Skates Recommendation Narrowish Heel. Wide Forefoot

[Machine 7]

Hello all

I know there have been alot of these posts lately but hoping to get some advice before going in to look for new skates in the next few days. A couple years ago I got fitted and the shop recommended supremes.  But I found them too narrow in toe box which caused pain. Then I thought Nexus would solve that so bought them. Felt good in the store but after skating I found the heel was too big and was slippng. Any recommendations what I should look at.  I was thinking maybe jetspeeds or the new ribcore? Are either of these going to be wider in the toebox than supremes? What about a EE in supreme? Will the heel remain the same as the standard D or is that wider too? I play rec hockey so not interested in customs/true. Thanks!

[Shogun 19]

I would try an EE in a Vapor or Jetspeed. 

[Vet88 674]

Look at skates from these lines, Jetspeeds, ribcors, vapours. Get the heel fit right first then consider getting the boot stretched to fit a wide forefoot. Unfortunately you have a foot shape that an out of the box retail boot generally does not fit without some modification.

[stick9 890]

9 hours ago, Machine said:

Hello all

I know there have been alot of these posts lately but hoping to get some advice before going in to look for new skates in the next few days. A couple years ago I got fitted and the shop recommended supremes.  But I found them too narrow in toe box which caused pain. Then I thought Nexus would solve that so bought them. Felt good in the store but after skating I found the heel was too big and was slippng. Any recommendations what I should look at.  I was thinking maybe jetspeeds or the new ribcore? Are either of these going to be wider in the toebox than supremes? What about a EE in supreme? Will the heel remain the same as the standard D or is that wider too? I play rec hockey so not interested in customs/true. Thanks!

Yes, an EE Supreme will have a wider heel. 

[BureKovy 20]

Did you buy a standard width nexus?

[aintitthelife98 28]

I had the same issue with the Nexus in terms of it being great for my forefoot but too big for the heel. I'm in Ribcor 68Ks now and I feel like it's perfect. It is nice and tight on my heel and works great for my forefoot. 

[darkhors 88]

I have the same foot and I'm currently in the Vapors (x90's). Heel fit is perfect and the toe box is good. Other than the Vapors, like Vet said, Ribcore's or Jetspeeds are probably your best bet.

[Machine 7]

Thanks for the replies. I had the nexus in D width. I got fitted today, they had limited stock but I tried on Tacks, Vapors and Jetspeed all D width. Jetspeed was the only one that was close. Nice fit width wise but could feel my heel lifting slightly when walking around. They didnt have ribcores in stock in my size.

[Machine 7]

4 hours ago, aintitthelife98 said:

I had the same issue with the Nexus in terms of it being great for my forefoot but too big for the heel. I'm in Ribcor 68Ks now and I feel like it's perfect. It is nice and tight on my heel and works great for my forefoot. 

Are you in D width 68k?  Some of what I am reading about the ribcore is a narrow fit. Some reviews are saying wider.

Edited February 20, 2018 by Machine

[aintitthelife98 28]

29 minutes ago, Machine said:

Are you in D width 68k?  Some of what I am reading about the ribcore is a narrow fit. Some reviews are saying wider.

Yes, I am in a D width 68K. I think the newer Ribcors are wider than the previous generation but I never tried those so I can't say from personal experience. 

[Machine 7]

25 minutes ago, aintitthelife98 said:

Yes, I am in a D width 68K. I think the newer Ribcors are wider than the previous generation but I never tried those so I can't say from personal experience. 

Great thx. I am going to try to find a pair to try on. Worse case i could always order and return if they dont work.

[matix218 11]

If you can find a pair of the Easton Stealth S17's they would be perfect for you.  They had a super narrow heel area (with amazing heel lock) and a wide enough forefoot that most EE with users could easily fit in their "R" or "regular" width.  They may be tough to find though.  What size are you?

[Asian Tomatoe 30]

I have both the Easton Stealth S17 in 7R and the 68K/70K in 6.5 D. The S17 is definitely very narrow and wide even in the R (I'd say Nexus D wide). The S17 are also slightly deeper than the 68K/70K.

I'd agree that the 68K/70K are wider in the fore foot than the previous generation Ribcors and definitely a much narrower heel.

Also, I saw some S17's and S12's on Sideline Swap from the Perani's store in Canda with limited sizes. Might be work taking a look

[Vet88 674]

Or Se16's. Out of every skate I have ever owned / tried, those things used to make a sucking noise as I took my foot out of the skate, the fit was that good. There has been nothing else since in a "out of the box" retail skate that fitted a narrow heel wide forefoot combo like those Easton skates did.

[jpeaslee 30]

What kind of volume do you need?  I needed up in a Nexus 9000 due to the volume/high arch.  The heel is tight enough that it doesn't cause blisters, but it's definitely not quite as comfortably snug as a Jetspeed in EE felt (but failed the pencil test miserably).  

[MyBoxersSayJoe 133]

This is the problem I had. I would get EE Vapors, but then I'd get heel lift.  Ended up going the custom route on APX's and it's been pure bliss since.

[Machine 7]

Ordered some 68k's. Will update once they arrive.

[StacktActor 0]

On 2/20/2018 at 6:42 AM, aintitthelife98 said:

I had the same issue with the Nexus in terms of it being great for my forefoot but too big for the heel. I'm in Ribcor 68Ks now and I feel like it's perfect. It is nice and tight on my heel and works great for my forefoot. 

What this guy said.

Sounds like we all have similar foot types.... There really isn't much out there now in terms of a wider forefoot and regular to narrow heel, but these Ribcor's come the closest and do a great job. If you need some reference, I measure in on Bauer's scale as an EE width but the D in Ribcor works great as long as I don't tie the bottom of the skate too tight. It really is a wider fit than advertised and the heel is quite snug, much tighter than the Nexus. 

Edited April 24, 2018 by StacktActor

[Machine 7]

I forgot to update this post. The Ribcores were a little narrow at the toecap for me. Tried on another pair of Jetspeeds which to me had a slightly wider toecap. Fit really well with good heel lock. 

Have had them a few months and am very happy.

[switcheroo 0]

This post is not so much for "Machine" as it is for anyone else with this problem. Hunting for skates with weird feet is very annoying and after 3 years of trying different things  I've finally figured out what works.

Well I wrote a long very detailed explanation on what works and what doesn't for a narrow heel with a relatively wide forefoot and It got screwed up so here's the condensed version.

To add, I have a high arch as well and will talk about that later.

First off Ideally you want to go with a narrow heel skate to begin with. For me the Vapor 1X 1st edition worked well. There's the Tacks but for me at least, I found the Vapor to offer more width in the toe. As for the Vapor line the 1X  has a wider toe box than any of the other vapors ( important because you can't punch that area out) for that year while keeping with a skate that will work with your heel once the heel is manipulated . The trick here is to have your LHS heat the skate and squeeze the heel to bring it in. Once it's in it should grab your heel much more as it did mine. If your mid foot is wider than mine (mine is wider than average but not super wide )you might end up having  hot spots but those areas can be punched out. You can also look for Thinnies skate sock online to help with giving you some more room or you could go sockless if that works for you.

Also, if you have a high arch like I do you can try different lacing techniques to avoid lacing over the effected areas. Also adding  tongue pads will further help keep your foot from lifting helping with heel lock. Make sure to position them so they match up with the crook of your ankle.

The main takeaway here though should be that the heel can be manipulated with heat so if you have a high volume mid and forefoot maybe a Supreme might be worth looking at.

Hope this helps!

Edited May 8, 2021 by switcheroo