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Author Topic: Best skates for around $150  (Read 3182 times)

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Offline George

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Best skates for around $150
« on: July 14, 2017, 06:02:58 PM »
I skate recreationally with the the closest rink being an hour away. I go maybe once every two months. But we have a pond, so during the winter months I will go once a day for thirty minutes at a time.
I usually skate on my cheap, poorly fitting hockey skates and I was thinking it would be fun to buy some good quality figure skates instead. I was thinking of spending about $150 on the skates but the problem is I live in central Iowa and I don"t know of any skate shops other than Dick"s sporting goods. I am quite large(6 foot 3 inches and 190 pounds) so the the skates would probably have to be quite durable. If anybody could tell me what skates to get, or if there are any shops in the area, it would be greatly appreciated.

Offline lutefisk

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Re: Best skates for around $150
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2017, 07:09:14 PM »
George:  Do your self a favor and roughly double you budget and get a pair of Jackson Freestyle boots. I've had two pairs of these and I recommend them. They will come will Ultima Aspire blades pre-mounted so you won't be out extra money for separately purchased blades.  Go to your rink an hour away and see if they have a pro shop that will help with fitting your feet to the new boots.  The Freestyle model will be heat molded to your feet.  Getting a proper fit is worth the extra effort.  Good luck to you from another George!

Offline AgnesNitt

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Re: Best skates for around $150
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2017, 07:21:19 PM »
I  have to agree with lutefisk. You're a big guy. A pair of $150 skates will not give you enough support. You could trash them in a few weeks.

Also you might not be able to find cheap skates in your size. Jackson goes up to 13.
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Offline tstop4me

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Re: Best skates for around $150
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2017, 07:47:40 PM »
Yeah, you really need to spend around $300.  But if you primarily plan to skate around a pond, and have no plans to spin or jump, you might want to consider better grade hockey skates instead of figure skates.  $300 in hockey skates will get you more water resistant uppers plus removable stainless steel runners; that would be a more durable combo for pond skating.

Offline Query

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Re: Best skates for around $150
« Reply #4 on: July 15, 2017, 08:06:44 PM »
Here are some Iowa pro shops:

  http://www.superpages.com/listings.jsp?CS=L&MCBP=true&search=Find+It&STYPE=S&SCS=&C=%22ice%20skates%22%20iowa
  http://www.superpages.com/mapbasedsearch/?C=ice+skates&SRC=organic&STYPE=S&T=&S=IA&L=IA&city=&state=IA&dponmap=true&ALG=888&spheader=true&nam=true&clnbt=1&mp=true&&bpp=1

Call first - some probably only offer roller skates and/or skateboards, or maybe nothing at all.

BTW, if you take no lessons, and have no one to help, you can only go so far.

Offline nicklaszlo

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Re: Best skates for around $150
« Reply #5 on: July 15, 2017, 10:45:45 PM »
George:  Do your self a favor and roughly double you budget and get a pair of Jackson Freestyle boots. I've had two pairs of these and I recommend them.

I have to disagree.  I'm a bit smaller than George, and Freestyles were not stiff enough for me.  The pro shop waited until the boots had broken down to tell me that.

Offline lutefisk

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Re: Best skates for around $150
« Reply #6 on: July 16, 2017, 10:30:56 AM »
I have to disagree.  I'm a bit smaller than George, and Freestyles were not stiff enough for me.  The pro shop waited until the boots had broken down to tell me that.

Yes, but Nick, aren't you doing multi-rotational jumps?  From what I can gather elite skaters go through a couple pairs of the stiffest boots each year.  Recreational skaters like myself take years to wear out a single pair of boots.  I'd be way over-booted in top drawer boots.

Offline nicklaszlo

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Re: Best skates for around $150
« Reply #7 on: July 16, 2017, 01:04:52 PM »
Yes, but Nick, aren't you doing multi-rotational jumps?  From what I can gather elite skaters go through a couple pairs of the stiffest boots each year.  Recreational skaters like myself take years to wear out a single pair of boots.  I'd be way over-booted in top drawer boots.

No, I can only do single jumps.  My last skates were Risport RF2, which are marketed "for triple jumps".  They lasted fifteen months (about 270 hours of ice time, or around $2/hour for boots alone!).  For about six of those months I did only waltz jumps because I was preparing for a free dance competition.  I guess an elite male skater would probably break them down in less than two months.

I suspect that jumps are not really that important to boot choice and how long the boots last.  I think the weight of the skater and how hard they press in to their edges is much more important.  However, if your boots are broken down, you will notice it most on the jumps.

When I got the freestyles I could only do 1S and 1T.

Offline DressmakingMomma

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Re: Best skates for around $150
« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2017, 03:30:17 PM »
In terms of boot stiffness, there are too many factors for one-size-fits-all advice. I underboot my kid because even though she skates everyday, has all her singles, and has good power, edges and flow, somehow she is really light on her boots. She actually weighs a decent amount too, she is muscular and dense. If they are remotely too stiff, she can barely skate so she is in something quite a bit softer than recommended for her level/weight. She has never had to replace boots because she broke them down - it has always been from growth. On the flip side, my friend has a teeny, tiny lightweight little girl who chews through boots, so they have to go with really, overly stiff boots for her.

Too many factors go into boot decisions that what works for one person, doesn't for the next. I think you have to get through at least a couple of pairs of boots to really know what is and isn't going to work for you, and unfortunately, that process is expensive.

Offline Clarice

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Re: Best skates for around $150
« Reply #9 on: July 16, 2017, 07:41:01 PM »
Hi, George - I only just saw this thread; I am located in eastern Iowa. To my knowledge, there are no dedicated skate shops in the entire state. There are a few coaches who represent various manufacturers (I believe one of the Des Moines coaches does) - but I don't know that they carry any inventory you can try on. Most people in my club go to Chicago - either Rainbo, Triple Toe, or Gepetto's. There's a full service skate shop in Omaha. Not sure whether there's anything in Minnesota closer than the Twin Cities.