Skate lifetime

[Leif 161]

How long do top end skates last, or to put it another way, what are common signs of impending failure?

I have Bauer Custom 2S Pro skates, and I had to have the holders replaced a few months ago. They are about four years old, I skate five hours a week, including two hours hockey, and three hours practice (three turns, tight turns, power pulls etc), I’m casual beer league, a good skater but not powerful, and I only weigh 160 pounds. We had maybe 8 months of no hockey due to lockdowns. The tongues are coming lose where they are sewn onto the toe cap, the sides of the tongues are heavily worn but useable and it looks like the small gap between the toe cap and the shell of the boot has increased to about 2mm. That last point worries me as it suggests impending failure. They have lots of cuts, but all superficial, and the carbon fibre shell is solid. 

I don’t want to find that they fail suddenly, and I am then stuck with my tatty old and uncomfortable Supreme 160S skates while I wait for new customs. And money is an issue, otherwise I’d just buy new now with a current price of about £1,000. I’m not considering mid range, I have mid range inlines, and they are uncomfortable. 

[start_today 770]

When you put on the skates, do you pull them on by pulling on the tongue? Having the tongues come loose is an odd failure point, as there’s no torque or pressure otherwise being applied there. 

[Leif 161]

56 minutes ago, start_today said:

When you put on the skates, do you pull them on by pulling on the tongue? Having the tongues come loose is an odd failure point, as there’s no torque or pressure otherwise being applied there. 

No, but I do pull the tongue when the skate is on, maybe that’s an issue. 

[puckpilot 312]

For me, I just look at the over all condition of the stitching and seams, and feel how sturdy the shell is. My last pair of skates, the toe cap was beginning come loose from the rest of the boot and the shell was softening up, but I stretched the life of the skate out a couple of years. Skate was around 7 years old by the time I replaced it. Right now, my skates are around 5 years old. Other than surface abrasions, it looks like it should easily last another 2 years. They're S190s. I'm usually on the ice 3-4 times a week. Usually it's 2-3 games and/or 1-2 sessions of stick and puck. 

[BruinDust 42]

With the issues as described I'd look to have the tongues replaced before considering buying new custom skates. A good equipment shop could probably look at the toecap as well. I use Nash Sniper Tongues in my Nexus 7000s and absolutely love them so much so that I just found a pair of new pair of Nexus 2Ns in my size and I'm not even baking them until I get a pair of Nash Tongues installed. 

[stick9 891]

I have a few friends with failing boots. The issues they are having are much worse like the outsole separating from the boot, toe caps coming loose, continually replacing rivets broken or cracked tendon guards.

[Leif 161]

Thanks all, it sounds like they have a year or so left in them, maybe with a repair to the tongues. 

[218hockey 50]

If you take care of them as in keep them dry and stored properly, don't block shots, and stay out of the corners they should last a long time!

[noupf 42]

23 hours ago, stick9 said:

I have a few friends with failing boots. The issues they are having are much worse like the outsole separating from the boot, toe caps coming loose, continually replacing rivets broken or cracked tendon guards.

Mind disclosing the brands and models?  Just curious.

[stick9 891]

1 hour ago, noupf said:

Mind disclosing the brands and models?  Just curious.

Sure, but let me start by saying these failures aren't premature. These things are happening to skates that look like they've been to hell and back. That said. It's mostly Bauer with some CCM & Eastons in there. No True cuz no one I skate with is using True.....no one I play against is using True. It should be noted that up until recently (last two years) pretty much everyone was wearing Bauers. Simple math.

[noupf 42]

2 minutes ago, stick9 said:

Sure, but let me start by saying these failures aren't premature. These things are happening to skates that look like they've been to hell and back. That said. It's mostly Bauer with some CCM & Eastons in there. No True cuz no one I skate with is using True.....no one I play against is using True. It should be noted that up until recently (last two years) pretty much everyone was wearing Bauers. Simple math.

Thanks and that is what I was curious about as well, premature failures or skates that are simply ending their life cycle due to serious years of heavy use.