Goalie pads for short feet

[JIMRB96 0]

Need help. I have searched around and don't quite see this anywhere. I am 5'6". 185. I wear size 6E skate. My ATK is 17 ish from ankle bone to knee cap center. I wear some Bauer supreme gp pro 33+1 that were very used when I got them so I'm not sure how new pads sizes would compare but the sento fit pretty well. I have tried several brands and sizes but the boot cradle always seems too big or long for my feet. I would like a "battle butterfly" type pad as I enjoy the widest stance I can get. But all the pads I have tried seem to sag to the ice in front of my toes making me slip a bit. Any advice on a pad that has a shorter boot cradle and pretty good taper. (I have also tried every different toe lace tie technique and boot strap. Like the lunqvuist style etc). I don't care what the cost but would rather not have to go custom. I like the looks and write ups on the new reactors but havent seen them in person yet. Thanks to all!!

[Law Goalie 147]

Some pads do have shorter boots than others -- and shortening the boot isn't uncommon on custom orders, particularly in leagues that use a maximum pad height allowance (e.g. trim 1" off the boot, add 1" to the thigh) -- but the difference isn't generally huge. What you want to do, especially at retail, is find a pad than can 'sit high' on your boot: that is, one in which the boot and/or ankle straps (primarily) are used to draw the toe of the pad closer to the toe of the skate. Basically, instead of having the ankle-break (aka 'boot-break') of the pad sit down on top of your foot, it is pulled up closer to the tongue of the skate. This also effectively raises the FTK (floor-to-knee) of the pad, making a shorter pad 'fit bigger'.

While a Lundqvist-style ankle-strap can be retrofitted to achieve this (any shop can do it), there are retail pads than can do similar things. The classic example is Pete Smith's boot-strap design for the 6000/Warrior Ritual series, which offers three different locations for the boot-strap, from about the middle of the boot back to just under the ankle-break. Basically, if you A) put the boot-straps through the forward-most tabs and B) run the boot-strap through the rear-most (heel) hole of your cowlings, you pull the boot up higher on the skate. This is, in large part, why Warrior can offer 2-inch gaps in senior sizing (32+1.5, 34+1.5 and 36+1.5): the pads can be adapted to fit an inch on either side, meaning guys like me, who would custom-order a 35 base pad, can choose between them.

That said, while the Smith/Warrior solution is by far the most elegant, any pad with either dual or movable boot-straps, or even just a boot-strap that is relatively far forward on the boot, can be adapted to this. All you want is a combination of a relatively forward boot-strap going through the skate as far back (and/or, per Lundy, as high up the back of the skate) as possible, and the snugger the strap, the higher the boot will sit, and the closer the toe of your skate will be to the toe of the boot.

[JIMRB96 0]

Great advice thanks much. Now I know where to start!!! Much appreciated.