Peoples Opinions on Graf Boots - [Only opinions with actual skaters that have them]

[rf3ray]

So Guys tell me about how you feel about your Grafs and which model

[jp1andOnly]

I have Edmonton Specials. I love 'em.

So Guys tell me about how you feel about your Grafs and which model

[pairman2]

I've been in Grafs for 2 years now. Aside from a little shredding on the pad of the tongue, they are holding up as well as new. They are the lightest boot I've ever had which really does make a difference for quickness of movement and for not being so tired at the end of a practice. I practice 5-7 hrs a week.

Prior boots
I owned 4 pairs of Reidells and 1 Harlick and I never got more then 10 months out of any of them. The Harlicks were VERY heavy. I had Klingbiels twice and got about 2 + years out of each pair. They were very comfortable and broke in nice, however, I found the leathers were very sensitive to absorbing foot moisture/ sweat. Depending on how dry or soaked they were, I could be wearing what felt like a totally different boot. This ultimately caused a couple of episodes of severe lace bite well after the boots were broke in. I over tightened the boot, the leathers didn't act like I predicted they would and whamo, lace bite.

Back to Grafs. Even with the heat molding, I had a couple of tight spots for about 4-5 months afterwards which finally worked out, for good. Since then, these boots have been stable, predictable, durable, supportive yet not like a foot vice. Doing pairs adds another dimension of weight onto the boot support and these boots are unphased by this. By this juncture, 2 yrs+, the soles and heel leather in my other boots were pretty much deteriorated and would no longer hold screws in some spots. Here again, the Grafs are basically still like new.

I expect to stay in my present skates at least another 2 yrs as things stand now

Tip for all skates: change your strings every 6 months at the most. If a good boot starts giving you problems all a sudden, this will often, completely cure it. A $3 cure. :-)

[rf3ray]

Which Model Grafs do you have?

I've been in Grafs for 2 years now. Aside from a little shredding on the pad of the tongue, they are holding up as well as new. They are the lightest boot I've ever had which really does make a difference for quickness of movement and for not being so tired at the end of a practice. I practice 5-7 hrs a week.

Prior boots
I owned 4 pairs of Reidells and 1 Harlick and I never got more then 10 months out of any of them. The Harlicks were VERY heavy. I had Klingbiels twice and got about 2 + years out of each pair. They were very comfortable and broke in nice, however, I found the leathers were very sensitive to absorbing foot moisture/ sweat. Depending on how dry or soaked they were, I could be wearing what felt like a totally different boot. This ultimately caused a couple of episodes of severe lace bite well after the boots were broke in. I over tightened the boot, the leathers didn't act like I predicted they would and whamo, lace bite.

Back to Grafs. Even with the heat molding, I had a couple of tight spots for about 4-5 months afterwards which finally worked out, for good. Since then, these boots have been stable, predictable, durable, supportive yet not like a foot vice. Doing pairs adds another dimension of weight onto the boot support and these boots are unphased by this. By this juncture, 2 yrs+, the soles and heel leather in my other boots were pretty much deteriorated and would no longer hold screws in some spots. Here again, the Grafs are basically still like new.

I expect to stay in my present skates at least another 2 yrs as things stand now

Tip for all skates: change your strings every 6 months at the most. If a good boot starts giving you problems all a sudden, this will often, completely cure it. A $3 cure. :-)

[pairman2]

They are the Edmondton (or Edmondton specials?) For the guys, I beleive they only make one model since there are far fewer guy skaters

[emma]

I have skated in Graf Richmonds for two years and i love the comfort but not the quality . At less than a year they started to fall apart (I skate 10 hours a week am 5 7 and 125 lbs and getting my doubles back). Part of the reason they have fallen apart is that i should have gone into the Edmonton instead of the Richmond. All that said i have just purchased Graf Edmontons yesterday after hours of trying on different boots. Grafs were the only boot i could put on my feet and not have alot of pain, they are by far the lightest and the most comfortable boot around i just think that they should last longer than they did. So i guess i like them enough to buy another pair.

[SkatingOnClouds]

I'm in Galaxies. I've had them maybe 6 months. I have read that Edmontons are a better long term model, that Galaxies are meant for lighter skaters. I am a heavy skater (200lbs+) and not what you'd call balletic.

I am pretty rough, especially in toe-assisted jumps, I tend to attack jumps and rush them. On the other hand I skate 6-8 hours each week, am doing single jumps through to flip, will start work on lutzes again once I've got my flips back. I have no concerns about my boots providing adequate support for when I attack axels and doubles.

You may have read my continuing Galaxy saga, that I have cut holes in the side of my boots to accommodate my "impressive" bunions, and am still having trouble with them rubbing the outside of my feet.

That said though, I love their comfort, next to no time for break in around the ankles and foot apart from the bunion area, and have (as yet) no complaints about their quality. I am currently investigating getting custom made boots modelled on the Galaxy to accommodate my feet because the interior padding and fit is otherwise lovely on my feet. I am also investigating SP TERI KT-2, but I think that is mainly because I am attracted to the purple colour, and their advertising blurb about custom boots.

[Lenny2]

My skater recently moved into the hinged Graf after having been in Harlick for years. She is small (5'1, 100 pounds). She has had no trouble with the transition and is happy with the boot. She has been in them for about 4-5 months and we see no signs of premature break down. Break in was a breeze. The "hinge" aspect of the boot, however, doesn't really "hinge" much, if at all. Perhaps it would with a bigger, heavier skater.

One good thing about this model is that it is made in Switzerland, whereas some of the other models are now being made in Canada. Some of the boots being made in Canada are experiencing quality control problems, but the boots that are made in Switzerland seem to be much better. We ordered ours through Cyclone Taylor.

[SkatingOnClouds]

Interesting. I enquired about the F4000 hinged boots and was told that they are designed only for injured skaters and have a useful life of 2-3 months. I do think that advice is rather odd, given their cost.

[rf3ray]

Hey guys just ordered the Graf EDMONTON Specials, talked to some of the skaters at my Rink that used them, at it sounds good. Its also good to hear opinions on this board, so I let you guys know how I go with them once I get them

Interesting. I enquired about the F4000 hinged boots and was told that they are designed only for injured skaters and have a useful life of 2-3 months. I do think that advice is rather odd, given their cost.

[MusicSkateFan]

I have been in Edmonton Specials for about a year now. I like them very much. I too had some pinching at my pinky toes that seems to have worked their way out. I had them punched a little when they were new but about 4 months later they started causing some painful corns. I am not having that problem any longer.

I like the lightness and support. If I did any other kind of boot it would probably be the pro-flex.

[TaBalie]

Search under my username, I have Graf Edmonton Specials and have talked about them often... HTH!

[Aurora]

I've worn Edmonton Specials for 4 years and love them. But once I started doing higher jumps they started to break down within 6 months.

The skate guy at the local shop, talked me into a firmer boot by another company - and what a disaster! I think he really only said this, because he didn't have any Edmonton Specials in my size left in stock.

So, I had them ordered up by another shop - and had them specially made as Extra Stiff - and they are perfect. it was worth the wait for the custom order.

Now, if I get 6 months out of them, I will be happy - if I have to replace them earlier - I'll still buy the same kind.

[lovepairs]

Originally posted by Pairsman2
Doing pairs adds another dimension of weight onto the boot support and these boots are unphased by this.

Oh, Pairsman2, so you are saying that your Grafs are unphased by my fat ###! Is that what you're sthaying?

Okay, I've been in the Edmonton Specials (Grafs) for about 4 years now, and they are totally unphased by Pairsman2's fat ###. Moreover, they only take about three (3) weeks to break in. I used to wear Reidells, and they wanted to amputate my pinky toe, because these boots messed my toe up so badly. I switched to Grafs, and my pinky toe became :P

[bostonsk8r]

I've had two pairs of Graf Galaxy Ultralights and love them! I'm an adult skater who practices about 8-12 hours per week, jumps through the axels, and am starting to work on doubles. The first pair lasted about 19 months. The second pair I got in December and only took 2 weeks to break in. I previously used Jackson's, Riedell's, and S.P. Teri's but I have extremely prominent ankle bones and always had trouble with the other brands. I also got bad lace bite with the others. With Graf boots, the interior is a little softer and the boot is lighter, without losing the support for the jumps. I'll likely upgrade to Edmonton's for my next pair once I get doubles. I've definitely had a positive experience with Grafs.

[luna_skater]

Interesting. I enquired about the F4000 hinged boots and was told that they are designed only for injured skaters and have a useful life of 2-3 months. I do think that advice is rather odd, given their cost.

Huh? That is completely untrue. A few senior ladies at my rink have been wearing them for a while, and they are becoming popular with a number of the girls who aren't senior yet, but are learning triples.

[SkatingOnClouds]

Huh? That is completely untrue. A few senior ladies at my rink have been wearing them for a while, and they are becoming popular with a number of the girls who aren't senior yet, but are learning triples.
Yeah, I thought it was weird. Got that advice from a shop in Melbourne Australia.
They're looking into custom Galaxies for me, but that sort of advice doesn't exactly inspire confidence, does it.

[sk8ergirl]

I have been skating in Grafs for about 5 years now and have generally been a fan of them. I found them to be very comfortable, and never had any adjustment break-in period.

The one thing I will say about Grafs is that I have found them to break down very quickly (this may be due to the fact that I skate so often and am working on triple jumps). I know quite a number of skaters that I skate with will only get at max a year out of them. Although my skates are less than a year old I found that they just wouldn't hold up any longer, but I put of buying new skates because I had tests coming up. Once I was done testing, I would get new skates. But then they just died. The boot was shot, and there was absolutely no ankle support on the outsides of my skates. When bending, my skate would lean in favour of that direction. When I removed my skates...I noticed the whole skate was crooked due to the premature breakdown of the boot. I find that the boot just doesn't hold up well in the long term for skaters landing or even working on double jumps.

My skate was so bad, and this problem has consistently irritated me so I finally decided to switch boots (after realizing it was taking weeks and weeks to order Grafs in my size). I also find the hooks to be made poorly, and they often bend to close to the skate or bend out and stick out. I have scars to prove that falling and somehow hitting your hook is not the best thing in the world...

So now...I've been in Jackson's for two days. I don't know what to say about them yet...I'm still getting used to them...

Hopefully these last a bit longer...

[TripleTwist]

I have been using graphs since i started skating. i love them! i never get blisters or anything, there very conforable. I have heard that they lose there suport very fast but i havnt had that problem.

[northern skater]

We just put my 10 yr. in Graf Richmonds after hearing all the "good hype" about them. She was previously in SK's It took a month to figure out what was causing her incrediable arch pain, something she has never experienced before. The insole was too thick at the arch and had to be completely cut out, Once this problem was solved things appeared to be ok for a while but then blisters started breaking out in different place on each foot, at different times. So all things considered, dispite the lightness of the boot and the total lack of break in time, I doubt that we will buy Grafs again, sometime boots just do not suit your foot!

[Lenny2]

Interesting. I enquired about the F4000 hinged boots and was told that they are designed only for injured skaters and have a useful life of 2-3 months. I do think that advice is rather odd, given their cost.


Whoever told you this was misinformed. This is a stiff boot for a relatively advanced skater. As I mentioned before, it does not "hinge" much, if at all, that we can detect. From the way these boots are wearing, we expect about a year's use, which is what we usually get form Harlicks based on my skater's growth. We know others who are in this boot who are also happy with it.

[figur8asandwich]

grafs rock! but only for certain feet, usually narrow toe box, narrow heel (but not too narrow then go for wifas)

oh and some grafs are hard to break in because there is plastic in tongue. just remove it then all is well.

[JulieN]

I tried the Graf Dance boots. I wore them for about a year or so. I liked them at first, but in hindsight I don't think they fit my foot properly. I have somewhat wide feet, and had their widest width available. I think that made the heel too wide for me. As they started to break in (or break down??), I found that I was constantly retying them tighter because I didn't feel like I was getting enough support. Also, their dance boot is very low cut. Fine when they were new, but felt unstable after they broke in.

Now I'm back to SP-Teri and I don't think I'll switch again.