Greetings!
I am adult skater in need of new boots, and maybe new blades, and am looking for advice and guidance.
Here's the background on my abilities - all through my teens, I took group skating lessons once a week and got up to doing a nice flip, and lutz (and OK loop, salchow and toe loop; solid waltz jumps). I could do an OK scratch pins, and weak sitspins (not much sit) and camels (slow, only a few rotations). I never did any competetive skating, and my lessons focused on jumps and spins.
After about 25 years of rarely skating, I'm like to get back to skating at a similar level - group lessons and skating 1 or 2 addtional times a week.
Sometime in my teens, I got a pair of very good quality boots and blades. The blades are Gold Stars (also labeled "Made in England" and "Sheffield Steel"). The boots are made by Oberhamer, and I'd guess that they're equivalent to some of the Riedell boots aimed at the competitive skaters (in the approximate $500 price range).
My foot seems to be both longer and wider than it was in my teens. It's an extra narrow boot, and labeled as 6AA. These days, I wear a medium width 7 or 7.5 street shoe (USA sizing). I can wear the skates for skating if I lace them somewhat loosely, but they soon cause an ache in both arches, as I believe my foot is in a too-arched position due the tightness of the boots. It's definitely time for new boots. (I know that boots can be stretched some, but I am guessing this is beyond the limits of stretching can reasonably do.)
When I was getting sized for boots and blades, the fitter deliberately put the maximum length blade on the boot, so that if my foot grew I could hopefully move the blade to new boots. (They are labeled 9 2/3 on the sole plate.) So, I might be able to re-use these blades. (I've read various articles on how to tell if your blades are too worn or not, and these blades seem fine in that regard - they've only been sharpened a few times.)
When I look at all the choices available for boots and blades, I find the amount of choice overwhelming. I also find it frustrating that that there are boots and blades listed for "intermediate" and "expert" skaters, but there are not definitions for what an "intermediate" or an "expert" is.
I found this interesting comment at
www.faqs.org/faqs/sports/skating/ice/rec-skate/blades/:
Top of the line blades are designed for very advanced skaters. Advanced
free-style blades have a longer radius and have *large* toe picks. Also, the
portion of the blade that is used for spinning is much shorter than on
intermediate blades; that means that unless you are perfectly balanced and
positioned going into and during the spin you will start rocking on the
blade. Intermediate blades like the MK Professional, Coronation Ace, etc.
provide you more "room" to make corrections and continue spinning even if
you are slightly off balance.
This makes me wonder if I'd be better off in an intermediate blade - I'm definitely not a great a spinner.
I'd love to hear a variety of opinions on what I should look into. I'd also like to hear about my options of both higher and lower price points.
Another thing I'm wondering about is have there been any significant changes in boot or blade technology in the past 25 years? Is there any reason I should not even consider using my old blades, due to improvements in blades? Are there some new boot or blade features that didn't exist 25 years ago?
There are two well regarded skate shops in my general area, and I expect that they can give me suggestions. However, I am the sort of person who likes doing research before I head into stores.
I look forward to reading your advice and suggestions!
Cheers,
Cindy