The Joy of Ditching Toe-Ties

Hello today I would like to share to you why i removed my toe ties, and why I recommend it.

A little of background history, I have been playing goalie for about quite some time now, and I always hated toe ties, they were uncomfortable, put strain on my knees and hips and took up time in the locker room. One day during a practice, my team was practicing break aways, and as I came out of the net I randomly slipped and the shooter just easily put it in the net. I tried getting back up and I tripped yet again. My first thought is that either the ice is really really messed up or my blade got damaged. I looked down and my blade looked fine but one think i noticed is that my toe ties were undone and one was separated from the pad itself. I guess my blade cut it off, anyway I felt awkward tucking my other lace into my skate and it kept coming out again. So once I got home after practice I grabbed some scissors and chopped of the other tie and the ones on the other pad.

The next day i headed down to my local rink for a free shoot as they call it, it's basically they get out the nets and some pucks and you shoot away. I felt really comfortable the second I stepped onto the ice and I took less time in the locker room. I got in the net and the first thing I tried was going into the butterfly, i couldn't believe how much easier it was to close up the five hole, I was also able to make my b-fly wider and still close the five hole. The first shot i took this guy came in and tried to shoot bottom right, and I saved it no problem, I am able to get lower to the ice and seal up the ice too, to stop those sneaky shots. My butterfly reaction time increased too, I was amazed at how such a simple mod to the pads could improve my game so much. The next game I played I only allowed one goal which hit the crossbar and went it, so of course I didn't use my pads.

Months later i still use no toe ties and I love it I have improved a lot and probably plan to never go back to to ties.

Maybe you should try it too

Please keep thread topics together, especially since you've posted in both threads. Thanks!

I am definitely going to give this a shot. Nice post

for those of you ditching toe ties, I recommend putting your boot strap through the middle hole of your skate. This will keep your pad from rotating too far around your leg during scrambles.

I wouldn't really recommend this after talking to some coaches and pro goalies. Without the toe tie your top of your foot can be exposed to shots. I've now heard of some seriously busted feet due to this.

I"ve had shots hit the top of my foot a few times because I wear my Kohos rather loose and have a lot of slack in my toe ties. It hurts!

Originally Posted by gort

I"ve had shots hit the top of my foot a few times because I wear my Kohos rather loose and have a lot of slack in my toe ties. It hurts!

And you're one of the lucky ones who didn't break anything.

Originally Posted by Red33

for those of you ditching toe ties, I recommend putting your boot strap through the middle hole of your skate. This will keep your pad from rotating too far around your leg during scrambles.

This is the smartest comment I've heard on this thread. Boot strap has to go through the middle for this to work properly. The problems people against removing the ties keep stating comes down to fear of the unknown or bad experiences. Most of these occur with improper set up with there pads or there pads don't set up well without the ties. I can see Itech's point where you might get hit in the foot on a crazy play. If you adjust your pads properly you don't need the ties. What's the difference of wearing them so loose that they don't restrict anything or not at all......