I've tried on lots of them. The problem I seem to keep running in to (and I should have explained this better originally) is finding the right "shape" boot. When i try on EE skates or any "wide size" in other brands, my foot fits inside but it fits at one point (about 1/2-2/3 of the way toward the toe) and everything else is pretty loose, which lets my foot twist in place. I ended up with the skates I have now from getting my feet measured years ago. I bought some reebok (10k's I think from him) and ordered some roller 8k's online since they are almost identical. I picked up a pair of Tacks hoping they would be similar. I might be able to make them work, but it's going to take some serious breaking in and I'm not looking forward to it.
I lived in NC for the last 20 years and now I'm in Maryland so LHS are hard to find. Plus... Covid makes travelling nigh on impossible. I've heard of getting skates "punched out" before but I'm really not familiar. In the end I'll probably just try to make the CCM's work and bake them a couple times. I do appreciate the response though.
It sounds like you have a wide forefoot, but the rest of your foot isn't wide. I have a similar foot and most skates are either too wide in the heel or too narrow in the forefoot. There are two models that work for my feet:
Easton Mako (M7, M8 or Mako II. I would stay away from the original ones with the orange tendon guards as they weren't as durable). They were discontinued in 2015, but some are still floating around on Sidelineswap. They're ice boots; so you would have to get them converted to inline. I had a Sprung chassis installed on mine.
True TF7s or TF9 skates. These are current models. A lot of places carry the ice boots for inline conversions and inline warehouse carries the stock roller versions with a Revision chassis and wheels. True is offering a 30 day satisfaction guarantee via participating retailers. That means you can buy them, bake them and try them and if they don't fit you can return them within 30 days.
The challenge with both the Mako and True skates is that they're really thermoformable and the right size will usually feel too small before baking. You won't know how they fit until you bake them (and they're baked longer than most brands. 10 minutes for the Makos).
For sizing, I scan a 7.5 Fit 3 on the Bauer scanner and measure an 8 on the Brannock. I use 8EE Mako skates, but would drop to a 7W True. The True skates fit longer than Bauer in the same size. With Makos, a lot of people fit the same size as Bauer and some, like me, go a half either way.
Trying the skates on in person and having them baked is best, but if that's not possible then finding a Bauer scanner could help you make an educated guess. If you're a Fit 1 or 2 with the scanner then a D width Mako or R width True would be the right width after baking. You would only need to jump up to EE or W if you're scanned as a Fit 3. Then with True you could order a half size smaller than the Bauer scan. Ordering Trues from a place that honours the 30 day guarantee and then baking them would be the safest bet.
Another skate you could try on would be the CCM Ribcore in EE. The D width Ribcore is narrower, but the EE has worked for some old RBK users. A conversion would be needed as they only make Ribcore ice skates.
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