3 replies to this topic

[Shark#81]

The more that Bauer designers try to remove "negative space" (which is really means there is space in the boot so it should be "positive space") the more they are attempting to conform the shell of the boot to a given foot. But closer that fit is to their 3D foot last, the further off it will fit your foot unless you are lucky enough to be the same as the average joe foot last they used. Which is very unlikely.

Only so much molding of the shell can be done on a jig otherwise Bauer runs the risk of excluding more skaters, while giving a better fit to the ones that happen to be close. To show you what I am on about check out these molds of my inner-liner used on my skate project. I have two distinctly different feet, one natural US Sz12 and one post-injured ankle US sz13. Using this inner liner allows a fully custom mold with truly no space (zero negative) and a wickedly comfortable fit. For big ankle bones like my left, the pump skates work nice, all other skates gave me tons of pain until it went numb then I could skate for an hour. With these liners I could skate for a full day easy.

Left: (natural) ankle with deep well for ankle bone. If I had inserted a dime in there you'd see the imprint:
http://twitpic.com/958mrx

Right: Scar tissue ankle from waterski injury 12 years ago. The scar tissue actually makes the fit easier because the ankle is filled in.
http://twitpic.com/958nn1

Gutted vapor XXXX skate. Stout hard plastic shell but foam is not so good.
http://twitpic.com/958o3g

[totalone]

I swear you make skates look so comfortable. I have problems with skates all the time.

[theflash0000]

Question--are you purposefully trying to achieve "ankle lock" (not heel lock), by which I mean immobilizing the ankle, which a lot of players try to get by taping up their ankles in the skate boot?

Importing the idea of boots with thick liners like in ski boots seems like a really interesting way to get a more customized fit. Great work!

[Shark#81]

Was on the ice for 1.5 hours 2 spares & goalies so had a chance to really see how they perform.

You need your ankles to move no question, I like to think of the ankle joint as a joystick. So there has to be mobility there. Now if the ankle is injured or tendons loose you are going to need more support up top, with less mobility. However, the better athlete you are or need to be, the less support you are going to want up top. This is because the muscles, tendons balance etc are in better shape. Everyone, however, needs a solid lower footbed connection. The more solid and reactive (e.g carbon + EVA) the better.

The more pressure points (high and low) in the skate the more "sensory noise" you have coming into the foot, and this is bad. It's like trying to listen to music with distorted speakers. If the fit and pressure from the skate is fully distributed along your bare-foot, you can totally feel the blade, the edges, the ice surface etc. Also your foot and lower leg is more relaxed which increases dynamics and stamina.

So this is what I am hooked about using the liner technology.

There are some downsides to the liner tho.