Advice: Buying Ice Hockey Skates

[JLlano]

Hello everyone. I just recently got back into playing hockey, I played my whole childhood up till I was about 16 yrs old and then took about a 14yr break. I mostly played roller hockey when I was younger due to the price differences for the leagues, the only time I played ice was pick up games on occassion. A few months ago I started a Roller Hockey League, but I have some friends that are joining an ice league that is pretty affordable and I am tempted to play ice also, the only thing that is holding me back is that I dont have skates. I was looking online and found some Bauer Vapors for pretty cheap, Im looking to spend around $50-$75 just for a good startup pair. Below are a few skates Ive been looking at, please give me some input, experience and/or advice on the best skate for the most affordable price. Thanks in advance!!

http://www.hockeymonkey.com/bauer-hockey-skates-vapor-x2-sr.html

http://www.hockeymonkey.com/bauer-hockey-skates-vapor-x1-sr.html

http://www.totalhockey.com/Product.aspx?itm_id=12160&div_id=41&utm_campaign=bazaarvoice&utm_medium=SearchVoice&utm_source=AskAndAnswer&utm_content=Default

Click to read more...

 

[teal]

if you plan on playing with any regularity, just avoid the lower end altogether. i made this mistake and am living with it now!

i had never played in my life and was signing up for a learn-to-play class. i bought a lower end pair of the bauer supreme line for $100. even at that price they were completely not supportive enough for what i was doing with them. i ended up finding a baller sale on a pair of new vapor 7.0's for $170 (!!) and they are maybe the best piece of any equipment i have ever owned. they are basically just one step lower than the highest end model in the bauer vapor line.

if you can, go to a local hockey store and see what sales they're having. or buy used. you can get something much much better than the low end vapors for $65-70 and in the meantime you can figure out what you like about the skates and don't like.

lower end will be a waste of money and time because they won't be supportive enough, guaranteed. i was told i could have broken an ankle in the ones i was wearing (supreme one.5) in my opinion, skates could make or break a person's desire to play ice hockey. if you can't skate, you can't do anything else. so go for the best skates you can.

good luck!

 

[JLlano]

At this point its gonna be hard for me to justify spending alot on a pair of skates. What would you say is the best cheaper skate for the money? I was also looking at the vapor x3.0 and they have some good reviews, they are $119 which is a little more then I was looking to spend right now, but if the vapor x2.0 is pretty much the same, then I would rather pay less at this point until I can save up for a good pair

 

[AIREAYE]

Go back to the board and scroll up...

teal is correct.

 

[jordanking87]

www.hockeymonkey.com/easton-hockey-skates-synergy-eq40-sr.html

These seem to be one of the best deals right now. I just got mine last week and I gotta say they are freakin awesome! I was skating in an old pair of CCM's that went for about $60 back when and this is an unreal upgrade. I definitely reccomend at least spending this much or looking for a comparable deal on the past few year models. You get what you pay for in life, it is most definitely true with ice skates.Good luck!

 

[ean]

I would buy a used pair for 30 dollars or less just to get you back on the ice and skating again. Your next pair can be new, fitted, and expensive.

 

[teal]

At this point its gonna be hard for me to justify spending alot on a pair of skates. What would you say is the best cheaper skate for the money? I was also looking at the vapor x3.0 and they have some good reviews, they are $119 which is a little more then I was looking to spend right now, but if the vapor x2.0 is pretty much the same, then I would rather pay less at this point until I can save up for a good pair

in that case, definitely go used. the lower end really aren't worth it.

 

[Niloc]

Skates.....
Going to buy new ones this week....too many options...

I have wider feet and toes (not too wide though, but i CANNOT fit Nike/Addidas shoes).....but i have small skinny ankes.....my current skates are CCMs but they kind of hurt the "balls of my ankle"........

Advice on which skates to try first?

 

[AIREAYE]

Did you go over the skate thread first?

 

[Niloc]

Yes i did, found a guy with the same issues but no one replied to him...

 

[AIREAYE]

At this point, just try on as many different pairs as you can in your price range provided that you have places with decent selection.

 

[McDugan]

Skates.....
Going to buy new ones this week....too many options...

I have wider feet and toes (not too wide though, but i CANNOT fit Nike/Addidas shoes).....but i have small skinny ankes.....my current skates are CCMs but they kind of hurt the "balls of my ankle"........

Advice on which skates to try first?

Based on popular wisdom, sounds like the Bauer Supreme line is a good starting point, but there's no substitute for trying skates on.

 

[Malarowski]

You can also always punch out/stretch skates if you have a good ankle fit but need extra room in the toe area (not the toe cap afaik).