100% with the above comment. Depends on preference and also skate stiffness, eyelet locations, shin pad flex, skating stride and I’m sure other variables too. Something I always think of is look at Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure. Fedorov was shins tucked into the tongue with it flopped over. Bure was shins tucked into tongue but then taped around the tongue super tight. Both of these approaches are resulting in a very different ankle stiffness and skating stride, but either guy could fly on the ice. Long pads would impede forward flex if they are digging into the top of your foot or if you are going shin over tongue and taping it rigid. That’s why I personally go with shin tucked into the tongue as I find I have better mobility with forward flex. Definitely worth experimenting with shin size, over/under tongue, and also lacing eyelets higher or lower.
What Size Shins?
Started by daveski7, Mar 16 2021 01:20 PM
42 replies to this topic
#22
Posted 18 March 2021 - 02:09 PM
100% with the above comment. Depends on preference and also skate stiffness, eyelet locations, shin pad flex, skating stride and I’m sure other variables too. Something I always think of is look at Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure. Fedorov was shins tucked into the tongue with it flopped over. Bure was shins tucked into tongue but then taped around the tongue super tight. Both of these approaches are resulting in a very different ankle stiffness and skating stride, but either guy could fly on the ice. Long pads would impede forward flex if they are digging into the top of your foot or if you are going shin over tongue and taping it rigid. That’s why I personally go with shin tucked into the tongue as I find I have better mobility with forward flex. Definitely worth experimenting with shin size, over/under tongue, and also lacing eyelets higher or lower.
Bure had a lot of flex in the middle of his skates. He taped around his ankles, but he either wore skates that had maximum flex around eyelets 3 or 4 from the top (Graf 707, Microns QuadraFlex and Air 90, CCM Tacks) or didn’t lace the middle of his boot with any tension, to allow the boot to crease like crazy and facilitate the flex he needed (Bauer Vapors 8 and 10). Before Vapors he would also wrap his laces around the tongue and tendon guard, not over the quarter panels like Selanne. This gives that snug connection with the heel of your blade when flexed forward without the constricted feeling of reinforcing the stiffness of the quarters (both side to side and front to back); extremely important for Bure who skated from the heel when weaving through pylopponents at high speed.
Fedorov is considerably taller, which has a lot to contribute to how his stride is. Both players’ brothers skate a lot more like they do than anyone else does. Genetics.
#23
Posted 18 March 2021 - 03:01 PM
Thanks for all the info. I know I derailed my own thread but my original question was asked because of lack of forward flexion in my skates and seems to be a combination of pad size which could contribute but more so how and how tight in some areas I lace up my skates.
#24
Posted 18 March 2021 - 04:10 PM
Thanks for all the info. I know I derailed my own thread but my original question was asked because of lack of forward flexion in my skates and seems to be a combination of pad size which could contribute but more so how and how tight in some areas I lace up my skates.
Gotcha. What skates do you wear?
I just reread your posts from page one and summary is you go shins over tongues, skip 3rd or 4th eyelet and have now tried not taping the bottom of your shins as well as lacing the top eyelet looser and it's starting to help.
#26
Posted 19 March 2021 - 03:28 AM
FT1s
Have you tried skipping the top eyelet? My friend has the 490s or whatever's just below FT1 and he says he feels restricted in his forward flex.
How do you lace over the foot? I ask because I've noticed Heiskanen for instance laces loose until about the 6th eyelet from the bottom and then tight the rest of the way up, skipping the top eyelet. Then it looks like he tapes the bottom of his shin or the sock holds it pretty close to his leg. That looks like an interesting combination to try.
#27
Posted 19 March 2021 - 04:54 AM
I will experiment but I think unless I drop to 14" shins I would continue to only tape top of shins and leave bottom alone that seemed to help a bit already.
#28
Posted 19 March 2021 - 08:12 AM
I would think so. I notice extra support when I go shins over tongues and taped. Tongues can have a huge impact on forward flex, so adding a wrapped tension layer around the leg and tongue can reinforce that stiffness, if there is much or any in the tongue; depends on the design.
#30
Posted 20 March 2021 - 09:12 AM
Any idea which pads may fit like an RBZ which I could try in a 14" length? Obviously another RBZ, haha but cannot find one available
#31
Posted 21 March 2021 - 01:43 PM
5'11.5" (ugh) and use 16" warrior alpha qx pro over the tongue. seem to be fine for me and doesn't impede my flex/stride.
#32
Posted 22 March 2021 - 08:13 AM
Have you tried skipping the top eyelet? My friend has the 490s or whatever's just below FT1 and he says he feels restricted in his forward flex.
How do you lace over the foot? I ask because I've noticed Heiskanen for instance laces loose until about the 6th eyelet from the bottom and then tight the rest of the way up, skipping the top eyelet. Then it looks like he tapes the bottom of his shin or the sock holds it pretty close to his leg. That looks like an interesting combination to try.
4th down eyelet skipped. Tried last night very snug over the toes as I dont like any wiggle room.from there went just enough tension to pull up slack over the instep area and pretty snug last couple of laces. Kept the lower shin untaped and it seemed much better. Still probably looking at dropping to 14" shins but forward flexion seems much better with the few adjustments. Thanks guys
#33
Posted 22 March 2021 - 09:34 AM
4th down eyelet skipped. Tried last night very snug over the toes as I dont like any wiggle room.from there went just enough tension to pull up slack over the instep area and pretty snug last couple of laces. Kept the lower shin untaped and it seemed much better. Still probably looking at dropping to 14" shins but forward flexion seems much better with the few adjustments. Thanks guys
I think your flex issue is very much how you tie your skates. The issue is that you tie the instep loose and then compensate by cranking down on the top couple. Try the opposite, where you tie the 4th and 3rd eyelets very tightly. This will lock your heel in very well to the heel pocket. Then you can ease up on the top 2 or skip one or whatever, and you won't feel like you have no support. Basically, you're tying the top eyelets tight to keep your heel locked in when you should be tying the middle eyelets tightly to lock the heel. If you find you can't tie the 3rd and 4th eyelets tight, you might need more volume or the fit of your heel might be off
#34
Posted 22 March 2021 - 09:47 AM
I dont have any movement in my skate my foot is going nowhere. I dont leave the instep loose just not real tight. Upper is snug but still not cranked down. Like I said I tried this last night and it was night and day.
#35
Posted 23 March 2021 - 04:54 PM
I dont have any movement in my skate my foot is going nowhere. I dont leave the instep loose just not real tight. Upper is snug but still not cranked down. Like I said I tried this last night and it was night and day.
The point is that there are different ways to lock your foot down. I'm just offering a suggestion to switch up the areas where you are keeping tight vs loose. You will give yourself more forward flex without increasing teh likelihood of creasing the boot around your 3rd/4th eyelets
#36
Posted 24 March 2021 - 12:41 AM
The point is that there are different ways to lock your foot down. I'm just offering a suggestion to switch up the areas where you are keeping tight vs loose. You will give yourself more forward flex without increasing teh likelihood of creasing the boot around your 3rd/4th eyelets
And some deliberately crease that area. Bure and Kovalchuk for instance.
#37
Posted 24 March 2021 - 10:54 AM
And some deliberately crease that area. Bure and Kovalchuk for instance.
On a pair of modern day Jetspeeds...?
#38
Posted 24 March 2021 - 12:38 PM
Both did it to Vapors, not the same shell material, definitely.On a pair of modern day Jetspeeds...?
Bure skips the second eyelet on his VHs now, something I’ve never seen him do in other boots. He didn’t start that way in them, so I’m thinking he may have wanted more forward flex and thought of doing that. It’s not because his laces are too short, because he’s wrapping them around the tendon guard and tongue before tying, like he did BV.
He skates a lot less now, from what I can tell, so he’s not likely to crease them nearly as soon as he would normally.
The closest I’ve seen to the massive crease in a similar shell is Kucherov when he was young, would have massively creased CURV Supremes and Vapors. Now he seems to lean towards the Nexus build with more volume and flex to allow for the position he’s after in his stride. Grabovski also had it in his CURV Vapors.
Crosby used to have it in his skates, but the newer RibCors seem to deform enough to absorb that load without developing permanent creases. His boots still bow in quite deeply there.
#39
Posted 26 March 2021 - 08:09 AM
I tried 14' 1X lite and 13' reebok 20K before
12' Nexus shin is now the best fit for me.
I am about 5'7-8
