It might be worth telling us approximately what city you live in, and people here might be able to recommend a good fitter.
Many skating rinks and many (most) of the best fitters are closed now due to the pandemic. If you can't find a really good fitter now, perhaps it is worth waiting until you can find someone good. Like Loops said, fit is paramount.
It sounds like you are looking for an intermediate level boot, and intermediate level blades. Once you have selected the brand, you can go to the maker's website and look for boots or blades they consider to be in that category. High end boots can be relatively heavy, and may also be uncomfortable for you - they may literally never break in. Lower end boots - especially once made out of nothing but a single layer of leather - sometimes wear out in a month or two, even if they fit well. I've had both experiences. "Beginner blades" and high end freestyle blades also sometimes cause problems for intermediate level skaters.
Some low-intermediate level boots come with pre-mounted blades. But if they don't happen to be mounted so as to balance your particular feet, they are often hard to move. Your good fitter should also help you pick the blade type and size, and mount them for you.
It might be worthwhile to pick a "heat-moldable" type of boot - may be more expensive, but a lot of people say they get better results by heat molding. If your fitter doesn't have the oven to do heat molding, it is unlikely they are any good. But Edea is a special case. They can be heat molded, but not in ovens. Only an expert who has been specially trained to heat mold Edea boots is likely to do a good job, and their rep once told me that they cannot be molded to fit people like me with toes that are substantially wider than their heels.
If you cannot find a good fitter in a store that you are willing to drive to, there are some other options. (Like Loops, people often drive or fly for many hours or more - I wish I had.) E.g., you can contact the boot maker and ask if they have any traveling fitters coming to your approximate area, in the near future. That is, if they are doing that during the pandemic.
A small number of coaches are good at helping people pick and modify boots to fit you well - but for some reason, most aren't. Aside from asking multiple other customers, it is hard to know which applies.
Despite Loops advice that you should try the boot on before buying, it is not at all unusual for people with unusual foot sizes to find there is nothing in their size, even in the best stores. Ladies are more likely to find fitting boots than guys, but even some ladies can't find anything.
Also, you could try bringing some cheap ($1 - $2) insoles to your fitting, along with some cloth athletic tape (also called coach tape). If a given boot is just a little too large, you may be able to add the insole (which you could cut to the width of your feet) to make it snug, and use the tape to make minor shape adjustments to that insole. If it is a little bit loose on any part of the sides, you can cut the insole extra wide, and wrap it around the sides of your feet.
But if you need to make a big adjustment, you don't want to go too far with such modifications, unless you are willing to work a lot harder at boot modification that most people are willing, because there are a lot of other factors to consider. For example, if the place along the length where the bottom of the boot bends upwards doesn't match the place in the ball of your foot where it bends upwards easily, that could be very painful, and over time you can injure your foot.
Also, it is possible your fitter will be offended by the idea you would make your own modifications. If he or she is really good, they can make professional quality modifications, and that is likely to be worth it.
I personally don't think it is a great idea for non-experts to try to order mail order boots and blades without the help of a professional fitter, if there is any choice at all. Even if you somehow manage to get a good fit, it helps a lot to get a good fitter to make final adjustments. Some people here have mail ordered, and lucked out, but a lot of discussion threads in this forum are by people who tried that, worked really hard to modify the boots to work, and eventually gave up and ended up going to a good fitter to get another pair.
Good luck!
P.S. I have a web site on modifying boots yourself - but it is much better to get something that fits in the first place.
P.P.S. Given that trying on boots is a very, very good idea - do you really want to try on boots other people have touched during a pandemic?
Topic: What skate do you recommend for new adult skaters? (Read 2993 times)