Durability of inner padding / liners on new skates

[noupf 42]

Might be a strange question, but I am curious if the inner padding on these new higher end skates are durable.  The reason I ask is bc the inside portion of both of my heels absolutely destroy materials / padding and most all my athletic shoes.  I also have a little bone bump on the back of each heel that will also slowly wear holes on the inner padding of the heel pocket of my shoes as well.

My current skates are Graf Ultra G75's and I believe they have the clarino leather inner material.  I just put new holders and steel on them to try to get another year or two out of them, but I am inevitably going to be looking for new skates soon.  My feet have not destroyed the insides of my grafs, but im worried about the new materials inside todays skates.

I know some of you guys are getting custom high end skates made and i've seen the option where you chose the clarino leather material.  I don't know if I can spend that sort of cash on new skates, so I am curious if the new materials are durable or not.

Edited September 22, 2021 by noupf

[Vet88 674]

17 hours ago, noupf said:

The reason I ask is bc the inside portion of both of my heels absolutely destroy materials / padding and most all my athletic shoes.  I also have a little bone bump on the back of each heel that will also slowly wear holes on the inner padding of the heel pocket of my shoes as well.

I'm not going to comment on the durability of liners, hopefully someone who works in a shop and sees lots of skates on a daily basis can make a more informed comment @PBH

What I would ask is if you pronate or supinate? That wearing of the inside of shoes generally comes from the heel rolling and twisting in the shoe. If you do this in street shoes then it's almost guaranteed you will do the same in skates. You can fix your bio mechanics in skates but it takes a lot of time (you want to be skating at least 3 times a week) and doing specific training (ask if you want to know more). And that bump on the back of your heels is called a Haglunds bump, it and pronation generally go hand in hand. I urge you to get your boot punched for it, over time as your foot rolls in the boot the bump keeps banging against the hard shell, this causes irritation and the body responds by growing more bone so the bump gets bigger. Then your achillies gets irritated and your bursa get inflamed, then you can't skate, even just looking at skates makes the bump ache. So do yourself a giant favour for your long term skating health, make sure every pair of boots you buy you get punched for those bumps (and try and get a vertical channel punched, not just a round punch. Then if you get any heel lift at all the bump rides up and down in the channel.)

Edited September 23, 2021 by Vet88

[krisdrum 233]

4 hours ago, Vet88 said:

I'm not going to comment on the durability of liners, hopefully someone who works in a shop and sees lots of skates on a daily basis can make a more informed comment @PBH

What I would ask is if you pronate or supinate? That wearing of the inside of shoes generally comes from the heel rolling and twisting in the shoe. If you do this in street shoes then it's almost guaranteed you will do the same in skates. You can fix your bio mechanics in skates but it takes a lot of time (you want to be skating at least 3 times a week) and doing specific training (ask if you want to know more). And that bump on the back of your heels is called a Haglunds bump, it and pronation generally go hand in hand. I urge you to get your boot punched for it, over time as your foot rolls in the boot the bump keeps banging against the hard shell, this causes irritation and the body responds by growing more bone so the bump gets bigger. Then your achillies gets irritated and your bursa get inflamed, then you can't skate, even just looking at skates makes the bump ache. So do yourself a giant favour for your long term skating health, make sure every pair of boots you buy you get punched for those bumps (and try and get a vertical channel punched, not just a round punch. Then if you get any heel lift at all the bump rides up and down in the channel.)

^^^ This!  I also have the bump and wear my shoes similarly to what the OP describes.  Getting the heel punched definitely helps make room for the bump and I've found allows my heel to sit deeper in the heel pocket and make better contact with the boot. 

[noupf 42]

On 9/23/2021 at 3:22 AM, Vet88 said:

I'm not going to comment on the durability of liners, hopefully someone who works in a shop and sees lots of skates on a daily basis can make a more informed comment @PBH

What I would ask is if you pronate or supinate? That wearing of the inside of shoes generally comes from the heel rolling and twisting in the shoe. If you do this in street shoes then it's almost guaranteed you will do the same in skates. You can fix your bio mechanics in skates but it takes a lot of time (you want to be skating at least 3 times a week) and doing specific training (ask if you want to know more). And that bump on the back of your heels is called a Haglunds bump, it and pronation generally go hand in hand. I urge you to get your boot punched for it, over time as your foot rolls in the boot the bump keeps banging against the hard shell, this causes irritation and the body responds by growing more bone so the bump gets bigger. Then your achillies gets irritated and your bursa get inflamed, then you can't skate, even just looking at skates makes the bump ache. So do yourself a giant favour for your long term skating health, make sure every pair of boots you buy you get punched for those bumps (and try and get a vertical channel punched, not just a round punch. Then if you get any heel lift at all the bump rides up and down in the channel.)

Thank you for the detailed reply.  Its odd though, if I pronated or supinated, wouldn't the outside edges or inside edges of my shoes wear more so than normal?  I used to work in a sporting goods store when i was younger and I remember that the un-even wear on the bottoms of shoes ( to the outside or inside ) was usually the tell tale sign that a person had those issues with they way they walked.

For me, the bottoms of my shoes really don't do that.  If anything maybe ever so slightly the outside edge.  I am on my feet most of the day as I am a warehouse manager and of course I am literally in a brand new pair of shoes right now, with my old ones already in the landfill.  I will keep a better eye on my shoes when they begin to wear out and see if there is a distinct wear pattern that shows a pronation of supination.

 

As for "punching".......i've heard of it, but know almost nothing about it.  Do I need to find a reputable local hockey pro shop that can do something like this?  Or is it something i can ship to one of the trusted shop owners here on the site?
 

Edited September 24, 2021 by noupf

[noupf 42]

On 9/23/2021 at 8:24 AM, krisdrum said:

^^^ This!  I also have the bump and wear my shoes similarly to what the OP describes.  Getting the heel punched definitely helps make room for the bump and I've found allows my heel to sit deeper in the heel pocket and make better contact with the boot. 

good to know, thanks

[krisdrum 233]

2 hours ago, noupf said:

As for "punching".......i've heard of it, but know almost nothing about it.  Do I need to find a reputable local hockey pro shop that can do something like this?  Or is it something i can ship to one of the trusted shop owners here on the site?

Local hockey shop.  You'll need to try the boots back on after they punch the area to make sure they are good.  You'll also need to pinpoint where on the boot the bump is hitting so they can punch the right area. 

[Vet88 674]

9 hours ago, noupf said:

As for "punching".......i've heard of it, but know almost nothing about it.  Do I need to find a reputable local hockey pro shop that can do something like this?  Or is it something i can ship to one of the trusted shop owners here on the site?

You can ship them but the boot needs to be marked and photos sent. To mark the boot I ask for this - get some lipstick and put it on your bump, foot in boot and then press the heel hard into the pocket. The lipstick will transfer to the liner and now the shop knows where to punch. Ideally though you find someone local so you can go back and forwards as needed to get it right.