If you find that the skates are very uncomfortable (think blisters, or sore spots!) then consider heat moulding the boot to your feet (or ask your coach to size your feet again!)
The heat moulding is done at home with your oven.
You will need:
- Wrench (likley 10 mm, or 5 mm Allen key) to remove and attach blades.
- A gold or silver sharping helps you mark the position of the blades prior to removal. Mark Left versus Right blade, and position of offset. For CBC or Maple boots, you also need to mark position forward and back on the boot.
- An hour of your time.
- A chair that allows the skater to sit with ankles in basic position (a dining chair is often great, a couch is too low and doesn’t let the blade slide under for correct ankle position.)
WARNINGS:
- Do not skate on the boots within 24 hours of moulding.
- Close all Velcro to help protect it from heat. (At SLSSC we are seeing some damage to velcro, and ZT sports believes heat moulding could be the culprit.)
- Put the blades back on prior to putting warm boots on your feet.
- The blade helps the relationship between the front bolt and the back bolt to remain true. A soft boot can twist, and warp – the blade acts to keep the boot true.
- Do not walk or stand in the warm boot (with or without blades).
- This collapses the area that the nut has to slide in and mades blade installation and maintenance difficult.
Please take care to follow the instructions carefully, as mishandling of the skates during this process can result in damage or reduced boot support for skaters in the years to come.
- Preheat your oven to 160 degrees F
- Put on thin/normal socks.
- Mark your blades with left and right (sharpie), front and back.
- Mark the setup of the blades on the underside of the boots (silver sharpie). Note that the blades can be adjusted side to side, and in some cases, front to back, so make adequate marks.
- Remove the blades from the skate (two bolts that hold the blade supports onto the boot). The aforementioned marking of the blades will allow you to replace them in the same place after the heating process.
- Loosen laces but close all velcro to protect it. Do not let anything dangle in the oven.
- Place both skates in the oven on a pan or a rag to prevent damage from grill. Make sure the skates are centered in the oven and will not be damaged from flame or burner (including those laces and velcro straps).
- Heat the skates for 10 min, then flip them over. Twenty (20 )min is recommended, but check them frequently in case oven temperatures vary.
- When 20 min are up, turn the oven off and remove one skate. Attach boot to the blade carefully. Do not over tighten or worry about perfect centering at this point, we just want the cup to support the boot in the attachment area. Overtightening will collapse the space that the nut has to slide inside of, just use the blade to help true up the boot bolting zones to each other.
- Sit in a chair when putting on skate, and do NOT walk on the warm skates. The chair should have room to tuck the blades underneath and be high enough to allow the ankles to be bent. A low couch is generally not suitable.
- While inserting your foot into the boot, ensure that you hold the top of the boot around the achilles area to prevent compressing the back of the skate. Lace up to a normal tightness, do not overtighten, eyelets may be weakened. There should be no need to attach velcro or buckles at this point, so avoid pulling on them.
- Sitting in a chair you will push your knee over your toes and align the centre of your knee over your 2nd toe. Keeping the boot square is very important during the molding process (do not let ankle fall inward). This achieves molding in the skating position.
- Once one foot is laced, go ahead and put on the other skate.
- Along with the critical knee over skate angle, it is important for the skater to go through the full range of motion. Remaining seated in the chair you will slide your foot forward putting you in a extension position.The motion should not be held and should be repeated every 5 minutes. Allwoing for the extended position while molding will greatly improve comfort when standing up, as well as improve performance for stretching at the line. After the extended position is acheived, return the foot to the previous knee over skate position.
- Skates should take 20 min to cool. When taking them off, take care to unlace fully, so that you don’t compromise the boot if it is still a bit warm.
Special thanks to VH website, as many of the steps included here are from their instructions. For additional pictures and instructions please see http://www.vhspeedskating.com/resources/molding-instructions/
The USER manual for CBC skates is here. It is similar, but advocates molding on the foot without blades on, but there is careful support with a towel. If following these instructions, please take care to read carefully. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0032/3115/4222/files/CBC_Usera_s_Manual.pdf?304