What Brand of Skates do You Have?

[amandascw]

What kind of skates do you guys have? What do you like about that brand/your skates? Just curious! I have Risports and there not very common at my rink One of my favorite things about mine is the wide cuff profile and thats why I chose them over edeas.

[icedancer]

WHAT?  No Harlick or SP Teri or Klingbeil?

Wow.

[Isk8NYC]

Mod note: added extra poll options.  (I own Klingbeils, Jacksons AND Sp-Teri's, but I use the latter, day-to-day.)

[Ethereal Ice]

I am a newbie and in my intro discussed my skates because I think they are so cool. I have a pair of Riedell Silver Star 355 skates, a discontinued model that I found brand new on eBay with the basic MK single star blades for $100. They were ranked for some higher level jumping and are quite stiff, but as a plus sized skater and with a beginner blade on them they seem to work well for me. I have a narrow tapered foot, and they are a size 9A, I had read that Riedells were better for skinny tapered feet. I had measured my feet prior to buying them but it was still a gamble. Lucky for me after a couple weeks break in they fit like gloves, no blisters during the break in process either, just getting used to the stiffer boot and snugger fit (my cheap starter skates were too big for me). When I had them sharpened at the pro shop the guy said they looked to be in excellent shape (I had wondered about degrading of materials just sitting around over time). I was very lucky all around with them, got an excellent skate for very little money.

[icedancer]

Mod note: added extra poll options.  (I own Klingbeils, Jacksons AND Sp-Teri's, but I use the latter, day-to-day.)

I thought of Avanta this morning!

[Bill_S]

I'm in Riedells. No real reason except that they work for me.

Over the years...

[skategeek]

I've only ever tried on Jackson and Riedell; the Riedells were an awful fit for me and Jacksons were nearly perfect.  So at least for now I'm sticking with that.  If I ever get to the point where I'm considering much more advanced skates I'll look at more options, but that's probably years away if ever.

[ChristyRN]

Semi custom Jacksons. I apparently have a wiiiiiide forefoot and short toes.

[cittiecat]

I have Riedell Strides, size 8 Wide. They are my first "real" skates. Riddell had the best combination of length and width for my foot. I really like them, but I have really wide feet and ankles and I'm having an issue with lace bite on my right ankle because of how wide they are. I had to have the right pinkie toe area punched out. If I could go back again I would have order them semi custom with a wider tongue to help with my wide ankles.

[riley876]

What, no Canfly Sports option???!!??   

Seriously, my shiny new "rentals":



Had to upgrade my old skates to something with better ankle support (i.e. taller cuff) and sufficient room for my Orthotics From Hell.

Blades are bottom-end wilson mercurio blades 20+ years old.   Amazingly enough they're not flat yet.  Drag picks however are long gone (suits me fine, I only ever do figures and moves).

I'm chuffed with the look of them.  The general garishness and obvious plasticyness of these.  They're going to be great as a "snob filter".

[aussieskater]

Haha riley - was trying to work out how the blades were attached then I saw the coach bolts  .  The matching laces are a nice touch  .

In all seriousness, I sometimes wish that the lace+ratchet closure could become a "thing" in regular figure skates.  It would be so much easier to unclip and snug up the heel, instead of having to unlace the whole thing, then retying.  Especially because I always need to do both feet even if only one needs adjusting, as the other one will feel "left out"... (I need new boots and am putting it off, so I find myself having to snug up at least once most sessions.)

[Theresa_H]

Custom Jackson Elite 4200. They're okay, but they've never fit as well as my old Harlicks. I have had trouble with water/rot in the sole - had the soles replaced, and now 6 weeks later, I'm heading toward the same problem even though I take good care of them.  I won't purchase Jackson again for myself.

[beginner skater]

In all seriousness, I sometimes wish that the lace+ratchet closure could become a "thing" in regular figure skates. 

[/quote]

I liked the rentals with nothing but ratchets, you could ease off or tighten everything independently.
Now I have Jackson Artistes, bought off eBay, and I'm pretty pleased with them and how they fit me.

Those Canfly Sports look pretty neat.  Hockey? I admire your DIY skills Riley, although the pad safety pinned to my leggings has resulted in two holes

[riley876]

Those Canfly Sports look pretty neat.  Hockey? I admire your DIY skills Riley, although the pad safety pinned to my leggings has resulted in two holes

Not hockey.  They were actually inline freestyle skates.  As in for doing cone slalom freestyle (not "freestyle" in the figure skating sense of the term).   

Canfly Sports is a defunct Chinese domestic brand.  Basically these skates are a near clone of the Seba FR1.    If anyone is crazy enough to want to follow in my footsteps (or just wants some actual inline skates),  then the three brands to consider at the moment are Seba, Powerslide or Flying Eagle.    They all make a very similiar range of skates.

I did notice that Canfly Sports did actually make a traditional white figures boot, though it certainly wasn't leather.  FWIW.

Haha riley - was trying to work out how the blades were attached then I saw the coach bolts  .  The matching laces are a nice touch  .

I've since trimmed them to a minimal length BTW.   The laces did indeed come with the skates.   Matching laces to the cuff colour is a very much "in" thing in the inline slalom world.   On the higher end skates,  you can cheaply get "color kits" to change on a whim e.g.  http://www.proskatersplace.com/english/seba-fr-color-kit.html

[riley876]

My entire "fleet" (click to enlarge a bit).   From left to right:

Suregrip Rebel/Invader DA45 quad skates
Salomon FT8 (my previous inlines)
Canfly F2/Seba FR1 mongrel hybrid (current inlines)
Canfly F2/Wilson Mercurio ice skates (new current ice)
Bauer something ice hockey skates, with added articulated cuffs (experiment)
Salomon FT7 inlines (sans wheels)
Salomon FT7 inlines (previous ice skates, previous owners of Mercurio blades)
Shagged no name figure boots (original owner of Mercurio blades)
Also shagged no name figure boots (original owner of other set of Mercurio blades)
Tour something ice hockey boots
Other set of of mercurio blades, flat but with intact drag picks (bought to play with reprofiling).
Canfly inline frames + wheels
Other set of Canfly inline frames sans wheels
Not shown:  250+ wheels, 100+ bearings, laces, guards, axles, MANY more inline frames, etc etc etc

Nope, I don't have a problem AT ALL.

[icedancer]

LOL

I won't take a photograph but I could take a similar photograph that would include about 5 sets of blades ranging from figure blades to dance blades to a pair of Gold Seals that I picked up on ebay... - I tell people, "I have a closet full of skates and blades..."

[theoreticalgirl]

I still skate in the Klingbeils that I used as a competitive skater in... [wait for it] 1990. They're only now kiiiiiiind of breaking down, which I guess is a testament to the brilliance of the late Bill Klingbeil. I have a second pair of Klingbeils, made in 1994, that are waiting for me when these are completely done for, which I expect to be in 2050.