Ever been given skates that are too short and wide

[Christy]

I've often seen people say that they have been fitted into a pair of boots that are a size too long for their foot because the boots in their actual size are too narrow, however I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced being told they should get a pair that are a size too short but wider. That happened to me, and whilst it wasn't uncomfortable I rejected them because I was worried I'd have problems when I tried to actually skate. My foot measures 252mm, I was told I should get 255B but I was given 250C.

[supersharp]

I think it depends a lot on your foot shape and flexibility.  With a good insole, my foot ends up shorter in the boot than it measures on that flat board they often use (or a piece of paper), so I am always careful not to put too much faith in a length measurement.  You definitely don't want your toes hitting the end, but generally once the boots are on and you have pressed your heel back into the heel pocket, you have more space at the front than you expected (particularly when you bend your ankles).

[Query]

Some skaters here like to touch the tip of their toes to the front of the skate, especially for jumps. (Not me. I would hate that, and would worry about creating "hammer toe" problems. Especially if the shape up top allowed my foot to slide forward and back. But I barely jump.)

With only a 2 mm difference, if you took out the insole, and replaced it with something thinner, especially up front, it might have worked - but maybe not. Hard to say.

BTW, I'm not sure skates are manufactured to 2 mm accuracy levels. Another pair of the same size and model might just have fit you better. I just bought new boots (not skate boots). I tried on several pair of the same size, and one pair was much better.

It is also quite possible a good skate tech could have stretched ("punched") out those two mm. The toe box is one of the hardest places to stretch, but maybe.

Or you could have possibly used thinner socks?

Would it be worth going back with super-thin socks, maybe removing the insoles, and trying them again?

Because I am practiced at filling loose places, I would prefer boots that were slightly too large - but only because I know how to do that. But most experienced skaters want their boots rather snug to begin with.

Slightly wide is possible to compensate for - e.g., by adding "wings" to the sides of your insole that wrap around your feet. (E.g., wrap cloth tape around from the bottom.) I often do that sort of thing around my heels, which are narrow. And/or I make my insole thicker in the back, to push them up into the narrower part.

Maybe we should have "shrink wrap" boots, which magically reshape themselves to fit us in a full three dimensional sense. They actually make shrink wrap boot liners for some ski boots. Though I can at least imagine other problems with shrink wrap boots - maybe some people wouldn't be able to get their feet out after shrink wrapping them, without cutting the boot! And I don't know how the shrink wrap ski liners are made to fit against the outer boot.

Someone once made rental skates with inflatable liners. A cool idea, but I suspect they might have been too squishy, or would have leaked. A whitewater kayak maker made a fit system in which sand (?) was placed in a membrane that conformed to you, and a vacuum pump then locked down the shape. I'm not sure that would be durable long term either, though they were popular for a while. But I believe they've now stopped making them.

[Christy]

Interesting thoughts about the shortening of the foot with an insole (although it was the original insole so basically flat) as that is defintely the case when I use a pair of decent orthotics. Also about variation in manufacturing as I've previously bought supposedly same size boots and found a fair amount of variation.