Getting back in after a number of years - Need some skate advice

[jgold47 12]

Started skating again after over 15 years.  Goal is to get on a rec league team by the end of the year.  Having a lot of fun getting back into this, doing open skates and sticks and pucks.  Brain clearly remembers how this works, body not so much.  The fact that I'm pretty out of shape, and overweight compared to when Iast played doesnt help.

 

Long story short, I picked up a pair of Graf 635 with the Cobra 3000 holder.  Great shape, in a 6.5w.  I'm somewhere between 6-6.5 (more on that in a second).  I had them sharpened at a good LHS, with a slight rocker to take out the foward pitch of the grafs, and a slightly deeper hollow 7/16 to take into account my higher weight (235, 5' 5"), and the softer ice I've been skating on.

 

ever since I started skating again I get pretty good pain in 3 places with the Graf's.  the bottoms of my feet, the 'crease' between my foot and ankle on the front, and my outer shin.   I have had some luck experimenting with different lace tightness, I bought a pair of superfeet, and I had my skates baked.    I can get one of the three to go away, but almost never all three at once.   I also seem to have little balance, not while skating, but just standing around and moving slowly. 

 

In an effort to convince myself that it was because I was used to a more neutral pitch of the Bauer's I spent most of my career wearing, I grabbed a pair of 6EE Bauer Nexus 400 from PIAS.  The size is interesting to me, they fit probably the way they should (toe at the end) although I usually prefer something slightly bigger.  I like skating on them, but they kill my feet almost right away, even with the superfeet in there. 

 

Before I go to plan C, which is purchase a completely new pair of skates, and try to break them in (and potentially not solve the problem), I wanted to see if you guys and gals had any thoughts about my setup(s) above, and/or things I could try before I buy another pair of skates. 

 

And candidly, if the answer is that I've skated 10 times in 15 years, just give it time and work up those ankles and muscles, and power through it, I'm ok hearing that too.    Having too much fun to care, but I'm almost at the cusp of feeling comfortable in increasingly more realistic scenarios. 

[kmfdm86 112]

I recently got back into inline about 7 months ago after a similar break. I would say give it a little longer to build up those muscles again before giving up on the skates. Especially at your weight (no offense intended). I'm 6'2" and weigh 180 or so. It took me a good four months of 3-4 skates and/or games a week before my feet, ankles and legs felt normal on skates again.

 

Also, make sure you're doing some good stretching before every skate. When you've been mostly sedentary for a significant amount of time your tendons will tighten up something fierce. 

 

Sorry if this is all stuff you know or thought of already. Just trying to help. Welcome back!

[Zorlac 22]

Certainly give it a little more time.  I too made a "comeback" after many years of no hockey, and my feet were a mess for a few months.  I spent a ton on skates, footbeds, laces, rebakes etc.

In the end, a proper fit, and some time should make that footpain a thing of the past.  I like the stretching that KMF mentioned too!

[krisdrum 223]

Seems like you aren't exactly sure on fit.  The Grafs and the Nexus are pretty different.  635s have a wide-ish forefoot and narrow heel with a "pocket" for your heel, even in a "wide" width.  Not a ton of depth, pretty middle of the road.  I skate the 535 wides.  The Nexus, especially in an EE width is going to be some of the widest roomiest skates you can get.  The Grafs are highly heat-moldable.  Not sure about the Nexus.  I would find the best fitter in your area and get an assessment from them before plunking down any more money.

 

And as someone new to skating as an adult, I'm finding less foot pain the more I skate.  There are a ton of little under-used muscles in your feet that skating works hard.  I'm also finding that some of that changes model to model.  I recently switched from some Vapor EEs to the Grafs.  Combined with a year lay-off, I'm basically re-teaching myself to skate in the new boots.

[jgold47 12]

Great advice so far, thanks. The good news is that I've been working out like crazy on upper body/core stuff due to some lower back issues I was having earlier this year, and that's looking good. Not as much with lower body, but that's obviously next. 

 

Foot or is probably shaped more like a Graf (wide front/narrow heel) so I think I might give the grafs the go for now and just stick it out.  

 

Im thinking I might want to jump to full pads sooner than later to get used to the different(ish) stride/balance. 

 

Now to to find pants that dont fit down at my shins...

[Larry54 243]

First of all, heavier weight and softer ice should both steer you toward a shallower hollow, not a deeper one. If you're comfortable at 7/16", then that's OK since preference is also part of it, but 7/16" would generally be considered as a bit deep for your weight, especially on soft ice. I used 1/2" with Bauer Flexlites when I weighed around 150lbs. Now at 140-145lb, I've even gone to 5/8" on VH skates on slightly soft ice (but VH skates are another story).

 

I don't know if it's still the case, but CCM pants were known to run a bit shorter than other brands. I have short legs, even for a 5'7" guy and the CCM U+12 pants fit just right on me.

[SolarWind 23]

what I find is that weight doesn't necessarily have as much correlation to the hollow as the skill and preference does...

but generally I'd agree - softer ice and heavier weight better leads to shallower hollow, not deeper one.

 

7/16 is crazy deep for me personally and I'm about 210#, 5/8 is as deep as I go

but I know a lot of rep level Peewee/Bantam players (all under 130#) skating on 5/8 as well while there are some NHLer skating on 3/8s (not that many tho)

so as long as your edges don't catch all the time and you have good edge control and you aren't getting overly tired from digging in use whatever hollow that works best for you.

[jgold47 12]

Thanks - so I had the guy go back to 5/8 and that made a huge difference.  I skated full pads friday night at P&S and other than an embarassing issue with my pants not staying up (needed suspenders) and the fact that I couldnt get my skates dialed in right, it had fun. 

 

I was finally able to get into my LHS today, and got measured properly.   Turns out I am not quite a 6, so the 6.5 Grafs are too big.  Making matters worse, my left foot is a half size smaller than my right, so definitely done with the grafs. 

 

I think I'm committed to a new pair of skates at this point.  Tried on the Bauer X500's and the 160's.   I think the x500's felt slightly better.  The didnt have any of the nexus ones there in my size, so I didnt get to try that.  as I'm shopping around I'm seeing some of the LY's 170's on clearance in my size, so I may bit the bullet and give that a try.  I'll try sucking it up with the nexxus 400's i have (in a6ee) for tuesday and then pull the trigger.