Skate Fitment Help Needed

[EtiamSurgo 1]

Should be here this Friday, but unfortunately I'll be out of town. So, I'll have a update Sunday night.

[EtiamSurgo 1]

Tried them on today. The right one was already laced and it fit better length wise. I had to lace the left one and my big toe was a little more crowded (maybe my heel wasn't seated as well?). As for width, the toe box felt good except for slight pressure on the outside of my bid toe knuckle. Mid foot felt great. I have a little pressure on the sides of my heel and my ankle. One more pressure point was on the outside just in front of my ankle (both feet except for the length. Maybe a bake and spot work with a hair dryer? Or should I return them?

[jonesy9020 77]

Did you kick your heel back in the left skate that you had to lace?

[EtiamSurgo 1]

Did you kick your heel back in the left skate that you had to lace?

Yes, but maybe hard enough. The heel in that skate felt more padded. Would trying it on in the store start the break in process? The pre laced had a better heel lock (I could actually feel my foot set deeper and further back in the pocket)

[jonesy9020 77]

It's tough to go based on words, and because people have their own preferences with fit. If they're alright, which it sounds like they are, I'd stick with them and bake. Make sure when you bake you get your heel in the slightly worse one all the way back, and maybe think about getting that skate on first, since it seems like it has more work that needs to be done on it.

[SaylorHockey 6]

I'm really in the same boat as Etiam is. New to hockey, 5'11" 255lbs. I am a veteran and looking at learning to play hockey to keep in shape and have some fun. Plus it's something my wife and kids want to do as well. I got some used equipment from Defending The Blue Line.com. I was given a pair of Bauer Vapor x40's. I got to to experience them for the first time this weekend and they just hurt my feet like crazy. So I went to my local pro shop ( Players Bench) and got properly measured at a 8EE. Found out by reading this thread and by doing some research that the Vapors run really narrow. I have been suggested by a friend to look at Graf skates. Now I am retired from the Army (infantry) and have pretty good ankles. Not to mention I played a lot of sports when I was in high school and in the military. Does anyone have any experience with Graf skates? I know that I am not settled on Graf alone and that is by what fits better. I don't want to have to go through a few different pairs of skates to find the one that is best because of money flow. I want to have a good idea of a more comfortable bout and find one that fits me the best and spend the money to be in a boot that will be comfortable and is going to last more than a year or 2. All opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[jonesy9020 77]

Like Etiam, I'd look at the mid-high end skates as you're a bigger player but a beginner. Grafs are fine but are pretty hard to come by to try on depending on your area, and some have reported quality control issues with them. I have no personal experience with Graf so I'll leave it to someone else to give you a recommendation for those.

To get a good fit, I'd go back to the pro shop and try on a ton of skates. What you're looking for is something that feels right in a particular brand and line of skates (heel stays secure in the back, toes feathering the top, arch settles and doesn't hurt while walking around, very little empty space in the skate.) Sizing between the four major companies is pretty standard across the board right now (with the exception of the RBZ line and the Easton Mako skates), but as you've noted, different lines have different widths. Once you find the right size in a line, order the skate you want from that line in that size.

That sounds really convoluted now that I read it over. Basically, a lot of smaller pro shops have limited selection, especially at this point in the year. I recently went out for looking for new skates, tried on Vapors, Supremes, Nexuses (Nexi?), Rbk, CCM, just about everything in stock. I really liked the way the Supreme fit in a 9D, but they only offered that in a one.6 (lower-midlevel that I'll blow through in a year) and NXG (top end that I can't afford). I ordered that size in a one.7 to step up to the features that I wanted. Still waiting for those to arrive at the shop.

Another option is to go on the used market and try on and resell skates either here or on ebay until you get the right fit.

Given your description, I'd try out the following skates just as a starting point:

Bauer Supreme: One.7 or One.8, EE width.
Bauer Nexus: 600 or 800, D width.
CCM U+: 12 or Crazy Light, start at a D Width. (Probably will only find online, but both are great skates for the price, call and ask for a free return shipping label included if the size is wrong)

CCM RBZ: 80, D width (adjust size as discussed above)

Rbk: 16k, tough call but start at a D width.

Easton: Stealth RS, Stealth 85s, EQ40, EQ50. (Another online special mostly, but your shop may have some of the stealth line around).

And remember, for fit, you can try on pretty much any skate in a particular line (exception of Nexus 1000), and then order that same size in one of the models I listed above.

Ask them to price match or at least meet halfway compared to what online shops offer. Some stores won't, but a lot of places are happy to in order to keep you coming back in for sticks, tape, sharpenings, and, eventually, new skates.

Good luck with it all, and I hope this was easy to understand.

[jonesy9020 77]

Also kudos to Defending the Blue Line, just looked them up. Seems like a great organization.

[SLAYEROFSOULS 7]

So I will preface by saying that I live in Florida (West Palm Beach area) and have been to the only local shops with any sort of skate selection and neither had wide width skates. I played high school hockey in my CCM super tacks as they were the only skates remotely close to being wide enough for my feet, but even those were never really comfortable it came down to lack of selection (only had one pro shop within reasonable distance for the parents). After high school I ended up with some Vector 7.5's which again weren't really a good fit width wise and murdered my feet after a few minutes of ice time and I was also forced to go up a half size to try and get more volume in the boot for my feet (never had punching or any sort of stretching come up as advice for me, so I didn't know they were options).

As both shops said I would be required to leave deposits and might potentially have to cover return shipping or other fees I opted to order online where I can return for free with shipping covered as well, and for now ordered a pair of RBZ 80 and Reebok 14k (site didn't have better models of the Reebok in my 5.5 EE size or I would've opted for higher end).

The best I was able to do was try RBZ 90's in a 6 D (which the salesman was amazed at how my foot pushed out the skate boot and didn't understand the width of my foot despite me telling him so lol) and Reebok 14k's in 6 D as well I believe. Either way both were clearly not good width wise and I don't believe the insteps were going to work either.

I genuinely would like to skate with relatively little pain if at all possible - and really don't want to get customs (no clue how I would even do that being in Florida I can't imagine theres a decent custom skate maker anywhere around) so i'd love advice if anyone has feet that are like mine.

I wear a 7.5 4E new balance but really should be in a 7, so based off skates i've had and tried on I should be a 5.5 in length or else there's just way too much room and if I don't crank down on laces and cut off circulation to my foot I end up sliding around. I just cannot get a good gauge on what skate would fit my foot shape which I have uploaded (includes measurement lol).

My left foot is slightly longer/wider then my right, but in the end measurement wise it just doesn't make sense for me to wear a 6 or longer skate (the old toes touching the toe cap idea) and I should add that when I measured my foot with the Bauer brannock device I was clearly between a 5/5.5 and 3-3.5 E width.

Any insight or advice will be very much appreciated - I am really eager to get back to playing (only stopped due to my college engineering degree and the time commitment for that) and a 2 hour public skate session in my old vector 7.5's left my feet blistered and battered.

Thanks!

[Amiroo39 121]

From my bootbeds alone, do you think I could go down half a size? I've finding a bit of wiggle room with my toes, and they aren't touching the front of the toe cap. 1st pic is the stock footbed, second is my superfeet.

[Vet88 674]

At a glance, maybe, but only you can really tell. Lace out, tongue out, foot in boot and toes touching toe cap. How much space do you have between the back of your heel and the boot? 1mm - 2mm, is good, any more is 1/2 a size. If you can fit a pencil down the back of your heel then that is 1 size. This is why myself, and others, call it a pencil test but for length.

[totalchaos 10]

Slayer just a heads up on the RBZ and 14k sizing. I was just at my LHS yesterday and I tried on both. First off they measured me at a 10 d which is right on since I wear a size 12 shoe. When I tried on the RBZ a 10 was actually too big so I had to go to a 9.5. I also find that they seem to run wider than Reebok. In the 14k I was in a9.5 ee. I personally wanted a 16k but they didn't have it in my size so I'm actually getting the 28k when it comes out next month. I found 16 k online on clearance for 229 but when you add 15 for shipping and 50 to have them baked at my LHS that's 294 and I can get the 28k for 299 with free sharpening and baking April 1, so I'm waiting. Just keep in mind when you buy online that in the end it may not be cheaper

[SLAYEROFSOULS 7]

Slayer just a heads up on the RBZ and 14k sizing. I was just at my LHS yesterday and I tried on both. First off they measured me at a 10 d which is right on since I wear a size 12 shoe. When I tried on the RBZ a 10 was actually too big so I had to go to a 9.5. I also find that they seem to run wider than Reebok. In the 14k I was in a9.5 ee. I personally wanted a 16k but they didn't have it in my size so I'm actually getting the 28k when it comes out next month. I found 16 k online on clearance for 229 but when you add 15 for shipping and 50 to have them baked at my LHS that's 294 and I can get the 28k for 299 with free sharpening and baking April 1, so I'm waiting. Just keep in mind when you buy online that in the end it may not be cheaper

Thanks for the info - it will be interesting to see if or how these skates fit when both get here later this week (hopefully lol IW is in California and i'm in Florida so no idea on ship time). I am questioning the whole bake cost etc myself, I realized that my girlfriends house (where I am living currently) doesn't have a convection oven so I don't trust the oven to bake the skates properly. I will probably call sometime tomorrow my two LHS and see what their costs are on baking and what not to get an idea on total cost, but the beautiful thing about my odd ass feet is I should definitely be able to stick with a junior size skate which will drop my price some - I am heavily considering the 28k myself (in stock on march 28 or after) but would love to know my actual sizing in the boot before ordering and then waiting on them.

I am fairly certain on my length, no skate i've tried in a 5.5 has been too short in the length department, more so just the overall design or height of the toe box being an issue which ends up with my big toe rubbing on the top of the toe box and getting raw after extended skating.

It's an interesting position to be in - the cost problem with the baking and first time sharpening (if I do order online and go that route) or if I let the LHS order and then go through all that trouble with them, plus the whole 28k coming out fairly soon at a price that's basically the same as the 14k I just ordered. The bigger of my local shops (at incredible ice where the panthers practice and what not down in coral springs of florida) do say they price match so I might be able to get a good deal with them on the 28k with baking included and sharpening etc.

Overall i'm more so hoping the RBZ 80 fits and is a comfortable skate as it's got specs fairly similar to the 28k coming out that I wouldn't flinch at keeping them and getting to skate 3 weeks eariler. We shall see!

[totalchaos 10]

Slayer I think you will get your wish with the rbz. They do run wider so there is a chance it may be too wide. I am in a d in the rbz and an ee in the 14 k. Either way it works out you will be getting a great skate

[SLAYEROFSOULS 7]

If that's the case I may end up just returning them and seeing if the shop will order my size and get them baked (hopefully included in the price of the skates lol). If not I won't lose sleep over it, but I was tinkering with my old tacks and vector 7.5's and my instep bulges out on them like crazy. Easy to see I never did a pencil test or even thought of my instep being an issue when I got the skates (I was younger and stupid :P) in fact my foot bulges out beyond the eyelets the entire length of the skates.

Hopefully depth won't be an issue ;/

[totalchaos 10]

Any reputable shop will include the baking and sharpening in the price of the skate. If u can wait a few weeks I would really look into the new 28k but that's just my opinion

[Stodgy 8]

If you have a depth problem, the RBZ is much more depth friendly. I Have the Reebok 7k now with a lot of lace bite present. I did not know the pencil test or any other of the great advice tips when I bought them after getting back into hockey after a 30 year break. I tried on a pair of 18k with a pencil test failure from eyelets 3 -10. With the RBZ, I have possibly 1 which barely touches the pencil . I believe the Reebok does have a wider toe box though. Just my 2 cents of experience. Good luck in your search

[SLAYEROFSOULS 7]

Yeah I have no problem waiting for the 28k (I can be a patient boy :p) it will be interesting to see the boot profile on the 14k and I am going to assume that it will be identical or at the very least very close to the 28k? I really wanted to try on Nexus skates but the shops had none because of the new product coming out, and the only place online with them is not a free return shipping website so I didn't and don't want to go through that hassle.

The only real beneficial tid bit of enlightenment I got when at the bigger LHS was when the employee had me put on a skate and pointed out how much my foot was bulging the boot of the skate - and its actually what my "wider" CCM skates do but I just never paid attention to...which explains all of the side foot pain and my feet going numb because of the lacing issues haha ~_~

Quite sad to think I settled on very ill fitting skates due to parental pressure (aka price over xyz isn't going to fly). Looking back I would have had much more fun playing during my pre-high school days and high school days if I researched more and fought the parents lol.

But thanks very much for the info Stodgy - hopefully the toe box on the RBZ wont be an issue for me, but even if it is and it's one or two points of bad contact I can have it punched or I hope so anyways!

[totalchaos 10]

Slayer just a heads up that the 28k is replacing the 16k but the fit across the k line is pretty much identical. The differences really come in the materials used for the making of each model. The other bonus with the k's is that the top and bottom laces can be tighten independently of each other so you can be loose on the bottom and tighter in top or the other way around. It gives you the option for a more custom fit

[MrTrololo 4]

Hi everyone.

Please forgive me if I'm using this thread.

I have problem with my skates: right heel lift is killing me.

I have now Bauer APX 6EE and Bauer totalone NXG 6EE (cannot skate so good in those). Pencil test fail in both skates.

What is the best option for me?

I have tried:

mako 6ee - pencil test failed on arch. overal fit is good.

rbk 16k 7D - pencil test fail

going to try Graf G75s

[totalchaos 10]

I would try a 16k or the new 28k in ee or try the rbz they run wider then the Reebok. In fact I just tried both and I was a d in the rbz but an ee in the 16k.

[MrTrololo 4]

I would try a 16k or the new 28k in ee or try the rbz they run wider then the Reebok. In fact I just tried both and I was a d in the rbz but an ee in the 16k.

ok. thank you. can I post here my messages please? if you dont mind

I would try a 16k or the new 28k in ee or try the rbz they run wider then the Reebok. In fact I just tried both and I was a d in the rbz but an ee

what do you thing about volume in those? I mean arch region. are they with biggest volume?

[SillyMe 22]

I tried on RBZ skates, and they have a lot of volume, way too much for my skinny feet.

[MrTrololo 4]

I tried on RBZ skates, and they have a lot of volume, way too much for my skinny feet.

nice. what was the size width precisely? I mean, what you would propose to order ?

[MrTrololo 4]

CCM may be