skate condition after stretching/punching

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

First time poster and moderate lurker.

Just had my CCM Tacks 2014 (top line) stretched (by LHS) for a little bit of width and then punched at the pinky toes on both boots for a little bit of room. Super comfortable now and makes for a perfect fit. They fit well before, but now with just a little bit of extra room, they feel perfect, as my pinky toes were getting pressed just a touch for my liking previously. Only thing...is that on one of the skates, I noticed that there are small "wrinkles" at the bottom of the boot near the outsoles, at the back heel area (the other skate is smooth in the same area). Was this caused by the stretching and would it compromise the integrity of the skates? I've skated on the adjusted skates and everything feels the same in terms of stiffness, etc., and nothing feels looser or weaker. I saw the machine they stretched it on (looked like a Blademaster, with the metal feet, and they added the die onto the metal feet in order to punch areas) There was also a slight seperation at the toe cap joint where they punched, but all the stitching remains intact and nothing seems like it's moving, etc.

I can post a pic, but not sure how to do so on this forum? (asks me for a link and then link keeps ending up broken)

I'm still under the 30 day CCM guarantee, but would only exchange if the structural integrity of the boots were compromised, as these skates are an absolute perfect fit now.

Thoughts appreciated.

[ulf 5]

had a hot spot punched on z air comps.

took to lhs

i marked off the area in lipstick on the inside of the skate. the problem area was above the inside ankle. it was the size of a quarter of half dollar that needed to be punched out.

when they returned from whatever machine they use to fix it the skate was punched so large it was the size of a hardball in the problem area very visible from the outside...it fixed the problem, but the skate looks like shit and resale is almost shot.

the dude said you don;t need to use lipstick the next time...lol

i would have cried had it been a very expensive skate..even w/ the problem fixed

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

I could care less about the cosmetics as long as the skate fits (which it does perfectly) and the integrity of the boot is not compromised. The punched out areas at the pinky toes are very obivous, but don't look bad (helps that they're symmetrical). They look like ovals on the side of the boot, about 1" long and 1/2" high. I'm more concerned about the subtle "wrinkles" (they're really small contoured bulges - material still stiff and shows no wear) on the bottom of the boot; if they are a risk in terms of weakening the boot. The area where there are "wrinkles" were not punched and they are only on one skate. My concern is that they may have formed from stretching the width on that one boot.

Again, skated hard with these and they seem perfectly fine, but wanted to get others' opinions, since I still have time to exchange with LHS.

(have a pic, but can't figure out how to post it)

[Vet88 674]

I have punched out a lot of boots, especially around the back of the toe cap area to accommodate huge pinkies or that extra little toe a lot of people seem to have. I've never had a boot come back because of later damage caused by the punch. However I have only ever punched out top end boots so the boot material is more suitable for punching whereas the material of a lower end boot is not so forgiving.

[laserrobottime 149]

Small wrinkles shouldn't be a problem, unless the layers of the boot have started to delaminate.

Watch the spot for awhile, a good shop should stand behind their punch work and if it screwed the boot and it fails, they should replace it.

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

I have punched out a lot of boots, especially around the back of the toe cap area to accommodate huge pinkies or that extra little toe a lot of people seem to have. I've never had a boot come back because of later damage caused by the punch. However I have only ever punched out top end boots so the boot material is more suitable for punching whereas the material of a lower end boot is not so forgiving.

These are top model CCM Tacks 2014, so I would imagine that the quality of the build/materials should be good in this instance

Small wrinkles shouldn't be a problem, unless the layers of the boot have started to delaminate.

Watch the spot for awhile, a good shop should stand behind their punch work and if it screwed the boot and it fails, they should replace it.

The "wrinkles" (again, more like small bulges), do not show any sign of wear or signs of delaminating. They look more as if they were molded, and I don't see any signs of degradation or damage, so they don't seem to be a problem. I'll keep a watch on it, and yes, LHS said if there were any problems, to bring the boots back and they would figure something out.

Anyone know how to post pics on MSH? Would love to put a pic up of this, but I just can't seem to figure it out?

[laserrobottime 149]

Upload a photo to IMGUR and paste the link from there.

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

Upload a photo to IMGUR and paste the link from there.

Ok...here's the pics.

1st two pics show the "wrinkles" (again, more like bulges). The third pic on the right shows the slight deformation of the plastic that meets the toe cap where boot was punched for pinky toes. (stitching fully intact)

Thoughts?

[laserrobottime 149]

Those all look normal to me. Are they occurring where the edges of the punch were?

[Davetronz 109]

Nothing wrong there. Keep in mind they had to heat and apply pressure and punch/stretch the boot to make it work with your foot. Some costmetic alteration should be expected.

Glad to hear that they're fitting well for you.

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

Those all look normal to me. Are they occurring where the edges of the punch were?

No. The punches (at the pinky toes) are much more clearly defined as an oval and are more raised from the original surface of the boot than the "wrinkles". The "wrinkles" do not appear around the punched area, but rather right before the heel area. Before they stretched them, they told me they would stretch the boot a little in width and also punch the pinky toe area. My guess is that the "wrinkles" formed from the width stretch, not the punch.

Nothing wrong there. Keep in mind they had to heat and apply pressure and punch/stretch the boot to make it work with your foot. Some costmetic alteration should be expected.

Glad to hear that they're fitting well for you.

Glad to hear it doesn't seem to be an issue in terms of structural integrity. Again, I'm fine with some cosmetic defects, and to tell you the truth, these are hardly noticeable. As long as the integrity hasn't been compromised, I'm keeping these since they are an absolute perfect fit after the modifications. It's been a long and arduous process to finally get a boot that fits and performs well, and glad it's finally over. heh.

Thanks so much to all of those who responded with advice. Really appreciate it!