http://grafcanada.com/ Graf Hockey Skates info channel. Learn what makes Graf Skates from Graf Canada the best ice hockey skates in the world. Available at Total Hockey!

If you have played ice hockey before most likely, you know what it's like to have heel spurs. What you might not know is that Graf hockey commissioned a research study at Brock University in Canada to determine the exact cause. These bumps are not normal, and they're not healthy. In extreme cases, skaters need surgery to remove them.

Graf also asked researchers to determine the cause of lace bite.
The research confirmed Graf's beliefs about the cause of these two common problems facing hockey players today.

Heel spurs are caused by movement of your foot inside your hockey skates. Even the slightest movement of your foot up and down in the back of the skate can cause this to happen over time. So heel lock is very important.

As for lace bite, the study confirmed that one of the leading contributors is the stiffness of boots on the market today.
Most hockey skates today are too stiff, and they do not flex with your foot and ankle. Your ankle must flex or articulate during the skating stride, and if the boot does not allow this to happen, it puts undue stress on your feet and also on your hockey skates.

The inside of Graf's new high end skates feature a liner and foams that have been laminated together into one piece. It has a deep heel pocket and channel in the back for your Achilles tendon to hold your foot in the skate more securely. So the heel lock in this skate is excellent. Also, because we use fewer glues and adhesives in laminating the liner and foams together, we've reduced the weight of the skate.

Graf addressed the lace bite problem by utilizing a quarter panel that is made of carbon fiber and surlyn. Carbon fiber is light and strong for support. Surlyn is the material that is used to make the cover of a golf ball, so it offers some mold-ability.

Graf can change the recipe of these two components to alter the flex of the boot. Just like a hockey stick, flex is important and should be tuned to the individual player. Bigger, heavier skaters need a stiffer boot, while smaller, lighter skaters benefit from a softer boot.

The new high-end hockey skates from Graf offer an asymmetrical upper. The bone on the inside of your ankle is higher and more forward than the bone on the outside of your ankle. So Graf extended the eyelets on the inside of the skate, so your ankle bone does not rub on the eyelets.

Hockey players have many options today like Bauer, RBK, CCM, Easton, but only Graf offers these new technologies.

To learn more, visit totalhockey.com or grafcanada.com.