Skate stress. Again..

[SanderNL 0]

It's that time of year again, I'm looking for skates and that's not something I enjoy. This ended up being a pretty long read so I hope someone endures it and can help me.

We don't have many hockey shops here and definitely not many that have skates in stock in my size so I can go there and fit a bunch of skates. I wear size 11.5D skates, am 1.90m tall, and weigh 95kg. I think I have pretty slim feet  for my size, especially my heels. I play two or three times a week.

My last three pairs of skates have been vapors. My last a pair of skates, Vapor X90's I got on sale 2 years ago for €160. And before that I had a pair of X7.0's. 

The 7's were pretty snug (toes against the toecap) and I always thought I bought them a size too small (11.5D). After a couple of years the blades were  worn out, so when I found the X7.0 in 12D for a fantastic price I was very happy and ordered them.

They felt great fitting them at home, but on the ice I missed the snug fit of the previous pair of skates. Also the blade got longer with the half size difference and I didn't really like that. On the other hand, I had more steel again and the fresh factory "profile"  felt better than the worn out steel on the 7's so I adapted with some very thick socks and skated in them for two years.

Now one steel broke and I had to choose between buying a new pair or replacing the steel. I decided to replace the steel. Meanwhile I picked up my old vapors and since the steel for the X90's wasn't in stock I skated in them for a couple of practices. I immediately noticed that, while the steel was still shit, I skated pretty well in these.

After three weeks I got the runners for the X90's, put them on and after skating knew they just weren't the skates for me, they are too big. I feel unstable and a little wobbly. 

Previously, while deciding between buying new steel or new skates I found a pair of ccm Jetspeeds in 11D and 11.5D on sale for €280. I read somewhere online that someone was very pleased with them coming from vapors. So I decided to order both sizes, fit, and return the skates with the wrong size. They fit very good and I almost got them sharpened but I find it so hard to decide, sitting at home, without comparing, that I decided to order some other skates since I had too make a return shipment within sixty days anyway. 

I got two pairs of Bauer's supreme s190 for €330 and two pairs of ccm tacks 6092 for €235.

I don't like the Tacks, they feel clunky on my feet, and I think they are just a bad match.

The Supremes felt pretty good. Less comfortable than the Jetspeeds, but a lot stiffer, which I like (I think). They are just a little "roomy". Meanwhile the heel lock still feels pretty good. The toebox and front of the skate feels better than the vapors. The side of my feet were always cramped in there.

Conclusion and questions..

I could keep the old pair of vapor x7.0 and get new steel for them. But that steel is not really up to date anymore (does this really matter?) And I think I don't want to do that because while they feel pretty good, I think they are a little soft and don't support my feet really well. 

I could wait for last year's Vapors going on sale at monkeyssports.eu I think they are still too expensive now. Do you guys think they will go on sale before the season starts?

I could keep the Jetspeeds. Did someone here go from vapors to jetspeeds? Or does anyone else have an opinion about these skates? I almost think they are too comfortable, and maybe they are a little soft?

I could keep the Supremes. They feel pretty good and sturdy, but I think I would need the thick socks again for the volume.

Thanks for reading this. Any help or advice is appreciated.

 

 

[althoma1 574]

If the Jetspeeds are comfortable, but fit snug then I would keep them. Too comfortable isn't an issue as long as there isn't a lot of slop and negative space. I assume you got the old 2015 models since you got them on clearance. Those should fit a half size down from Vapors; so if you like the fit of the 11.5 Vapors then you should go with the 11 Jetspeeds. The new FT1 line is now consistent with Bauer sizing, but the old line was a half size off.

Supremes are built on an E last; so they aren't ideal for narrow feet.

 

[althoma1 574]

The Vapor line isn't being refreshed until next summer. So you will have to wait until next year if you want those on sale. The Jetspeeds may not be as stiff as some models, but they're top of the line skates that have plenty of stiffness for playing men's league a few times a week. 

[SanderNL 0]

On 6/30/2018 at 5:48 PM, althoma1 said:

The Vapor line isn't being refreshed until next summer. So you will have to wait until next year if you want those on sale. The Jetspeeds may not be as stiff as some models, but they're top of the line skates that have plenty of stiffness for playing men's league a few times a week. 

Thanks! I didn't know that the vapor line wouldn't be refreshed, good info. I kind of leaned towards keeping the old skates until they went on sale, but I don't think I'll get another season out of the runners, so I'd have to get new ones if I did that. 

I'll try the Jetspeeds on again. Would the feeling be very different from the vapors on the ice?

[althoma1 574]

40 minutes ago, SanderNL said:

Thanks! I didn't know that the vapor line wouldn't be refreshed, good info. I kind of leaned towards keeping the old skates until they went on sale, but I don't think I'll get another season out of the runners, so I'd have to get new ones if I did that. 

I'll try the Jetspeeds on again. Would the feeling be very different from the vapors on the ice?

Someone who has used both would have to answer that. I have only briefly demoed Vapors in EE and have never tried Jetspeeds. I just know that most people say that the most similar skates to Vapors in the CCM line is the Jetspeeds. I also know that stiffness isn't everything; fit and comfort is the most important thing. So if the Jetspeeds fit your feet best then that's the skate I'd go with regardless of stiffness. Having said that, the Jetspeeds are a top of the line skate that should have plenty of stiffness for most players. 

The ice feel can be adjusted via profiling, but I'd give yourself a few hours of ice time before deciding if you need to go that route. I believe CCM uses a 10' stock radius and Bauer uses a 9' radius; so you may notice that minor difference, but it shouldn't be drastic. 

[boo10 323]

I've worn both and can say that for me they felt very similar on the ice.  The only real difference I felt was the wider forefoot in Jetspeeds.  There was no difference in feel during play, but standing around at faceoffs, I was very aware that my toes had more room, (a good thing for me).

[Vet88 674]

On 6/30/2018 at 10:01 PM, SanderNL said:

Did someone here go from vapors to jetspeeds? 

I have had apx2's and X7.0's and then went to Jetspeeds. The Jetspeeds are much softer in the rear quarter, to the point when I put them on a rack to stretch areas in the heel the boot would deform instead of holding its shape like the apx2's. And whilst my old x7.0's aren't as stiff as apx2's, they are stiffer than Jetspeeds. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it depends on what you like in a skate, how you skate and how good your technique is. As to balance, skating style etc, there is always a slight adjustment but it wasn't hard and they are a nice boot. Biggest issue I had with the Jetspeeds was I didn't like how the holder was aligned on the boot, they put me on an inside edge much more than the vapours but I notice things like this now, you might not if you lace them all the way up.

[SanderNL 0]

5 hours ago, boo10 said:

I've worn both and can say that for me they felt very similar on the ice.  The only real difference I felt was the wider forefoot in Jetspeeds.  There was no difference in feel during play, but standing around at faceoffs, I was very aware that my toes had more room, (a good thing for me).

Thanks. This sounds pretty good. I'd like more room in the front.

[SanderNL 0]

4 hours ago, Vet88 said:

I have had apx2's and X7.0's and then went to Jetspeeds. The Jetspeeds are much softer in the rear quarter, to the point when I put them on a rack to stretch areas in the heel the boot would deform instead of holding its shape like the apx2's. And whilst my old x7.0's aren't as stiff as apx2's, they are stiffer than Jetspeeds. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it depends on what you like in a skate, how you skate and how good your technique is. As to balance, skating style etc, there is always a slight adjustment but it wasn't hard and they are a nice boot. Biggest issue I had with the Jetspeeds was I didn't like how the holder was aligned on the boot, they put me on an inside edge much more than the vapours but I notice things like this now, you might not if you lace them all the way up.

Thanks a lot. I've read that you should be able to skates without laces and your ankles should be able to compensate for loose skates, but I never got that far.

I like my heel to be very tight in the skate up to my ankle bone. I always leave the upper eyelets open for a little more motion up top since I tighten my skates very tight.

So the softness in the heel area doesn't sound too great to me, and confirmsv what I thought when wearing a vapor on one foot and the Jetspeed on the other at the same time. 

However, you didn't like it, but I think I would like the inside edge you talk about. When I talk about loose skates, my biggest issue is that I have the feeling I'll "tip over" when I go hard into a corner/boards. This is slightly exaggerated since I do well on the ice, but if I can get even more confident in those situations because of the inside edge I'd really like that.