Finding the right size skates is crucial for comfort, performance, and preventing injuries. This guide focuses on helping men find the perfect size 12 skates, covering everything from measuring your feet to understanding sizing charts and considering width and fit.
Where to Start
To determine the correct skate size, begin by accurately measuring your feet. It is important to measure both feet and make your selection based off your biggest foot. We always recommend wearing a sock when measuring, because you can always make a skate that is slightly too big work, you can never skate in a skate that is too small.
Measuring Your Feet
Let's Find Your Size! First things first. You are going to need a ruler (or some kind of measuring device), a pen, and some paper. You are also going to need a bit of patience because measuring your foot correctly is a huge factor in buying skates online!
- Tape a piece of blank paper to the floor flush against the wall on a solid surface (not carpet).
- Stand up straight on the paper with your heel against the wall.
- While standing, take the pen or pencil and begin tracing. Keep the pen/pencil perpendicular to the paper while you outline your foot.
- Measure in centimeters the distance from the furthest point of your toes to the end of the heel. This will be your foot length measurement.
- Repeat Steps 1-4 for your other foot.
- Take your Left Foot Length Measurement and divide it by your Left Foot Width Measurement, this is your Left Foot Width Ratio.
Now that we have your length measurements, width measurements, and your width ratio for both feet, it is time to find your skate size. Use the longest length measurement of the two and compare it to the "Length in Centimeters" column in the hockey skate size charts below.
How to Find Your Hockey Skate Size & Fit at Home
Understanding Skate Sizing
Skate sizes typically differ from shoe sizes. A properly-fitted skate will actually be about 1 to 1.5 sizes smaller than your shoe size. Most manufacturers use this sizing formula. Yet, while this is the general rule, it’s important to keep in mind that not all skates are sized the same.
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Typically, if you wear a men’s shoe size: 11, you should try skates in a size: 10 or 9.5. If this is the first time you’re buying skates, or if you not sure what size you are in a particular brand, referencing a sizing chart is a good place to start.
Below is a list of the most widely used and available size charts. Additionally, all our product pages have size charts that correspond to their correct skate style. Kid's sizes are in Men's sizes, so use the same conversion for Men's.
General Skate Sizing Guide
At Hockey Plus, we try to simplify the process with our general skate sizing guide. Our general skate sizing guide will typically work for most people, but everyone’s preference will be different - because frankly, everyone’s feet are different! As always, do not heat, sharpen or skate until you are satisfied with the fitment chosen.
Hockey Skate Sizing Chart
| Skate Size | US Men's Shoe Size | EUR Shoe Size | UK Men's Shoe Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | 7.5 | 40.5 | 6.5 |
| 6.5 | 8.0 | 41.0 | 7.0 |
| 7.0 | 8.5 | 42.0 | 7.5 |
| 7.5 | 9.0 | 42.5 | 8.0 |
| 8.0 | 9.5 | 43.0 | 8.5 |
| 8.5 | 10.0 | 44.0 | 9.0 |
| 9.0 | 10.5 | 44.5 | 9.5 |
| 9.5 | 11.0 | 45.0 | 10.0 |
| 10.0 | 11.5 | 45.5 | 10.5 |
| 10.5 | 12.0 | 46.0 | 11.0 |
| 11.0 | 12.5 | 47.0 | 11.5 |
| 11.5 | 13.0 | 47.5 | 12.0 |
| 12.0 | 13.5 | 48.0 | 12.5 |
Actual Shoe Size as determined by a Branock Shoe Sizing Device. Sizing will vary by manufacturer.
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Properly Fitted Skates
Beyond brand, style, or look, the single most important part in choosing skates - is THE FIT! Your skates need to fit properly in order for you to skate at your full potential.
There are two things you need to look at in terms of skate fit: size and boot construction.
Size
The reason skaters so often have the wrong-sized skate is usually due to the fact that they should buy a smaller skate than they would shoe, which seems counter-intuitive. But remember that the right-sized skate means you’ll be comfortable and safe when you’re on the ice, ultimately enhancing your skating performance.
- TOO BIG: If your skates are too big, your foot will move inside and you won’t be able to skate as fast. You’ll also likely be in a skate that’s not very comfortable, and the chance of blistering and potential for injury are both greatly increased with skates that are too big.
- TOO SMALL: If your skates are too small, your feet will cramp and the skate will be very tight uncomfortable, affecting your ability to skate fast and precisely.
Boot Construction
Boot construction is important when choosing your skates for a number of reasons. Skate manufacturers offer many different styles of skates that cater to virtually all foot shapes.
Finding a skate that will accommodate your foot in three different areas is key. You want to look at:
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- the width of the forefoot
- the depth of the heel
- the volume of your overall foot - note: volume isn’t the size of the skate, but more about the dimensions of the boot.
Hockey Skate Width
Once you’ve determined what sized skate you need, you also need to know what your width ratio is. Width ratio tells you how wide and what the depth of your foot is. You find your width ratio by dividing the length of your foot by the width. This gives you a good idea of how wide your foot is in comparison to how long it actually is.
A general idea of how width ratio relates to skate size follows:
- TRADITIONAL - WIDTH RATIO OF LESS THAN 2.5
- FOREFOOT: WIDE
- HEEL: DEEP
- VOLUME: HIGH
- CONTURED - WIDTH RATIO BETWEEN 2.5 - 3.0
- FOREFOOT: STANDARD
- HEEL: STANDARD
- VOLUME: MEDIUM
- TAPERED - WIDTH RATIO GREATER THAN 3.0
- FOREFOOT: NARROW OR SLIGHTLY NARROW
- HEEL: SHALLOW/NARROW
- VOLUME: LOW
Hockey Skate Components
A hockey skate is built with 3 main pieces:
- a plastic holder
- a steel runner
- a skate boot
The style and construction of holders and runners will vary depending on the manufacturer and brand, but they all serve the same purpose: to provide free movement on the rink.