Skates for Beginners

[Isk8NYC]

I figured I would set up a thread to get some answers down before the onslaught of questioners arrives with the crisp weather.

If you were asked to help a beginner pick out skates,
what would you recommend?

[AgnesNitt]

A real beginner? Just learning?  Jacksons, probably the Mystique. They're inexpensive enough to get rid of them in a few months and by then you'll have an idea what you really want, will be out of group and have coach to advise you. Tiny tiny toepicks.

[Sierra]

The (now discontinued) Riedell White Ribbons are good beginner skates. I believe Riedell 121 is the similar model. I wore the White Ribbons for eight months, upgraded, and gave them to my mother (we are same shoe size.) She's been wearing them for five months and they haven't broken down yet, and she isn't a twig either, so they'd withheld to adult weight. They have a decent sharpening life compared to other rec blades. Riedell has a great beginner series, from the 121's and 112's and such, up to 133 TS-255 TS.

[Kim to the Max]

Many beginners go with Jacksons. They are a good skate with a good reputation for beginners. However, I would always suggest going to a qualified skate fitter in your area (if there is one available...I know some folks in Australia, the UK, and certain parts of the US have troubles finding a fitter). A good fitter can give you an idea of the brand and level of skates that are appropriate for skating level, weight, and height. A "good" skate for a LTS Freestyle 1 kid would be very different than what would be recommended for an adult at the same level. DO NOT, however, get a boot that is way too stiff. You will cause yourself more problems in the end.

[Sk8tmum]

For little kids, the Mystique is too much boot .. I've yet to see a young LTS skater able to bend them, and they get bad habits as a result. Better for the tinies is the Riedell line - you can get very light weight ones that are easy to bend, plus, the boot is lower cut than the Jackson (entry level Riedells are also cheaper than Jacksons, at least around here). The 110, 115, 121 (maybe discontinued?) are great for lightweight beginners (the age 3 and up crowd).

[SillyAdultSkater]

If they were confident they were going to keep at it for a bit, the risport etoile. Otherwise, graf davos with the recommendation to switch up at about the 2-foot spin level.

[kiwiskater]

The 110, 115, 121 (maybe discontinued?) are great for lightweight beginners (the age 3 and up crowd)

These are the 2010 range models, so not discontinued

The recommendation I got was 121's will last about a year of regular lessons (e.g. 1ce a week), if buying Riedell don't go below this. Other suggestions were Graf Prestige or Risport Etoile.

I ended up with Prestige because for about +$80 with the possibility of getting 1-2 yrs extra out of them then I figure its a better investment.

[jjane45]

For absolute beginners, I recommend recreational skates picked up from sports stores ($40-50 range), not brand name figure skates. No break in necessary, extremely easy to bend, and very small toepicks. Consider investing in real figure skates when graduating from learn to skate classes

[Isk8NYC]

I disagree with the cheap skates suggestion because I have to teach those LTS classes, lol.  

If a skater is just toodling around a pond, the cheap skates are fine, but if the skater is taking lessons, the skates hold them back in progressing and wastes lesson time.

As an instructor, I find it frustrating when a LTS student uses cheap rec skates, even an "absolute beginner."  The skates don't have the boot stability for one-foot glides and the blades are useless.  The blades are usually flat with no edges or rocker, so teaching stopping, turns and swizzles is slow and painful.  I can't tell you how many times skates have shown up with blades that were bent or mismounted and they hurt themselves in the struggle to control the skates.

Better to spend the extra $30 up front and get a safe skate that speeds progress, imo.

[Sk8tmum]

The absolute WORST skates for beginners, though, are those plastic ones with various celebrity/doll/cartoon character names on them that are usually in neon colours -not the ones that are made out of material/vinyl ,the ones that are hard plastic.  No, wait, actually there are worse; one kid showed up at LTS with skates that the blade could be interchanged with roller blade blades.  Both blades were horribly badly made; the rocker on the skates was a complete "U" shape, the kid had about 1 centimetre of contact with the ice.  Poor kid splatted ... but, the parents refused to admit that there "great deal" was not a good choice for the kid. Kid cried, parents couldn't understand why there was no progress ...

Sigh.