Skate Sizing

Plenty of people are wondering how to find out what their proper skate sizing should be. Whether you are an adult or an adult buying for a child, you probably know that it is extremely important that hockey skates be the right size in order to ensure not only comfort but also to make sure that everyone is safe and reduce the risk of accidents and injuries. When looking for skates it’s a good idea to go to a store where the sales staff is knowledgeable to be able to help you; simply trying on the skates oneself and making an educated guess is not the best way to handle it.

Once you know that skate sizing is so important, you might consult with sales staff at a local sporting goods store in order to get ahead of the proper way to go about skate sizing. As you try on different brands of skates you will notice that different brands use different sizing schemes. While some hockey skate sizes are concordant with street shoe sizes, other brands have skates that are one whole size below street shoe sizes. Yet other brands size 1.5 sizes smaller than street shoes.

Sorting It Out

In order to actually sort out hockey skate sizing in the best way, you can either approach it from a brand choice or from a type choice. Sizing charts are available at sporting goods stores if the sales people are not familiar enough with the sizing themselves to be able to help you. Each brand has a sizing chart that will show you which size (in youth or adult) is equivalent to street shoe sizes.

An Example

An adult size 13 Bauer hockey skate is equivalent to a size 14 adult street shoe. This is because Bauer is one of the brands that makes their hockey sizes one size smaller than street shoes. Not all size 13 hockey skates are equivalent to size 14 street shoes. For example, the Mission brand of hockey skates uses actual sizing; therefore, a size 13 skate is the same size as a size 13 street shoe. This is why it is so important to check the skate sizes for each brand instead of just assuming that all skates are equivalent to all street shoes or thinking that all skates run one size smaller than street shoes. Size 16 hockey skates can only be come by in the Mission brand; most other brands equate a size 16 street shoe to a size 15 or 14.5 hockey size.