stock goalie radius on player skates

[itis121]

Hey guys. 

Im looking to get some player skates for playing out. I usually use my goalie sates for playing out (bauer x900). I have been through a few player skates but could never get used to the radius of the blades and always felt off balance (besides the fact of being considerable lighter). What radius would i get that is similar to stock goalie steel? I never got my goalie skates radius before and currently using step steel in my x900. Reasoning is if player skates provide more ankle support I will get them. I recently played my first official game as a player after 12 years in net and kind of liked it.

[bunnyman666]

1 hour ago, itis121 said:

Hey guys. 

Im looking to get some player skates for playing out. I usually use my goalie sates for playing out (bauer x900). I have been through a few player skates but could never get used to the radius of the blades and always felt off balance (besides the fact of being considerable lighter). What radius would i get that is similar to stock goalie steel? I never got my goalie skates radius before and currently using step steel in my x900. Reasoning is if player skates provide more ankle support I will get them. I recently played my first official game as a player after 12 years in net and kind of liked it.

Went and confirmed this, and it’s a 30’ radius. Of course getting that radius to stay is a completely different story. You will need that profile freshened every ten times you get sharpened.

I don’t know if you get better ankle support, but the tendon guard is a plus.

[itis121]

1 hour ago, bunnyman666 said:

Went and confirmed this, and it’s a 30’ radius. Of course getting that radius to stay is a completely different story. You will need that profile freshened every ten times you get sharpened.

I don’t know if you get better ankle support, but the tendon guard is a plus.

Awesome, Thanks! I usually tape cut resistant socks to the skates before i play out with my goal skates

[bunnyman666]

20 minutes ago, itis121 said:

Awesome, Thanks! I usually tape cut resistant socks to the skates before i play out with my goal skates

The taller holder and steel will help you play better, as well. That extra lean angle will help your turns. They will still feel a bit different than your goal skates.

[CJ Boiss]

4 hours ago, itis121 said:

Hey guys. 

Im looking to get some player skates for playing out. I usually use my goalie sates for playing out (bauer x900). I have been through a few player skates but could never get used to the radius of the blades and always felt off balance (besides the fact of being considerable lighter). What radius would i get that is similar to stock goalie steel? I never got my goalie skates radius before and currently using step steel in my x900. Reasoning is if player skates provide more ankle support I will get them. I recently played my first official game as a player after 12 years in net and kind of liked it.

Are you referring to the radius, or rocker? The radius is the hollow ground into the blade, and the rocker is the heel-to-toe curvature of your blade.

I use a 3/8 hollow on my goalie skates, and a 100/75 FBV (maximum bite and glide) on my player skates (though I used to get a 3/8 hollow, before switching to FBV). Whether I'm in net or out, I want as much bite as possible. If you're using a 3/4, 5/8, or 1/2 hollow in your goalie skates then I'd recommend using a slightly smaller radius in your player skates.

The rocker is a different matter entirely. Player skates have much more pronounced rockers than goalie skates, which lets players accelerate more quickly, change direction more quickly and at higher speeds, and also reach much higher speeds, as compared to a goalie skate.
The longer, flatter goalie blades (particularly at the toes) prevent us from maintaining maximum blade contact while extending in our strides, which hurts our acceleration and lowers our top speed, and having more of our blade in contact with the ice makes it more difficult to turn. These things do make us much more stable in our stances, and allow us to really load up on our legs for explosive lateral movements, but goalie blades really aren't designed for skating out.

Player skates do have much more ankle stability than goalie skates. The sides of the boots come up much higher and, of course, they include a tendon guard which should (when paired with a properly fitted shinguard) fully cover your Achilles (I still wear cut-resistant socks, because tendon guards don't lean forward when you bend your legs). If you wear cowling-less goalie skates then you probably won't notice that much of a difference in weight. Like bunny said, player skates also have much taller holders, which give you a better angle when you're getting really low in a turn or stop.

Most player skates come with a stock 9' or 10' rocker. If you feel like you're pitching forwards and backwards too much you might feel more comfortable with something like a 12' rocker, but I would very strongly recommend against a 30' rocker like you have on your goalie skates. You can also have your rocker profiled to induce a natural forward or backward lean, but I'd stay away from that until you're more comfortable with a natural, mid-point balance.
If the guys who sharpen your skates know what they're doing then you shouldn't ever have to get your rocker re-profiled (especially if you let them know you have a custom rocker profile), but realistically it is something that you'll want to get touched up every now and then (probably at the start of the season, depending on how often you get them sharpened).

If all you're doing is stick-and-puck then you probably don't need to bother with getting player skates. But for everything else? You should get some player skates and try to adjust to the smaller rocker, because it will pay massive dividends in your skating.

[itis121]

34 minutes ago, CJ Boiss said:

The rocker is a different matter entirely. Player skates have much more pronounced rockers than goalie skates, which lets players accelerate more quickly, change direction more quickly and at higher speeds, and also reach much higher speeds, as compared to a goalie skate.
The longer, flatter goalie blades (particularly at the toes) prevent us from maintaining maximum blade contact while extending in our strides, which hurts our acceleration and lowers our top speed, and having more of our blade in contact with the ice makes it more difficult to turn. These things do make us much more stable in our stances, and allow us to really load up on our legs for explosive lateral movements, but goalie blades really aren't designed for skating out.

Its just for rec league I was lucky that I wasn't called out on my goalie skates playing out which are prohibited. As for acceleration and speed I am one of the fastest players on the team with the goalie skates on so its not too much of a concern. Looks like powerskating lessons when I was younger payed off lol. And again its for rec league/ shinny for the odd time I'm able to convince my friends and brother to play.

Thanks for the input!

[bunnyman666]

6 hours ago, itis121 said:

Its just for rec league I was lucky that I wasn't called out on my goalie skates playing out which are prohibited. As for acceleration and speed I am one of the fastest players on the team with the goalie skates on so its not too much of a concern. Looks like powerskating lessons when I was younger payed off lol. And again its for rec league/ shinny for the odd time I'm able to convince my friends and brother to play.

Thanks for the input!

You would lose some steel getting the blade flattened to a 30’ radius rocker.  And you probably should not go a full 30’. But that blade should be flatter than it is.  

As to what @CJ Boiss says about preserving a custom profile: even one of the best skate guys I know will say that the profile should be freshened regularly. Some sharpeners love to round the crap out of toes and heels. An automatic machine like a Prosharp or a Sparx does better to preserve your custom profile.