressure to lock heel down better but press against my ankle from where it felt wrong. So no Reeboks for me this time.

CCM U+ CLs felt OK too. Pencil test OK. E was too wide, D was a bit too narrow. But I guess that would've been remedied by baking. The salesperson said that it was cool to bake them and try them on even before committing to buying them. (Did I already mention that the store is totally awesome, THE best customer support I've gotten, ever.) I didn't go ahead with the bake though.

I also tried on some Grafs. Umm, if I remember correctly, G-75s, 706 Supras and F60 Ultras. I think you either love or hate Graf skates? They certainly weren't my cup of tea. 706s were extremely comfortable though!

But the ones that I went home with were the Nexus 1000s. I got them in size 8 D with yellow superfeet insoles. First I tried on 8.5 Ds. Felt pretty good but the heel wasn't completely locked. But with the yellow superfeets I was able to go down half a size and NOW I can say that these skates fit me perfectly. Do I even need to say that these passed the pencil test, too.

The only downside to this is that I have to wait until Tuesday before I get to go on the ice with these.

I'll update once again after a couple of skate sessions.

[icewalker_bg 126]

You are lucky, i have never heard of returning skates after 2 months, sound like a great shop that values its customers.

p.s., dont beat yourself on your english, it is quite good for someone that lives in Finland. I live in North America (Quebec) and most people here cant make an english sentence, let alone write it.

[hockeyzebra 0]

Okay!

First skate with the Nexus 1000s, check.

Absolutely love 'em, check!

After an hour of pretty hard skating I can pretty comfortably say that these skates are PERFECT for me.

First of all the skates feel super comfortable on my feet. No pressure on any part of the feet but still the heels lock down solidly.

And secondly, I feel that I simply skate better with these. I felt absolutely confident on every turn and crossover and I think my acceleration (first three four strides) was way better than before. And it felt like I had more mobility, could bend knees better with better balance.

Oh, and no pain whatsoever even though they're still braking in. (Baked them at the shop)

Couldn't be happier.

[donkers 31]

Yeah, I went from a EE in Supremes to a D in Nexus. I definitely feel like my acceleration is a lot quicker.

[hockeyzebra 0]

Okay, I've had the Nexus 1000s for a while now, wanted to give a small status update on how things are going.

I've done a few games (reffing) and skated a couple of times otherwise. The skates feel really good. No pain on my feet and no numb toes after skate sessions.

And the one thing that comes to mind that's different with these skates is the explosive acceleration. I mean the first three, four strides feel super fast. Or it might be that I'm just imagining things. Well, doesn't really matter, I love 'em anyway

So if you're having skate problems related to boot depth (like I did), I highly recommend the Nexus line.

(The 1000s come with LS Fusion steels. Are they better or worse than the LS 2.1 that came with the One.9s? Is the durability worse than in a "regular" steel?)

[hockeyguy1 1]

Okay, I've had the Nexus 1000s for a while now, wanted to give a small status update on how things are going.

I've done a few games (reffing) and skated a couple of times otherwise. The skates feel really good. No pain on my feet and no numb toes after skate sessions.

And the one thing that comes to mind that's different with these skates is the explosive acceleration. I mean the first three, four strides feel super fast. Or it might be that I'm just imagining things. Well, doesn't really matter, I love 'em anyway

So if you're having skate problems related to boot depth (like I did), I highly recommend the Nexus line.

(The 1000s come with LS Fusion steels. Are they better or worse than the LS 2.1 that came with the One.9s? Is the durability worse than in a "regular" steel?)

awesome! good that you found a pair that fit you right. and thanks for the advice, im going this weekend to try on the supremes and nexus. i hear the nexus are meant for wider feet, this true in your case? i have regular width feet so i wonder if those would naturally be too wide and the supremes might be a better fit overall for me.

[hockeyzebra 0]

awesome! good that you found a pair that fit you right. and thanks for the advice, im going this weekend to try on the supremes and nexus. i hear the nexus are meant for wider feet, this true in your case? i have regular width feet so i wonder if those would naturally be too wide and the supremes might be a better fit overall for me.

Oh for sure the Nexus D is wider than a Supreme D.

In my case the Supremes width was just right for me and the skates felt "like a sock". They would've been ideal if it weren't for the depth issue. The Nexus 8D skates fit length wise perfectly and the width is also good. I guess the skate is designed to "have a bit more room" and the Supreme is like "feels like sock"? Doesn't matter though, my heel is locked down good in the Nexus skates and they are super comfortable (out of the box, they break in virtually immediately).

If I had way more money than I do right now, I would go custom and get a pair like Valtteri Filppula's Bauer Supremes. (He's playing in Finland right now [Jokerit] and from various pics that I've seen it looks that they're Supremes with a thinner tongue and a different graphics package)

Hope you find skates that fit you perfectly!

[hockeyguy1 1]

Oh for sure the Nexus D is wider than a Supreme D.

In my case the Supremes width was just right for me and the skates felt "like a sock". They would've been ideal if it weren't for the depth issue. The Nexus 8D skates fit length wise perfectly and the width is also good. I guess the skate is designed to "have a bit more room" and the Supreme is like "feels like sock"? Doesn't matter though, my heel is locked down good in the Nexus skates and they are super comfortable (out of the box, they break in virtually immediately).

If I had way more money than I do right now, I would go custom and get a pair like Valtteri Filppula's Bauer Supremes. (He's playing in Finland right now [Jokerit] and from various pics that I've seen it looks that they're Supremes with a thinner tongue and a different graphics package)

Hope you find skates that fit you perfectly!

I went this past weekend and tried on the Bauer supreme one.7 and they felt great, also tried on the nexus and immediately could tell they were more wide and i didn't even need to lace them up. I ended up purchasing the supremes on ebay for a really good price and i'm expecting them in the mail at the end of this week so i cant wait to actually skate with them.

[hockeyzebra 0]

A new update, a new year, and new troubling thoughts about hockey skates...

I have no idea why this is happening but I've started to get blisters on my feet.

I'm wearing the same socks as before, the same laces (waxed), pretty much doing everything the same way as before but now, I'm getting really painful blisters.

(I've had the skates since October)

I have two places on both feet where I get them. On the inner side of the foot, first one is going towards the heel from the big toe, like more than an inch, where there you can feel a bone (the "widest" part there, the upper part of the metatarsal bone) and the second place is a little further towards the heel on the second "wide" part of the inner side of the foot (the navicular bone). So no blisters on heels, that's good at least.

So, I reckon the problem is that my feet are moving slightly inside the boot and rubbing against the sides. It's just so weird that it's happening NOW and not before.

What kind of fixes are there? Getting a new pair of skates is not an option right now.. maybe wear two pairs of thin socks? Some kind of tape to the trouble spots? What do you think?

[AIREAYE 248]

Try your best to let it heal, then go for a rebake while paying particular attention to manually squeeze in that area of the boot with your hands while the boot is still hot. I had a similar problem suddenly spring up a year after purchase and initial bake with what I believe to be the tendon running vertically underneath the outside ankle bone (peroneus longus). A rebake with attention to the area solved my issue.

[beedee 227]

Are there any links to the "pencil test"? I hadn't heard of it until I started lurking on this forum this past year. Im in a pair of Graf Ultra G5's, but after nearly a year of use, I'm still not thrilled with them and have been eyeing the Nexus 600's.

[wrangler 157]

A search for thread titles including "pencil test" shows:

http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php?/topic/35455-the-pencil-test/

[hockeyzebra 0]

Had a game today and I was trying out a possible fix for the blister problem -> wearing two pairs of socks. (Didn't bake the skates)

I had a pair of really thin technical socks under a pair of regular Easton skate socks. Worked like a charm, had no blisters and I was really comfortable on my skates. Well that was mainly because I didn't had to crank down on the laces so hard (I previously did that because I was afraid that leaving them looser would make my foot move inside the boot more. Which actually probably happened, but the socks just rubbed against each other and no blisters).