Hi everyone-
I went to the shop last week (finagled a nice family trip to Paris!), and did the deal. It was not the experience I was expecting- didn't care about my old skates, didn't concern themselves with fit, didn't bring in half the boots I asked to see- and limited me to their dance selections
. As a result I never did get to try the synchro boots that I had specifically asked for. I'm disappointed, because had they fit, that's probably the route I would have gone. Thankfully they did have a few Freestyle models in that shop, so I was able to salvage a little. The Premieres were just as high in the back as my old comps, but didn't fit- they only had C width in the store, had NEVER heard of split width (the guy sat there consulting the catalogue). C fits nicely in the front, but would be blisterville in the heel- too much sliding. The Elites were too much boot, so I didn't even try them on. The Elite dance was like a ROCK! The Graf dance were pretty hard too- based on what people here had said, I was expecting them to be softer. It's a moot point since it's pretty certain I do not have a Graf foot.
I did request and get their "best fitter" but he didn't offer much council besides "your club is dance, so get a dance boot and blade". So I felt very much on my own with this- so the info you guys provided went to very good use! Apparently here coaches tell their students exactly what to get: "get the Edea concerto with a professional blade", so these guys don't actually need to know much. Poor kids! What if they don't have an Edea foot?! I suffered as a kid since I didn't have a Riedell one......
It was fun trying on skates- except that I'm reminded of why I hate nylon laces (there was blood!). Had the Premiere's fit, I could have liked those- the higher heel would have been interesting though. Edeas are really wide, being an Italian boot, that surprised me.
So I went with a dance model- the Risport. We'll see how it goes! Of course they didn't have any blades in stock, and of course Friday was a French holiday, so a week later and I still don't know when the blades will come in. I'm aiming for the Vision Synchro, seems like a good blade at a nice price point. But I haven't skated in these low boots yet. They're pretty stiff- much stiffer than the Finesse- those fit OK, but I was worried I'd crease 'em up just bending my knees!
So thanks heaps for your help and insights!