Graf Peakspeed Experiences? PK4700 and PK7700

[mtn 20]

TL;DR: What is the difference in the PK4700 and PK7700, and does anyone have any experiences to share about either of them?

Because I can't be simple and just be happy with CCM or Bauer, and I can't afford True's...

For many years, I've only ever really been happy in Grafs. After a year in CCM, and a couple of false starts in Bauer's, I'm considering some Peakspeeds. However, I cannot find the difference in the different models of Peakspeed. Has anyone done a comparison of the PK4700 and PK7700? Is the fit going to be the same in each of them? 

 

I'll probably end up passing on the Peakspeeds and saving up for some custom ordered True's (or Graf, honestly), but wanted to see if anyone has experience here. 

[krisdrum 233]

No direct experience, but I did try on a pair of 4400, so take my input with a grain of salt. 

7700 - top of the line boot, runner and holder.  Probably better internal padding and stiffer boot

4700 - 1 step down.  Runner and holder not the 5000 series.  Boot probably not as stiff or as well padded.

 

What Grafs were you previously in?  These fit closest to the classic 735/535 fit. 

[mtn 20]

23 minutes ago, krisdrum said:

No direct experience, but I did try on a pair of 4400, so take my input with a grain of salt. 

7700 - top of the line boot, runner and holder.  Probably better internal padding and stiffer boot

4700 - 1 step down.  Runner and holder not the 5000 series.  Boot probably not as stiff or as well padded.

 

What Grafs were you previously in?  These fit closest to the classic 735/535 fit. 

Previously in 707s - I got into those when I was 16. I wore those for a long, long time. I just put them on last night and it was like seeing an old friend after a long, long time. I don't know whether or not they'd still be the right fit for me; my foot grew between when I got them and when I stopped wearing them, but I LOVED those skates. Then in 2015, I got a pair of G75s (not Lite). Those were excellent as well, though arguably slightly too roomy for me. They were bought on closeout for such a good deal that I couldn't pass them up. 

 

The big problem I have with other brands is the lack of ankle flex. Even dropping an eyelet or two, the skates nowadays are far too stiff around the ankle. My hope is that the Peakspeeds, despite being more "Bauer/CCM like", will have their famous ankle mobility. 

(And yes, I tried the Ribcore... Never felt right in the store, maybe I should try again).

 

Tangent: Something that is amazing to me, today we have essentially 3 brands: Bauer, CCM, and True. When I was a kid, I could pick between Graf, Bauer/NikeBauer, CCM/RBK, Easton, Mission, MLX/VH... On the used rack, you may have found Micron/Mega, Nike, Daoust, even Reidell made some good hockey boots in the 90's. Sure, there have been fits and starts (Vebero, for instance), but nothing like we used to have. 

[krisdrum 233]

I might reach out to Graf directly.  I have a feeling the Peakspeed are going to be closer to the fit you got with the G75 then the 707.  Granted with modern materials and probably much better reaction to the heat molding process.  I know they have an Instagram account and I believe a direct email as well.  I had good luck talking to someone over Instagram when I had a question. 

[Jrbears10 3]

I currently wear the 4700's and I have to say they are a really nice skate.  I wore G3's before these and 703's before that and bought these online and they fit pretty similarly. They are really light as well, at least compared to my G3's.  I reached out to Graf as well before buying them and got this about the 4700's compared to 7700 as I had the same question:

"The 4700 was a skate made to fit between the 4400 and 7700, good value product with nice performance. Some differences from the 7700, weight is a touch heavier, outsole is not as stiff, tongue is a bit less in density of foams. Overall the skate is very close in performance only very high end skater can even tell the difference."

 

[mtn 20]

4 hours ago, Jrbears10 said:

I currently wear the 4700's and I have to say they are a really nice skate.  I wore G3's before these and 703's before that and bought these online and they fit pretty similarly. They are really light as well, at least compared to my G3's.  I reached out to Graf as well before buying them and got this about the 4700's compared to 7700 as I had the same question:

"The 4700 was a skate made to fit between the 4400 and 7700, good value product with nice performance. Some differences from the 7700, weight is a touch heavier, outsole is not as stiff, tongue is a bit less in density of foams. Overall the skate is very close in performance only very high end skater can even tell the difference."

 

Thanks! 

I really need to try them on, then decide if the 7700 is worth $130 over the 4700 (and that $130 is also buying from a LHS that I've known and trusted my entire life, vs an online only retailer with no warranty). I've heard so many different thoughts on the fit, that I just don't know what to believe. Some say they're the same as the 703's, some say similar to the G75s (and the G75 and 703 should be quite dissimilar), some say it is like the 735.... And now we're getting into one of the big problems of Graf - they had so many different models that nobody knew what they're looking at.

[Miller55 333]

Haha I tried a pair on and thought they were similar to a mix of 705 and 735 fit. I tried the 7700 and they felt like good skates with a nice build

[krisdrum 233]

15 hours ago, mtn said:

Thanks! 

I really need to try them on, then decide if the 7700 is worth $130 over the 4700 (and that $130 is also buying from a LHS that I've known and trusted my entire life, vs an online only retailer with no warranty). I've heard so many different thoughts on the fit, that I just don't know what to believe. Some say they're the same as the 703's, some say similar to the G75s (and the G75 and 703 should be quite dissimilar), some say it is like the 735.... And now we're getting into one of the big problems of Graf - they had so many different models that nobody knew what they're looking at.

Definitely try them on.  My experience was they were closest to a 535/735 fit.  I have G75 lite and 535 wide right now.  I prefer the foot shape of the 535 on my foot, but they are just a bit too shallow (give me a bit of pain and I don't pass the pencil test) and I'd prefer more of a close wrap above the ankle.  The G75 lite is deeper (I pass the pencil test and no pain on top of foot) and better ankle/Achilles wrap, but I have a bit more negative space around my heel in the heel cup and they don't contour as much around my foot shape.  I don't get any discernible heel slip in the G75, but don't feel as locked in as I do in the 535.  

I didn't bake the 4400 when I tried them on (bought them online and ended up returning).  I recall them being shallower, similar to my 535 and a bit more negative space in the lower heel cup (similar to my G75 lite).  Obviously YMMV.

The G75 has opened my eyes to the need for proper depth, which I never considered a factor in any of my previous skates, but always had pain/discomfort I had to work through and thought was normal. 

[mtn 20]

For anyone reading this in the future, as there seems to be very little information out there on the Peakspeed lineup: 

I went with the 7700s, and after a couple of small, resolved issues, am quite happy with them. The fit, to me, is extremely similar to the G75 XI (blue piping, not green). Coming out of Jetspeeds that I was in last season, they feel quite similar, but with more forward flex and a slightly lower ankle (I drop an eyelet in the Jetspeed, not in the Peakspeed), and are roomier in the forefoot - slightly wider, slightly more volume from bottom to top. Now, something that should be said - I referee. I am often in my skates for long periods of time. Using this week as an example: On Monday I was in them for 3 hours; all but 15 minutes of that was skating/standing on ice, I'll be in them 5 hours on Saturday and 3 hours on Sunday as well as 90 minutes each Tuesday through Friday. The perfect fit for me reffing is different than the perfect fit for me playing. If I was only playing, I'd definitely still be in the jetspeeds. But they weren't going to cut it long term reffing, they just pinched my feet too much after the first game. So I like the slighty roomier feel. Somewhat similar to the Tacks I tried on in the store, but the tacks felt like being in cement; wayyyyy too stiff with no flex available. The Peakspeeds are definitely stiff, but I'm still able to roll my ankle all around. I did have the Peakspeeds profiled to 11', like the old Grafs have always been. 

 

I had two issues with the skates, both have been resolved.

1. Footbed and Heel lock. The stock, foam footbed in my previous Graf Skates - going back to those made in Switzerland - was phenomenal. Really, I loved them. I even used them in my CCM skates. The ones that came with the Peakspeeds, and this may have been a mistake as it was prior to Vaughn buying them and QC wasn't all that great from what I understand, looked the same but were nothing but rivet covers. The foam was not rigid whatsoever; I may as well have used a cotton rag instead of them. I reached out to Graf (Vaughn), asking about it. They sent me this footbed. This solved the Heel Lock problem that I had. This footbed was much more substantial than even my old footbeds, I'm thrilled with it. 
2. There was a small piece of molded plastic/fake leather that was sticking up above the ankle pad on the top of the boot. It was rubbing a very small part of my ankle raw; you could tell it was from a mold and just went a little bit too far. I just cut it with a scissors - we're talking about 1/2 mm here - and the problem was solved

 

My only complaint left about them is that they weren't using the green logo at this time. That has been resolved. 

One other thing: I had an issue. I emailed Graf (Vaughn). Their reply was so over-the-top, out of their way to make me happy. If I ever win the lottery, I'm heading to their HQ and dropping a boatload of money on a custom skate and custom Eagles, based on this experience alone. Definitely happy to support a small business here. 

[flip12 714]

@mtn Do you still have the original footbeds from the 7700? Some pictures would be nice? How much lower cut are they than the JetSpeeds? Could you measure inside the boot to the top? Sorry for the questions, I'm just curious.

[VegasHockey 1280]

7 hours ago, mtn said:

For anyone reading this in the future, as there seems to be very little information out there on the Peakspeed lineup: 

I went with the 7700s, and after a couple of small, resolved issues, am quite happy with them. The fit, to me, is extremely similar to the G75 XI (blue piping, not green). Coming out of Jetspeeds that I was in last season, they feel quite similar, but with more forward flex and a slightly lower ankle (I drop an eyelet in the Jetspeed, not in the Peakspeed), and are roomier in the forefoot - slightly wider, slightly more volume from bottom to top. Now, something that should be said - I referee. I am often in my skates for long periods of time. Using this week as an example: On Monday I was in them for 3 hours; all but 15 minutes of that was skating/standing on ice, I'll be in them 5 hours on Saturday and 3 hours on Sunday as well as 90 minutes each Tuesday through Friday. The perfect fit for me reffing is different than the perfect fit for me playing. If I was only playing, I'd definitely still be in the jetspeeds. But they weren't going to cut it long term reffing, they just pinched my feet too much after the first game. So I like the slighty roomier feel. Somewhat similar to the Tacks I tried on in the store, but the tacks felt like being in cement; wayyyyy too stiff with no flex available. The Peakspeeds are definitely stiff, but I'm still able to roll my ankle all around. I did have the Peakspeeds profiled to 11', like the old Grafs have always been. 

 

I had two issues with the skates, both have been resolved.

1. Footbed and Heel lock. The stock, foam footbed in my previous Graf Skates - going back to those made in Switzerland - was phenomenal. Really, I loved them. I even used them in my CCM skates. The ones that came with the Peakspeeds, and this may have been a mistake as it was prior to Vaughn buying them and QC wasn't all that great from what I understand, looked the same but were nothing but rivet covers. The foam was not rigid whatsoever; I may as well have used a cotton rag instead of them. I reached out to Graf (Vaughn), asking about it. They sent me this footbed. This solved the Heel Lock problem that I had. This footbed was much more substantial than even my old footbeds, I'm thrilled with it. 
2. There was a small piece of molded plastic/fake leather that was sticking up above the ankle pad on the top of the boot. It was rubbing a very small part of my ankle raw; you could tell it was from a mold and just went a little bit too far. I just cut it with a scissors - we're talking about 1/2 mm here - and the problem was solved

 

My only complaint left about them is that they weren't using the green logo at this time. That has been resolved. 

One other thing: I had an issue. I emailed Graf (Vaughn). Their reply was so over-the-top, out of their way to make me happy. If I ever win the lottery, I'm heading to their HQ and dropping a boatload of money on a custom skate and custom Eagles, based on this experience alone. Definitely happy to support a small business here. 

Did you get them in the same size as your Jetspeed? I remember trying on a pair of Graf skates and them being slightly shorter in length when compared to CCM and Bauer. 

[Miller55 333]

19 hours ago, PBH said:

Did you get them in the same size as your Jetspeed? I remember trying on a pair of Graf skates and them being slightly shorter in length when compared to CCM and Bauer. 

Second this. Ime Graf runs shorter than Bauer, which runs shorter than CCM

[krisdrum 233]

1 hour ago, Miller55 said:

Second this. Ime Graf runs shorter than Bauer, which runs shorter than CCM

Third.  Grafs are definitely shorter.  Maybe only a mm or 2, but noticeable.  I like the tighter fit. 

[Miller55 333]

15 minutes ago, krisdrum said:

Third.  Grafs are definitely shorter.  Maybe only a mm or 2, but noticeable.  I like the tighter fit. 

Agreed. I take a 9 in Bauer and could probably go down a drop, but 8.5 give me hammer toes. The 9 in Graf is a smidge shorter

[mtn 20]

I'll get the pictures and measurements requested either tomorrow or Monday. 

I'll be honest, I don't really look at the size of the skate all that much; I look first for the holder. I have typically been on the smaller end of the 272mm holder. This held true for both the Peakspeed and the Jetspeed (271mm - I believe that is for the 8 and the 8.5). With both the CCM and the Grafs, before baking, my right big toe hit the cap. With the Grafs, my left big toe hit as well. So the Grafs do appear to be smaller, but it is pretty miniscule. 

For sizing, Graf seems to have changed at some point, as I've been in a size 7.5 (270mm Tuuks, these are OLD) 707 and size 8 707 with 272 Cobras. I was also size 8 in the G75s (also 272). 

EDIT: The struck out part was incorrect:

• I had 707s made in Switzerland size 8 skates with 270mm Tuuks
• I had 707s made in Canada, size 8.5 with 272mm Cobras. Both of these felt exactly the same size. 
• I've been in size 8 G75 and now Peakspeeds, and the sizing feels pretty close to identical; the Peakspeeds maybe slightly smaller.

Edited March 8, 2021 by mtn

[VegasHockey 1280]

20 hours ago, mtn said:

I'll get the pictures and measurements requested either tomorrow or Monday. 

I'll be honest, I don't really look at the size of the skate all that much; I look first for the holder. I have typically been on the smaller end of the 272mm holder. This held true for both the Peakspeed and the Jetspeed (271mm - I believe that is for the 8 and the 8.5). With both the CCM and the Grafs, before baking, my right big toe hit the cap. With the Grafs, my left big toe hit as well. So the Grafs do appear to be smaller, but it is pretty miniscule. 

For sizing, Graf seems to have changed at some point, as I've been in a size 7.5 (270mm Tuuks, these are OLD) 707 and size 8 707 with 272 Cobras. I was also size 8 in the G75s (also 272). 

I've been on a ~272 since my feet stopped growing. I tried a 263 holder/runner and I could not adjust, likely the change in where the balance/pivot point was located was what was throwing me off. With a 272 holder, the balance/pivot point is located much further back and then if you profile the steel it's pushed back another 10-20mm, depending on the profile selected.

With that being said I could maybe skate on a 263 now if I adjusted the pivot balance/pivot point to match the 272 holder/runner. 

[mtn 20]

I apparently do not own a metric ruler and despite having about 37 tape measures, don't know where any of them are. So measurements are in Freedom Units. This is not at all scientific, and there was nearly no quality control involved.

As noted above, both skates are size 8.

	Jetspeed	Peakspeed
From footbed to top of skate - back of skate (ankle guard)	5.75"	5.63"
From footbed to top of skate - above eyelet	6.25"	5.75"
From footbed to center of top eyelet	5.5"	5.38"