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Diablo34

Smaller skates too low for proper ankle support?

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Hi I have a quick question so I went out last week to purchase my first pair of ice skates but at a newbie I was having a little trouble with sizing! So my shoe size ranges anywheee from 10.5 to 11.5 US and they guy who was helping me said the 9.5 he gave me would be fine so I took them out to the rink that night and when I tied them very tight my name was very stiff and felt almost like I had very strong ankle tape on or a brace. Well I ended up taking that pair back because I needed the money for a family medical issue. I went back in today to buy them back but they couldn't find them but a new guy who helped me said 9.5 may have been a lil to big so we went all the way down to 8.5 because they didn't have 9's in stock and he said those would be fine. So I took the new pair out today and they felt fine my foot didn't feel cramped and my big toe was barley touching the front but when I was walkin around I noticed  that no matter how tight I tied them the outer part of my ankle could bend if I tried to and I didn't have the total "Steel  ankle  brace feeling the other ones had. Is this all in my head or is the lacing not high enough because of the smaller skate. Sorry for the dumb question. It also felt like I had the "speed wobbles" a few times. I'm new to ice hockey and skating so I honestly don't know what to look for but the guy who helped me assured me he's played since he was little and he knew what to look for

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It helps if people know what type of skates you're wearing.

But the "speed wobbles" just mean you haven't built up the necessary muscles in your ankles and feet yet. It happens to everyone when they're starting out. 

If everything else about the sizing feels right then stick with them, go to public skates, take a class, go to stick and puck. Skate, skate, skate. You'll get there.

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The way you describe the 8.5 fit sounds perfect. If you can feel the toe cap with your toes but it isn't preventing your foot from expanding when you put your weight on it, that's perfect. If there's too much room up there, you're likely in the wrong size and have a better chance the rest of the boot isn't aligned with the major parts of your foot like it should be. It makes sense you'd feel more ankle rotation in the right size, as it will be a little bit lower in volume than a size bigger, and if you can stand the ankle rotation, it's an important component to an efficient stride. There are plenty of hockey players who forego that and prefer the ankle locked experience, but it's not the most efficient way to skate and some people say it contributes to joint problems in other parts of the body. Part of getting used to skating is building up the muscles and neural pathways (as @YesLanges convincingly pointed out in a different thread) that give you control to handle your body weight balancing on a rotated ankle at different angles and whatnot. Which skates did you get? They're not all the same in their approach to ankle support.

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I could be wrong on this, but i don't think there's a height difference, or at least not a significant one. It's more likely it's just the change in fit. If I were to guess, the larger skate had more volume, so when you tied them up the boot wrapped more easily around the front of your foot. I would not recommend going back up to the larger skates if the 8.5 fit, because skates that don't fit properly can cause you foot problems. Google up Bauer Bump/ Haglund's deformity if you want an example. 

When i got new skates last Christmas, I had a little bit of what you're experiencing. I tried a bunch of different things until I found a quick and simple solution. I just tried a different lacing method.

Here's a link to a thread where I described the lacing method. I found it helped pulled the top of the skate around my ankle more and eliminated a lot of the lateral movement. It might not be perfect for you, but it's something to try.

 

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Thanks, Flip.

If the problem is too much ankle lock, I highly doubt that's a skate-size issue at all (especially since the next larger size is obviously too big). More likely, he just extended his foot and pointed his toes when he tightened them. If you do that, you won't be able to bend your ankle very much and you'll feel like it's in a cast. You can stick your leg out to pull the laces tight, but with your ankle bent instead of toes pointed. If the heel of the blade is on the floor, you need to consciously keep your ankle bent so the toes are pointed to the ceiling when you pull on the laces; that locks your ankle laterally without constricting the flexion of the joint.

 

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1 hour ago, kmfdm86 said:

It helps if people know what type of skates you're wearing.

But the "speed wobbles" just mean you haven't built up the necessary muscles in your ankles and feet yet. It happens to everyone when they're starting out. 

If everything else about the sizing feels right then stick with them, go to public skates, take a class, go to stick and puck. Skate, skate, skate. You'll get there.

Baur vapor 400

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I was so gonna invest more money into buying a top brand skate but the season starts in 1 month so I figured I'd settle for these and as my skills improve I'll buy better skates 

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Ask I'm not sure if this matters but ALL tbeoressire was in the. A of my foot And the second session I found it hard to skate as effeciany once again could all be in my head

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That's a lower end skate, I'd be a little concerned about the (lack of) stiffness for a guy your size (220 lbs+?) They'll be fine at first, but as you learn to skate in them and use your weight correctly they'll start to crease and break down. If you get two seasons out of them i'd be surprised.

Also, what store are you going to? There are a lot more nuances of fitting a hockey skate boot than just the size. Just want to be sure you're getting the best advice from the guy helping you. Different skate brands and different lines all fit very differently, because feet are so different - different widths at the toe and heel, different lengths obviously, different volumes, different arches, etc. You should be trying on multiple skates in different lines from different brands to find the best fit for your foot.

Hate to be the "you should buy more expensive equipment" guy but I said in a previous post that skates are going to be your most important piece of equipment. Got to get them right.

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