Thread: Best place to buy skates?

Originally Posted by Len-Det64

Discount Hockey

They are here:

Discounthockey.com
5331 Derry Ave Suite I
Agoura Hills, CA 91301 Phone:1-800-650-4834
Email: discounthockey@att.net
Store Hours (Pacific Standard Time): M-F: 10:00am-6:00pm
Sat: 10:00am-6:00pm
Sun: 11:00am-5:00pm

I totally agree with Len-Det here. I shop at both discount hockey and hockey giant ALOT. The guys at discount are awesome and take their time with each coustomer. Prices are about the same for both places and discount has a heat molding machine, not sure if hg has one or not. just my 2 cents

giant and monkey both heat mold. i know monkey sharpens, not sure about giant (im assuming they do though)

Vote for the Team LA Pro Shop @ Toyota Sports Center. Got my Grafs there a month or so ago and they were extremely helpful. I am just starting out, so I was in need of a lot of help. I had gone to Hockey Giant and Hockey Monkey, service was eh... to the point that I was given a skate 1.5 sizes to big for my foot and let out the door . Monkey and Giant did have a big selection though.

For my foot, the Grafs are a great fit, but I can see that forward pitch being a problem for some. Like was said before, go for the best fitting boot, not the name on the side.

Problem with the Pro Shop is that they only seem to carry Graf, Bauer, and some Eastons(?). Everything else was cool, they have all the machines/processes needed for a good fit, heat mold/punch/blade holder mount and some CCM balloon fitting device

Also Graf hasn't been bought out by anyone, but they did open up another manufacturing plant up in Canada a few years ago (me thinks, if not, then its a distribution center).

Does anyone know when and if the Pro Shop will be having the Kings sale? I'll ask them next time I'm in there.

Hockey Monkey has better quality and selection of skates than other stores. They pay more attention to detail and are not selling second hand or cheaper products

TSC's Pro Shop is having a sale Saturday on all Kings used gear. I was there yesterday, and was told so by the woman behind the counter. (I think they're holding it on the roller hockey rink.)

I've been skating for two years on Bauer Supreme 3000s with heel lifts, so I've already got a little bit of a forward pitch going. I'm hoping the transition to Grafs won't be so difficult.

I haven't really compared the skate selections between Monkey and Giant, but when I was helmet and stick shopping, Monkey beat Giant, hands down.

wow...haven't been on the boards in a while...

Originally Posted by Unruely35

Grafs? Do they even MAKE Grafs anymore?

Didnt someone buy them and bastardize em??

the grafs in america are from graf canada. not the same as the european grafs. the european ones are much better quality wise and offer some extra colors. but they're pretty much the same and have pretty much the same models. but there have been some horror stories with graf canada's quality and customer service. but i owned two pairs and didn't have any issues with them.

Originally Posted by mudfisher

Hawk Hockey/Hockeymonkey

Graf's are the best skates....However, the forward pitch might be a little tougher for a beginner skater to learn on. Also, Grafs are more expensive. However, there quality and performance make up for the cost.

But everyone really should go with a skate they feel most comfortable with.

definitely go with the best fitting skates. i had grafs and loved the comfort. but they were a little heavier. i went with nike/bauers (haven't worn bauers since i was 14) and while i like the weight, the fit isn't as well on my feet. so i'll probably go back to grafs later. but there are pros and cons to all the skates out there. it's just what you're willing to accept, how much you want to pay, and how you want it to fit.

Originally Posted by Juniordog

if you have wide feet like me, dont go to hockey monkey. when i bought my skates 2 weeks ago i only had 2 skates to choose from that were in my price range of <$200. i would bet money that in a higher price range i still wouldnt have had any more to choose from then the higher models of the 2.

however, i bought my inlines at hockey giant and i actually found the service to be better then monkey's (even though everyone else seems to have had the opposite experience). in addition their supply of skates in my size was better at giant.

if you dont have wide feet then hockey monkey or hockey giant would be about equal in my book. they're both great stores and are priced the same, outside of closeouts or sales. good luck!

i think most shops right now are starting to stock the new season's lines. they might not have all the new gear in yet. i would still rather go to monkey just because of the brands they offer and the guys that work there. if you don't see the right size, if they have it at the warehouse they will order it and you can try it. if you don't like the fit, no problems. i think that's pretty cool of them.

Originally Posted by Juniordog

accidentally went to anahiem ice one time cus my buddies navigation led us there instread of hockey giant (guess they used to be there or something). walked in and the old cliche came to mind while staring at a 20 foot tall cutout of chris pronger; "we're not in king's territory anymore dude...."

it smelled like a$$ in there too for some reason. seriously.

Used to be a hockey giant there. now it's a different shop.

Originally Posted by Juniordog

giant and monkey both heat mold. i know monkey sharpens, not sure about giant (im assuming they do though)

giant does sharpen also. i saw a picture of someone's skates that were really messed up from one of giant's sharpenings, but that could've just been a one time deal. but i have tried a few pro shops around the area and they couldn't get it as good as the guys at hawk. i'll always go there for sharpenings. the good thing about if you buy skates at giant, they give you free lifetime sharpenings.

Originally Posted by spjon25

Hockey Monkey has better quality and selection of skates than other stores. They pay more attention to detail and are not selling second hand or cheaper products

i agree.

I know two people who've gotten horrible sharpenings from HG. My experience at Hockey Monkey was very good, they answered all my questions and fitted me into some nice Grafs. I don't have any experience with the pro shop at TSC, but I do see they have used pro gear there, so I'd be interested to check them out.

I got my skates sharpened for free at Hawk/Monkey when i bought mine. Seems to be a good job; as it is my first pair for ice skates i highly doubt id be able to tell the difference anyway.

Does Hawk/Monkey do the lifetime sharpening thing too or is that just Giant?

Originally Posted by Juniordog

I got my skates sharpened for free at Hawk/Monkey when i bought mine. Seems to be a good job; as it is my first pair for ice skates i highly doubt id be able to tell the difference anyway.

Does Hawk/Monkey do the lifetime sharpening thing too or is that just Giant?

only giant gives you lifetime sharpening.