Just a note: the F280 skates are Riedell Bronze Medallions. They were discontinued several years ago, but they were a good, all-leather skate for lower-level skaters. I believe the insole was very flat, iirc. My DD's used to wear those skates when they were in LTS.
I get the feeling you bought these skates without first being measured by a professional. Paragon is a sporting goods store with clerks, not professional skate fitters. You probably "guesstimated" the size based on your street shoe size. If I'm wrong, my apologies, but your story sounds like a typical rookie mistake. People think they save all kinds of money by avoiding the pro shops and ordering online, but most of the time, they set themselves up for future problems and expenses. Even though my pro shop is overpriced, I use them anyway. I know many areas don't have pro shops. NYC (where the OP lives) isn't one of those places.
So I was reading more about breaking in skates last night and read that you are supposed to leave the top 2 brackets unlaced when they're new skates. I've laced up my skates all the way to the top since day 1. Could this perhaps be a problem? So frustrating to have hurting feet.
Leaving a top hook undone for new skates simply gives the skater some extra knee bend. It wouldn't cause your aching arches. Some skaters lace up to the top from the very beginning with no issues, but less-strong skaters find it helps them break in the skates and prevent trip-falls from not bending knees enough to carry weight on the blades.
I have very high arches. I found the SuperFeet Blue were too low under the arch, SuperFeet Yellow was better. I still needed a little more height in the arch, so I tucked some soft foam between the insole layers and that resolved my achy arches.
Do this: take out the insoles of your current skates and stand on them.
. If your arches don't touch the insole arches, you probably need an arch support.
. If your feet hang over the sides, they're too narrow, which can cause foot pain and soreness.
If the skate's too narrow, you can try having a pro shop stretch the skates for width - they're leather, so that's definitely an option. It's usually no more than $20.
. If the toe of your foot has a gap of more than a 1/2" from the insole front, you bought skates that were too big/long.
If so, the arch of the skate ISN'T under the arch of your foot - it will be too far forward, which can cause arch pain. Think about it: the insole is trying to make your foot bend in front of the foot's arch and it would leave your real instep unsupported. As sk8dreams pointed out, many people buy too-long skates when they really need wider skates.
If Paragon or whatever store you go to has a Riedell measuring stick, use it to get your correct length and width measurements for that brand of skates. Jackson has its own measuring stick, so don't mix-and-match.
If the Medallions fit well, just get the insole situation resolved and you'll be fine.
Topic: Riedell F280 Bronze Medallion hurts my arches so much. Any Remedy? (Read 4675 times)