I have one pair OTB and another pair of footed tights. I would like to buy a pair of footless tights (so I can have the footed look even with socks on) but I'm wondering if I'm going over the top. After all, it's another $15-$20 that I could spend on something else. I don't wear tights for practice. I only plan to wear tights on competitions, but I haven't even competed yet, so I have two pairs of tights that I've never used, and I'm planning to buy another one. Weird logic, right? ???
How many pairs of tights do you have, and what variants (OTB, footed, footless)? How long do they last? Do you only wear them for comps, or do you also wear them for practice?
I wear footed tights under leggings for practice, and I have 4 pairs of them that get washed weekly and rotated. I've only been skating seriously (3-5x per week) since July, and I've needed to replace 2 pairs. Tights do seem to have a limited lifespan.
I wear OTB tights for competition, and I have three pairs of those. I buy a new pair after the old ones get a hole in them, which seems to happen after about three events. So two of those pairs have holes, and I doubt I'll wear them again, but they are in too good of shape to throw away otherwise!
Thankfully I scored those for half off at a dance store clearing out their skating section, plus I had a living social deal, so they didn't cost nearly the normal $20 per pair!
I've a mixed collection. I've got competition wear footed and OTB tights, I've synchro competition OTB tights.
I've then got about 5 pairs of footed tights for practice wear. I skate about 5 times a week and wear tights whenever I skate.
I wear US IceWear tights for practice (and singles competitions) as they are good value and last a long time. I find they fade before I get holes. If I do ladder any of the footed tights they are reused until they properly die, I just wear them under leggings.
I have:
2 x Danskin footed
3 x Mondor footed
1 x Rainbo footed
It sounds like a lot, but when you consider that one of the Danskins and one of the Mondors have huge runs in the thighs (making them completely inappropriate to wear other than under pants) and that I prefer to keep the Mondors good for competition, it's not so bad. The other pair of Danskins has pretty much had it; I've been wearing them for over a year and well...they're just not stretchy anymore!
I have...
- 2 pairs non skating black footless tights from M&S
- 2 pairs Mondor stirrup (sale bargains - I wanted to try out Mondor sizing!)
The regular footless ones last me ~ 9 months per pair - worn until they completely fall to bits as they are worn for practice under my trousers! I skate 3 times a week usually.
Only tried the mondor ones a couple of times since my 3rd pair of M&S ones died so no idea how long they'll last...
Planning to buy a couple of pairs of footless mondor ones for testing only (1 x wear & 1 x spare just in case I rip the test ones getting dressed or nipping to the loo on test day!). I don't compete.
Did have a pair of Danskin OTB ones but they didn't suit me so I gave them to a friend.
dd has 6 pair of knee highs and a drawer full of holey tights. I need to sit down and mend them...one day.... I'm not buying OTB tights anymore. for her next comp I'll get her 2 pair of dance tights. Much cheaper, more colors. :D
I have 3 pairs of OTB tights, and I only wear them for competitions.
Otherwise, I never wear tights.
I have six sets of footed/footless tights. Most of them are at least five years old, so I really need to replace them. I used to skate three times a week wearing footless over footed, giving me two weeks worth of rotation.
one single pair of OTB lasted me thru four shows and one exhibition. There are small holes that got mended by nail polish. I do have two spare pairs.
I practice in pants and informal apparel was fine for ISI test at home rink.
I'll add that I sew up the hole in my skating tights as soon as they form. Dance tights I would use nail polish, and then throw them out. Skating tights are too expensive for that!
I wear tights under my leggings and I have 4 pairs that I rotate through. I also have a 3 or 4 pairs still in the packaging, but I don't open up another until I've retired a pair from my regular rotation.
I also keep knee-highs in my skate bag in case I might skate without wearing my normal skating clothes.
I would just wear two pairs of dance tights for competition or testing - wider range of colors but more importantly I can get body tights so there's no "waist bump" from the elastic :)
I have at least a dozen pair of footless tights. Some are footed that I cut the toes out of when I started going barefoot in my skates. Most I bought for $1 or $2 at a Capezio outlet (no longer available) or DannysWarehouse. I also have 2 pair of OTB's that I got on sale somewhere and which are reserved for testing (something I do very rarely.)
I have three pairs of over-the-boot and one pair footed. I got the footed ones first but decided I like OTB better. One of the pairs of OTB has runs, so I wear those for practice and bring both of the other pairs to comps in case one unexpectedly rips.
It's hard to find skating tights in my town. I think there is only one dance store that sells them, and there's no guarantee they won't be out. So even if you only wear tights for competitions and tests, having three pairs just in case is not a bad idea. The younger kids seem to rip theirs a lot faster than I do.
I also have four pairs of Mondor and Rainbo trouser socks/knee-highs for practice, but I usually just skate barefoot.
I have two pairs of skating tights. Until a few weeks ago, I had only one pair, but I always forgot to do laundry after class and so I'd end up washing them the day before I skated again, which meant they wouldn't have time to dry adequately and would be damp at the waistband. So I bought a second pair and now I alternate between them.
Before that, I used knee-highs, but then I switched from fleece pants to leggings and found I needed the extra warmth of full-length tights.
I've only been skating for five or six months total, but none of my tights or knee-highs have worn out or got holes in them. I only skate once or twice a week, though, so they don't get much use compared to those who skate more often.