thoughts on "feeling the ice"

[caseyjones 26]

I hear this thrown around a lot, but is it legit? Im assuming it means feeling your edges for better skating, but if you know how to skate do you need to "feel" your edges? Wouldnt one just "know" their edges? Im asking this because i have a bit of a hot spot on my graf skates. It is right on the ball of my foot near my big toe. Basically, if you point ur toes upward, that bony part of the underside of your foot by your big toe. So i want to beef up my insoles in that area to have some added cushion. I was thinking about cutting another insole from the ball of the foot to the toes and gluing it to the underside of my stock insoles. Im also hoping it will take up a little more volume in that part of the skate as well as neutralize a tiny bit of the forward pitch, but would beefing that up compromise my skating?

[JoeyJ0506 192]

Maybe try a different insole altogether?

As for "feeling the ice" definitely a real thing. I forgot my socks one night and was forced to skate barefoot. I have not worn socks since. I feel that my foot locks into the skate better with no sock on, and I can "feel" my blades, edges, etc. much more effectively without socks.

[caseyjones 26]

Maybe try a different insole altogether?

As for "feeling the ice" definitely a real thing. I forgot my socks one night and was forced to skate barefoot. I have not worn socks since. I feel that my foot locks into the skate better with no sock on, and I can "feel" my blades, edges, etc. much more effectively without socks.

i loved the Graf Sidas insoles but those are impossible to find now. I ordered the shock dr. insoles and hated those. I have the yellow superfeet and did not like those either. I have so many random pairs of skates that i was thinking of just cutting the front part off an old flimsy bauer footbed and gluing it down to give it that little bit of extra cushion. Theres a pressure point on the sole of the skate....i believe from an RMS screw that the ball of my foot sits right on top of and with the forward lean of the skate there winds up being an enormous amt of pressure there. Its more annoying than anything but i want to perfect the feel of the skate. I had put Sidas footbeds in the skates which were a little beefier than the stock ones in there now and it alleviated the issue, however i sold the 705's in which the sidas footbeds belong to and now i cant find those in my size anywhere for a normal price.

Were you skating in hockey socks/dress socks before you made the switch to barefoot? My main concern with that would having my skates stink to high heaven.

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

I hear this thrown around a lot, but is it legit? Im assuming it means feeling your edges for better skating, but if you know how to skate do you need to "feel" your edges? Wouldnt one just "know" their edges? Im asking this because i have a bit of a hot spot on my graf skates. It is right on the ball of my foot near my big toe. Basically, if you point ur toes upward, that bony part of the underside of your foot by your big toe. So i want to beef up my insoles in that area to have some added cushion. I was thinking about cutting another insole from the ball of the foot to the toes and gluing it to the underside of my stock insoles. Im also hoping it will take up a little more volume in that part of the skate as well as neutralize a tiny bit of the forward pitch, but would beefing that up compromise my skating?

I think when you're referring to "feel" you really mean "response". Maybe semantics... I think response (and improved response) comes all down to how your foot fits in your skate and your skate's characteristics (i.e. soft/stiff boot). The better the fit, the quicker and better response you receive when you skate. If your skate feels mushy (either from a bad fit or a broken down soft boot), you won't get as solid of a response. Not for your case, but think of Stable 26 socks. The reason they claim to work (and I do believe they do work, but not a monumental difference) is that you're filling in tiny pockets of negative space, which provides more direct contact of your skate with your foot, providing a better fit, which "quickens" the response.

In your case, since that's not an area that I would believe you could punch, maybe adding a Bunga gel disc or something similar would work, without adding too much "mushiness" to the overall feel of your skate would help? Or maybe try a different insole like others suggested, but that could open a can of worms with other areas of fit in your boot. However, CCM custom footbeds I find have a pretty thick forefoot, which might help you.

[JoeyJ0506 192]

Were you skating in hockey socks/dress socks before you made the switch to barefoot? My main concern with that would having my skates stink to high heaven.

I tried a myriad of different socks: Reebok, Bauer, Shock Doctor, Warrior, Easton, and really thin black dress socks. For me, nothing worked out. The thin Bauer socks were the best of the bunch. I tried to go back to wearing socks to save my skates, but it did not feel right when I tried to wear socks again. I find that if I remove the insoles, pull the tongues forward, and get the box fan blowing on the skates after a skate/game they are no worse than if I were wearing socks. But, I have really disciplined myself to hang up and air out my gear after every time I skate.

[Vet88 674]

Im asking this because i have a bit of a hot spot on my graf skates. It is right on the ball of my foot near my big toe. Basically, if you point ur toes upward, that bony part of the underside of your foot by your big toe. So i want to beef up my insoles in that area to have some added cushion.

I had the same issue. I purchased a gel foot cushion and inserted it under the insole and the foot pain disappeared:

http://www.amazon.com/PediFix-Pedi-gel-Ball-of-foot-Pad-2-Count/dp/B004G8G4V6

If you want to fix the pitch you will need to do something else like reprofile your blade, shim the holder or change the holder.