Jetspeed / Super Tacks advice needed [with pics]

[cconnection 0]

Hello!

I'm new in the forum and I wanted to ask for some advice about my feet and the ccm jetspeed and super tacks. I'm from Germany, and the next local hockey dealer is far away and doesn't have all sizes and widths available nor do they have the experience to fit skates. I want to make sure that I visit a dealer who has all reasonable options available at the store so I can try them on before I buy them. To choose the right dealer, I want to limit the options so that I can check the availability before I go to the dealer.

 

I’m 28 years old, 5’7“ tall and 176 lbs weight. I have started to play icehockey 5 years ago and I want to buy my third pair of skates. I used the CCM u+10 in size 6.5E for the last 3 years. My feet are 25,5 cm long and the widest point 10,3 cm wide. I bought them because I have thought that I my feet are V-shaped. Narrow heel and wider forefoot. They were better than my first pair, but I quickly noticed that I have problems to skate on the outside edge. So I bought the yellow superfeet, they helped but as I get better and better, I notice that the outside edges are still more difficult for me to use. I took some pictures of my feet and I think I have a pronation problem.

 

My second problem with the U+10 skates was the high volume in the toebox. I put these into my skates: 

http://www.icewarehouse.com/Adrenaline_Powerfoot_Performance_Skate_Inserts/descpage-PWRFT.html

They helped a lot and took away the negative space in the toe box.

 

My last problem is the width in the heel and ankle area. The boot is really snug in this area for the first 15 minutes on the ice. Then, it changes to a wobbly and loose feeling. I tie my boot snug in the forefoot but not too tight, otherwise my little toe starts to hurt and I get pain in the middle of my feet. Afterwards, I tie the boot really tight in heel and ankle area.

 

I think the jetspeed or super tacks might be good choices because of the V-shape and I hope they give me a better heel lock and ankle support. I consider to try the super tacks and jetspeed in 6D, 6EE, 6,5D, 6,5EE and buy the ccm custom support soles with medium or high arch. I provide pictures of my feet + the wet test for my arch and will appreciate your advice!

 

Link to pictures

https://drive.google.com/open?id=12qt1n4PT0KKIBxDFwZx0JKmOJqG0yp_q

 

Best regards,

Thomas

 

 

[Vet88 674]

I've gone through what you are finding out so I'll add my thoughts. I'm not a doctor or a physio or a foot specialist but I've spent enough time with them / worked with them over the last 10 years to understand a fair amount about foot mechanics and skates.

Skates - your feet are the same length as mine (as long as we measure the same, heel against the wall, measure to the end of the longest toe, 25.5cm's). I'm a 5.5 in Jetspeeds and 50k's, size 6 in Supertacks, Ultratacks, FT1's, 70k's. This a perfect fit for me, toes feathering the toe cap until I bend the knees when they then move about 2mm off.

Pronation - Yes, you pronate to a fair degree and have flat feet. Look at the way your achillies leans inwards as it heads up from the heel. This check normally works - look at the outside of the heel in any shoes that you wear a lot, the outer edge will be more worn than the inner. Another test, keep your feet flat on the floor and then pull your arch upwards towards your knee, this will cause the ball of the foot to move slightly backwards and the foot rotates slightly outwards over the heel. Now take a picture of your achillies and you will see it is much more vertical.

Will wearing perfect fitting skates fix your pronation and give you better edges? Sadly the answer to that is yes and no. It will help for a little while because the sides of the boot are holding you up but your pronation is still there and as you skate you are heavily leaning on the inside of the skate. Over time the skate starts to break down due to the pressure and it opens up, especially the inside of the ankle. Now your foot has a little more room to move and it will start to roll in the boot, this puts more pressure on the inside of the skate which opens it up more and allows more roll etc etc etc, a self perpetuating disaster. Can it be fixed? Again yes and no and it depends on how much you want to spend, if you can find the expertise to help and how much effort you want to put in. The main options are orthotics / shims and moving the blade. You will get a lot of varying advice as to which ones work the best, there is no simple answer and I won't get into that debate here. I can send you links to some good websites that explain the how and why, here is a good one from people who really know their stuff: http://www.aapsm.org/pdf/humble-skatinga.pdf

If you don't want to or can't find / see a foot specialist who can help you, you can try and address the problem your self. Good fitting boots are the first thing. Then add yellow superfeet or some form of arch support in the insole. Then add additional arch support to it, I used soft gel foot pads and cut them to shape and layered them up over time to build the arch up. Also start strengthening the hip, leg, ankle and foot muscles, both in skating and off ice exercises. There are specific exercises you can do which will help with pronation. Pronation isn't just an ankle and foot issue, it starts with the hips and moves downwards (and the back is also involved to a degree as to how the hips sit). Here is an interesting comment, most dancers do not pronate although supination is an issue for ballet, jazz etc. Lastly, and you will hate this the most, start dropping eyelets until you can skate with no laces. It will take a few years of practice and every time you drop an eyelet it's like you have to learn to skate all over again. Start using the stabilizing muscles in the sides of your foot / ankle to hold you upright over the blade and not the sides of the boot. Learn to skate over the top of the blade with no boot support. Build up your foot and leg muscles to counter the pronation and hold your foot straight in the boot. Recently I tore my achillies and had heel surgery on my right foot and my lower leg was immobilised for 2 months. When I returned to skating, due to muscle wastage and loss of strength the pronation in my right foot is really noticeable even after the years of practice and ice time I have put in.

Pronation never goes away unless you address it. If you skate long enough you can adapt to it but it is still there and will sometimes manifest itself in other ways eg haglunds bumps, lumps on toes etc. Once you know what to look for you can see it in skaters of all levels, even NHL players. In the old days it used to be called weak ankles and you could not hide from it when wearing leather boots. Figure and speed worked this out ages ago but it seems to me ice hockey is still trying to catch up and the ultra stiff boots of today aren't helping the problem, they only disguise it. Good luck with whatever you choose to do, it's not an easy thing to fix.

 

 

[cconnection 0]

A big thanks for you reply. It helps me a lot and I will definitely try to work on this. I'm going to order the super tacks in 6D / 6EE and FT1 in 6D and will report my experience!

[cconnection 0]

Update on fitting:

I ordered the SuperTacks in 6D / EE and 6.5D. Lengthwise, an 6 SuperTacks fits perfect. The 6.5D skates are too long, so they're out.

First, I tried the 6D, which was too narrow and I instantly felt pressure on the whole feet with quickly turned into spasm. The 6EE are totally different. I really feel how the boots suck my feet in. The heel is locked nicely. My toe feathers the toe cap and when I bend my knees, my feet slide a little bit away from the toe cap. The width in the forefoot feels snug. I have a snug feeling around my big toe and little toe, but the boots doesn't put pressure on my feet. The height of the toebox is perfect, there is not too much space to lift my toes and I like it this way.  I can image that the skates are going to wrap my feet really well after baking them.

Now comes the BUT, which may be a reason to look for another skate. I fail the pencil test on the right foot and barely pass it on the left foot. I'm afraid that the skates are too shallow. I uploaded pictures on google drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JhzGsHnA3LkZ6fIoNUTr4ZwuFMVp4mdB 

I noticed that my left and right foot are different and that I need a little deeper boot on the right side. Also I noticed that when I lace the boots too tight around the 6th and 7th eyelet, my feet get numb and I loose the feeling for my toes. I have this problem in my old skates too. So I laced them moderately snug in the forefoot and midfoot, tight in the heel area. and moderately snug at the ankle. Then, the supertacks feel good. The left foot feels like a glove and the right foot a little bit less.

I had problems with lacebite in my old skates especially in the right foot, so I'm afraid to have this problem with the supertacks again.
Are the ft1 deeper than the supertacks? What about the width of ft1s?

What about the Nexus 1N which have a deeper instep? I read that the 1N heel is wider than normal so I can imagine that my heel is too narrow for the 1N.

[stick9 896]

If your just about perfect in the Super Tacks the Nexus will be way too wide for you. I wouldn’t even go there.

Sounds like you are right on the edge. Id expect your foot to sink into the boot a bit more once you bake them. Maybe that with some thinner socks and lacing over/under gets you there. Wider laces can also help.

If your foot is locked in you won’t really need to crank down on the laces.