Fit of Bauer Vapor Skates: 6.0 in particular

Guffaw

Registered User
Apr 29, 2011
495
0
Drexel Hill PA
I've been meaning to try a pair of these on, the 6.0 in particular, but just haven't had the time so figured I would ask.

I have a very narrow foot. Left is between a B/C and right is a C as measured on a Bauer gauge. I've heard the vapor line runs narrow. Heel is narrow and pronounced.

My main concern is instep depth. I don't need depth at the forefoot/toes, but I have a high arch so often get pretty bad lace bite if the skate isn't deep enough by the arch. I wore Micron 10-90's and Air 90's in the 90's:) and got really bad lace bite, but those were size 10B and 10C. I know the thinest Vapors come is a D.

I'm in Grafs now and very comfortable, but thinking of trying something lighter if I can find a skate that fits.

Any advice appreciated.
 

AIREAYE

Registered User
Jun 7, 2009
4,885
70
Well Vapors do have that general narrow consistent fit all along the skate. D-width is the 'standard' and the only way to go narrower is custom. Supremes would be the ones with more depth though.

I think I mentioned Superfeet to you before for your arch.
 

Jarick

Doing Nothing
Vapors should be narrow to regular fit all the way across the boot with an average instep depth; Supremes will be regular to wider up front with a narrower heel and deeper instep. I have a very pronounced heel and could never lock in with any size Vapor. FWIW, I'm wearing Graf 735's and they fit absolutely beautiful after I punched/stretched the forefoot a bit wider to relieve some arch pain.

Which Grafs are you in?

I'm not good at all with insole knowledge, but wouldn't Superfeet raise your heel effectively giving the boot less depth? I know for me they felt better but worsened the heel lock when I was in Vapors.
 

flyers10

Registered User
Apr 12, 2011
105
0
AZ
I have the x60's. Depending on how narrow your heel is you might not get great heel lock in the Vapors. I have a narrow heel too and I had to buy ezeefit booties to stop heel rubbing. Just a bit too wide of a heel for me. My arch is med-high & have skinny foot and arch depth was fine for me. I actually had a little depth to spare and bit too much depth on the top 2-3 eyelets. I think this year's line has a bit more padding in the heel to help lock it down so you may be ok there. Best to try them at your LHS or order from a place with easy returns.
 

Jarick

Doing Nothing
It seems to me as boots have gotten lighter and stiffer and conform less to the foot, heel lock has become more of an issue for players. Boots lately have been adding more padding in the heel area to improve this. Probably why I like my Grafs so much as they just have tons of padding in the liner.
 

sabresEH

Registered User
May 17, 2009
3,428
1,409
Kelowna, BC
It seems to me as boots have gotten lighter and stiffer and conform less to the foot, heel lock has become more of an issue for players. Boots lately have been adding more padding in the heel area to improve this. Probably why I like my Grafs so much as they just have tons of padding in the liner.

Have you seen the new grafs. They are using a much thinner liner than the cambrelle lining. Not sure how I feel about it yet.
 

Jarick

Doing Nothing
Nope. It seems they are trying to lighten up their skate so reducing the liner thickness would help. I think they're also going to lighter composite materials on the boot as well. They can get away with it because they still have so many different fits, whereas any other company with 1-2 boot styles will have to have a much more thermoformable material. Like the MLX skates, which basically conform to your foot and then harden like a rock.
 
Jul 31, 2005
8,839
1,485
CA
I have regular feet and have the X60's-the only issue is minor rubbing on the inside ankle bone which I fixed with 2 gel pads on the inside of my skate sock. I've tried on Supreme's and they hurt right away, IIRC right on the top of the foot. I use the yellow Superfeet as well. Love the skates, it's important to be able to play a lot and not have any pain when you skate.
 

Guffaw

Registered User
Apr 29, 2011
495
0
Drexel Hill PA
Vapors should be narrow to regular fit all the way across the boot with an average instep depth; Supremes will be regular to wider up front with a narrower heel and deeper instep. I have a very pronounced heel and could never lock in with any size Vapor. FWIW, I'm wearing Graf 735's and they fit absolutely beautiful after I punched/stretched the forefoot a bit wider to relieve some arch pain.

Which Grafs are you in?

I'm not good at all with insole knowledge, but wouldn't Superfeet raise your heel effectively giving the boot less depth? I know for me they felt better but worsened the heel lock when I was in Vapors.

I'm in a G35X which are a very similar fit to the 735.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to try on both the Supremes and Vapors and see how they feel. I honestly don't think they'll fit better than my G35's though. I would love to get into something lighter, but I don't want to be in pain.
 

Stickmata

Registered User
Aug 30, 2011
1,489
2
I have very narrow feet and the Bauers don't even come close to fitting me. I'm sorry, but none of the Bauers should ever be called a narrow fitting skate.

The only skate I can wear are Grafs, currently in a 703. As others have said, Graf has definately thinned the liners in recent years. I love my Grafs but I find they are really bad when it comes to protecting you from pucks off the skate.
 

AIREAYE

Registered User
Jun 7, 2009
4,885
70
Just because they don't fit your particular foot; doesn't mean the fitting guidelines are wrong. 'Narrow' 'Regular' what have you; it's a starting point in determining the best fit.
 

ponder

Registered User
Jul 11, 2007
16,928
6,217
Vancouver
I've been meaning to try a pair of these on, the 6.0 in particular, but just haven't had the time so figured I would ask.

I have a very narrow foot. Left is between a B/C and right is a C as measured on a Bauer gauge. I've heard the vapor line runs narrow. Heel is narrow and pronounced.

My main concern is instep depth. I don't need depth at the forefoot/toes, but I have a high arch so often get pretty bad lace bite if the skate isn't deep enough by the arch. I wore Micron 10-90's and Air 90's in the 90's:) and got really bad lace bite, but those were size 10B and 10C. I know the thinest Vapors come is a D.

I'm in Grafs now and very comfortable, but thinking of trying something lighter if I can find a skate that fits.

Any advice appreciated.
Honestly lighter skates don't make a huge difference, fit trumps weight BY FAR, and judging by your description of your feet I doubt you'd fit in any Bauer skates. If I were you, and had found a model of Grafs that fit great, I'd just stick with them. A really narrow foot that still needs a lot of depth is a very unusual foot type, doubt you'll find a brand other than Graf that will fit your feet (unless you go for custom skates, obviously).
 

Stickmata

Registered User
Aug 30, 2011
1,489
2
Just because they don't fit your particular foot; doesn't mean the fitting guidelines are wrong. 'Narrow' 'Regular' what have you; it's a starting point in determining the best fit.

I agree, but that wasn't my point. My point was that Bauer's boot design is not a 'narrow' boot relative to other manufacturers. It is average to wide. Nobody with a B width or narrower is going to be able to get a Bauer to fit them well, unless they go for the full custom high end stuff, which I'm not even sure Bauer offers to the general public anymore. An off the rack Vapor is not going to hold a true B width foot properly.

And I'm with Ponder on the weight thing. The weight difference between a Graf and Bauer will not affect skating one bit.
 

AIREAYE

Registered User
Jun 7, 2009
4,885
70
Oh wow, my mistake; a B width?? That's something else haha. But in that case than yes - custom or Graf, which appears to be what you went with. The 'narrowest' skate that I've seen in our inventory are U+ Pros and 09s in a 'C' width.

However it seems that your definition of narrow is different than mine and that's cool. It's all relative
 

Guffaw

Registered User
Apr 29, 2011
495
0
Drexel Hill PA
Just because they don't fit your particular foot; doesn't mean the fitting guidelines are wrong. 'Narrow' 'Regular' what have you; it's a starting point in determining the best fit.

Right, but Bauer doesn't offer Narrow so if you determine their regular width is too wide you have no option.
 

Guffaw

Registered User
Apr 29, 2011
495
0
Drexel Hill PA
Oh wow, my mistake; a B width?? That's something else haha. But in that case than yes - custom or Graf, which appears to be what you went with. The 'narrowest' skate that I've seen in our inventory are U+ Pros and 09s in a 'C' width.

However it seems that your definition of narrow is different than mine and that's cool. It's all relative

My feet are right in between a B/C and I wear a Graf regular. Probably should be in a Graf Narrow, but the Graf dealer had concerns that the narrow skate would decrease instep depth a hair and cause me problems(very high arch). Wish I went narrow:shakehead, but then again that may have led to them needing them punched out more than they already have.

Graf Narrows are a "C" width skate. Does Bauer offer a "C" width? Sorry, but you lost me on the your/his definition. Are you saying a Bauer in a D is as narrow as a Graf in a C?

A Graf 735/G35 in a regular width fit my narrow foot pretty well so I know the Graf narrows are really narrow.
 

Guffaw

Registered User
Apr 29, 2011
495
0
Drexel Hill PA
Honestly lighter skates don't make a huge difference, fit trumps weight BY FAR, and judging by your description of your feet I doubt you'd fit in any Bauer skates. If I were you, and had found a model of Grafs that fit great, I'd just stick with them. A really narrow foot that still needs a lot of depth is a very unusual foot type, doubt you'll find a brand other than Graf that will fit your feet (unless you go for custom skates, obviously).

Agreed on both counts. The 735/G35 boot is the closest thing to a custom skate for my foot. Nothing else even comes close in width availability or pronounced heel shape.
 

AIREAYE

Registered User
Jun 7, 2009
4,885
70
My feet are right in between a B/C and I wear a Graf regular. Probably should be in a Graf Narrow, but the Graf dealer had concerns that the narrow skate would decrease instep depth a hair and cause me problems(very high arch). Wish I went narrow:shakehead, but then again that may have led to them needing them punched out more than they already have.

Graf Narrows are a "C" width skate. Does Bauer offer a "C" width? Sorry, but you lost me on the your/his definition. Are you saying a Bauer in a D is as narrow as a Graf in a C?

A Graf 735/G35 in a regular width fit my narrow foot pretty well so I know the Graf narrows are really narrow.

No, I've never dealt with Graf so I can't say anything. My definition of 'narrow' is in relation to every other major brand save for Graf.
 

Guffaw

Registered User
Apr 29, 2011
495
0
Drexel Hill PA
No, I've never dealt with Graf so I can't say anything. My definition of 'narrow' is in relation to every other major brand save for Graf.

Oh ok. I see what you are saying now. It really shouldn't be. I mean there are measuring devices for widths, but I don't doubt that certain brands run wider or more narrow than others.

I just wish Bauer and CCM offered C widths. I think CCM does on a couple top end models, but that's about it. Love my Grafs, but it would give me more options.
 

Stickmata

Registered User
Aug 30, 2011
1,489
2
My feet are right in between a B/C and I wear a Graf regular. Probably should be in a Graf Narrow, but the Graf dealer had concerns that the narrow skate would decrease instep depth a hair and cause me problems(very high arch). Wish I went narrow:shakehead, but then again that may have led to them needing them punched out more than they already have.

Graf Narrows are a "C" width skate. Does Bauer offer a "C" width? Sorry, but you lost me on the your/his definition. Are you saying a Bauer in a D is as narrow as a Graf in a C?

A Graf 735/G35 in a regular width fit my narrow foot pretty well so I know the Graf narrows are really narrow.

Whether you wear a regular or a narrow in a Graf skate depends on the model. Some boots are much narrower than others to begin with. I have an A/B width foot and I wear a 703 Regular and it feels narrow to me. Don't think there is any way I could wear a narrow.
 

Guffaw

Registered User
Apr 29, 2011
495
0
Drexel Hill PA
Whether you wear a regular or a narrow in a Graf skate depends on the model. Some boots are much narrower than others to begin with. I have an A/B width foot and I wear a 703 Regular and it feels narrow to me. Don't think there is any way I could wear a narrow.

Good point. If I remove the laces from my skates and pull the tongues all the way out and put my foot in the skate I can see there really isn't any room between the sides of my feet and the skate. Same goes for if I remove the insoles and stand on them. That's a regular width G35 and as stated I have a B/C width foot. I'm not sure I could wear a narrow in a 735/G35.
 

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