Hi,
I am adult beginner, improving edges, 3turns, half jumps currently. I am choosing my first "real" ice skates and blades.
I wanted to choose either JW Coronation Ace or MK pro but local reseler of Jackson is strogly against that, saying that he never heard that adult beginnner could start with rocker 7 and I should choose rocker 8 and stricktly according to my skating level. He recommends Ultima Aspire XP. On the other hand I read that it is good to start with rocker 7 to improve edges and change to 8 when starting with double jumps... do you have experience with that?
And one more...
I've found huge discount on JW Pattern 99 - for EUR 99 (almost half price od Coronation Ace). I think that this blade has enlarged toepicks and I read that it is not good for beginners and it is not good to grinding then off due to integrity if blade (skaterslanding.com). They recommed smaller toepicks for beginners. But the price..!
They have also huge discount for MK Phantom Special - for EUR 150 - still cheapper then Coronation Ace or MK Pro.
What do you think about it?
<<Emphasis added>> Your skate tech may not have heard of it, but adult beginners have started off on 7' rockers for many decades. I think it was really Ultima that introduced 8' rockers for beginner blades. Not sure when they came on the scene.
Wilson and MK [once really the only games in town] for mucho years had 7' rockers on their beginner blades; they didn't introduce 8' rockers on beginner blades until 2015 [their websites currently show beginner blades only with 8' rockers; not sure whether their beginner 7' rockers have been discontinued, or whether their websites need an update]. Not sure what the reason is for Wilson and MK to migrate to 8' rockers for their beginner blades. Any coaches here who can clue us in?
Riedell lists 7' rockers on all their beginner blades, sold separately and as part of their Instructional Series and Recreational Series kits; they don't supply rocker info for their cheapest Beginner Series kits.
Long time ago I started with the MK Single Star (discontinued), MK Pro, and Wilson Coronation Ace. I don't think you will overblade with either the MK Pro or the Coronation Ace (both are considered intermediate blades). I have no experience with the P99 or Phantom Special. I am currently on the Paramount Freestyle 12" (nominally comparable to Wilson Gold Seal). I would
not recommend the Gold Seal profile for a beginner: it has an 8' rocker, a 12" spin rocker, and a high heel lift. If you rock forward, the bottom toepick won't rescue you, and the blade can "scoot" under you. So you need a reasonable degree of control before switching to that profile.