Lace bite

[BurnabyJoe7]

Anyone here have experience dealing with lace bite? Haven't played hockey consistently for a while and just got back into it this year. Took a shot off my old skates the other day and had to get new ones. Had a really old pair of vapors and switched to CCMs. Had the skates for a few games and had insane lace bite but only on my right skate, so I thought the tongue could have been defective and ended up exchanging them for a new pair of bauer vapours. Used them a few times now and I still have a bit of lace bite, but I think it's because I'm still recovering from the original lace bite I got from the CCMs, where I couldn't walk in regular boots for a week and had to stick to wearing low rise shoes for 2 weeks.

For those who have dealt with lace bite- were you able to solve the issue? If so, what worked? And do you do a tongue tuck into your shinpads?

I played hockey consistently for the first 25 years of my life and I'm only having the issue now for the first time after buying new skates. I used to be a tongue out guy but now I find that tucking them in helps.

Thanks in advance for any advice folks.

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[beedee]

How tight are you tying your skates? Do you lace them all the way up? Are you using wax laces? Skates these days are much stiffer so you don't have to crank the laces as tight as you might have in the past. If not tying them as tight doesn't work, you can try Bunga pads to help alleviate it.

FWIW, I am skating in a new pair of Vapor 3x's and have no issues with lace bite. I'm still using the stock laces, and do lace them all the way up, but I don't tighten them up very snug. I pull them taught, and then flex my foot forward a bit, then go ahead and tie my knots with slight pressure/tightness. I don't tuck my shins into my tongues.

 

[BurnabyJoe7]

How tight are you tying your skates? Do you lace them all the way up? Are you using wax laces? Skates these days are much stiffer so you don't have to crank the laces as tight as you might have in the past. If not tying them as tight doesn't work, you can try Bunga pads to help alleviate it.

FWIW, I am skating in a new pair of Vapor 3x's and have no issues with lace bite. I'm still using the stock laces, and do lace them all the way up, but I don't tighten them up very snug. I pull them taught, and then flex my foot forward a bit, then go ahead and tie my knots with slight pressure/tightness. I don't tuck my shins into my tongues.

Yeah I'm wearing the 3x pros right now too and I think the issue will be solved once I don't play for 2+ weeks and let my foot fully heal. It flairs up slightly every time I play (twice a week) including while I'm in my old skates which I had zero issues with.

I used to use wax laces and tie them super tight, but a lot of the stuff I read online says to stay away from wax laces and to ease up at the top eyelets which I now do. Like you, I'm using the stock laces and I also bought something equivalent to a bunga pad.

I think the main issue is I didn't have enough depth in the CCMs (failed the pencil test) and they have a pretty shitty stock tongue.

Have you had issues with lace bite in other skates?

 

[puckpilot]

Lace bite usually happens because of either not enough volume in the skate, meaning you're not in the right skate line/fit profile, and/or you're cranking the laces too tight. It's not uncommon for people with new skates to crank the laces too tight as they feel out the new skate. It's also not uncommon for someone who's wearing skates that are a bit too big to crank the laces too tight to stabilize their foot in the skate. Just some food for thought.

For me, there are no retail skates on the market that will fit me properly. I have volume issues because I'm an adult with size 4.5 feet, so over the years I've found lots of different ways to deal with the reality of and the potential for lace bite. The first thing is lace bite gel pads. Your millage may vary on this. Though, it does cushion the top of your foot. It also takes up volume in the skate. For some it works. For others it just makes it worse.

Pad 1

Pad 2
Next up is eyelet extenders. Basically they, create more volume in the skate by extending the eyelets up. Here's a link that shows you how to make them yourself. And one where you can buy them. Unfortunately, they're a bit pricey.

Lacebite From Powerskating

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Next is Option B skate straps. They replace the laces with velcro straps, which create more volume like the eyelet extenders and distribute the pressure more evenly across the foot, so nothing is digging into your tendons.

Option B Skate Straps

For me, I found using Option B straps on the bottom part of my skate and laces on the top worked best. It's ugly, but it works.

But there is one last thing that works too. Learn to skate with looser laces. A few years ago I started to practice with my laces undone. I've gotten to the point where I can do everything with laces loose. It's not at game speed, but pretty close. BUT, now when I do tie up my skates for games, the laces are snug to loose and barely put any pressure on the top of my foot. No pressure. No lace bite. This of course is not the easiest undertaking, and if you don't have the time nor desire to practise skating this way, it's obviously not going to work.

So, there it is. Hopefully, one of those things will work for you. Good luck.

 

[jackflash]

In addition to the above, you can also try stuffing lamb's wool under your socks until the skates are broken in and the lace bite is gone

 

[biturbo19]

I feel like "lace bite" is one of the few things i've never really had an issue with in skates. I've had pretty much every other problem. I have a super narrow heel, high arch, and wide front foot. It makes skate shopping a nightmare. I also tighten my skates weird, leaving most of the skate loose/semi-tight, and really only start yanking down on the section that holds my foot in place front-back, where i sinch down about as hard as i can. My foot still gets tired after a while. But i've never really had "lace bite".

When i think of "lace bite", i think of the wrong laces being too tight. Or the wrong size boot being tightened to compensate.

I wouldn't recommend most people tightening laces the way i do. But you can absolutely tighten laces in a weird way, and not get lace bite. Just need the properly fitted and shaped skates. Which is complicated.

 

[TGWL]

I don't know how you're lacing up your boot, but at the top or top 2 eyelets, go over instead of under. This pulls the boot over instead of pushing down on the tongue to tighten in and give you lace bite.

 

[Mighty Makar]

Ice that area every day and stop playing for 2 weeks or so. Let it heal and start wearing a bunga pad. Worked like a charm for me.