New Skate Soreness - Normal?

[n3gkiwi 1]

I know there's tons of topicss about skate soreness but I can't tell if my foot pain is normal since it's been ages since I have broken in new skates. Just looking for some guidance/past experiences...

I went from Graf 705's (which I used for 7 years) to new Bauer APX Skates. I tried on a bunch of skates (including the Supreme) but my feet seemed to fit the APX's better.

I have skated on them about 6 times or so and my feet start to get sore after 20 minutes or so (depending on how tight I tie them). The soreness is near the ball of feet, towards the outside (just below my pinky toe) and side of my foot. It's towards the outside of the boot (inside feels perfectly fine). After skating, I notice it hurts to walk a bit on outside part on the balls of my feet. Not sure it's a cramp. It's not a agonising/sharp pain but definitely gets worse as the game goes on. It's better if I lace the lower part of my boot up looser, but I don't want it to be too loose.

Is this normal to break in skates? I know my Grafs took a while (they had a leather like interior) but with these new skates and all the composite material is the boot really going to break-in that much?

I'm considering rebaking them. I was advised not to stand up so I just sat in them when they were originally baked. I've heard this is incorrect so maybe rebaking them standing for a bit might help?

The other adjustment is obviously insoles. I don't really have a flat foot or a pronounced arch. I do notice I can feel there might be a little gap near the front arch currently in the skate so maybe Superfeet might help.

Any suggestions/past experience is more than welcome.

[forbs02 20]

Re-bake them and stand, but don't walk. It will allow your foot to expand the boot a little. It should take care of your pain. If it doesn't, you will have a couple of options: punching the boot where you are sore, or spot heating with a heat gun (be careful) to get that area to expand with your foot. The composite material in the APX is really easy to manipulate with a little bit of heat.

[AIREAYE 248]

Most people end up perfectly fine after baking when sitting provided the boot fits well, so i don't know why that would be considered incorrect. I do, however, advise some people who want a little bit of extra width to stand up within the first 2-3 minutes of a bake procedure. Is the soreness on the area where the hard toecap meets the boot material? Or is it on the boot material only?

[n3gkiwi 1]

Definitely not near the toecap, more near the boot material. I can pretty much lace them tight as I can, and walk around in them and they're fine. Only starts to hurt after skating for a while (if I lace them real tight though, it'll happen sooner but I never tie my skates that tight. Not sure if it's the foobted or the skate. I guess I can get them re-baked and stand for the first few minutes and then sit. Is there any downside to that? It won't make the boot less stiff will it?

[AIREAYE 248]

Well, looking at it in a macroscopically, the APX is so stiff as it is, you should have absolutely no problem rebaking them in regards to a noticeable stiffness change.

[n3gkiwi 1]

Well, looking at it in a macroscopically, the APX is so stiff as it is, you should have absolutely no problem rebaking them in regards to a noticeable stiffness change.

I meant more standing for the first couple of minutes after they've been baked. I've heard different methodologies... I don't want to ruin the skate.

[AIREAYE 248]

That's what I mean. Technically speaking, a boot breaks down as you heat it more (exact same principle and result as if you were to skate in them normally with a natural break-in), remember that a bake essentially reduces break-in time by accelerating that particular process. High end boots nowadays are reactive enough that not only does it help with break-in, it actually forms to your foot in greater ways at a more efficient rate.

To get to the point; no you won't ruin the skate, as long as the baking process was done correctly and you simply stand in place during those few minutes, there should be no problems. You could even shift your weight a little towards the problem foot if you want. Or, if you're confident enough, forbs02 raises a very simple and practical point with his heat gun/spot treatment recommendation.

[n3gkiwi 1]

Is there any chance my footbed could be causing the problem?

[chilimax21 0]

You could possibly be tying them too tight around that area. I would reloosen up that area and tie them again, but this time not so tight.

[Davetronz 109]

Does it feel like your foot is sitting perfectly flat inside the boot, or is is cramped in the forefoot (possibly in the area of the ball of the foot)?

Does it feel like the pain is coming from under your foot, or the side of your foot. If it's under, check for any rivets that are sitting higher than the rest in that area.

[acollette49 0]

i had a very similar pain with my old ccm vectors. turns out the skates were a half size too big and slightly too narrow.

[n3gkiwi 1]

It's weird. When I'm playing it feels like the side of my foot hurts but once I take them off, the bottoms definitely sore but only the outer side. It's a pain that gets worse as I skate.

I went to my LHS tonight, got super feet and got them rebaked with the super feet. The super feet felt better than the default APX footbed so figured I should get them. I tried to push the side parts of my skates where it starts to hurt more. Hopefully that fixes them, if not I'll get them punched.

[hunt3rsean 44]

I had a 'similar' issue with my Vapor X:4.0. I baked them twice and skated multiple sessions and they were starting to break in. I did notice that the forefoot area seemed a little tight but wasn't causing any real pain. Then after a roller hockey tournament I put the scopes back on and the left skate created this intense pain at the base of my pinky toe. Right at the ball/joint/socket towards the outside of the foot. It was bad. So bad that it was causing a severe bruise and I would wince putting my skate on. Took the skate into the shop and told the owner. He took it to the back used a heat gun and punched it out. Put it back on....no more pain and haven't had any pain since. I don't think a complete rebake would have fixed it or at least turned out not to be entirely necessary. The area he punched out was just behind where the toe cap meets the boot. Or at least that's where I pointed out the pain was happening. Have been very happy since.

Edit: Shop owner mentioned that the pain probably started happening because that playing in the tournament in different boots may have caused my foot shape to change slightly. I played 4-5 games in 2 days. At any rate....no more pain after getting that spot punched out a bit.

[n3gkiwi 1]

Just an update, the superfeet didn't work. Got new pain in the bottom of my feet (between my arches). I think there was too much arch support or something with the superfeet. Not sure if anyone else experiences this with the super feet.

I went back with the default insoles, tied the skates looser in that area and they were much better. The rebake definitely helped though. Feels much more comfortable. Although I don't to really like to tie my skates too loose so I might just get the skates punched out a bit in that area if the problem persists.

[Jordan 13]

Try custom insoles. Superfeet are great of they happen to suit your particular foot shape and they are definitely better for most people than stock Insoles. Having said that, they do not work for everyone. Particularly if you are flat footed.

A proper insole will not only give you a better connection to the skate, it will also reduce the amount that your foot spreads out when you put weight on it. That may also help with the pain that you are experiencing.

[AIREAYE 248]

Try custom insoles. Superfeet are great of they happen to suit your particular foot shape and they are definitely better for most people than stock Insoles. Having said that, they do not work for everyone. Particularly if you are flat footed.

A proper insole will not only give you a better connection to the skate, it will also reduce the amount that your foot spreads out when you put weight on it. That may also help with the pain that you are experiencing.

I wouldn't say that. I've fitted enough and heard enough feedback that I would just leave it at the three preceding sentences. Good points though.

[n3gkiwi 1]

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh... So a friend suggests I get them punched out. He said he had it done on his skates and it was no big deal, especially if it was just a little bit. I dropped them off at a LHS he got it done at. I grabbed them after without really looking at them. Looks like they put a big dent in the left boot (which is weird because I advised the right skate was the one causing me more problems).

Are my skates ruined? I haven't gone for a skate in them yet. What should I do???????????????

[forbs02 20]

That is what a punched out skate looks like. Don't worry about it, the boot is fine.

[n3gkiwi 1]

Phewwwww... Skated this morning. Left skate felt fine. It was the right one that hurt more. They didn't punch the right one out that much apparently. Might need to get it done again.

[Davetronz 109]

Looks like they might have done the punch without any padding between the top of the punch and the outside of the boot. That will cause the damage you see. I use some padding to prevent that, and let people know that if the punch is around a logo or graphic, that will sometimes get a bit damaged in the process.

[BryanK09 0]

I used to have skates that i had like 4 hot spots punched out on each, they didn't look as nice anymore but skating on them was like a dream.

[n3gkiwi 1]

My foot is pretty much an e (between d and ee) with the apx. Would anyone recommend getting the ee over the d? It seems a little looser in the forefoot but wouldn't this get a little tighter after baking? That or using thicker socks with the ee?

[AIREAYE 248]

If anything, the D would give you more leeway to expand, rather than the EE contracting. If one is between widths in a boot, I find that it's better to opt for the narrower. Baking and stretching can widen a boot, but not much can be done to narrow one.

[wrangler 157]

What about the difference in heel fit? And have you tried different models for a better fit?

[n3gkiwi 1]

The heel fit is the same (according to this guy at my LHS). I tried the Supreme before, too much volume for my foot.

Anyway, I ended up going back and they were nice enough to refit me. I ended up going to a 7.5 EE (from a 8.5 D). Felt better during the bake... We'll see how it feels on the ice.