3X Pro Skate Fit Issues

[bl4 39]

I've been looking to replace my 70ks for a bit.  I recently tried the Cat 9s, which I liked but unfortunately were a bit wide in the heel for me.  A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a pair of 3X Pros in a Fit 1.  I've skated in them a handful of times and have been pretty disappointed.  I have tried the skates with the stock insoles, new Superfeet, and even the old Superfeet from my Ribcors. No matter the insole, I've gotten a decent amount of pressure on my arches and an uncomfortable amount of pressure on the top of my forefoot.  Neither of those spots have ever been issues for me in skates before - I've only had lace bite in one pair of skates, and that was much further up, and I've never had an issue with my arches.  Despite all the pressure, my heel lock isn't even that great.  I have narrow, low-volume foot, and I pronate significantly on one foot.  I haven't worn a pair of Vapors since the original Vapor 10.  I'm curious if anyone else has had these issues with Vapors (or otherwise) and if so how you've dealt with them.  It may be that the Vapors just aren't for me, but if that's the case, I may need to go the custom route or scour SLS for old Ribcors or Grafs.  

[Vet88 674]

Fit 1 reduced the volume overall from the previous D sized skate. Be it Vapours or Supremes, the lower fit across the back of the toe cap and over the bottom half of the foot means I can't wear fit 1 even though the heel fit is good. I know a number of players who have managed to get the back of the toe cap to fit better by putting a wedge in there and heating it up, over time they have gained some space. A current retail boot isn't going to fit you without extensive work / modifications and compromises, you are either going custom or hunting for an old pair you know that fit.

Edited December 28, 2022 by Vet88

[bl4 39]

30 minutes ago, Vet88 said:

Fit 1 reduced the volume overall from the previous D sized skate. Be it Vapours or Supremes, the lower fit across the back of the toe cap and over the bottom half of the foot means I can't wear fit 1 even though the heel fit is good. I know a number of players who have managed to get the back of the toe cap to fit better by putting a wedge in there and heating it up, over time they have gained some space. A current retail boot isn't going to fit you without extensive work / modifications and compromises, you are either going custom or hunting for an old pair you know that fit.

Thanks, @Vet88. Your description makes sense, and confirms what I feared. FWIW, I know others have complained about toe cap issues, but I actually am not experiencing any discomfort there - my issue is further up on the metatarsal. Given the shape of my feet, I was shocked that a stock boot might be too low profile for me. But it sounds like that's the case (or, at least, that something about the cut doesn't match the volume/shape of my feet).

[Sniper9 530]

Did you bake and mold the catalysts with the saran wrap technique? If no I'd give that another shot to see if the heel lock is an issue still. 

The new asv line of tacks have a wider forefoot area.  Ccms boots are also a lot more moldable than Bauer so I'd give that a shot since ccm has a 90 day guarantee so you have nothing to lose. 

Another option is the new supreme line. They offer mich more forefoot and toe cap room width wise than it's predecessor. So a fit 1 in the mach or m5 pro mag actually work for you. The mach in fit 1s toe cap and forefoot area was noticeably roomier than the 3s pros in a fit 2. 

Unless you get custom trues you may have to deal with settling with retail skates that may not provide the best heel lock or ones that cause some pinching or rubbing in the forefoot. The forefoot issues I'm confident can be alleviated to some degree or even completely if you know what you're doing. 

 

[bl4 39]

13 minutes ago, Sniper9 said:

Did you bake and mold the catalysts with the saran wrap technique? If no I'd give that another shot to see if the heel lock is an issue still. 

The new asv line of tacks have a wider forefoot area.  Ccms boots are also a lot more moldable than Bauer so I'd give that a shot since ccm has a 90 day guarantee so you have nothing to lose. 

Another option is the new supreme line. They offer mich more forefoot and toe cap room width wise than it's predecessor. So a fit 1 in the mach or m5 pro mag actually work for you. The mach in fit 1s toe cap and forefoot area was noticeably roomier than the 3s pros in a fit 2. 

Unless you get custom trues you may have to deal with settling with retail skates that may not provide the best heel lock or ones that cause some pinching or rubbing in the forefoot. The forefoot issues I'm confident can be alleviated to some degree or even completely if you know what you're doing. 

 

Thanks, @Sniper9

My LHS owner baked the Cats for me and did the saran wrap.  The wrap felt good, but unfortunately, they just didn't work for me - we tried a number of foam lifts, etc. to no avail.  I had no forefoot issues or issues with fit otherwise, but it was the worst heel lock that I've ever had in a pair of skates.  

Good call re: the CCMs.  I've been having a harder time tracking down taper fits in my size, but maybe it's worth a shot - the guarantee is great.  Up until the 70ks, I hadn't worn CCMs since the mid 90s (they'd always been too wide), but I have been happy with my Ribcors.

Re: the Supremes, I tried on the Ultrasonics and M5 pros in Fit1 and didn't like either.  I'm not sure if they ran a bit wider generally or what the issue was, but I felt like I was pronating a lot in both of them.  (I also tried them with superfeet, which helped a bit, but not much.)

You may well be right that it's time to go the custom route.  Part of what baffles me, though, is that I've never had forefoot issues.  My fit issues - to the extent I've had them - in 30+ years of skate buying have always been with skates being too wide or having too much volume; never the opposite.

 

[Sniper9 530]

On 12/28/2022 at 5:19 PM, bl4 said:

Thanks, @Sniper9

My LHS owner baked the Cats for me and did the saran wrap.  The wrap felt good, but unfortunately, they just didn't work for me - we tried a number of foam lifts, etc. to no avail.  I had no forefoot issues or issues with fit otherwise, but it was the worst heel lock that I've ever had in a pair of skates.  

Good call re: the CCMs.  I've been having a harder time tracking down taper fits in my size, but maybe it's worth a shot - the guarantee is great.  Up until the 70ks, I hadn't worn CCMs since the mid 90s (they'd always been too wide), but I have been happy with my Ribcors.

Re: the Supremes, I tried on the Ultrasonics and M5 pros in Fit1 and didn't like either.  I'm not sure if they ran a bit wider generally or what the issue was, but I felt like I was pronating a lot in both of them.  (I also tried them with superfeet, which helped a bit, but not much.)

You may well be right that it's time to go the custom route.  Part of what baffles me, though, is that I've never had forefoot issues.  My fit issues - to the extent I've had them - in 30+ years of skate buying have always been with skates being too wide or having too much volume; never the opposite.

 

It's funny you mention the latter and fit issues. Up until 2017 I was always a Bauer guy from 2010-2017 I wore Bauer one100 in 7d. Fit was great. No issues with heel lock or forefoot pinching etc. I don't even recall having to break them in. In 2017 I tried trues due to curiosity and not bc I've always had fit issues. I liked them and they were super comfy. In 2019 I wanted to try the as1s and found them extremely painful and killed my pinky toes at the toe cap junction. I was able to modify it enough to make them feel decent but ultimately went back to my trues. 

Fast forward to last year and I was curious to trying Bauer's again but like you every boot felt bad. I tried the hyperlites in fit 2 and it felt huge on me. Fit 1 still felt odd. 3s pro fit 2 felt good overall but forefoot was rubbing quite a bit and too narrow. Tried almost all the ccm models and all had the same Annoying toecap clip pressing on my pinky at the junction.  

I recently tried the machs in both fit 1 and 2 and both felt very similar but went for the fit 1 bc it was a touch snugger and I felt after baking it'll relax a touch and would be perfect. After bake it felt great. No hot spots. But after taking it out to a public skate my pinky was pinching during turns. I ended up returning them bc I didn't want to risk spending 1000+ on skates that caused pain. I could've tried the fit 2 as it would've had more room in the forefoot and toecap but I didn't want to go through the whole process again. I kept thinking the recent fit issues I've been having was because my feet became sensitized from how comfy trues are and every little thing I now noticed which I didn't before. But your experience made me realize maybe it's probably due to how different the fits are now adays with ccm and Bauer and the fact that boots are so stiff that you don't really break then in anymore and any little issue you'll def feel. 

I ultimately got scanned for a pair of cat pros. My current trues are still in decent shape but was curious about the cat line of skates since they actually look good and are lighter than the true svh customs. Hopefully they arrive next week or the week after since I only ordered them the week before Christmas. 

A part of me still kind of wants to try a fit 2 in the m5 pro to see how that would be.  

Regarding the heel lock off the trues. I know what you mean as true skates have a deeper heel pocket than any other skates.  Part of it is getting used to it but for some it's just too deep. 

Good luck in your journey 

 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Sniper9

[stick9 892]

On 12/28/2022 at 8:19 PM, bl4 said:

Good call re: the CCMs.  I've been having a harder time tracking down taper fits in my size, but maybe it's worth a shot - the guarantee is great.  Up until the 70ks, I hadn't worn CCMs since the mid 90s (they'd always been too wide), but I have been happy with my Ribcors.

If youre comfortable in a 70k you might be better off in a standard fit CCM. My tapered 100k pros have a lot less volume than my retail 70k's.

Tapered 100ks fit very similar to pre fit system era vapors.

Edited December 30, 2022 by stick9

[bl4 39]

2 hours ago, stick9 said:

If youre comfortable in a 70k you might be better off in a standard fit CCM. My tapered 100k pros have a lot less volume than my retail 70k's.

Tapered 100ks fit very similar to pre fit system era vapors.

I'm pretty sure I could do with less volume than I have in the 70ks.  They never fit me like a glove, and actually probably are a bit too bulky for me, but I've been happy in them more because they remind me of a traditional boot, so I can tie them tight and still get a bunch of forward flex.  To @Sniper9's comments, the slight give in the boots means I've probably noticed fit issues less (even if the extra give in the boots might mean they don't perform as well as stiffer skates I've had).   

[birky 24]

I was a Vapor D width guy. I have high arches and high instep but regular width feet (between C and D). I recently tried the Cat 9s and found they killed my feet because they're not designed for people with high arches/instep. So I went and got scanned - fit 2 in Bauer, regular in CCM, but down from 9 to 8.5.

I tried on almost every skate and I wound up in some regular width AS-V Tacks (tapered were just a tad tight in the forefoot). They are extremely comfortable and snug for me, excellent heel lock. CCM redesigned the AS-V Tacks line to be less voluminous, with the flexible tendon guard from the 100Ks, and this new GameDay fit tech on the ASV Pro and ASV skates that is supposed to provide a better wrap of the foot out of the box.

I was afraid of how stiff they were going to be and potentially less forward flex, but that was not an issue at all when I skated on them. I'm really happy with them so far, I'd definitely recommend folks consider them when trying on new skates (the AS-Vs are roughly as stiff as the FT4 Pros). Might be the solution for you, too.

Edited January 1, 2023 by birky