New Hockey Skates
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New Hockey Skates
Got a new pair of vapor xxxx. Should we have them rockered?
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O-townClown
- Posts: 4422
- Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:22 pm
- Location: Typical homeboy from the O-Town
Vapor XXXXs are for men over 200 pounds. The Vapor XXV is a better skate for a youth player if you can convince your kid. I've heard the players at Shattuck wear XXVs.
To answer your question though I think you mean contoured. Skates are rockered out of the box. Vapors actually have more forward lean than most of the other brands so may not need contouring. It depends what type of skater you or your son is and what you/he were on previously. If you're talking about a good skater, that's old enough to know, they'll notice right away things don't feel the same if you're changing brands and models. May feel back on their heels. Contouring can create the forward lean by taking a little more off the toe than the heel. It costs between $10 and $40 for contouring. Won't likely need it with a Vapor.
To answer your question though I think you mean contoured. Skates are rockered out of the box. Vapors actually have more forward lean than most of the other brands so may not need contouring. It depends what type of skater you or your son is and what you/he were on previously. If you're talking about a good skater, that's old enough to know, they'll notice right away things don't feel the same if you're changing brands and models. May feel back on their heels. Contouring can create the forward lean by taking a little more off the toe than the heel. It costs between $10 and $40 for contouring. Won't likely need it with a Vapor.
[quote="observer"]Vapor XXXXs are for men over 200 pounds. The Vapor XXV is a better skate for a youth player if you can convince your kid. I've heard the players at Shattuck wear XXVs.
To answer your question though I think you mean contoured. Skates are rockered out of the box. Vapors actually have more forward lean than most of the other brands so may not need contouring. It depends what type of skater you or your son is and what you/he were on previously. If you're talking about a good skater, that's old enough to know, they'll notice right away things don't feel the same if you're changing brands and models. May feel back on their heels. Contouring can create the forward lean by taking a little more off the toe than the heel. It costs between $10 and $40 for contouring. Won't likely need it with a Vapo
He went from xxII to xxxx and he noticed a big difference.
To answer your question though I think you mean contoured. Skates are rockered out of the box. Vapors actually have more forward lean than most of the other brands so may not need contouring. It depends what type of skater you or your son is and what you/he were on previously. If you're talking about a good skater, that's old enough to know, they'll notice right away things don't feel the same if you're changing brands and models. May feel back on their heels. Contouring can create the forward lean by taking a little more off the toe than the heel. It costs between $10 and $40 for contouring. Won't likely need it with a Vapo
He went from xxII to xxxx and he noticed a big difference.
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hockeyover40
- Posts: 109
- Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:04 pm
So a squirt that leans foward (a little too much) he shouldn't have his skates contoured.observer wrote:Vapor XXXXs are for men over 200 pounds. The Vapor XXV is a better skate for a youth player if you can convince your kid. I've heard the players at Shattuck wear XXVs.
To answer your question though I think you mean contoured. Skates are rockered out of the box. Vapors actually have more forward lean than most of the other brands so may not need contouring. It depends what type of skater you or your son is and what you/he were on previously. If you're talking about a good skater, that's old enough to know, they'll notice right away things don't feel the same if you're changing brands and models. May feel back on their heels. Contouring can create the forward lean by taking a little more off the toe than the heel. It costs between $10 and $40 for contouring. Won't likely need it with a Vapor.
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conditioningsucks
- Posts: 184
- Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:24 am
Get 'em countoured. Talk to someone who actually does the contouring for information/recommendations based on height/weight.
Skates do come contoured out of the box, but here's the problem. Often these blades are made in China. Depending on the batches that the blades were made in it is possible that you get a 9' radius on one blade and an 11' on another blade.
If your player is young, smaller, etc. you most likely will have a smaller radius (7' to 9') while taller and heavier would get (9' to 12'). An expert may also have recommendations for defensemen or forwards.
As far as the sharpening most parents don't know what to ask for. lighter players should get a deeper hollow of 5/8 inches and heavier players should look at a hollow of 3/4 to 7/8" inches. Again, ask the expert what he recommends and then write it on the bottom of the skate.
Just my thoughts.
Skates do come contoured out of the box, but here's the problem. Often these blades are made in China. Depending on the batches that the blades were made in it is possible that you get a 9' radius on one blade and an 11' on another blade.
If your player is young, smaller, etc. you most likely will have a smaller radius (7' to 9') while taller and heavier would get (9' to 12'). An expert may also have recommendations for defensemen or forwards.
As far as the sharpening most parents don't know what to ask for. lighter players should get a deeper hollow of 5/8 inches and heavier players should look at a hollow of 3/4 to 7/8" inches. Again, ask the expert what he recommends and then write it on the bottom of the skate.
Just my thoughts.
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conditioningsucks
- Posts: 184
- Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:24 am
Depending on where you are, I'd recommend one of the following: Westwood Sports (Bloomington- although they have other locations), Gold Metal Sports (Chanhassen), or Sportsworld (Eden Prairie)
Other reasons to have this done are to correctly place the balance point of the runners- they may differ even from one skate to the next when taken right out of the box. This would also affect the placement of the middle radius on each runner- the area you use for the gliding/striding motions. For $30-40, it's well worth the investment.
A good internet site for fairly detailed info is noicingsports.com; select the "skate radius and profiling info". For basic sharpening FAQ's, select "skate sharpening info"
The 'attention to detail' and 'sharpening expertise' are the reason's I purchased my own sharpener-- I have yet, however, to master the profiling aspect
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Other reasons to have this done are to correctly place the balance point of the runners- they may differ even from one skate to the next when taken right out of the box. This would also affect the placement of the middle radius on each runner- the area you use for the gliding/striding motions. For $30-40, it's well worth the investment.
A good internet site for fairly detailed info is noicingsports.com; select the "skate radius and profiling info". For basic sharpening FAQ's, select "skate sharpening info"
The 'attention to detail' and 'sharpening expertise' are the reason's I purchased my own sharpener-- I have yet, however, to master the profiling aspect
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