Youth Skates

[bfs9 0]

Just looking for any opinions out there. My 30 years of skating experience tells me one thing, but the LHS is telling me another. My daughter ,7 years old got a pair of Vapor 3.0's the other day for her summer hockey clinic. She had previously skated in figure skates for a year, but now wants to play hockey. She is between 11.5-12 shoe size and they put her in size 10.5 skates, length seems ok. After her first 30 minute skate she was complaining about severe foot pain, whcih I attributed to just normal break in. When I took the skates off however, the were deep indentation marks along the outside top portion of both feet. The marks extended from just above her toe to about halfway to her ankle. I have broken in many skates over the years, but these deep marks seem more severe then just ordinary break in. We brought the skates back to the LHS and he thinks it is normal break in. He suggested we put on a soaking wet sock and let her wear them around the house for a couple hours and this will do the trick. I asked him about baking, but was told that this store won't bake skates because it weakens the boot too much. She is 7, so that wont be an issue, but they swear this sock method will do the trick. When I asked about another skate width, he said all youth saktes only come in one width and most are cut the same. A quick internet search has already proved this to be incorrect. 90% of what the store sells are bauer skates, so that is what they have in stock and the only brand they push. Is it true that most youth skates are cut the same? Would are a different brand have a little for depth/width that I should try for her? Any opinions would be helpful.

[Monty22 835]

I've found the youth CCM skates to have more volume and width than the youth Bauer's.

[jsykes 35]

They are all cut slightly different, just like the larger skates. Its not as drastic I've found and its hard to get young kids to express how the skates feel, so it can be hard to gather whether one skate or another really fits them better.

The Vapor 3.0 is not a heat moldable model, so that wont do anything for her with that skate.

From your description of the markings, were they tied too tightly? Also, were the indentations in her foot right about where the edge of the tongue lies, so possibly just wiggling that around a bit might get it to lie differently and more comfortably.

[smcgreg 81]

As Jsykes pointed out, these skates are not heat moldable. The only skates (at least 1.5 yr ago when I bought the last pair of youth skates for my son) heat moldable in the youth category were the Bauer One100s. I got these for my son specifically for that reason. They fit well and were moldable. As Jsykes also pointed out, during the fitting process, it's hard to get the kid to express what is good/bad about the fit. Heck, it's hard enough for me to know myself. All of this being said, they are not all the same size. Models may not come with a EE vs D, but different models fit differently and a good shop should be able to measure your kids foot and provide a suggestion about what skate will fit best based on the differences between brands. Of course, that's in a perfect world and many shops are limited in what they carry in youth skates and there probably isn't enough mark up for them to go out of there way to fit the kid well. If I were you, I'd look around a bit more. When I hear something that is clearly wrong (they all fit the same) that destroys all confidence I have in the person/shop. It sounds like they only have Bauer and that's why your kid ended up with that skate.

[bfs9 0]

Jsykes

Yes the lines do look like it could be where the tongue hits, but the indentations were so deep I think it may be rubbing soewhere on the inside of the skate (somewhere harder) as well. I thought the same thing, that they were tied too tight. But when we went back to the store, the owner laced them up extremely loose (much too loose to skate on). We had her walk around the store for only about 2 mins, and I could already see the indentation forming. I think I need to look at another brand. Thank you for your suggestions.

[jsykes 35]

If your shop only carries Bauer, there are at least two other lines you could try in the Nexus and Supreme, one of those may work better for her.

Beyond that, the best thing to do is find somewhere that will have more of a selection and try on some other brands. We actually fit a lot of kids in Graf skates as they find them to be quite comfortable, we've also had a lot of luck with Easton youth skates, but if neither of the other Bauers work, look for somewhere else to go and try on whatever they may have.

[akravetz 29]

My son, 7, uses Easton Stealths and loves them. He's been skating in them for about a year now. They aren't bakable but that said, they do seem comfy for him. He's small and his feet aren't wide. If that helps. Just throw out another brand. The S1s are the lower level in the line but they have plenty of stiffness and support for him. He uses them about three times a week for the past year. They still are holding up pretty well despite lots of pick-up hockey, games and practice. Again, not to push anyone one brand.

Andy in Peoria

[jimmy 194]

As Jsykes pointed out, these skates are not heat moldable. The only skates (at least 1.5 yr ago when I bought the last pair of youth skates for my son) heat moldable in the youth category were the Bauer One100s. I got these for my son specifically for that reason. They fit well and were moldable. As Jsykes also pointed out, during the fitting process, it's hard to get the kid to express what is good/bad about the fit. Heck, it's hard enough for me to know myself. All of this being said, they are not all the same size. Models may not come with a EE vs D, but different models fit differently and a good shop should be able to measure your kids foot and provide a suggestion about what skate will fit best based on the differences between brands. Of course, that's in a perfect world and many shops are limited in what they carry in youth skates and there probably isn't enough mark up for them to go out of there way to fit the kid well. If I were you, I'd look around a bit more. When I hear something that is clearly wrong (they all fit the same) that destroys all confidence I have in the person/shop. It sounds like they only have Bauer and that's why your kid ended up with that skate.

True, a lot of shops push Bauer even when that particular brand wil not fit the customer correctly. It's all about $$$. Youth skates do not come in E width. NEVER go by shoe size, no parent buys their kids correct fitting shoes, they normally are too big, therefor you can't fit skates based on a sneaker Mom bought. Only measuring and then fitting can determine proper fit.

[smcgreg 81]

True, a lot of shops push Bauer even when that particular brand wil not fit the customer correctly. It's all about $$$. Youth skates do not come in E width. NEVER go by shoe size, no parent buys their kids correct fitting shoes, they normally are too big, therefor you can't fit skates based on a sneaker Mom bought. Only measuring and then fitting can determine proper fit.

To follow up on this fit point. When I was getting my (then) 7 yr old fitted for his skates, the salesman measured him and suggested going a larger size than I actually bought. He said lots of parents buy them big so the kids have room to grow. I told him I wanted the size that fit and if he needed a new pair in 6 mo, so be it. It's been 1.5 yr and it is ALMOST time for a new pair.

[AIREAYE 248]

To follow up on this fit point. When I was getting my (then) 7 yr old fitted for his skates, the salesman measured him and suggested going a larger size than I actually bought. He said lots of parents buy them big so the kids have room to grow. I told him I wanted the size that fit and if he needed a new pair in 6 mo, so be it. It's been 1.5 yr and it is ALMOST time for a new pair.

He did his job, as long as he knows how big to go up. No one can predict when and by how much a kid's foot will grow by, it's not an exact science. As long as the foot is still snug and locked in, getting a slightly larger size than what was perfect at the moment is standard procedure.

[smcgreg 81]

He did his job, as long as he knows how big to go up. No one can predict when and by how much a kid's foot will grow by, it's not an exact science. As long as the foot is still snug and locked in, getting a slightly larger size than what was perfect at the moment is standard procedure.

Maybe, maybe not. The boy has gone up 2 shoe sizes in his running shoes over the same timeframe, so, his feet have been growing. As well, for the first 3 months he was in these, he was pronating very badly. In retrospect, I believe now, since he is skating so well and he reports that his toes are just brushing the end and not hurting him, that even the ones I bought were still a bit big for him. So, I don't think the salesman really knew how big to go up. I'm not being too critical of him because it just seems tough to fit 6 or 7 yr olds because they don't have a frame of reference for what feels good or right. As well, as you point out, many parents want the kid to grow into the skates, so, it's standard practice to recommend a larger size. For me personally though, I want skates that fit while he is in a critical period of learning fundamentals. Plus, youth skates are so much cheaper than junior that it doesn't hurt the pocket book as much. To each his own though. For his next pair, I'll need to think more about the level I want to pay for because he will be in junior. I'll still get the skate that fits though, not much extra room. I'd rather go for a lower end skate than one that is too big.

[AIREAYE 248]

Cool, as long as you made your wants clear when you're shopping around, all is well. I have no idea what he did or did not do, so I'm not arguing that point. I occasionally get parents who want to get what fits now, and as long as they understand the whole foot growing thing (I think most do, some though...) and acknowledge my recommendation, then they'll get whatever they want and all is good.

Just today I had this 11 yr old girl come in with her mother claiming that the girl's feet haven't grown in the past 2 years and that they don't anticipate growth as a result (we all know that the girls start to grow earlier than the boys do, usually around the ages of 10-14). Went through all the motions but they preferred to keep her in her current size 3.5, rather than the normally recommended 4; we just upgraded to the APX2.

[jsykes 35]

Youth skates do not come in E width.

Do you mean they do not come in E specifically or not in wide? Because they do come in wide sizes, the X60 and X100 both come in EE widths.

[ID Rollerpop 4]

Both the Vapor (top three models) and Supreme (top 2 models) lines list a EE width youth skate in the Bauer Catalog.