Ribcor 70K Skates

[Asian Tomatoe 30]

On 12/23/2017 at 12:08 PM, chippa13 said:

Strangely, I found the new K line gave me better volume and forefoot room than the Tacks line.

I have the 68K which isn't all that different from the 70K. I tried on the Tacks line as well and had the same experience as chippa13. The new Ribcor line gave me more volume thru the instep/arch area. I generally fit into a deep boot like the Nexus or Graf 709 but have a narrow heel (wide v-shaped forefoot but with thicker ankles and a lot of volume in the instep/arch area - the Old Easton S17 were the best fitting skates for me).

I have to agree with everyone that, for me, it's been the best fitting skate in years. Despite what the websites say, I'd call the new Ribcor line a medium, mid to mid-low volume forefoot, mid to mid high instep volume, and mid ankle volume. It reminds me of the Easton S17 fit but lower cut or the older CCM Tacks fit from the 90's but wider in the forefoot and stiffer.

As FlyingChicaga and Rockingsquat said, it gives great heel lock and is really comfortable once broken in but it does expand a lot when its baked and it does keep breaking in and give you more volume over time making it difficult to size the skate properly.

I'm a 6.5 across the board for skate size (excluding some of the odd sized skates like the first gen Tacks and Jetspeed) and these 68K's have now broken to a point where I think I could have gone down to a 6 if I really wanted (Toe are just barely not touching the cap standing up now). Just a word of warning, I like my skates really short to where my toes are touching the cap so I just added some Powerfoot to keep that feeling.

Overall, I really enjoy the cut of the boot, height, and the flexibility of the boot. Don't get me wrong, the boot is plenty stiff enough but it has just enough flex built in to where it doesn't feel like ski boots on your feet when tied to the top (For reference I weigh about 230 lbs.). Once I get more time in them, I'll write a full review but so far so good. Also, it looks like CCM might be using slightly thicker eyelets than their previous incarnations to prevent the eyelet issues it had before but this is just from looking at it with the naked eye.

 

[x-track 8]

well ..i have the same type of foot like you and the best skates for me as well were the S17  , 9W  .....my current pair cracked the carbon outsole last week so I am down to one last new pair of S 17's ( stocked up 4 pairs when the last ones were available )

 

tried the 70k yesterday in 9D and failed ( unbaked though ) the pencil test ......the S17 gave about half a size after baking ...how would you rate the 70 K ?   thx

[Asian Tomatoe 30]

How badly did you fail the pencil test?

I generally fail the pencil test on most skates in the couple eyelets right before and after the boot starts to curve up unbaked (even the Nexus line).

With the stock insoles on the 68K I barely failed unbaked but after baking and breaking in, I gained some depth. I'd say about 2 - 4 mm of depth since my foot is sinking back into the heel and padding.

In terms of gaining length, I'd say it is close to the S17 but I wouldn't say half a size. At least for my foot, 1/4 size for sure. I feel like I gained more depth than anything else.

Are you asking how the 70k compares to the S17 in terms of skating feel and performance? If so, it's different. The 68/70k is a lower cut and less stiff boot up top which i prefer. I didn't tie the top eyelet on the S17. I still have my S17 and going back and forth, it feels like the S17 is stiffer all around and less forgiving. I'm more mobile in the 68/70k and feel like I have better control of my lateral movement.

I'd rate it a 9/10 for for now but I'll see how the durability of the skates are. I've never been to fond of the cloth liner and prefer the clarino liner like in the S17.

For reference, I skate 2-3 times a week.

 

 

[hockeygeartester 0]

How do the 70k compare to the old jetspeed skates in terms of features and heat moldability?

[rawkstar 45]

Tried these out. Post bake fit amazing around the heel and ankle, it just feels like there's foam all around your foot, its really comfortable. Unfortunately the toe cap and the forefoot is actually fairly wide and has more volume, my foot was just swimming in there. Had to swap them out for Jetspeeds, which looks like it has a narrower toecap and less volume in the forefoot. Its kind of a weird fit between the two lines, neither is really specifically a narrow or wide fit. Ribcor is a tight heel, wide forefoot and toecap and more volume in the front, Jetspeed is a wider heel, but narrower forefoot and toecap and less volume upfront. These are just my observations. I'm coming off of Graf 703 wide boot, so low volume narrow boot with a tight heel. Ribcor was supposed to be the ticket, but Jetspeed turned out to fit a lot better.

[skiboyny 4]

21 hours ago, rawkstar said:

Tried these out. Post bake fit amazing around the heel and ankle, it just feels like there's foam all around your foot, its really comfortable. Unfortunately the toe cap and the forefoot is actually fairly wide and has more volume, my foot was just swimming in there. Had to swap them out for Jetspeeds, which looks like it has a narrower toecap and less volume in the forefoot. Its kind of a weird fit between the two lines, neither is really specifically a narrow or wide fit. Ribcor is a tight heel, wide forefoot and toecap and more volume in the front, Jetspeed is a wider heel, but narrower forefoot and toecap and less volume upfront. These are just my observations. I'm coming off of Graf 703 wide boot, so low volume narrow boot with a tight heel. Ribcor was supposed to be the ticket, but Jetspeed turned out to fit a lot better.

How easy was it for you to transition to Ribcor coming off the 703s? Ballance points etc.

[rawkstar 45]

On 703s I had step steel with a custom profile 8'/13'. Ribcors had stock 10'. Runners are different heights, holders are quite a bit different too. That said transition was pretty quick, felt awkard for the first couple of minutes on the ice, but after about 15 minutes of skating it felt pretty natural. As far as balance points I felt a bit more on my heels with the Ribcors, but it wasn't drastic. Comparatively the Jetspeeds actually pushed me more forward. Honestly the only weird thing was the extra room in the toecap. Everything else was fairly easy to adapt to.

[FlyChicaga 21]

As Asian Tomatoe said, I had to order Powerfeet because as the skates break in I feel like there is too much room in the toe box. However I still have good heel lock. These still are the most comfortable skates I've ever owned.

[Cavs019 708]

I might end up giving these (or Trues) a shot- Id love to find a modern skate where I don't need to leave the top eyelet undone. Do you guys know how much lower they are in terms of boot height vs. say a 1X or Jetspeed? Last retail pair of skates I had that I could lace all the way up was the old One90.

My sense is that my V shaped D/AAA high instep foot might work with these off the rack. Hoping I don't need customs to accommodate a narrower heel. 

Edited January 12, 2018 by Cavs019

[adam14 182]

I can't give an exact measurement but it's a noticeably lower cut than the super tacks or ft1 when trying them on off the shelf

[Tom18 0]

I'm running 68k's. So far I've skated 3 times during stick and puck and baked them twice (once before my first skate and once before the last).

I can definitely understand when people say they're comfortable, but I have a wide mid foot, specifically on the outside, and they're killing me. Considering I only have 3 skates on them, I'm not really worried yet, but I'm fearing that they're just cut to narrow in the mid-section for me. I have 8.5EE and I normally run 10s or 10.5 in shoes. 

I'm coming from CCM U4s size 8.5D, and I thought they were narrow. But when I compare stock insoles, the ribcors are narrower. 

I'm going to start wearing them around the house with thick socks, but again, I think I'm kind of limited on the amount of room the boot will give from the mid foot. We'll see...

 

[ParabolicActivity 48]

5 hours ago, Tom18 said:

I'm running 68k's. So far I've skated 3 times during stick and puck and baked them twice (once before my first skate and once before the last).

I can definitely understand when people say they're comfortable, but I have a wide mid foot, specifically on the outside, and they're killing me. Considering I only have 3 skates on them, I'm not really worried yet, but I'm fearing that they're just cut to narrow in the mid-section for me. I have 8.5EE and I normally run 10s or 10.5 in shoes. 

I'm coming from CCM U4s size 8.5D, and I thought they were narrow. But when I compare stock insoles, the ribcors are narrower. 

I'm going to start wearing them around the house with thick socks, but again, I think I'm kind of limited on the amount of room the boot will give from the mid foot. We'll see...

 

I had a similar issue I'm my 68ks. My solution was a combination of goofing around with how I tie my skate and also re-tying my skates after I have had them on for 5-10 minutes. I'm not sure why but tying too tight and then backing off later seems to work for me. 

[Tom18 0]

On 2/8/2018 at 9:59 PM, ParabolicActivity said:

I had a similar issue I'm my 68ks. My solution was a combination of goofing around with how I tie my skate and also re-tying my skates after I have had them on for 5-10 minutes. I'm not sure why but tying too tight and then backing off later seems to work for me. 

Yeah, I notice that too when I go super tight then slightly loose.

What did you do as far as goofing around how you tie them? I've tried to leave the middle laces slightly looser, but it winds up just throwing the whole lace job off.

[ParabolicActivity 48]

12 hours ago, Tom18 said:

Yeah, I notice that too when I go super tight then slightly loose.

What did you do as far as goofing around how you tie them? I've tried to leave the middle laces slightly looser, but it winds up just throwing the whole lace job off.

I was skipping the 5th eyelet and then using the 3rd and 4th laces to do a "lace lock" or "heel lock". I forget what its called. For a while I was also skipping the 7th eyelet. But I yesterday I just did a standard lace up. I waited until my feet got to hurting bad and then backed off the tightnesss and they felt perfect 

[padobo 0]

On 2/10/2018 at 3:29 AM, Tom18 said:

Yeah, I notice that too when I go super tight then slightly loose.

What did you do as far as goofing around how you tie them? I've tried to leave the middle laces slightly looser, but it winds up just throwing the whole lace job off.

 

On 2/10/2018 at 4:09 PM, ParabolicActivity said:

I was skipping the 5th eyelet and then using the 3rd and 4th laces to do a "lace lock" or "heel lock". I forget what its called. For a while I was also skipping the 7th eyelet. But I yesterday I just did a standard lace up. I waited until my feet got to hurting bad and then backed off the tightnesss and they felt perfect 

 

What I've done, and I find it works really well for me, is that I've been tying my skates the way Crosby ties his up.  The 2nd eyelet from the top is skipped.  It took me a long time to find a comfortable lacing pattern that would allow me to get flexion plus being able to tie them tighter.  I've tried going all tight (not good), then loose for the top 3 (still not good), and I've even attempted to leave them all slightly loose which oddly seemed to work the best for a while. Now, I tighten the bottom 3, pull the next 3 snug, then tie the top 2 tight.  Works well.  (I can't upload a photo of them, because I don't know how yet.)

 

I got these skates at the beginning of this season because I was intrigued by the memory foam ankle pads, and the low volume seemed to suit my foot the best.  I had Bauer Supreme skates before this year, and they shredded my ankles and feet apart.  I had a D width which was way too narrow, and the instep seemed too deep for me.  That's what I attribute to the foot pain.  I tried Bauer Vapor X900 in the store, but on the initial lace up, my ankles were still bad (protruding navicular bone on the left foot).  Anyway, tried these and they felt amazing.  Most comfortable skate I ever put on out of the box. Ended up with a EE, which is a very good width for me once they are baked right.  So as for comfort, I'd give these a 10/10. 

The problem for me was with the performance of the skate.  Firstly, if you don't bake these skates right the first time, then you'll probably need to do them once more.  The instructions suggest 2 mins, which is what I done the first time, but I let them sit in the oven for double that the 2nd time around.  The extra time softened them up really well, and they molded to my foot much better.  It was almost like I couldn't tie them up properly I done before this.  Also, I wasn't a fan of the angle of the tendon guard, so I bent that back during the 2nd baking and now it's in a much more comfortable position (straight).  Before I had them baked the 2nd time, I found they were a very difficult skate to adjust to skating in.  My skating ability was basically cut in half for most of this year, and I couldn't wait to get the season over with so I wouldn't have to use them.  I had difficulty turning, crossing over, pivoting, skating backwards, stops and starts.... you name it, I was having trouble.  A lot of the time it felt as if I was toe picking the ice when I was crossing over, and it made me question the size, but that's not the case (right size).  And as someone mentioned earlier, the toe box has A LOT of room.  I can easily curl my toes in this skate when I'm on the ice, but I've accepted this, even though it still feels weird.  I've tried Powerfoot, but the issue I had was that the toe box is also shorter than most other toe boxes I've seen on other skates, so it felt like the insert was too far back on my foot.  I had a difficult time adjusting to them, so they ended up coming out for good before I baked the skates a 2nd time.  Overall, I would only give these skates a 5/10 for performance, and 5 is generous because they've been half decent after the 2nd baking and different lacing pattern.

 

I find they also fit much smaller than a Bauer in length.  I have a 7 EE and they are perfect, but I tried a 7 EE in a Bauer and they felt miles too big.  Anyway, if you're looking for a comfortable skate then I would suggest this line because they feel amazing on your foot, but you have to be prepared to do some fooling around to get a good feel for them on the ice.

[bgspillz 2]

Do the 70ks still "upsize" the holder as compared to the Super Tacks/FT1s? I wear 7.5Ds. In Super Tacks/FT1s the runner size is 263 while my 50ks have 272.

[padobo 0]

4 hours ago, bgspillz said:

Do the 70ks still "upsize" the holder as compared to the Super Tacks/FT1s? I wear 7.5Ds. In Super Tacks/FT1s the runner size is 263 while my 50ks have 272.

According to the size chart, a 7.5 would have a 271.

Edited February 15, 2018 by padobo

[Buzz_LightBeer 969]

8 hours ago, bgspillz said:

Do the 70ks still "upsize" the holder as compared to the Super Tacks/FT1s? I wear 7.5Ds. In Super Tacks/FT1s the runner size is 263 while my 50ks have 272.

If they did, I imagine it's only on the EE skates. So 7.5 D would have a smaller holder than 7.5EE, but maybe someone could confirm/debunk?

[Siponarius 17]

I tried on a pair of 70s, but opted to go down to the 68ks. I barely pass/fail the pencil test, which is after i put my superfeet in them. They feel amazing after my first skate (public skate), although I'm a little worried about the memory foam in my first game. But I'm hopeful. 

Otherwise, these fit just as nice as my first gen Naxus skates. Looking forward to playing them out tomorrow. 

[chippa13 1844]

2 skates in on these and they're a great set of wheels. Increased pitch coming off Tuuk is taking a little getting used to but getting nice response from these.

[goalieman39 37]

On 2/15/2018 at 6:58 PM, Buzz_LightBeer said:

If they did, I imagine it's only on the EE skates. So 7.5 D would have a smaller holder than 7.5EE, but maybe someone could confirm/debunk?

The 7.5 in my store uses a 263

[chippa13 1844]

I'm now 3 skates in and with my foot settling into the ankle pads the pitch is matching what I was used to skating on prior to these. Outside of adjusting to the steel height difference between my super worn down LS2 and the new SB black, these bad boys are really dialing in for me.

[chippa13 1844]

A few weeks on these and this steel holds an edge like nothing I've been on before.

[BlueNux 17]

Here are my thoughts on 70K after recently fitting every model of skates out there. Overall, I would classify all the CCM skates as different variations of medium fits and Bauer skates as accurately advertised in terms of fit. FYI my foot shape is: med forefoot, med mid-foot, med/narrow heel, med instep.

70K: I would not consider the 70K a low volume boot as claimed by retailers. First thing I noticed is that it has a spacious forefoot and toe cap, both in terms of width and height. Heel lock is really comfy - snug given a ton of memory foam to lock in heels, but soft enough to adapt to wider heels.

Medium instep edging very slightly towards the shallower end, but the flexible lacing area and tongue really allows it to accommodate larger insteps. Easy to get knee bends and just incredibly comfortable overall. I do feel the boot will expand over time with regular use everywhere, so wouldn't recommend these as option #1 if you have true medium profile foot. Even if they feel cushy initially, I'd check other skates for a more anatomical, snug, glove-like fit.

Target foot profile: wider forefoot and enjoy more toe space (this is a must), med or med/wide for mid-foot and heel, medium or med/high instep. Jetspeed, Supreme, and Vapor skates all felt like they had less overall space than the 70Ks. Width for 70K comparable to Tacks imo, but very different instep and overall feel especially at the heel.

Edited April 14, 2018 by BlueNux

[mjpisat 36]

On 12/27/2017 at 6:44 PM, Asian Tomatoe said:

I have the 68K which isn't all that different from the 70K. I tried on the Tacks line as well and had the same experience as chippa13. The new Ribcor line gave me more volume thru the instep/arch area. I generally fit into a deep boot like the Nexus or Graf 709 but have a narrow heel (wide v-shaped forefoot but with thicker ankles and a lot of volume in the instep/arch area - the Old Easton S17 were the best fitting skates for me).

I have to agree with everyone that, for me, it's been the best fitting skate in years. Despite what the websites say, I'd call the new Ribcor line a medium, mid to mid-low volume forefoot, mid to mid high instep volume, and mid ankle volume. It reminds me of the Easton S17 fit but lower cut or the older CCM Tacks fit from the 90's but wider in the forefoot and stiffer.

As FlyingChicaga and Rockingsquat said, it gives great heel lock and is really comfortable once broken in but it does expand a lot when its baked and it does keep breaking in and give you more volume over time making it difficult to size the skate properly.

I'm a 6.5 across the board for skate size (excluding some of the odd sized skates like the first gen Tacks and Jetspeed) and these 68K's have now broken to a point where I think I could have gone down to a 6 if I really wanted (Toe are just barely not touching the cap standing up now). Just a word of warning, I like my skates really short to where my toes are touching the cap so I just added some Powerfoot to keep that feeling.

Overall, I really enjoy the cut of the boot, height, and the flexibility of the boot. Don't get me wrong, the boot is plenty stiff enough but it has just enough flex built in to where it doesn't feel like ski boots on your feet when tied to the top (For reference I weigh about 230 lbs.). Once I get more time in them, I'll write a full review but so far so good. Also, it looks like CCM might be using slightly thicker eyelets than their previous incarnations to prevent the eyelet issues it had before but this is just from looking at it with the naked eye.

 

Did you ever post a full review?