Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I've been wondering why all this "absorptive" soakers for figure skates are made of microfiber. In my experience microfiber does not absorb water very well! I've been looking to upgrade from my thin beginner-package soakers, but all the thicker ones I've seen seemed like flappy acrylic and I worried that they'll fall apart soon and not absorb well. Today I went into a pro shop asking about soakers, and they pointed me to hocky skate guards, which were made of terry cloth! What gives? Why do hocky blades get terry cloth while figure skate soakers get microfiber? Does anyone have any idea?
* Note that "microfiber" refers to fiber size, and not a specific fiber composition. Some materials are more absorbent than others. I dry my skates with polyester microfiber wipes, and they work just fine. "Microfiber" has become a popular advertising hype term for a variety of items; I personally have not come across microfiber soakers though.
* Similarly, "terry cloth" these days refers to weave and texture. Previously, "terry cloth" was all cotton, but not necessarily anymore. Again, absorbency varies a lot with material.
* I'm not sure why you're so focussed on absorbency. I do see some skaters using their soakers to dry their skates. Do you? I think it makes more sense to use a separate towel to dry up almost all of the water. The soakers then just need to absorb residual water and additional water from condensation, but this is minor compared to the water and slush coming off ice.
* Soakers are also blade covers, used to mechanically protect the blades from damage (by banging against each other and by banging against other objects) and to protect other objects (such as your kit bag) from being cut up by the blades, particularly the picks. For me, the more important criterion is durability of the soakers.
* AgnesNitt posted a link to terry cloth soakers, and there are several listed on Amazon as well. Just be aware that some soakers listed as terry cloth (such as the popular A&R TuffTerrys, which are the ones most pro shops near me carry) are not solid thick terry cloth anymore; they have a thin terry cloth outer cover and are stuffed with fiber fill of some sort. Plenty absorbent, but you need to handle them properly to avoid poking holes in them.