Thinking about blades; advice?

[skategeek]

So tomorrow afternoon I'm heading back to the shop so they can try to fix the warped blade on my brand new skates (Jackson Elles, with stock Mirage blade).  On the chance that it turns out they aren't salvageable and need to be replaced, I'm planning ahead and thinking about whether it would make sense to upgrade the blades or just stick with the Mirage.  I've spent the evening reading about blades in general online, and searching the forum for past discussions.  It looks like the next level up would be the Ultima Legacy/Coronation Ace/MK Pro/Eclipse Mist.  The main difference that I can find among these is that the Legacy has the same 8' rocker as the Mirage, while the others all have 7' rockers.  (I know there are other more subtle differences as well, like toepick style.)

So my first question: given that I'm a very low level skater and progressing very slowly (working on ISI beta/gamma/delta or USFSA Adult 3/4 skills; stalled out on backwards skills), would this be overkill? 

Second question: if I switch, should I stick with the same rocker radius, or might I be better off with a 7' rocker (easier turns and spins, which I've had trouble with, but less stability, if I'm understanding things correctly)?  Or would it really make no difference to me at this stage?

I've finally got properly fitting skates (previous skates were a size too big), so I'm already hoping that my skating will improve once I get the blade issue sorted out.  I'm sure I'd be fine with the stock blades for now, but if changing them might make a difference for me at this stage I'd want to think about it, and I don't want to make a rushed decision at the shop tomorrow if it comes to that.

[Live2Sk8]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those blades you mentioned if you need to get new blades and choose to upgrade.  You'd be able to stay with them as you progress with no problem.  I've only ever skated on 7' profile blades so I can't give you any advice there.  Most of the adults I know start off with the MK Professionals, which are 7' and stick with them unless they start working on doubles.  I've had no issue with stability at all with 7' radius.  Good luck!

[cbskater]

I don't know about all the different blades that you're considering but I love my Coronation Aces. I skate at ISI FS1 or In USFS, I'm working on Pre-Bronze skills. My previous too big boots had the Quest blades that come on the boots & I can tell you moving up to the Aces was a big improvement. I do wish that I'd had them when I was still at a lower level. I think that some things would have come easier to me. It may work to your advantage to upgrade your blades now, less things to relearn when you do eventually upgrade. For example, in my case apparently I was rolling up towards my toes a little when doing a 2 foot turn on the old blades. That just doesn't work on the Aces with the bigger toepick. I have to focus on keeping my feet flat to do the turn without scraping toepicks.

[skategeek]

It may work to your advantage to upgrade your blades now, less things to relearn when you do eventually upgrade. For example, in my case apparently I was rolling up towards my toes a little when doing a 2 foot turn on the old blades. That just doesn't work on the Aces with the bigger toepick. I have to focus on keeping my feet flat to do the turn without scraping toepicks.

That's good to know; thanks!

So now I just need to figure out how I would choose between the four blades I listed above if I decide to go for it.  The prices are about the same (not making a decision like this based on a $20-40 difference).  I've heard/read good things about all of them, and it seems like a lot of it comes down to coach/fitter recommendation and personal preference.  If I was working with a coach right now I'd ask them for advice, but I'm not.  Maybe I'll just see what the fitter says.

[fsk8r]

If you want to stick with the mirage, my sister had most of her singles on them and had tested through the equivalent of gold moves on them.
She's now moved up to the legacy or perhaps the Ace, I forget which.

Although most beginners I know start out on Aces when they get their first pair of "real" skates and then never move beyond that as they progress.

I would strongly recommend not going beyond this level of blade until you are more advanced as I know one adult who has hindered her progress by having blades too advanced for her (very aggressive toe picks).

[skategeek]

Just got back from the shop; we tweaked the blade and it's definitely straighter now.  Maybe not perfect, but neither is the other one, or a couple of other blades we looked at just for kicks.  Or my old skates, which I checked when I got home...  He said the grade 2 steel is softer and bends more easily.  Not upgrading for now, but if I decide to he recommended the Ace.  For now I'm just going to hope that this fixes the weird slipping that was happening on right inside edges, and see how much better I can do on properly fitting skates!

(I looked at some other blades on display while I was there… the weight difference between the Matrix Legacy and the Coronation Ace was huge! If I do get the Ace I might consider the lighter weight Revolution version.)

[rd350]

My understanding is that there are more sharpening issues with the revolution blades.  My fitter really did not want me to get revs or any kind.  Also, if you're boots are heavy, i'm not sure how much difference the blades will really make.

[Scamper]

Please help me understand.  You have new blades that have warped or they were warped and you have accepted a kind of fix?  or were these old blades or used blades?  If they were new and have warped or came warped they need to be replaced at no charge to you end of story.  if These are old or used that is a lesson learned.

[skategeek]

The details are in another thread, here: http://skatingforums.com/index.php?topic=6566.0  Short version is that I bought new skates with a stock blade and had trouble with the right blade slipping in odd ways when I first tried it out.  We first tried moving the blade over, which seemed like maybe it helped a little but didn't really solve the problem, but then I noticed that the blade was just slightly warped.  We fixed that today and I'll see if it fixed the slipping.

[Christy]

My personal experience is of MK Pro and Matrix Legacy - I found both totally fine and very easy to get used to and transitioning from MK Pro to Legacy took a few minutes. With the Matrix however you would need to ensure that you sharpener is able to sharpen them because of the wider chassis.
A couple of skate techs told me MK Pro is lighter than Coro Ace but I've never had a chance to compare them and I'm guessing that if there is a weight difference it's probably so negligible that it has no impact. Also recently a number of skate techs have been talking up the Eclipse blades and saying they will hold a sharpening for ages but again I have no personal experience.

[rd350]

I've been told the same about Eclipse and ended up with them sort of by default because a miscommunication and the Pattern 99's weren't in stock and I really like them.  I need a sharpening now at around 30 hours.  I honestly can't remember how that compares to my Coronation Aces though.

[rd350]

Plus, for anyone considering Eclipse, they come with a 60 day money back guarantee so almost a no brainer.