I just recently learned to skate and want to buy a pair of hockey skates, I have very narrow feet/ankles and am looking for a good pair. Do I need to buy the expensive ones? Are there any good inexpensive ones you could reccomend.
Decent skates are much more pleasant to skate in than cheap ones are. Sadly, they’re rather expensive. You certainly don’t need to buy the $400 ones, though. I would recommend trying to find a place that sells used skates; you’ll get a better skate for your dollar. Try on as many pairs as you can, and don’t settle for anything that isn’t comfortable. In my experience, if they’re uncomfortable when you stand on them in a shop, your feet will be in agony after an hour on the ice.
Yeah, I definately don’t want to waste money on cheap ones that hurt my feet. The only problem is I don’t think there are any places by my house that sell used skates. I did find a couple of websites that sell discounted skates. I was thinking about ordering these ones:
http://store.yahoo.com/hockeygiant/easocseniceh.html
What do you think?
I usually wear a 10 1/2 although I just measured my feet today and to my surprise I should wear a 10. I hear you are supposed to size your skates1-1 1/2 smaller than your shoes. If I have only a choice between 8 and 9, Should I use 9? My feet are very narrow
Or would these be better:
Do not order skates unless you have tried on the exact model and size in a shop. Not only do skates of the same size vary in how they fit in terms of width and shape and the like, but skate size can’t be reliably derived from shoe size since many people wear heavier socks in skates, and skates fit much tighter than shoes, so an accurate fit is more important. I find that overall length doesn’t matter as much as how the boot fits mid-foot. I’ve had skates that were too narrow at that point, and I could barely walk after skating in them.
Those both look like reasonable entry level skates, but I can’t comment on their quality, as I don’t have a pair in front of me. The basic issues are two - does it have adequate ankle support, and will it make your feet fall off. I can’t imagine any skate produced by bauer, ccm, easton, etc that doesn’t have adequate support. The question is whether the boot fits comfortably. Lots of cheap skates have boots so stiff that if they aren’t an absolutely perfect spot-on fit, they’ll never really break in and become more comfortable. Expensive skates use more and softer leather in their boots, and fewer synthetics.
Go to a shop. Bring along heavy socks if you’re planning on wearing them when you skate. Try on some skates. Ask questions. Don’t worry about blade replacement systems and the like - unless you skate a lot, as in every day, that won’t be an issue - what you want to focus on is getting a decent compromise between price and boot quality. If you’re buying new skates, find a model you like, then shop around to find a deal on it. I still think you’ll end up with better skates for the dollar if you can find a shop selling used ones, unless you’re somewhere where skating isn’t common.
One way to find a shop selling used skates would be to call a couple places that sell new skates, ask if they sell used ones, and then if they say know, ask if they know of anyone that does. I don’t know where you live. but round here such shops are common. Skates are expensive, and kids playing hockey grow out of theirs every year, usually, so there’s a booming business in “recycling” them.
Great, thanks for the info, I will call up some places. I’m glad that I didn’t end up buying them yet.
If asnybody else has any advice for purchasing skates I’d be glad to hear it.
btw, I live in Columbia, MD
Should this post be in the “IMHO” section? Sorry if I put it here wrongly
When I was looking to play hockey, we got our skates straight from someones mom in the parking lot. I was able to try them on, and they were of good quality.
That thing about skates fitting very tightly is no exaggeration. The skates were a size 8, and my feet were size 10 at the time. This allowed for a solid fit. I hear that Paul Coffey wore (or wears) a size 6[sup]3/4[/sup] skate on his size 10 foot.
Definitely do not order skates unless you have tried them on.
Also, I’d reccomend not buying skates at stores like Wal-mart as you probably won’t get much help there.
Go in to a real skate shop or athletic store that sells hockey skates. Take the socks you are planning on wearing and get someone at the store to help you try some on. They should be able to help you find a comfortable pair. It is imperative that you get someone to help you get fitted. If you buy something that feels comfortable to you now, they may not on the ice.
Once you find the skates you like, you can then order them online or buy them at Wal-mart etc. Or, you can buy them at the sports shop if you are feeling loyal.
I wear a 9-1/2 shoe and a size 7 skate. I really like CCM Tacks & CCM Super Tacks. They are the most comfortable skates I’ve ever had.
I second bcflyer’s recommendation of CCM Tacks. I’ve had two pairs and they have been great. Mission makes really nice inlines, so I’d be interested to try a pair of those. You may want to try looking for a site that sells last years models. It’s a good way to get a little more bang for your buck. Hockeymonkey.com comes to mind, but I’m sure there are others, too.
BTW, wear a size 9 shoe and size 7.5 skate, so as everyone else has said, you gotta buy them small.
Novus
Thanks everyone for your replys, I will definately look out for tacks. I am gonna swing by “play it again sports” and see if I can’t find a decent used pair
Okay so I got a pair of bauer impacts, it then turned out they were too big so I went back today and traded them in with a little extra money and got a pair of Nike quest zoom air, I heard “get small” so I got one size smaller than what was too big(didn’t have half sizes.) Now it seems they are too small, they feel fine around the foot but the tip is pushing my big toe too hard so now it is startring to go numb. I really like these skates! and I don’t want to have to go through the ordeal again of getting another pair. I talked to a guy yesterday who said he carved the toe of the skates out some so his toe would have room. Is this a good thing to do? or would I ruin my skate and then not get my money back. Please help a brother out
If carving the toe out means exposing it, I wouldn’t recommend that. It’s just another exposed part for the puck to come and annillate. In my experience, tight skates are going to bind your foot up a bit.
I’m not even playing Hockey, but I do not want an exposed toe, either. I don’t think it would come through though because the plastic inside seems pretty thick. I don’t mind them binding my foot, I just can’t have my foot all numb because the skate is so hard against my foot
Well, if you’re not even playing hockey, you could probably afford a looser fit, assuming you won’t be skating in a hockey-playing fashion. That’s my view, anyway, and quite possibly worthy of correction.
I tried the looser fit with the bauers, but my foot felt more loose inside and I was afraid my skate was going to warp eventually. It also made me feel like I was going to fall backwards since they did not support too much bending of the knee, while these skates do make your knees bend more naturally
Don’t wear any socks when you skate, that would give you more room. In my experience the guys I played hockey with were probably split at least 50/50 between wearing socks or not wearing socks at all. One guy on the team I was on would wear a cheap pair of dress socks. They were thinner, but kept his feet from getting blisters. For the record, I skated barefoot and never got any blisters.
As soon as you’re sure the pair you have is the pair you will keep, get those suckers broken in as quick as you can and skating will be much more enjoyable. I would break mine in just by skating in them and eventually it would happen. I knew a guy that said to put on some warm, wet socks and then put the skates on and tie them tight. He claimed it would speed up the process. I never tried it though, so I don’t know if the claim is accurate.
I did the dress socks thing, it did ease the pain a bit, but overall they were still too small. I am thinking carving out some of the inside toe, but I don’t want to ruin the skates.
You might find they feel better and seem to fit better if you get the blades sharpened and reshaped. Tell the sharpener what your problem is; he or she may be able to make some changes in the blade that would help.
Or so a former pro hockey player just told my husband after watching him go around the rink a few times.