My feet are too fat for Grafs! – Stop boohooing and try on the 609s
Written: Apr 10 '05 (Updated Apr 12 '05)
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Pros: Excellent quality, unique high instep fit
Cons: Minor issues with holder hardware
The Bottom Line: Graf has a skate that fits you and it's as good as anything on the market
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Graf Supra 609 Ice Hockey Skate 02 |
But Grafs are so . . . narrow
It’s a mystery but I’ve heard at least a dozen people say, “I’d try a pair of Graf skates but they just don’t fit me.” Most of the time it is based on some strange belief that Graf only makes a narrow skate. There in lies a rather grievous error. Graf makes skates for every foot shape you can imagine and a few you wouldn’t even suspect as actual foot shapes . . . OK, maybe if your imagination is pretty bad.
Still Graf makes about six different boot shapes. The last numbers in the model designation essentially indicates the fit. For example a 609, G9 and a 709 are the same exact cut. The first part of the model indicates the level of boot. A 503 and a 703 are the same last (or shape), but the 503 is an intermediate model and the 703 is pro level. Graf also offers three different widths in most of their models. This is unparalleled in hockey skates with other skate makers typically only offering D and E widths (sometimes EE instead of E). Graf offers most models including the 609 in Regular, Narrow and Wide. Point being if there isn’t a Graf that fits you, you’ve got some really odd feet.
The Fit of the 609
The 609 falls toward the middle of Graf’s skate width spectrum. These are skates that are made for an average to slightly wide foot. More importantly there is ample room for a high instep foot shape. If you want a wider fit in Graf, the 727 and 707 are the widest skates they offer.
Essentially the 609 isn’t a wide foot skate. It’s more of what I would call a fat foot skate. No offense to people with fat feet. I’ve got a pair of fat dogs myself. If you have a high instep, average to high arch and average to slightly wide feet, these might be a good choice. In a wide they will accommodate semi-wide feet. In a narrow, they will work for narrow feet with a high instep (a rather rare but not impossible combination).
A new legend?
Ok, I often wondered if some of those people telling me their feet were too wide didn’t really just have a thing for CCM or Bauer. Why not? There are a lot of guys who have played in CCM or Bauer since they were kids. As far as they know Graf is some upstart brand that doesn’t know an eye-stay from a runner . . . or a hat trick from a five-hole for that matter.
It’s reasonable to have doubts about some brands. There are a lot of skates out there that really are just so much garbage put in a box by some Chinese laborers who have never even seen an ice rink. I won’t get into name calling here, but trust me there are a lot of wannabe skates out there. There are even some well known names that are slapped on substandard skates.
Graf isn’t one of them. They in fact do more research and development than any other brand. It shows in the quality of their skates and the performance of their products. Despite the fact that Graf doesn’t sponsor pro players their skates are among the most popular in pro hockey.
Graf is a very popular brand in Europe since they originated in Sweden (er . . . Switzerland actually. I have a bad case of European country dyslexia. Thanks for the catch there kbmtang). However, most of their products are actually now assembled and distributed from Canada. Only the most stubborn or foolish hockey player would declare Graf skates inferior to Bauer or CCM having tried both.
I personally think they are the best quality skate maker right now and over the last few years. Only CCM’s Vector line parallels Graf for quality.
The Skate materials
The 609 has something of a more traditional look to the exterior. The primary components are synthetic and real leather. This stands in stark comparison to today’s flashy skates that are more often glimmering silver. While the 609 isn’t perhaps as garishly eye catching, it is a very nice looking skate.
It sports a solid plastic toecap which not only saves a small amount of weight, but also assures that no 609 will have shredded fabric hanging from the toes.
The tongue is fairly stiff and well padded. A standard felt liner is thick enough to ward off lace bite in all but the most tender of feet. Further warding against the lace bite issue, the deep cut of the boot will dramatically help those with high insteps.
Like most of the Graf skates on the market, the 609 is lined with clarino. This is a fantastic synthetic material that looks something like suede. It is very comfortable in skates, highly durable and dries quickly. Many players find Graf skates so comfortable that they skate barefoot in them. I personally found it disgusting since they usually seemed to bring them in for sharpening right after they finished skating.
“Here are my sopping, stinky skates. Please sharpen them.”
“Gee, thanks.”
While the 609 has plastic outsoles, it will still outperform most skates with composite or fiberglass outsoles. This is simply because the Graf holder is stiffer than what most of the competitors utilize. More on that to follow.
Graf’s 609 is a highly durable, fairly stiff boot. It will last the average skater several years through several years of recreational hockey. A three-year-old pair of Graf 609s still going string is a pretty common thing. This is refreshing in a day and age where some skate makers seem to be installing a healthy dose of planned obsolescence in their product.
The boot can be heat molded, like most modern skates. This enables skaters to significantly lower the boot break in time. The biggest thing that heat molding will do is help to round out the boot to the shape of the player’s foot. Before heat molding, this process was achieved by skating, tightening the laces, skating some more, tightening the laces some more and so on. It generally took about 5 times on the ice before you could stop the entire cycle and have your skates tight enough for an entire session.
Cobra Holders and Steel
Until I tried the t’blade out, I was convinced the Cobra was the best holder on the market. While I prefer the t’blade now, the Cobra is a traditional holder and the t’balde is a disposable runner holder which is vastly different from anything else on the market. So for comparison sake I will ignore the t’blade when discussing the Cobra.
The Cobra is better compared to CCM’s new e blade and Bauer’s Lightspeed TUUK holders. The Cobra has drawn criticism from Bauer loyal as the blade is an 11-foot rocker as opposed to Bauer’s short 9 foot. At first glance this would seem to indicate better turning radius with the Lightspeed TUUK, or as Bauer’s marketing department has dubbed it, “Agility”. OK, someone’s marketing reps have played too many games of Dungeons and Dragons.
Anyway, the Cobra has a much more aggressive forward pitch than the Lightspeed does. Simply stated the Lightspeed puts you on your heels – the Cobra on the balls of your feet. This more than offsets the longer rocker size of the Cobra. You cannot skate well, react quickly or turn hard while you are back on your heels. Heck it’s even a cliché for people who aren’t ready.
CCM’s eBlade is a little better with more of a neutral stance. They also sport an 11-foot rocker, so the edge in mobility stays with Graf again. I often put heel lifts in CCM skates and almost always put them in Bauer skates when I sold them. It simply made them much better products. Only about 1 person out of 20 didn’t prefer the more aggressive stance. In the Grafs only about 1 person in 100 wanted a more aggressive stance and added heel lifts to the Cobra holders. Bottom line, Graf apparently got the pitch right on the Cobra.
The steel in the Cobra is outstanding. Mission is the only company that has comparable stainless runners in their skates. I realized this when sharpening many, many pair of skates. The Mission and Graf skates always seemed to take a few extra passes on the grinder to finish. If anyone tries to charge you extra to sharpen Graf or Mission skates as the result of this review they are fiends of the worst nature and should be beaten with a stale loaf of French Bread.
The hardware on the Graf Cobra is the only issue that I can complain about. Sometimes overzealous owners will over tighten the screw in the heel that holds the steel runner in place. This often results in the death of the holder. There is a small coin shaped end on the screw that locks into the runner. It is flat to keep the screw from turning while tightening the blade. However, the coin is fairly small and will twist inside the holder if it is over tightened. Once this happened the lateral strength of the holder is no longer enough to keep the screw from turning by itself. The holder will have to be replaced.
While this is an easy enough issue to avoid, those who don’t know better will go through a holder or two before they realize that too tight is possible. As a rule you should tighten the screw until you feel it seat and then no more than another half turn. That should be plenty to keep your blade from clicking.
Other than that issue the Cobra is a very strong holder. Certainly it holds up better than Bauer’s Lightspeed (which has hardware issues that make the Cobra look like a million bucks). CCM’s eblade is pretty comparable in durability. The other CCM holder, the Prolite, is far inferior to the Cobra for duability.
Parting Thoughts
Give me Graf or just rivet some holders to my feet . . . wait on second though that would really hurt.
If you have been sitting on the sideline waiting for some reason to try on a pair of Graf skates, you are just being silly. The only arguments that I hear against buying a pair are just crazy talk.
1. They won’t fit me. Then no one makes a skate that will. Graf makes skates for more distinct foot shapes than any other brand
2. I don’t want some crappy Euro skates All Grafs are made in Canada or Switzerland. Bauer and CCM both sell some skates that come out of CHINA
3. I cannot afford them Graf skates don’t cost anymore than a comparable pair of CCM or Bauer skates and they will hold up as well or better than anything on the market. In fact with the new G series out the 609 runs about $250. That’s a ton of skate for that price.
4. I don’t have any feet Well you’ve got me on that one
The 609 is a great upper level recreational and competitive hockey skate. The G9 will better serve players with junior hockey, college and pro aspirations.
Some of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Hockey Skate buying demystified
Graf 735 Skates with T-Blades
CCM Vector Pro Skates
Bauer Supreme 8000 Skates
Recommended:
Yes
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