Reebok White K Ice Hockey Skates
Heel Support:The Pump™ technology – The ultimate in personalized pro performance and comfort
The Pump™ skate will provide:-
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A secure comfortable fit
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Guarantees heel lock and ankle support
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Enhances forward flex
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SkateLock™ – Customize your support by tightening the top 3 eyelets independently of the forefoot
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Ankle Padding: Pro Molded anatomical ankle support
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Tongue Construction: White felt backing and foam front with segmented lace-bite guard
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Footbed: Reebok comfort foam
- Outsole: Vented lightweight low profile fiberglass composite outsole increases torsional rigidity and maximizes energy transfer
Look and style of skates
Fit and inside liners ?
Lace lock?
How Good is the Tongue?
The tongue that Reebok added to the White K is probably the biggest problem with it. This tongue is simply not good enough!. Reebok added extra foams to try and combat lace bite and give the user a comfortable experience. The bottom line is it all doesn’t work, as I mentioned earlier the lace lock together with the thin useless tongue can result in a painful experience if you are an aggressive skater. The hard sharp edge that the laces create goes through the tongue and puts the top of your foot (just below the shin) under a massive amount of pressure which hurts like hell. This problem is also known as Lace Bite.
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Tendon Guard
The tendon guard is also lacking. It felt like the sort of tendon that really needs to be looked after and watched to avoid breaking the poor thing. I’d be very careful with it and try not to abuse it too much.
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Pump ?
The pumps are very useful but most of the time I forget to inflate them. If you require additional support around your ankles then the pumps are a great feature to have.
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E-Pro Blade Holder
There wasn’t much to complain about in regards to the E-Pro holder, very similar to the Bauer Tuuk probably due to all the skate manufacturers copying each other now days. But I seriously would recommend checking the bolds that hold the blade to the holder BEFORE going on the ice. I found that mine were loose can 1 bolt come off after just 4 sessions and 1 hockey game. You can pick up replacement bolts for only £1.50 incase you lose yours. The advantage with having the bolts on the side of the blade holder is that its quick and easy to replace the blade. Unlike with the Bauer holders.
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Outsole and Footbed
As expected with ANY skate manufacturer the footbeds aren’t very supportive and comfortable, I would always recommend switching to Superfeet footbeds for better comfort and moisture management.
I noticed that the White K skates have vents on the outsole to remove any moisture build, but the footbeds do not have any holes ?? This really didn’t make any sense but you can simple make holes in the footbed yourself or replace the footbed with something better.
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How durable are the Reebok White K Skates ?
I would say these skates were not incredibly durable, there are a few issues with the design that doesn’t help the life time of these skates. One of the main issues I faced was the skates of the skates quarter package scrapping the ice while I was crossing over tightly or while I was in my tight hockey turns on the ice. As these skates do not feature any kind of protection against the sides of the boot waring away on the ice, the boot will break down and ware away fairly quickly. These are also an intermediate level skate which means they aren’t too stiff, if a skater is a little to built for them, that will contribute to their break down. They are also white, which makes from more likely to get dirty quickly look bad after a sort time.
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Overall
Good points
- Great value for money skates for an intermediate level
- Top end features on a low cost skate
- Good comfort excluding the tongue and lace bite (which can be resolved with Bunga Pads)
- Great style and design
- Easy to get replacement parts
Bad points
- Low quality tongue resulting in lace bite
- non durable quater package at combating ware
- Low quality tendon guard
- Design flaw with E-Pro holder and bolts
- Not holes in footbed
- Lace lock can result in foot pain
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