Taking care of boots

[cherry]

I am currently practicing lunges and shoot the ducks and I am just bothered that the soles keep on getting scratched. My soles are leather and even if I Sno-Snealed them already, the leather seems to absorb water and moisture. I'm thinking of getting tights with boot covers but I don't think it would make any significant difference. Any suggestions on how to prevent my leather from rotting? Thanks! 

[tstop4me]

Just to clarify:  When you say scratches on the sole, do you mean just the edges (sides) of the sole, or the flat surface (bottom) of the sole?  At any rate, if you've already applied Sno-Seal, your best option is to reapply more Sno-Seal.  Since Sno-Seal is primarily beeswax, once you've applied it, it would be difficult for another type of protectant (such as silicone) to penetrate and adhere.  Did you follow the directions properly for applying Sno-Seal?  It's important to pre-heat the leather before applying the Sno-Seal.  If you apply the Sno-Seal first and then heat the leather up, it's less effective, as explained here:


http://www.atsko.com/sno-seal-application-tips-and-instructions/

[Ethereal Ice]

I have boot covers that go over the boot and most of the sole, very inexpensive, got them on eBay for about five dollars. I don't wear them every day, just on days I might be practicing something that has me dragging my sole/boot, and for me that is a really new skill. Much easier to put on, for me anyway, than tights.

As for water damage, I find it helpful to use the really big puffy soakers when I first dry my blades and soles. After drying as good as I can, I pull the puffys up all around the blades, soles, and bottom of the boot. This pulls the moisture of the soles. When I get home I remove them, and just apply regular soakers to the blades only. Then I flip the puffys inside out to dry and always leave my zuca door open so my skates continue to dry. I also got the puffy soakers on eBay. They are kind of pricey, but work well to get the bottom of the boot super dry.

[cherry]

Hello tstop4me, the scratches I was pertaining to where those at the edges which touch the ice whenever you drag them when doing lunges. I did follow the instructions at atsko.com and I tried re-applying them last week after I skate.
@Ethereal Ice I have puffy soakers too but I haven't thought of pulling them up to the soles. Maybe I should try that too. But I tried heating it with hair dryer to dry them a little and re-apply sno-seal but I'm kind of hesitant on doing that often as the adhesive(?) on my boots and sole might come off.

[nicklaszlo]

Do NOT leave soakers on your skates.  Soakers are intended to protect your hands while you are handling the skates.  They are not for drying the boot.  They will trap moisture. 

I use boot covers and I tape my skates.  The boot covers get holes really fast.  I think they provide little protection from lunges but some protection from scuffs.  Taping skates is very effective at preventing lunge damage.  You can buy sk8 tape http://jenskates.com/sk8tape.aspx (online) or electrical tape (cheap from your hardware store, may not be available in white).

[Isk8NYC]

This is really difficult to do, but it makes lunges better/faster/stronger and protects your skates: don't drag the blade or the edge of your boot on he ice.  Think of "plopping" the ankle or big toe (side) in the ice rather than dragging the blade along to start/finish the lunge.  Your weight should be on the skating foot.  You'll have to shift your weight forward to get up while you lift your trailing foot off the ice.

I used to use skate tape just on the lunge spot because it does damage the painted leather, which is more noticeable than the sole damage. 

I can honestly say (as the Queen of Boot Rot) that the lunge scrapes are the least of your worries.  It's the sole area where the screws and plate attach that need vigilant protection against rot. Normally, its manufacturing flaws that causes soles to detach, assuming you're not overweight or very hard on your skates.  Rot rarely filters into the equation.

Don't Dry the leather with heat - it does more harm than good.  Let the leather dry naturally, then heat it up and apply the snowseal.

[tstop4me]

Do NOT leave soakers on your skates.  Soakers are intended to protect your hands while you are handling the skates.  They are not for drying the boot.  They will trap moisture. 

I think soakers do a lot more than that.  In general, soakers prevent objects from dinging up your edges and picks, prevent your edges and picks from banging into each other, and prevent your edges and picks from damaging other objects (including cutting up your storage bag) and from cutting up your body parts.  During humid weather, they also reduce the amount of condensation on the cold blades after a session.

I do agree you shouldn't use a soaker for drying blades (though I see a lot of people who do), and you shouldn't leave a damp soaker on a blade.  When I get off the ice, I dry my boots and blades with two separate microfiber wipes (one to get off the bulk of the water and slush, and the second for a final drying).  When I get home, I wipe off the boots and blades with a third wipe and put on a fresh soaker.  I store my skates on the floor, so the soakers also protect the floor from the blades.  I have some old skates, with soakers left on the blades, sitting in my closet for over 20 yrs.  Checked them recently during spring cleaning; no signs of rust.

[Ethereal Ice]

Do NOT leave soakers on your skates.  Soakers are intended to protect your hands while you are handling the skates.  They are not for drying the boot.  They will trap moisture. 

I use boot covers and I tape my skates.  The boot covers get holes really fast.  I think they provide little protection from lunges but some protection from scuffs.  Taping skates is very effective at preventing lunge damage.  You can buy sk8 tape http://jenskates.com/sk8tape.aspx (online) or electrical tape (cheap from your hardware store, may not be available in white).

I was pretty specific in my post that I dry my blades and skates well before applying my puffy soakers, and that I always remove my puffy soakers as soon as I get home from the rink to avoid trapping moisture on my boots, soles, and blades. They are left on for that hour or so following skating to wick any residual moisture away and then they are removed to allow my soles and skate bottoms to be open to air. That said, I replace them with a light terry soaker over the blade only when I get home. As T stop says, they protect the blade, they protect my bag from getting holes in it, they also protect me from getting scraped by the toe pick or blade when handling them, and by the time they are applied the blade is bone dry. This"double soaker" method requires some effort, but it keeps my boots and blades pristine.

[Bill_S]

I have some old skates, with soakers left on the blades, sitting in my closet for over 20 yrs.  Checked them recently during spring cleaning; no signs of rust.

I've had the opposite experience. Soakers left on my skates caused significant rust over the off-season. That's why I made this rack to keep them off the floor and in the open air. I can't trip over them either.



So it's obviously YMMV depending upon the situation.

[Ethereal Ice]

I've had the opposite experience. Soakers left on my skates caused significant rust over the off-season. That's why I made this rack to keep them off the floor and in the open air. I can't trip over them either.

So it's obviously YMMV depending upon the situation.

I wonder if it is a humidity issue. I live in a very dry part of northern California. Though the winters can be rainy, it is rare to see rust on cars etc.here, the air for a good eight months out of the year is extremely dry. I was born in NC, completely different story back there.

[tstop4me]

I wonder if it is a humidity issue. I live in a very dry part of northern California. Though the winters can be rainy, it is rare to see rust on cars etc.here, the air for a good eight months out of the year is extremely dry. I was born in NC, completely different story back there.

Oh, for sure, it's dependent on the humidity and chemical contaminants in the air (especially salt if you live by the ocean).  In my case, the old skates were stored in a bedroom closet; heat in winter and AC in summer.  There were several pairs of my daughters skates when she was a kid (all grown up now), as well as several pairs of my worn out skates; so I didn't put any special protectant on the blades.  Fortunately, my rink is open year round.  But, if I intentionally had to store my good skates away for an extended period, I'd coat the blades with wax, grease, oil, or silicone and then slip an old pair of soakers (not ones I regularly use) over them.  I don't care to have uncovered blades about.  By the way, when I first started skating many years ago, soakers weren't called soakers, and they weren't marketed for keeping blades dry; they were simply called blade covers, and were marketed for protecting the blades off the ice (in distinction to blade guards worn when walking on the rink floor).

[Query]

Needless to say, we all have different procedures and opinions about how to take care of boots and blades. I had one pair of boots for about 12 years, used for thousands of hours of ice time, and some blades for many years and over a thousand hours - but I took care of both fairly well, as explained below. Also, I am not in the very highest humidity type of climate, and do not live in a corrosive environment, like near a salt-sea shore or desert.

There is a difference between protecting your boots from rot, and protecting the blades from rust.

I don't have trouble with my boots, because I leave them out to air dry. I NEVER put them in a bag, suitcase, Zuca, car trunk, etc., with the possible rare exception of an open mesh bag. If I use that open bag, I never put anything else in it wet, e.g., a towel, shirt, etc.

I regularly seal my outsoles with Sno-Seal, so they don't rot. Some people here use Silicone.

I sometimes now play rink-guard on a water-covered outdoor rink. The boots sometimes get soaking wet. Then I dry the boots with a towel too. I do worry that much water could make my boots eventually rot. I haven't got a really good solution to that.

The same would apply if my feet sweat a lot.

I used to heat-dry ski boots used in mixed wet/snow conditions, but I'm not sure my skate boots are quite as heat resistant. I think if you used boot driers limited to 99 degrees (about body temperature), like some of the Dry Guy brand driers, you would be pretty safe - but they wouldn't dry very fast. I've used them some, mostly to keep the boots warm in transit, because I don't like cold feet, but not much to dry them.

I dry my blades with a towel completely immediately after skating. Before applying soakers. That way, the soakers don't get wet, and I can leave them on. But if I am going to store the blades for more than a couple days, I take the soakers off. If for some reason, I have to apply the soakers while the blades are wet, I take them off as soon as I can, and use a second pair of completely dry soakers, when transporting them in the car, because moving around might scratch the edges. If the environment was dirty, I would leave the second pair on to keep out the dirt.

Soakers and other blade guards need to be cleaned! Dirt can destroy your edges very fast, especially if you walk on them, even in guards.

I used to oil the blades after drying them if it would be more than a couple days before I skated again, which prevented rust even more. But with stainless steel (Ultima Matrix) blades, that isn't needed - for me. If I lived in an even more humid climate than DC (where it rains almost every summer day, but it eventually goes down - and I bring the boots inside, where we have a de-humidifier), perhaps I still would, because there is no such thing as a completely stainless steel. When I used non-stainless-steel blades (such as most MK and Wilson blades), I oiled the blades after every skate.

I used to oil boots with Lexol once in a while, back when I had single-layer leather boots. But with multi-layer coated boots, you can really only oil the inside - if that.

If I lived near the sea shore, I would wash the blades before drying them, and store the blades in a second pair of extra-dry soakers. Because the salt in the air makes ANY steel rust really, really fast, even marine grade steels. Especially the "high carbon stainless" steels used in stainless steel skating blades. I've had even marine-grade steel bolts in and around marine environments rust completely. (I've sea kayaked, and camped on beaches...) Though skating in indoor rinks probably doesn't expose them to as much salt as skating outside would.

I handle my blades carefully, and so do not need cut protection for my hands. I understand that isn't possible for some people. For example, if you like to bounce the boots in your lap, or you carry the boots in such a way that they cut you. I carry my boots upside down, with my hands between the mounting plates, and the tops of the blades - which aren't sharp. (Of course that means the weight of the boots is supported by the mounting plate screws, so they have to be mounted well.)

I also use soakers lined with Kevlar at the bottom, which last longer - I can walk on the rubber mats just outside ice rinks a little using them on the blades. I sometimes prefer them to plastic blade guards, because they fit in my coat pockets, so don't get stolen. In principle, walking on your blades on the rubber mats wears down the blades much more quickly than skating, and can also bend the edge to the side, which makes them skid a lot; so using soakers or other guards is a big deal. Though I confess I sometimes don't bother anymore - I don't keep my blades as sharp as I used to. Plus, as a part-time rink guard, and volunteer-instructor, I sometimes don't have time to do everything right, because I sometimes have to get on and off the ice too quickly and often to do that. Many coaches have the same issue. The careful handling you can do as an amateur isn't always practical as a pro.

My blades also last as long as they do in large part because I don't let professional sharpeners touch them. I sharpen my own, carefully, using purpose-built hand tools. That way, I remove less steel with every sharpening.

I use boot covers when practicing lunges. I also try to do what Isk8NYC said about touching down on the side of the boot, not on the blade - because I was taught that letting the blade touch on a lunge is bad form. OTOH, the underpush of a progressive or crossover is supposed to progress from the blade to sliding on the side of the boot. So my boot covers wear out fast. I never tried skate tape. Probably should.

BTW, the biggest factor in boot life is probably how well they fit. If there is room for movement inside the boot (other than sliding forward and back ABOVE the ankle, when you flex and point, boots break down very fast. I work very hard at getting a perfect fit.

Finally, I'm not a great skater. I don't jump very high, or rotate very fast. Real skaters sometimes break their blades, and I never have.

P.S. This is what I do. Other people, as you can see, do other things. You will have to make your own compromises with time, cost, and reality. I go further to protect my gear than most people. Kids who don't pay for their own equipment, and adults with a lot of money, are often pretty careless with their equipment.

[Ethereal Ice]

Soakers and other blade guards need to be cleaned! Dirt can destroy your edges very fast, especially if you walk on them, even in guards.

-detailed but interesting info on blade and boot care trimmed back-

Wow Query, that is some great info. I agree that we all have our routines that work for us, I also like to read of other folk's care routines because it sometimes gives me food for thought about something to add to my routine. I also always keep my skates open to air and agree that it is critical for skate longevity. Even though I now use a Zuca, it is open most all the time, starting on the ride home from the rink. I only zip it closed if I am going to pull it somewhere. I also slide in a Stink-eeze critter for the ride home. They seem to help absorb any immediate sweat from my footsies, I remove them once we get home so the whole skate can breathe.

I wanted to add on to the comment about keeping soakers and guards clean. I am an RN, and a bit of a germaphobe as a result. When I first started skating, I was getting infections in my cuticles/nail beds of all places. It took me a while to finally connect the two and figure out what was going on. My hands were getting a bit dry from the cold and wet of the rink, my gloves were catching the dry skin creating hangnails and places for bacteria to enter, and the bacteria from my dirty blade towels and soakers were likely contributing to the infections themselves.

I pondered just how incredibly dirty my blade towels and soakers were getting from the ice and from touching my blades that had been walking around on the mats...eww. As a nurse I should have been more diligent about keeping them and my hands clean, I have since revised my routine in that regard, it is probably overkill for most, but the infections went away, so I will share it just in case anyone else has a similar issue.

The first thing is clean blade towels. I ordered a large set of cheap terry cloths to use just for our blades (I take care of my husband's towels and soakers too), and every other skate or so when we get home, I toss them in the dirty laundry and restock our skate bags with clean ones.

The second is washing soakers. I throw our soakers in the laundry every Friday afternoon and put a clean pair on our blades (we have plenty to rotate).

The third thing is my rink routine. Before I use my drying towel at all, I gently swipe the blade down with a surface antibacterial wipe. After drying, applying soakers etc, and closing up my Zuca for the trip out to the car, I use the antibacterial hand gel I hang on the outside of my Zuca.

Again, I realize this is overkill for some, but those infections were extremely painful, and though I an a fairly religious hand washer, it just was not enough. My husband reminded me just how gross my blades were likely getting with all the stuff that winds up on the ice (spit, snot, sweat, blood), yum. And that made me really rethink my process. It took me a while to come up with the combo of washing stuff and use of antibacterial  products before the infections finally went away.

[tstop4me]

My husband reminded me just how gross my blades were likely getting with all the stuff that winds up on the ice (spit, snot, sweat, blood), yum. And that made me really rethink my process.

Well, we should be grateful we're skaters, not swimmers.   

[dlbritton]

Well, we should be grateful we're skaters, not swimmers.   

That cracked me up, but then I remembered my first goal after getting off crutches is to start swimming laps.
I'll stay in the lap pool and away from the family pool.