Skate baking and its affect on durability

[DekeHead 0]

There has been talk in the past that the act of baking skates cuts down on a skate's longevity. I have heard tales of premature skate breakdown due to baking a pair of skates when they were new. I have also been told that the same brand of skates which were broken in by just wearing them lasted longer than those that had been baked. My question is: Do the facts bear this out?

All of the skates I have bought and had baked have lasted a significantly shorter period of time than skates without this technology. Of course, I weighed less back in the old days, too. Plus, traditional materials, while not as stiff or light, were pretty much bullet-proof. So I don't know if durability issues are actually a result of skate baking or skate composition.

Does anyone have a definitive anwser? Also, is it still considered necessary to let skates rest 24 hrs. after baking?

[MDE3 0]

When new, skates can take up to 3 - 4 weeks for the glues to cure after they have been manufactured. This is normally not a problem as most skates now are coming over by boat from Asia, so it would be very rare for any to actually see use in less than a month after being finished just due to normal shipping and handling schedules.

Just to say that if it takes the glues that long to fully cure after being made originally..I would give them at least 24 hours after a full bake job.

[KillerCarlson 0]

Dumb question, but...at what temperature are skates "baked?"

[asdfa 0]

about 160 farenheit/70 celcius i believe

[JR Boucicaut 3801]

Notice also that manufacturers are cutting down on bake times...

[MDE3 0]

I think these days you should get the manufacturers recommendations for both time and temperature, as materials have been changing. Old school was I believe 170 F. for 15 minutes, but as I said..ask the manufacturer for his recommendations. Procedure was to preheat the oven to 170, then insert the skates and turn off the oven.

[Shrek 0]

my lhs say's that skate baking is on the way out....anyone else hear anything on this?

[Justin 1933 134]

my lhs say's that skate baking is on the way out....anyone else hear anything on this?

Not from us...Some skates times will be reduced, but our supple fit line will still be 7 minutes...Also, the new L series will be 5 minutes...

[Jim A 4]

personally i think a lot of the issues with baking is at the shop/customer issue...

companies are using different materials and they all react differently..it should take less to bake a vapor then a supreme, etc..

1st..a lot of people who work in shops just toss them in for 7minutes, i've seen it happen A LOT...skates like Vapor XX etc..these people never read the tag!!

2nd baking skates that aren't really meant for it...CCM's..etc..but half the time that FIT unit doesn't work and the customer wants it....but if they don't follow #1.will they take the time to just toss them in a "warm" oven for a min or so to give the impression of baking and satisfying the customer..doubtful..

3rd...a lot of people pre-baking did things to cut down on skate life...how many people do you know wore them in a hot tub, put them on with super hot soaking socks,etc..so ..people were ruining their skates well before an oven came along...

never mind that you tell people not to use them for a min of 24 hours...and they do anyways...and the next day come back with some ridiculous story of how they waited and the skate broke...forgetting that only 15 hours have actually passed...

[killthepoodle 0]

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead but I could use some advice:

I have a pair of 8090's coming in tomorrow. My intention was to bake them then skate in a pickup shortly thereafter. The consensus doesnt seem to sway either way on whether this is a good idea or not. Should I skate on them once without baking first? Is it safe to do as I planned? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please be sure and tell me why you feel the way you do on the subject. Thanks!

[Chadd 916]

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead but I could use some advice:

I have a pair of 8090's coming in tomorrow. My intention was to bake them then skate in a pickup shortly thereafter. The consensus doesnt seem to sway either way on whether this is a good idea or not. Should I skate on them once without baking first? Is it safe to do as I planned? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please be sure and tell me why you feel the way you do on the subject. Thanks!

Wait at least 12 hours after baking before you skate in them.

[killthepoodle 0]

What will the 12 hours do? Not to be curt, but why do you recommend waiting?

[Chadd 916]

What will the 12 hours do? Not to be curt, but why do you recommend waiting?

You will damage the skate if you don't wait. Waiting will give the materials time to cool completely.

[Wayne 0]

Keith Carney of the Mighty Ducks has his skates Baked before every time he wears them.

Granted he gets them for free but what a nice luxury...

[killthepoodle 0]

From another board:

"I have yet to come across a set of skates thet come with baking directions.. I DO know that a lot of people don't know what they are doing when they bake (I watched my roomate ruin a pair of protacks, insisting that he know what he was doing). This is the way that my coaches always told me to do it.

1. Heat

2. Set for 30 minutes.

3. put them on as tight as you can get them and let them sit for about 10 minutes and mold to your foot.

4. Reheat for a short amount of time.

5. Set for 30 minutes.

6. put them on again and walk around for about 10 minutes (with bladeguards on).

7. Reheat for VERY short amount of time, just enough to warm them up.

8. Set for 30 minutes

9. put them on again as tight as you can.

10. take the off as soon as they are completely cooled off and let them sit overnight to mold."

What do you guys think?

I live in the deep south, no true LHS, just an oven at the rink. I've never had a pair of thermo-moulding skates before.

I think I'll just skate on them as is tomorrow night, then see about baking them on Thurs.

[cobrAA 0]

i heard walking with your skate baked is totally destroyer..so i don't think this part is a good advice

[beaucoup_fish 0]

From another board:

"I have yet to come across a set of skates thet come with baking directions.. I DO know that a lot of people don't know what they are doing when they bake (I watched my roomate ruin a pair of protacks, insisting that he know what he was doing). This is the way that my coaches always told me to do it.

1. Heat

2. Set for 30 minutes.

3. put them on as tight as you can get them and let them sit for about 10 minutes and mold to your foot.

4. Reheat for a short amount of time.

5. Set for 30 minutes.

6. put them on again and walk around for about 10 minutes (with bladeguards on).

7. Reheat for VERY short amount of time, just enough to warm them up.

8. Set for 30 minutes

9. put them on again as tight as you can.

10. take the off as soon as they are completely cooled off and let them sit overnight to mold."

What do you guys think?

I live in the deep south, no true LHS, just an oven at the rink. I've never had a pair of thermo-moulding skates before.

I think I'll just skate on them as is tomorrow night, then see about baking them on Thurs.

I think Missions come with baking directions, don't they? In any event, when i baked my skates, I sat with the baked skates on my feet for about 10 minutes. Then I walked around after they cooled a bit. They're holding up fine, but I haven't used them that much. I'm also not that heavy.

Personally, i don't think baking makes too much of a difference fit-wise, and my next pair I'll probably break in just thru regular use...

[thunderbirds_are_go 0]

A few years ago a CCM rep told me that the waiting time was to allow the glues to cure rather than to let the boot properly cool down. Then they were recommending two days, but this was 2002, so the glues etc may well have changed.

Also, the Nike V series skates had baking instructions with them, as did many Bauer skates.

[sn1per 0]

I typically tell customers to wear the skates as much as they can. They'll eventually get to the point if they keep wearing the skate. I typically tell them to use baking as almost a last resort. Personally, I just don't believe it. Like the XX's and XXX's are like 2 min at 78C (correct me if I'm wrong) but that's like nothing. It hardly does anything to the skate, so why bother do it?

[Chadd 916]

From another board:

"I have yet to come across a set of skates thet come with baking directions.. I DO know that a lot of people don't know what they are doing when they bake (I watched my roomate ruin a pair of protacks, insisting that he know what he was doing). This is the way that my coaches always told me to do it.

1. Heat

2. Set for 30 minutes.

3. put them on as tight as you can get them and let them sit for about 10 minutes and mold to your foot.

4. Reheat for a short amount of time.

5. Set for 30 minutes.

6. put them on again and walk around for about 10 minutes (with bladeguards on).

7. Reheat for VERY short amount of time, just enough to warm them up.

8. Set for 30 minutes

9. put them on again as tight as you can.

10. take the off as soon as they are completely cooled off and let them sit overnight to mold."

What do you guys think?

I live in the deep south, no true LHS, just an oven at the rink. I've never had a pair of thermo-moulding skates before.

I think I'll just skate on them as is tomorrow night, then see about baking them on Thurs.

I think Missions come with baking directions, don't they? In any event, when i baked my skates, I sat with the baked skates on my feet for about 10 minutes. Then I walked around after they cooled a bit. They're holding up fine, but I haven't used them that much. I'm also not that heavy.

Personally, i don't think baking makes too much of a difference fit-wise, and my next pair I'll probably break in just thru regular use...

Damn, those directions may work if you're trying to break in some old 7000s but it's overkill on newer skates. Missions and Kors have baking directions, I assume all of the other brands have directions as well. My guess is that most shops don't pass along the directions to customers, especially the online stores.

I never baked my S500s and never had a problem, I'll probably be doing the same thing on my next pair.

[Wayne 0]

Like the XX's and XXX's are like 2 min at 78C (correct me if I'm wrong) but that's like nothing. It hardly does anything to the skate, so why bother do it?

You're not trying to melt anything in the boot. You're trying to heat it up so it causes less pain when your foot gets warm when you skate it in.

Obviously your foot doesn't get as warm as the oven, but I've baked my XXX's 3 times and after the third time I skated on them about 2 hours after taking them off and letting them cool. The skates feel great and theres no damage to their durability thus far...

[Chadd 916]

Like the XX's and XXX's are like 2 min at 78C (correct me if I'm wrong) but that's like nothing. It hardly does anything to the skate, so why bother do it?

You're not trying to melt anything in the boot. You're trying to heat it up so it causes less pain when your foot gets warm when you skate it in.

Obviously your foot doesn't get as warm as the oven, but I've baked my XXX's 3 times and after the third time I skated on them about 2 hours after taking them off and letting them cool. The skates feel great and theres no damage to their durability thus far...

I've seen kids with XX's get badly warped because the shop employees told them to walk on them while they were warm.

[boib 0]

when i bought my rbk 8k's i had them heated up and then asked if it it was okay if i played a game in them four hours later and he said it would not hurt them and so far after two months of playing in them i have not noticed any break down in them

[ultraman7k 0]

don't forget to pull OUT on the laces