Punching Out Hockey Skates

[anarchy]

Hockey gurus - hoping for your thoughts!

I just picked up a new pair of Bauer Supreme 190s and tried them out this past weekend but it was unbearably painful. This isn't new to me - I have flat and wide feet and have always had major feet issues with skates, court shoes, snowboard boots etc - any footwear that I have to tie fairly tight. I have custom orthotics and threw them in the skates when testing them out.

I tried them on in store and had them baked. Most commonly, I have pain on the inside of my foot where the arch is and on the outside near the middle. But this time when I tried these out, there was a lot of pain on the outside of my feet from basically the bone near my pinky toe down to about half way down my foot. It hurt so bad I had to untie it every time I was on the bench and take them out, then lace them back out to get back out there. At the end of the night the pain areas of my feet were swollen.

I've talked to a few people and there's two schools of thought:

Option A:
Man up and break it in organically.
The skates are snug around my feet which is what I want, I just need to stick with it and break it in organically. Suggestions include putting on thicker socks, walking around my house with them for a while, just keep doing it for a few more games until it breaks in a bit. If that fails, bake it once or twice again and rinse and repeat. Punching it out would be my last option (as that essentially breaks the boot and it no longer fits snugly around my feet).

Option B:
Have the problem areas punched out.
The skates are too tight and need to be punched out. It's too painful to break in organically and likely won't get to a point where all the pain is gone and will need to punched out regardless.

So...which option should I go with?

tl;dr
New skates hurt an unbearable amount - be a man and break them in proper or be a bitch and punch out like a pussy.

[88CRX]

New skates these days shouldn't need to broken in to avoid major foot pain. Either they're sized wrong or they need to be punched out.

Pro-Skate for punching out.

[vengie]

Where did you buy them? Mainly curious as to the quality and training of the salesperson helping you size them.

As mentioned, take your skates to pro-skate, both to ensure correct fitment, and if needed to punch them out.

[anarchy]

I bought them from Hockey Experts at Deerfoot mall.

Cool thanks for the suggestion gents, I'm going to bring it there tonight hopefully.

[Moonracer]

Ya man there's got to be a skate out there for you that fits well. If you can I'd take them back and try out other pairs and ask for a wide boot in each. You shouldn't have to tie them really tight either, that's a recipe for pain.

[anarchy]

I already wore them for a shinny so I don't think I can take them back now. I'll bring it to PSS tonight and see what they say - if we can make these work then awesome. But if not, then worst case scenario I'll sell the skates at a loss and get ones that fit properly. Wish I knew about PSS in the first place.

My old pair (which would sometimes be painful if I tied too tight) was Vapors in EE width but the guys at the skate shop had me try on the Supremes in D's because they said it was already wider.

The problem is when I try them on in store, it's impossible to tell how they will feel. I don't feel the pain and tightness until i'm actually skating which sucks.

[lasimmon]

Probably sized incorrectly. I have never had to break in a pair of skates or had them hurt my feet in the 22 years I have played hockey, and I have wide feet.

[Moonracer]

Hockey experts has a skate punch as well they just may not be as good at it as pro skate is all, but really it's not that difficult. Good luck!

[dharminder]

I think like anything you have to break them in, takes time for your feet to adjust to the new skates the same way the skates have to adjust to your foot. Maybe for some the process is quicker who knows.

My suggestion would be when at home, slap them on (with a guard) walk around sit with them half hour at a time.
Give it couple games or skates if they are still hurting go back get them baked again. From my experience and understanding it could take up 20 hours to break them in to the point of no pain no issues.

[r3ccOs]

I have wide flat and thick feet...

I currently use Graf 709's wide but even those out of the gate weren't the perfect fit, requiring molding and punching out in the forefoot

the composite boots are starting to really limit my ability to find skate that fit, and I'm now limited to strickly the Bauer Nexus, and RBK now for skates.

[Tarrantula]

Arent Bauers notorious for being skinny? Probably a good idea to change brands.

[riander5]

Half the people on here obviously don't know what they are talking about. Just because one little cooking session doesn't make them fit like a glove doesn't mean they are a lost cause or sized improperly.

Got my one100's like 5 years ago and first ice time gave me a toonie sized blister on the inside of each foot, couldn't play for like 2 weeks while they healed.

Got them punched out, fit like a mother f*cking glove ever since

[r3ccOs]

Originally posted by riander5
Half the people on here obviously don't know what they are talking about. Just because one little cooking session doesn't make them fit like a glove doesn't mean they are a lost cause or sized improperly.

Got my one100's like 5 years ago and first ice time gave me a toonie sized blister on the inside of each foot, couldn't play for like 2 weeks while they healed.

Got them punched out, fit like a mother f*cking glove ever since

people at proskate, dunright, B&P can do things to help accomdoate for yoru feet, but the RIGHT boot makes all the difference.

the most comfortable skates I've worn were my old pro tacks, and in hind site, I would still use them, as they were one of the first composite boots, that performed I feel, as good as the Rbk 9 & 12k's I've owned.

Most bauer were too skinny mostly a traditional "supra" fit which is your totalONE, or 190 series.

Nexus is larger wider and deeper, much like the Graf 709 offering to accomodate a more traditional wide fitting boot... but some people say they do not perform as well, due to the extra space.

Rbk's I found to be the most accomodating modern boot, and easy to modify (i.e. punch out)

[88CRX]

Originally posted by riander5
Half the people on here obviously don't know what they are talking about. Just because one little cooking session doesn't make them fit like a glove doesn't mean they are a lost cause or sized improperly.

Got my one100's like 5 years ago and first ice time gave me a toonie sized blister on the inside of each foot, couldn't play for like 2 weeks while they healed.

Got them punched out, fit like a mother f*cking glove ever since

He didn't say he has a blister... he said his feet were so sore he had to take them off after every shift and that they were swollen after the game. Big difference.

[dtrieu]

Punching out use to be more effective on leather skates like grafs and older skates with like Kevlar, prior to composite skates. If your feet are really that big you should have opted for the nexus line.

Vapours fit like a V = Narrow Heel, to a wider forefoot.

Supremes are a traditional fit. Normal heel and slightly narrower forefoot

Nexus has a wide heel and a wide forefoot and is just a deep fitting boot in general.

[riander5]

Originally posted by 88CRX


He didn't say he has a blister... he said his feet were so sore he had to take them off after every shift and that they were swollen after the game. Big difference.

Trust me my feet were sore too, just didn't notice it as much compared to the blisters. Unless the guy who fit him was a total knob they should be workable.....

That being said I just went on bauers site and they have a pretty easy to understand fit picture on how each line fits. I wanted the supreme line, but maybe the vapor would have been better. If OP has really fat feet (wide) then maybe he shoulda got nexus!

Either way good luck to OP, don't switch from bauer, they are the best.

[mr2mike]

Professional Skate.

[anarchy]

Originally posted by dtrieu
Punching out use to be more effective on leather skates like grafs and older skates with like Kevlar, prior to composite skates. If your feet are really that big you should have opted for the nexus line.

Vapours fit like a V = Narrow Heel, to a wider forefoot.

Supremes are a traditional fit. Normal heel and slightly narrower forefoot

Nexus has a wide heel and a wide forefoot and is just a deep fitting boot in general.

Actually I did try the Nexus 8000 first, which felt nice and wide but it felt like it was a bit too loose - I wouldn't say my feet were swimming in it but it wasn't nice and snug. So that's why I went with the Supremes, more of a tighter, snug fit.

My old Vapors are EE in width but when I tried the Nexus, the guy said they are naturally wider so to try D width. When it felt a bit loose, I went to Supremes and stuck with D width.

The issue is that I don't feel any pain or real discomfort until I'm actually skating so trying them on in store wouldn't give me a true sense of whether they were too tight or not. In hindsight, I'd probably go with a wider boot now.


Originally posted by 88CRX
He didn't say he has a blister... he said his feet were so sore he had to take them off after every shift and that they were swollen after the game. Big difference.

That's correct. No blisters or specific spots. They were just extremely sore, I couldn't even really skate out there and was just coasting around for my shifts and had to slip them off when I was on the bench. Luckily it was just a shinny.


Originally posted by r3ccOs
I have wide flat and thick feet...

I currently use Graf 709's wide but even those out of the gate weren't the perfect fit, requiring molding and punching out in the forefoot

the composite boots are starting to really limit my ability to find skate that fit, and I'm now limited to strickly the Bauer Nexus, and RBK now for skates.

I asked the guy about the Grafs as I heard they are better skates for wider feet, but the sales guy didn't know very much about them and they were also quite heavy compared to the Bauers.


Really appreciate everyone's feedback - I'm going to drop by Pro Skate tonight and see what they say. One thing I didn't mention that might also be a factor is the length. With stock insoles, my feet fit size 8 skates. But when I popped my custom orthotics into them, the heel sits slightly forward because my orthotics didn't sit flush with the skate heel. As a result, it pushed my toes forward and so I went up to an 8.5 size. I asked the sales guy at Hockey Experts and he said this shouldn't affect my performance. I'm curious what the Pro Skate guys will think of this.

I'll go with whatever they suggest - whether it's punching it out, stretching it, breaking it in for a game or more or hell even selling my skates and switching to a different one. I'd rather take a $1-200 loss than use ill-fitting skates for years, but hopefully they can make these ones work.

[FishPoo]

I went through 3-4 pairs of skates before I found one that doesn't hurt. I kind of have small duck feet, narrow heel with a wide forefoot

I had a pair of Bauer Supremes, wore them for a few seasons before I got tired of the cramping and tried punching them out (mostly right below the knuckle by my big/pinky toe), but it just wasn't worth it, they never really fit right.

I ended up with a pair of Grafs 605s at PSS and was super happy with them. Wore them for a few seasosn before I thught I could try something a little snugger and tried about 10 skates at Tuxedo Sports and ended up with Graf 635 in half a size smaller but found them a little snug after a season - so I went back to the 605s and I wear the 635s occassionally for outdoor skating but I'm happy with the fit on both.

Definitely check out the sizing chart on graf's website as they break out how each skate model feets by heel shape, heel width and heel instep depth. Depending on the sales person you get, you might need to ask specifically for the skate brand and model, the person at Tuxedo didn't even suggest any Grafs for me until I asked for them.

[riander5]

Grafs are definitely comfortable... I had a pair of 705's and 709 customs in the early 2000's when graf was still competitive... When I switched to some vapor XX's only like 2 years later it was like taking off a steel toed workboot and putting on a pair of running shoes

[anarchy]

Update:
So I went to Pro Skate and told him about my problem and he immediately went to go punch them out. I asked him if I should try breaking them in as I've only skated with them once but he said if they were really painful that it probably wasn't worth it.

He punched them out in about five minutes and he even declined to charge me - pretty awesome dude :thumbsup:

I tried them out last night and they were significantly better. Still having some dull pains after tying my skates pretty tight but I think if I find the right balance of how tight I tie my skates and break them in a bit more I should be okay. My feet are still a bit sore from the weekend so that didn't help either, but overall a big improvement.

Big ups to the Pro Skate guys - I'll definitely be going to them from now on.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

[88CRX]

Originally posted by anarchy
Update:
I asked him if I should try breaking them in as I've only skated with them once but he said if they were really painful that it probably wasn't worth it.

Oh rly?

;)

[MrSector9]

waxed laces and leave the bottom section a little bit looser, start tightening around the ankle tight and tighten alot from there, Or get someone to install lace locks like on the RBKS so you can have the bottom loose and above very tight. I have to do this as my feet are pretty much the same.

[ryder_23]

Only place I go to get my skates sharpened. I'm a goalie and have extremely picky sharpness. Always get it right every time.

[anarchy]

Originally posted by MrSector9
waxed laces and leave the bottom section a little bit looser, start tightening around the ankle tight and tighten alot from there, Or get someone to install lace locks like on the RBKS so you can have the bottom loose and above very tight. I have to do this as my feet are pretty much the same.
Yeah I picked up waxed laces - never heard of the lace locks though. I'll see if they can install them at Pro Skate. I'm definitely aiming to tie them a bit looser on my foot to give it space but I like it tight on my ankle so the lace locks sound like it would be perfect for that. Thanks for the tip.

[lasimmon]

Originally posted by 88CRX


Oh rly?

;)

With the way skates are these days they don't really need to be "broken in".

[r3ccOs]

Originally posted by 88CRX


Oh rly?

;)

I would say it takes as much time for your feet and body to break into the skate than anything else.

All the RBKs have a flatter arch than the Grafs, and even though sizing of the boot fits my feet, the more prominant arch made my foot ache until the muscles in my feet accomodated the skate.

but if the boot just doesn't fit, there is no way to make it really... and I'd say most composite boots are made to work out of the gate.

blistering (minor) usually is taken care of by your body than the skate... I've developed weird calluses with every pair of skate I've ever owned.