Skates for narrow ankle

[hockeygeartester 0]

I have extremely narrow ankles, and am currently skating in 2015 vapor skates. I find that when I lace them, I have to pull the top 2 eyelets extremely tight in order to get wrap around my ankle. Even when I do this, however, there is still too much room in the ankle. What skates are good for people with narrow ankles/have good ankle wrap?

[Vet88 674]

If you fall outside the manufacturers norm then True are your only hope. However try FT1's or Rbk 70k's, especially the 70k as they should mold around your ankle during the bake period. But then again if you are spending this much then you may as well go custom with True and get a boot that fits out of the box.

[icewalker_bg 126]

Mako / VH.

[Monty22 831]

I have a very low volume foot and skinny ankles.  I went with VH (now True) three years ago and can't imagine skating in anything else. 

[Jamarquan 201]

I don't own True skates (Vapors, and they fit pretty well), but I've yet to hear any major complaints about them, and everybody who switches over seems to really enjoy it. If you can, go try on the FT1 and 70K like suggested above, but True are probably going to be your best bet.

[althoma1 574]

11 hours ago, icewalker_bg said:

Mako / VH.

This would be my recommendation as well. Try to find Mako II, M8 or M7 skates in your size in a D width. It may be challenging at this point since they've been discontinued a while, but check sell sections of forums, sidelineswap, ebay, craigslist, kijiji ect. If your Vapors are sized properly then you're probably looking for either the same size or a half size up. This will be a cheaper option.

The more expensive option, but one that'll be built around scans and measurements of your feet, is the VH/True option. Trying on the FT1 and 70K skates is worth a shot if you can find a gently used pair or a good sale, but at full pop, you might as well just go with True/VH as they're in the same high end price range. 

[icewalker_bg 126]

You can find Makos here and there, like eBay but much more expensive than when they were selling for 100-150$ on HM. 

If you can afford it, the best advice I can give you it go the custom route with VH True, you will not regret it one bit. 

[AIREAYE 248]

I've found Supremes work very well for my narrow/bony ankles.

[althoma1 574]

Maybe in a D, but in EE I've found them pretty sloppy in the heel (better than Nexus, but definitely not as snug as my Makos) when I've had a chance to demo them at Modsquad events. I wouldn't know about D as there's no way I can squeeze my forefoot into a D Supreme without some serious stretching. Now, this wasn't the current model; so the fit may have been tweaked over time. 

[hockeygeartester 0]

6 hours ago, AIREAYE said:

I've found Supremes work very well for my narrow/bony ankles.

Is the anatomical fit of the supreme skate better for bony ankles? In general are anatomical fit skates better for narrow ankles? How do supremes compare to vapors in terms of ankle lock? I thought supremes had a wider opening for the ankle.

[AIREAYE 248]

16 hours ago, hockeygeartester said:

Is the anatomical fit of the supreme skate better for bony ankles? In general are anatomical fit skates better for narrow ankles? How do supremes compare to vapors in terms of ankle lock? I thought supremes had a wider opening for the ankle.

They are for me. Whether they will be for you, I don't know, as everyone's feet are different. My brother also has narrow ankles (and a narrow overall foot in general) but he finds the placement/shape of the anatomical pads in the Supreme line uncomfortable and so he prefers Vapors. Definitely worth a try, however! 

Supremes are a 'closer' fit to the ankles with a rounder heel and closer wrap than Vapor. Vapor features more of a V-shaped heel and upper ankle than Supreme.

[Vet88 674]

On 11/14/2017 at 2:23 PM, AIREAYE said:

I've found Supremes work very well for my narrow/bony ankles.

lol, I've just got out of a moon boot after heel surgery. Ankle and heel still really swollen, can't fit into my Jetspeeds or apx2's yet I can effortlessly fit into my one100's or MX3's. I just don't get how you can say a supreme is a "closer" fit for a narrow ankle. It's not, it's a general rounded (aka anatomical) fit for a medium ankle. Just take a look at the inside heel pocket of a supreme and compare that to a Jetspeed, FT1 or 70k.

[hockeygeartester 0]

What about the Super Tacks skates? Do those wrap around a narrow ankle very well?

[Vet88 674]

13 minutes ago, hockeygeartester said:

What about the Super Tacks skates? Do those wrap around a narrow ankle very well?

Yes and no, it really depends on where you are on the narrow range. Super and Ultra Tacks have an excellent heel lock but fit different, they either fit your feet or not and because of the construction are harder to punch / shape than other boots. If you have a really narrow ankle and a low volume foot then 70ks would be your first pick then FT1's or Jetspeeds or 50ks. I say 70ks because the wrap and form shape when baking is amazing. But if you are going to spend this much then consider custom Trues and never look back.

[AIREAYE 248]

On 11/14/2017 at 9:15 PM, Vet88 said:

lol, I've just got out of a moon boot after heel surgery. Ankle and heel still really swollen, can't fit into my Jetspeeds or apx2's yet I can effortlessly fit into my one100's or MX3's. I just don't get how you can say a supreme is a "closer" fit for a narrow ankle. It's not, it's a general rounded (aka anatomical) fit for a medium ankle. Just take a look at the inside heel pocket of a supreme and compare that to a Jetspeed, FT1 or 70k.

I didn't say they were a closer fit for a narrow ankle. I said they were a 'close' anatomical fit, and that they fit very well for MY narrow/bony ankles. Former is more fact; Bauer's design. Latter is opinion. I've fit more than enough skates in my 'career' professionally to be able to differentiate the two...

 

[kdwyer56 6]

I think your best bet will be the CCM JetSpeed FT1's.  Even 70K's I think will be too wide. Unless you want to pay $1,000 for a custom skate I'd try the JetSpeed's on and see if they work.

[Vet88 674]

8 hours ago, AIREAYE said:

I didn't say they were a closer fit for a narrow ankle. I said they were a 'close' anatomical fit, and that they fit very well for MY narrow/bony ankles. Former is more fact; Bauer's design. Latter is opinion. I've fit more than enough skates in my 'career' professionally to be able to differentiate the two...

 

Fit (they don't hurt my feet) and fit (proper foot shape, no negative space, correct heel lock) are often 2 very different things. There is a simple test for this though, if the person is willing enough to do it. Take your laces out, go for a skate then hop on and off the ice a few times over the boards. If your heel slips in the pocket then something isn't quite right. Unless I'm wearing 2mm booties and a heel bunga sleeve, my heel slips in my supremes but in Jetspeeds (with just thin socks on) it stays locked in. 

[matix218 11]

The older Easton stealth S17's had a pretty narrow ankle.  I have a brand new pair that I am trying to sell if you happen to wear a size 7R ;)

[Vet88 674]

6 hours ago, matix218 said:

The older Easton stealth S17's had a pretty narrow ankle.  I have a brand new pair that I am trying to sell if you happen to wear a size 7R ;)

Those and SE16's, they literally sucked your ankle into the heel pocket :)

[puckpilot 312]

Long story short, Supremes theoretically are the right skate for me, but because I'm an adult wearing junior skates, volume is an issue for me, so I'm in the Nexus line. But the fit of that skate is a bit roomy around the heel making heel lock an issue, so I added some padding and found that to be a near perfect solution. Skates are snug enough now for me to walk around with them unlaced, and when I tie them, I only need to tug them snug.

Made the padding from a pair of felt insoles I found in the dollar store. I was going to glue them in but wanted to be able to remove/replace them, so instead I got some Velcro strips that are designed to stick to fabric, stuck one side to the skate and the other to the backside of felt. Now I can take the felt out to wash and simply stick it back into place. 

Not sure if it will work for you, but it's a cheap solution to try out. The Velcro is a little expensive, but for starters you can stick the felt to your ankles using sock tape to test it out. 

 

[matix218 11]

6 hours ago, Vet88 said:

Those and SE16's, they literally sucked your ankle into the heel pocket :)

S17 had in my opinion the best heel lock of any skate I have ever worn.  Also lighter than anything currently on the market even today as far as I know.  Also people make such a big deal about ccm using a 1 piece boot with no separate outsole but Easton did that on the S11/15  and S12/17 many years ago.