I have a problem.
My (ill fitting Dance) boots are near the end of their life. They are finally soft enough to do dance, at least for the moment, but if I do even the tiny jumps (like waltz jumps) that I can do, it feels like the boots provide no support at all. I can jump comfortably off ice in bare feet, but on-ice, balanced on a blade, I need support. I think support near the toe would also let me support my weight with a more pointed toe than I can manage bare foot too. In the long term, I will need new boots for both freestyle and dance.
I have a limited budget, so I have to figure out exactly what I need. For example, with my limited flexibility, maybe low heels are better than high heels.
And I don't know how stiff should the boots should be.
So, to experiment, and to determine whether one pair will do for both low level Dance and low level freestyle (with different lace tightnesses), I'm thinking about making my own temporary boots, and possibly the permanent boots too.
I'd appreciate any improvements you folks can suggest to these understandings and procedures:
As near as I can tell, an ideal Dance boot allows full range of motion in the ankle - toe point and flex, sideways bend - with just enough stiffness that one still has good control over the blades. There are no real safety issues, but the long-term boot must not break down too quickly. And most dancers prefer boots that completely fit the foot, and conform to it when the foot bends, with no sliding.
As near as I can tell, most freestylers want the boot to keep their ankle to safe range of motion limits in the sideways direction. I think they vary about what they want in stiffness in the point/flex directions - e.g., some like hinged boots, some don't. It hasn't been possible to make durable freestyle boots that conform to the foot as it bends, yet provide the desired stiffness. I think most freestylers want a boot that does precisely fit the bottom of the foot, and the ankle bone, with no sliding - but above the ankle, the foot slides forward and back as they point and flex the ankle. They then use padding of some sort (e.g., bandages, or gel pads), so the foot doesn't blister where it slides.
(To see why this idea is often used, take your shoes and socks off. Now point and flex the ankle. The bottom of the foot stays together as one piece (at least at skin level), as does the top. More or less the center of the ankle bone stays together with both, as a pivot point. But at ankle height, the skin stretches and scrunches up in places to accommodate the motion. Apparently it is hard for a stiff freestyle boot to emulate that motion and stay skin tight. I think even hinged boots can't - because they would still pinch the skin in places.)
Dancers want a low back for flexibility, and so the back top of the skates don't dig into the Achilles tendon as they point. I think this would make sense for freestylers too, if the boot can still be made stiff enough in the sideways directions - Achilles tendon and nearby bone injuries are somewhat common, according to one medical source, because of excess pressure on the back.
The flexibility (Dance) and safe range of motion (Freestyle) goals seem incompatible, though people sometimes make do with intermediate stiffness boots by using tighter lacing for freestyle.
My construction idea is to wear socks, and wrap duct tape around them, to get a perfect fit. Alternate direction diagonal wraps, kind of like wrapping an ankle to re-enforce it, for directional strength.
I want to get my feet in and out without destroying the boots. So, I guess the socks should be a little large, so I can stretch the front into a folded shape, much like a tennis shoe. Once the wrapping is done, drill holes and put laces through them. Possibly I would need a layer of fiberglass + resin or similar marine material for extra stiffness. I would take the initial boot off before applying a resin, so it doesn't get on the skin - marine resins are toxic when wet. (Even the fumes are bad, so this needs to be in a well ventilated area - a pain in the winter.)
I'm not sure screws would stay mounted in duct tape. I might have to drill holes, and fill them with Shoe Goo, then screw the screws into the Goo, and let dry.
Construction costs may run $5 - $10 / pair of duct tape boots.
It is possible duct tape boots won't be very light or durable.
But if they work well otherwise, I may try making permanent boots out of other tapes, foam and adhesive - i.e., build them a bit like a composite kayak or canoe. Say, an layer inner athletic tape to lock the shape, layers of fiberglass or carbon cloth with epoxy, some type of foam tape (are there any adhesive closed cell foams?) to serve as a lightweight core, and more epoxied cloth.
Unlike leather, tape and adhesive won't breath. So I need a relatively thick sock as a liner, which can.
For the final boots, I like the idea of pile socks, like they use skiing. Nice and soft - but since they are bound by adhesive and thread, they hopefully won't roll and slide around.
The socks will absorb sweat, and therefore would stink to high heaven after a few days. So the inner sock liner must be washable, with a sponge, without the inner athletic tape layers coming off. I envision applying the athletic tape to set the shape and size, removing the boots, then using a sewing awl to sew the tape in place, though I am worried the stitches would dig into my foot.
Anyone have ideas about how to improve on this?