FT380/390 Heel Pocket

[boo10 323]

 

Does anyone know how much, if at all, the heel pocket of FT380/390 skates will open up post bake and break in?  Can I get 1-2mm in length?

[BlueNux 17]

19 hours ago, boo10 said:

The question:

Does anyone know how much, if at all, the heel pocket of FT380/390 skates will open up post bake and break in?  Can I get 1-2mm in length?

My story:

I have a difficult to fit foot (average width, but high instep).  Also, I'm probably a 7.75D, so 7.5 often feels short, while 8.0 feels long.

I recently picked up a pair of 9090 Tacks size 7.5D and they felt perfect post bake.  Big toe just brushing the cap.  Took them on the ice and fell in love.  Alas, it was only puppy love and after an hour of skating it was all over but the crying.  The heel pocket opened up just enough that my heel started lifting in the boot.  Not terrible, but enough for me to know that it would only get worse.

When I bought the Tacks, I also considered FT390, but they felt just a little short, (big toe pressed a bit more on toe cap and didn't completely pull away with bent knees).  My heel was locked in like glue, so I know if the pocket opened up a bit, I'd still have good heel lock.

So back to my question; will I get enough space post bake n break to alleviate the pressure on my toes?

I don’t have the FT380/390, but currently skate in the FT370. I tried all of them. They are fundamentally the same (all 3 are rocket frame, feature speed core, and shape are exact same - the other 3 just have stiffer speed core and different tongues/outsoles).

My experience is the heel opens up quite a significant amount width-wise and a fair bit even length wise. I recently started a thread here:

If you had an experience of heel slippage with the Tacks, there’s a slight chance you may experience it with Jetspeeds again post-bake even if you feel locked in right now. I tried so hard to fit in CCMs - even bought FT1s just to try but had to return them. The FT1s fit completely differently than the lower 3 price points but the heel lock was a bit better. Even that was inconsistent. My right foot was really locked in but my left felt noticeably looser.

Eventually, I went back to Bauer and concluded that my heel, for whatever reason, just feels so much more locked in to their skates. It’s probably not even about width or depth, but the shape of the heel pocket and contouring of the internal ankle padding on Bauer skates. Both the Supremes and Vapors (the curv composite price points) have tighter lock for me than any CCM line.

I can’t explain it. Even on Supremes, I get sucked into the heel pocket but not so on Jetspeeds. That’s why they tell you to try every pair in person, even between price points. 

[althoma1 575]

The sizing on the current Tacks and Jetspeed lines is the same lengthwise. If 7.5 was the right length in the Tacks then it's the right length in Jetspeeds. The reason why the Jetspeeds felt a bit shorter is because it's a narrower skate than the Tacks and was probably pushing on the sides of your feet a bit and elongating them. They should open up a bit with baking and won't put as much pressure on the sides of your feet so they should feel slightly longer after being baked (in reality they'll just be a touch wider and some of the padding in the heel may also compress after baking and the break in process).