At Brian’s Custom Pro Shop, we will professionally fit you in either a stock boot, or can have a pair of boots custom made for you depending on your foot shape. In most cases, stock boots can be shaped to accommodate almost all feet, but there are the rare occasions that a player or skater will need to have a pair of boots made to fit them properly. Either due to the shape of their feet, or the specific needs and demands you put on your skates. We will initially do a “foot analysis”, which involves assessing different parts of the foot to determine which boot from which manufacturer is best for the athlete, and discuss the particular model(s) that would ideally suit you.
The next step in our fitting process will involve changing the manufacturers foot bed to an aftermarket foot bed. This is done by making sure the right size and type of orthotic is chosen for your skates and foot type, and your individual performance needs. It is a crucial part of having a properly fit pair of skates. Not only will they improve performance, but having your new skates molded to your feet neutrally aligned in the boot from our orthotic will greatly improve comfort, reduce fatigue and injury, and increase the longevity of your skates.
After the proper foot bed is chosen, we will now heat mold your new skates. Once we have heated them in our skate oven, we will lace up your skates and you will be put into a compression chamber, which compresses your skates to your feet as they cool, providing you with a skate that is now completely formed to your foot. But, even with heat molding, there will still normally be a short break in period. During the initial couple of skates, any major discomfort or blisters should be brought to our attention immediately, either with a phone call, or a visit back to the store. (This is not a normal thing that should occur with new skates!). And we will be able to fix any problems that may not have come to our attention in the store.
So now that we have your skates molded, we need to check your blade alignment. So many of our new customers have not even heard of a blade alignment, but is such a crucial part of getting the absolute best performance out of your skates. You should not pronate or supinate in your skates, and the weak ankle theory is a complete myth. The ankle is a hinge joint which only moves forward and backward. Properly aligned blades will reduce knee strain, groin and abdominal injuries, back problems and reduce fatigue, as well increase comfort and increase boot life. Only 10% of the population will actually be properly aligned in new skates. Things that will contribute to incorrect blade alignment (or ankle skaters) are bone structure, fallen arches, the way a particular boot has been manufactured or lasted, and the positioning of the blades on the sole of the boots In many cases, the orthotics that we have chosen for your skates will improve the alignment in your skates, but will not completely correct it. In most cases, extra work will be needed to make sure that your skates are correctly aligned, through the repositioning of the blades, shimming, sanding and posting of your orthotics. This process can be fairly simple for some skaters, or take up to an hour or more to correctly align the blades to your posture. Our goal is to have you stand as straight as possible in your skates.
