Skating on the Planet

[guitarist]

I was talking to some of the other regulars at the rink yesterday, which got me thinking about boot fit. Apparently the boot is supposed to fit tightly and your ankle should not be able to move much. My ankle doesn't move to the sides very much, if at all, but I can move it forward/backward quite a bit, and there's a visible gap between my ankle and the tongue. Maybe 2-3 cm or so, and a bit more when I do stuff like spread eagles. Is that ok? Or should it be tighter? 

 

Maybe I should get new skates. I'm using the Jackson Artiste right now, and I'm still doing pretty basic stuff (backward crossovers, 3-turns, bunny hops), so it wouldn't be an upgrade based on skill level, but rather fit. According to another skater, Riedells are better for narrow ankles. What do you guys think? I'll ask my coach next weekend, but I'm thinking of going to the skate shop to see my options. They carry Jackson, Riedell, and Edea. Or maybe I'm enough of a beginner that it doesn't really matter. Not sure...

 

[robin]

32 minutes ago, guitarist said:

I was talking to some of the other regulars at the rink yesterday, which got me thinking about boot fit. Apparently the boot is supposed to fit tightly and your ankle should not be able to move much. My ankle doesn't move to the sides very much, if at all, but I can move it forward/backward quite a bit, and there's a visible gap between my ankle and the tongue. Maybe 2-3 cm or so, and a bit more when I do stuff like spread eagles. Is that ok? Or should it be tighter? 

 

Maybe I should get new skates. I'm using the Jackson Artiste right now, and I'm still doing pretty basic stuff (backward crossovers, 3-turns, bunny hops), so it wouldn't be an upgrade based on skill level, but rather fit. According to another skater, Riedells are better for narrow ankles. What do you guys think? I'll ask my coach next weekend, but I'm thinking of going to the skate shop to see my options. They carry Jackson, Riedell, and Edea. Or maybe I'm enough of a beginner that it doesn't really matter. Not sure...

 

 

Afaik space between tongue and ankle in the front is actually necessary to be able to bend your knees. 2-3cm does seem like a lot tho? I think it should be enough if you can fit a finger in there or so (without squeezing it in) but definitely ask your coach 

I also think it depends on how well your skates are broken in. If your skates are still stiff, a bigger gap might be necessary. I didn’t tie my laces up to the top for the first few weeks when I got my skates so I had some space to bend my knees

 

I’ve actually been thinking about changing my boots, too, and I happen to have the same model. They hurt me now when I tie them too tightly but I don’t feel secure if I don’t. Maybe they got too soft bc I have been jumping a lot... I am having difficulty understanding why exactly they hurt me and idk if other boots won’t. The pain isn’t local, it just makes my whole foot hurt and the pain goes up my shin, almost to my knees when I tie them especially hard and skate with them for a while (that’s when I get my best spins tho... but the pain isn’t bearable.)

[guitarist]

2 hours ago, robin said:

 

Afaik space between tongue and ankle in the front is actually necessary to be able to bend your knees. 2-3cm does seem like a lot tho? I think it should be enough if you can fit a finger in there or so (without squeezing it in) but definitely ask your coach 

I also think it depends on how well your skates are broken in. If your skates are still stiff, a bigger gap might be necessary. I didn’t tie my laces up to the top for the first few weeks when I got my skates so I had some space to bend my knees

 

I’ve actually been thinking about changing my boots, too, and I happen to have the same model. They hurt me now when I tie them too tightly but I don’t feel secure if I don’t. Maybe they got too soft bc I have been jumping a lot... I am having difficulty understanding why exactly they hurt me and idk if other boots won’t. The pain isn’t local, it just makes my whole foot hurt and the pain goes up my shin, almost to my knees when I tie them especially hard and skate with them for a while (that’s when I get my best spins tho... but the pain isn’t bearable.)

Yeah, I think I'll ask my coach. 

 

Hmmm, well, I don't think the Artiste are meant for single jumps, unless you're relatively small for an adult (I am...). One girl was saying that her feet hurt when she used those for jumping because the support isn't as good, so she switched to the Freestyle. Same thing happened to me when I tightened them too much, though, as a matter of fact, my left leg's been annoying me all day because of it. Hopefully it's fine by next weekend...

[yuzuangel]

I've *heard* (I could be wrong) that for an adult, the ratings are a bit different...since you're bigger and probably need more support than a smaller child, you should probably get stiffer boots than the rating...

 

My boots are rated for doubles and triples (they're actually the same ones that Liza T wears). Of course I don't do anything close to that but I think they fit perfectly. I like how they're stiff because my feet and ankles don't move around in there unless I want to, and on bad landings they don't twist or wobble at all.  Even after skating for many hours my feet aren't sore the way they used to be when I had cheap Jackson Mystique(?) skates (they were $50 or so). My boots didn't take very long to break in (unlike the Risport RF1 I tried before which hurt a LOT). The person who sold them to me said they had some new technology where the foam inside the boot molds better to your feet and a lot of figure skaters who used to need custom boots were getting those instead. But he was also trying to sell me boots so take it with a grain of salt  

[yuzuangel]

When I wore the Jackson Mystiques (which are an even lower level than the Artistes) my feet would always be in such pain that I would need to stop skating after a while. They also didn't have much of a rocker so it was hard to spin.

[robin]

Yeah I think I should switch to Freestyles once I can afford them. I think at my body weight and the amount of jumps I do I’ve really stretched my Artistes. 

[guitarist]

So I went to the skating shop. The guy there said maybe I'm just wearing a size too large and gave me size 6 Jackson Classiques to try on. I'm not sure that's the issue. Those felt tighter, though not uncomfortably so, but I don't know what they'd feel like on the ice. I didn't buy them, I need to talk to my coach first.

 

Then once I got home I tried my skates on and I can definitely move my feet inside, especially if I lean to the sides. Which I don't think is much of a problem as long as I don't try jumps. But I just have no idea what they're supposed to feel like, and I'm not sure the guy at the shop was exactly an expert (he looked about my age). Maybe I'm just putting my current skates on wrong. This is so confusing... 

 

Maybe I should just go again when the owner's there... 

 

In any case, I'm enough of a beginner that I don't think it really matters. Probably. Though I also can't tell if the pain is normal or if it comes from the skates. It's not always there, but it's gotten more noticeable the past 3 sessions or so. Ugh, who knows. 

[yuzuangel]

12 minutes ago, guitarist said:

So I went to the skating shop. The guy there said maybe I'm just wearing a size too large and gave me size 6 Jackson Classiques to try on. I'm not sure that's the issue. Those felt tighter, though not uncomfortably so, but I don't know what they'd feel like on the ice. I didn't buy them, I need to talk to my coach first.

 

Then once I got home I tried my skates on and I can definitely move my feet inside, especially if I lean to the sides. Which I don't think is much of a problem as long as I don't try jumps. But I just have no idea what they're supposed to feel like, and I'm not sure the guy at the shop was exactly an expert (he looked about my age). Maybe I'm just putting my current skates on wrong. This is so confusing... 

 

Maybe I should just go again when the owner's there... 

 

In any case, I'm enough of a beginner that I don't think it really matters. Probably. Though I also can't tell if the pain is normal or if it comes from the skates. It's not always there, but it's gotten more noticeable the past 3 sessions or so. Ugh, who knows. 

Can you ask your coach? he/she should be helping you with exactly this..

[guitarist]

That's what I'll have to do, I think. Hopefully it doesn't take too much time out of the lesson because they're super expensive, and she doesn't usually have any free time between students. Ugh.

 

...and now I'm just thinking "this is all Yuzu's fault" 

[axelnojutsu]

I'm having a similar issue, the boots that I got are definitely too big (and it feels like they get bigger each time I skate although I'm sure that's just my salt levels talking) and ideally I'd get stiffer ones as well when I replace them... but money 

[Xen]

2 hours ago, axelnojutsu said:

I'm having a similar issue, the boots that I got are definitely too big (and it feels like they get bigger each time I skate although I'm sure that's just my salt levels talking) and ideally I'd get stiffer ones as well when I replace them... but money 

Hmm, the boots should definitely feel form-fitting, but not tight to the degree it kills you. I was told that it is a bit like buying dress shoes/heels. For example, I wear risports, and my feet measure to about 21.6 cm, my shoes are 225 and fit just about right, though slightly looser on my left (cause that feet is narrower).

 

Have you guys had a chance to check out this site? https://www.kinziescloset.com/skate-comparison-guide.html

You do need to factor in weight, but it helps as a rough guide.

[axelnojutsu]

1 minute ago, Xen said:

Hmm, the boots should definitely feel form-fitting, but not tight to the degree it kills you. I was told that it is a bit like buying dress shoes/heels. For example, I wear risports, and my feet measure to about 21.6 cm, my shoes are 225 and fit just about right, though slightly looser on my left (cause that feet is narrower).

 

Have you guys had a chance to check out this site? https://www.kinziescloset.com/skate-comparison-guide.html

You do need to factor in weight, but it helps as a rough guide.

2

I've measured my feet multiple times now, they're 23.8 & 24.4 cm and normal width. My boots (Jackson Classique) right now are 265 and wide...
I got to try on my rinkmate's boots (Risport Royal Pro, 255 B) and they fit so much better that it kinda made me hate my skates 

[Xen]

3 minutes ago, axelnojutsu said:

I've measured my feet multiple times now, they're 23.8 & 24.4 cm and normal width. My boots (Jackson Classique) right now are 265 and wide...
I got to try on my rinkmate's boots (Risport Royal Pro, 255 B) and they fit so much better that it kinda made me hate my skates 

Then you might want to try on risports, and if your feet measurements are correct, you should be about 250-255, since I think risports size should be about 0.8 cm longer than your actual feet.  However, I'd recommend that you go to a pro shop to measure feet too. When I measured my own feet, they were about 22.3, so I first got 230s. Only when I went to the shop, they measured my feet to be under 22.0 cm.

 

Also, that site I linked, you want to check what they say about the various brands. Because some brands will have naturally a narrower heel. The pro shop I go to, the technician initially wanted me to try Edeas, but they didn't work out. The edeas do work better for my heels btw, but the height in the toe-box is too low for me, only risports (and possibly SP Teri) work for me, so I went with Risports.

[axelnojutsu]

4 minutes ago, Xen said:

Then you might want to try on risports, and if your feet measurements are correct, you should be about 250-255, since I think risports size should be about 0.8 cm longer than your actual feet.  However, I'd recommend that you go to a pro shop to measure feet too. When I measured my own feet, they were about 22.3, so I first got 230s. Only when I went to the shop, they measured my feet to be under 22.0 cm.

 

Also, that site I linked, you want to check what they say about the various brands. Because some brands will have naturally a narrower heel. The pro shop I go to, the technician initially wanted me to try Edeas, but they didn't work out. The edeas do work better for my heels btw, but the height in the toe-box is too low for me, only risports (and possibly SP Teri) work for me, so I went with Risports.

6

I will... once I can afford to buy new ones anyway 

[Xen]

Just now, axelnojutsu said:

I will... once I can afford to buy new ones anyway 

Any local skating clubs have people selling used skates? My first pair of skates were a really nice pair of SP Teri that were being sold, because the girl's feet outgrew her boots in 2-3 months. They were shoes that were slightly broken in, since she was practicing doubles, but were just stiff enough for my single jumps for half a year.