Changing skate brands for a 9 year old

[sma1mom]

I have a 9 year old who has skated in reidell since she was 4. The past two skates we have had have had some issues. We had diamonds, which she broke the heel off the boot and our motion's she's managed to strip and loosen the screw holes in less than a year. We take immaculate care of her skates so it's not a neglect situation. She's is now learning the axel. We had a grassroots 2 champions seminar a few weeks ago and it was recommended that she switch up to the next higher level and to a Jackson boot. I believe the right boot in a Jackson would be a competitor (according to the skate shop) She is not terribly big, 75 pounds and 56 inches tall. She is also a pronator. We use the riedell arch support in her current skate.

 I'm worried about buying a brand new brand, especially since new boots are her level are so expensive. I'm also afraid of regression on her axel (she's landed 2 a few weeks ago and then hasn't landed any since) with a new brand.

 Can you share your experiences in changing brands? We've also considered the Edea chorus, plastic boot may = less problems?

 Thank you in advance for your help and advice
 Kristin

[Nate]

I had Edea Chorus a few years ago, and I'm pretty sure they are leather boots that are less stiff than the Concerto.

For the pronation, a podiatrist should be Consulted.

[DressmakingMomma]

My daughter pronates and moved from a Harlick into an Edea Ice Fly. We found the Edea's stiffer sides gave less then the leather (she had popped the heel counters in the Harlicks her pronation was so strong) so her issues felt more pronounced in the sense of being painful in her feet, knees and hips until we got her well balanced in the skate. We had to do a lot of fiddling to get wedges and arch support just right, but once we are there, she doesn't have problems holding edges like she did in previous boots and finds Edeas very comfortable.

The heels are high in the Edea and that took some serious adjustment, but a friend of our had a daughter go to the Edea's with no adjustment so it may just depend upon the skater. My daughter is REALLY picky about how her boots feel, so take that into account as well.

[sarahspins]

My daughter is about the same size (70lbs and 55") but almost 11, and she has switched brands several times.  From Riedell (which never really worked for her foot - the "wide" in the lower level boots was not even close to wide enough) to Jackson (3 pairs), and soon she'll be on her third pair of SP Teri's.  The only reason we moved out of Jackson is that she needs a wider toe box as she has grown and we can get a split width in SP Teri in an of their stock boots, and we can't get that in the appropriate level Jackson boot.  When she's a little bigger/higher level I might switch her back, but for now the SP Teri's are working well for her.

She has only griped about the lack of pre-punched ankle pockets in the SP Teri's (which we've had to get punched) - she really never had any complaints about any of her Jacksons until she began to outgrow them... break in was always very easy for her in them.