Hockey Skate Tongues - Performance or comfort?

[caseyjones 26]

What does a hockey skate tongue do for you performance wise?  Swapping tongues seem to be a big deal.  Is it strictly a comfort thing?  I've been pondering what a different tongue would do to my Graf Ultra G7's.  The tongue is very thick and comfortable, but i wouldnt mind a little more resistance while leaning forward.  I know a lot of that is probably due to the independent ankle flexion of the skate, but would a different tongue do anything?  Would it be possible to just sew or attach (rig) a Bauer tongue insert to the front of my existing tongue or something of that nature for a bit of the spring back effect that has been mentioned by some or would this just be a losing battle?

[vinprun71 61]

Some people prefer stiffer tongues for the reason you're citing while others prefer a thicker tongue for more lace bite protection. I like as much lace bite protection as possible after the flair up on my right ankle. I never want to experience that again.

[Zorlac 22]

My favorite has been on the MX3. Stiff inserts, and plush enough.  

[vinprun71 61]

13 hours ago, Zorlac said:

My favorite has been on the MX3. Stiff inserts, and plush enough.  

 

+1 on that. I love those inserts. They're more reliable than I anticipated. I thought for sure they'd fly out all the time.

[caseyjones 26]

Do you guys think the inserts can be glued or sewn to the front of another tongue?  Outside of it probably looking a little ridiculous, would it not serve the same purpose?

[vinprun71 61]

1 hour ago, caseyjones said:

Do you guys think the inserts can be glued or sewn to the front of another tongue?  Outside of it probably looking a little ridiculous, would it not serve the same purpose?

 

I guess hypothetically  they could be glued on. The thing to consider is that if you'd be gluing them on top of a tongue that already has lace bite protection built in, you would have quite a bulky tongue. On the MX3 tongue, the center of it accounts for the fact that an insert will be snapped into place. There's a button on the bottom of the tongue that hold the insert in, while it also slides under a lip at the top of the tongue to keep it from popping out. It would be a bit awkward affixed onto another tongue. Keep in mind, with the MX3, if you don't put in an insert, all that's left is a highly flexible tongue. There's no resistance and minimal lace bite prevention.

[caseyjones 26]

45 minutes ago, vinprun71 said:

 

I guess hypothetically  they could be glued on. The thing to consider is that if you'd be gluing them on top of a tongue that already has lace bite protection built in, you would have quite a bulky tongue. On the MX3 tongue, the center of it accounts for the fact that an insert will be snapped into place. There's a button on the bottom of the tongue that hold the insert in, while it also slides under a lip at the top of the tongue to keep it from popping out. It would be a bit awkward affixed onto another tongue. Keep in mind, with the MX3, if you don't put in an insert, all that's left is a highly flexible tongue. There's no resistance and minimal lace bite prevention.

 

Yea, it seems like a longshot and im probably better off experimenting on old skates, but the point for me wouldnt be lace bite protection.  I dont get any lace bite at all in my skates.  I was just looking for a little bit of push back or resistance from the skate when leaning forward. 

[vinprun71 61]

1 hour ago, caseyjones said:

 

Yea, it seems like a longshot and im probably better off experimenting on old skates, but the point for me wouldnt be lace bite protection.  I dont get any lace bite at all in my skates.  I was just looking for a little bit of push back or resistance from the skate when leaning forward. 

 

Good point. That's one advantage of the inserts. You have the option of mid, stiff, and extra stiff. I personally leave the mid insert in, but I could see myself bumping up to the stiff as the tongue breaks down a bit and the mid insert gets soft. 

[Zorlac 22]

Yeah, personally the Stiff insert is what I settled on... what a difference compared to 1X skates..there's like NO resistance compared to MX3s.  flimsy feeling, but plush

[tonguesOUT4life 17]

Here's what I did ..

 

since i I love to flop and I feel that I get a better forward flex and find it very comfortable that way .. I ordered 2 pairs of tongues from Nash sports both white felt.  I had to remove the front leather on one pair of tongues so i can stitch that pair ontop of the second pair with the leather face, that way it would be DOUBLE FELT. But before I stitched it ontop, I had a set of stiff inserts that are used on total one skates and I glued them on between the the tongues and then I finally stitched them together by hand. They look Amazing and perform amazing never had issues ever since I've done it 2 years ago. 

[Mimizk 114]

I've been using a pair of enhanced metatarsal guard tongues on my VH skates. Also I had been using double felt tongues which has much solidity against retail skate tongues but the new meta-guard tongues are more great for me. It's like iron. Completely no lace bite. Perhaps I can represent it as "no lace feeling".

But in VH thread, some guys said that they didn't feel good for the solid tongues. I've been feeling that the meta-guard tongues are the best comfortable tongues for me but feeling is not even for everyone. Certainly there are people who don't feel good for the solid tongues. I can only say that I'm feeling as this and wanna you will decide yourself after you will test it.

[SirJW 207]

3 hours ago, tonguesOUT4life said:

They look Amazing and perform amazing never had issues ever since I've done it 2 years ago. 

pix?

[tonguesOUT4life 17]

http://modsquadhockey.com/forums/index.php?/topic/69393-bladetech-hockey-steel/

 

[tonguesOUT4life 17]

Just sandwich your inserts like salami and make sure the inserts stay low enough so you can get all the performance benefits that they are made for

[hawkeyfan 36]

This is interesting.  Just last night I received a pair of Easton S15 skates that where basically NOS.  the tongues on these has no felt.  I noticed this and wondered what I may need to do in the near future (tounge replacement)

 

My Old skates I noticed where giving me pain in the arches (Lace Bite)  when you pinch squeeze the felt tounges you notice that at the same area the felts have basically worn down.

 

Knowing this.  I am on quest for replacement options for future knowledge/use.

[vinprun71 61]

3 hours ago, hawkeyfan said:

This is interesting.  Just last night I received a pair of Easton S15 skates that where basically NOS.  the tongues on these has no felt.  I noticed this and wondered what I may need to do in the near future (tounge replacement)

 

My Old skates I noticed where giving me pain in the arches (Lace Bite)  when you pinch squeeze the felt tounges you notice that at the same area the felts have basically worn down.

 

Knowing this.  I am on quest for replacement options for future knowledge/use.

 

When you say pain in the arches, are you referring to under your foot or on top of it?

[hawkeyfan 36]

On top ...just looked at the tounges last night...the felt has thinned and the area of concern has nothing to reinforce or protect from lace bite.  I do have high arches and felt that was more of the problem

[vinprun71 61]

Aside from the thin tongue, do you feel that maybe the boot is just too shallow?

[Dizzyg12 27]

I ripped/cut out the metatarsal guards from an old pair of xr premier inline skates.  I intended to see them on to my x90 inline skates but fortunately I haven't had any lace bite issues so I haven't had to do that.  It would be simple enough in my case because the x90 tongue while thick, doesn't have the plastic guard.  All I would need to do is sew it to the front and cover it with a thing piece of leather or something.  

[start_today 778]

13 hours ago, vinprun71 said:

Aside from the thin tongue, do you feel that maybe the boot is just too shallow?

 

I've always thought that lacebite was more about the fit of the boot, and not so much the tongues. But, if everything else fits perfectly, maybe it's worth having to cycle the tongues out. 

[vinprun71 61]

19 hours ago, start_today said:

 

I've always thought that lacebite was more about the fit of the boot, and not so much the tongues. But, if everything else fits perfectly, maybe it's worth having to cycle the tongues out. 

 

It can be one or the other even a combination of the two. For example, I was previously wearing a Vapor APX boot. The skate was brand new, so the tongue wasn't worn out yet. After about a year, I started to get nasty lacebite on my right ankle. I noticed that it seemed like my foot was bulging out of the boot a bit. I then went to my LHS and tried on Supreme MX3. What a difference. The depth in boot stopped my foot from getting irritated and causing lacebite. Fast forward a few months from purchase date, I'm still skating comfortably.

 

On the flip side, a buddy of mine has had his Supreme skates for some time now (over a year). He recently started getting lacebite. When looking at his skate tongues, they are flimsy and beat up. He either needs to purchase new tongues or get a new skate with better tongues. It looks like he's going with option number too. In the mean time, he's using lacebite gels on the inside of his tongues to soften the area a bit.

 

So as you can see, it can be either or. For me, it was boot depth. For my buddy, Mike, it was the tongue itself. Sometimes it can be hard to figure out, but I would pay close attention to what the boot looks like laced up. If there's noticeable bulging, the boot may not fit. You can always try the pencil test to confirm as well. While that's not 100% guaranteed, it can be helpful.