graf g7s for a beginner

[kauchy 0]

would a fairly new skater struggle to skate in these?

what sort of problems could they encounter & could they overcome those by just simply skating more?

extra flex in the ankle area a help or hindrance?

cheers

[nyr386 0]

I wore the predecessor to these, the 707's, for almost 10 years up through college hockey.. They allow an unmatched ability to use your ankle strength and flexibility in your skating. With that said, I would definitely not recommend these for a beginner. You really need to develop ankle strength and be able to have 100% control over ankle movement to effectively skate in these. Im not saying you wouldnt be OK, but I would think 9/10 beginners wouldnt be able to skate effectively in these and could potentially hurt themselves. Good luck.

[romdj 26]

I wore the predecessor to these, the 707's, for almost 10 years up through college hockey.. They allow an unmatched ability to use your ankle strength and flexibility in your skating. With that said, I would definitely not recommend these for a beginner. You really need to develop ankle strength and be able to have 100% control over ankle movement to effectively skate in these. Im not saying you wouldnt be OK, but I would think 9/10 beginners wouldnt be able to skate effectively in these and could potentially hurt themselves. Good luck.

+1 You need to understand the mechanics of skating and your ankles have to have the muscle memory in order to take advantage of these skates. they are great, but more for an intermediate-advanced level of play.

If you have the opportunity to try though, do it, and watch the angle of the skates, what I'd be afraid of would be to see the skates leaning toward the inside /\ which would hurt eventually and affect the agility

[kauchy 0]

cheers guys. the ankle strength is what i was worried about. is it possible to build up the strength but performing exercises at home? or does it come down to purely skating more?

i tend to delve right in the deep end when i start something new & generally figure that i'll overcome any problems i encounter just by pushing on through lol, heres hoping i can master the grafs & not brake my ankle!

[greyskull 21]

G7s might be too much skate for a beginner.

[nyr386 0]

Its not so much raw ankle strength as it is knowing how to use your ankle strength properly. The thing is, if you are not already and excellent skater with a deep knee bend and good ankle control, these skates will actually hurt your skating ability greatly. Most notably in the engergy transfer department. You wont be able to get all of your power down in a stride and sharp cuts could suffer as well as the boot wont be there to assist.

By all means go ahead and try them, but Id hate to see you spend the money and find out they wont work for you. If you try them on and think theyll work, go for it.

[kauchy 0]

on a side note, which skate would be more difficult to use..the g7 or say the reebok 18k or ccm crazy lights..? (i gather that the reeboks/ccm would have more support but the stiffness would be more servere). probably going to at least order the grafs just to see what they would potentially feel like. thanks again for the info. very helpful!

[nisselrm 22]

G7 woudld be considerably more difficult. Really need exceptional stride mechanics to skate well in that boot.

[kauchy 0]

lol working on that basis i guess i should go back to the drawing board then