Jackson Freestyles vs. Riedell 225 Motion?

[Lachesis]

Hi! Like many others, I'm looking to upgrade my skates and I need some help! I also posted this on the Golden Skate forum, but I wanted to check in with you guys as well.

Some background: I'm an adult skater, started skating a few years ago on Jackson Artistes with a Mark IV blade. They're a little big, but overall, they've been good skates. I'm an average sized woman (not huge, but definitely not a teenager anymore), and I have decent knee-bend, but I'm not tremendously hard on my skates. I spent a lot of my "beginning" time working on turns and footwork, and I'm getting ready to test the Adult Bronze MITF. I also have consistent (but...ugly...) single salchows and toe loops, though I haven't done any freestyle tests.

I actually haven't noticed anything wrong with the pure quality of my current boot or blade; I learned two single jumps and a number of turns, and it feels secure enough to start landing bigger/harder jumps when my skill level gets there. I'm looking to upgrade because, as I start skating more, and start doing harder technical content, the fact that my skates are a little big is really starting to grate.

I tried out a pair of the new Jackson Freestyles from my local pro shop first--the person who fitted me insisted that my current skates were the right size, so I tried them in that size. Turns out, I really should not have listened to him--not only were they too big, in trying to tie them tight enough to mimic the correct size, the laces ripped open my left hand in three different places.

I measured myself at home, and according to the size chart, I was actually a full size smaller. When I went back in to the pro shop to explain the situation, he had me try out that smaller size--in a Riedell. It actually really well, though because I have a wider toe box and narrower heels (the reason I went with Jacksons in the first place!), I had to try them out in a wide size.

He might just be traumatized from having me bring the skates back with evidence that they really were too big, but since I tried on and liked the size of the Riedells, he's really pushing for me to buy the Riedell 225 Motion. I'm sympathetic to his point that I've struggled in finding a boot that feels good, and since I know the Riedell in that size and width does, I should go with that. That said, I went with the Jackson Freestyle for a lot of good reasons (the cushy interior! the wide toe box and narrow heel! the decent pre-attached blade!), and I'm worried about switching.  I want to support this local business, especially since he took back the skates that didn't work even though he really didn't have to, but I'm also more and more reluctant to trust his advice as so much of what he says ends up contradicting my research (e.g. that my Riedell and Jackson size should be the same, that Jackson doesn't make boots that are wider in the toe, MY ACTUAL SIZE FOOT).

Here's what I would love some thoughts on:

1. Stiffness: I'm still learning single jumps, beginning spins, and some of the harder turns. When I put the Freestyles on, I was OVERWHELMED by how stiff they were--it felt like I was trying to splint my ankle in comparison to my worn in, plastic skates. (And I would have kept the plastic skates through all of my single jumps, if the fit wasn't getting so irritating!) The Freestyles are only a 45 in stiffness, though, while the 225 Motion is 70. I'm worried I won't be able to bend my knees or lace them properly. That said, I hate buying anything for my feet, and I would love to learn an axel some day (a genuinely possible goal), so if buying a better boot is a smart long-term strategy, I'm interested. Does anyone have an opinion on how stiff is too much for someone at my level, or how the new Freestyle and the Motion compare?

2. Sizing: the pro shop guy insists that the Jackson and Riedell sizes match up really closely, but I'm not as inclined to trust him now (sadly, I can't just go somewhere else, because this is the only pro shop in town, and, again, I do want to support him since he may end up eating the cost of the Freestyles that didn't work out for me). According to their size charts, they're very close (within 1/8"-2/8"), but I've heard that Jacksons run a little bigger, so if anyone knows about that. Similarly--I was wearing the Riedell in Wide, which according to the Kinsie's Closet chart, is about the same as a Jackson width C, but I've heard that Jackson's run wide in the toe box.

3. Blade: If I do end up going with the Riedell, should I upgrade from the default Eclipse Astra blade? I don't know a ton about blades, but the Aspire XP that's on the Freestyles has a larger pick and seems to have a better "reputation" as a blade.

4. Experiences: Has anyone tried either or both of these skates? How did they compare?

[icepixie]

My Riedell size is half a size smaller than my Jackson size.  I found Jacksons are MUCH wider in the toebox, a bit narrower in the heel.  For reference, my Riedell Wides felt narrower than my Jacksons in a B width through the ball and toebox.  However, I haven't taken out the insoles and compared width or anything.

I think my Reidells were the predecessor of the Motion, or possibly one level below, and I broke them down within about eighteen months, from early LTS through Salchow.  But I'm really hard on shoes and I think it translated to skates.  I went from that to Jackson Premieres and had no issues with the stiffness.

My Riedells came with the Eclipse Crescent blade, which a quick google suggests is similar to the Astra.  I was astounded at how much better my skating got when I switched to a Coronation Ace.  I've never tried a low-level boot-blade Jackson combination and can't compare.

If you like your current Jacksons and they've lasted, my thought is to insist on the Freestyles in the correct size.

[dlbritton]

I skate in Riedell 255 Motions (mens 8 1/2 Wide). I went with Riedell because their mens Wide was wider in the ball of the foot then the corresponding Jackson Wide according to the 2 respective sizing charts.

I started with a 255 size 9 Wide because the fitter at my rink wasn't very familiar with Riedell, they stock and sell mostly Jackson. Ater several months I figured out they were too long. For my second pair I went to a different fitter that just looked at my feet and said I was definitely an 8 1/2 Wide, then measured and that is what I needed. (Aside: The 9s were in my car when it was stolen, hence new boots). The 8 1/2 Wide fits fine. Maybe the Riedell mens are slightly different then the womens sizes because my private coach said Jacksons usually run wider than Riedell in the same size.  To get the same width in a Jackson I would have had to get a size 9 1/2 or 10 Wide!

Complete aside: At Adult Nationals last year I was fitted for Edea's and the Ice Fly's fit perfect right out of the box. The Chorus would definitely need shaping so I wasn't able to tell if the size they recommended was really correct. I am working on Pre-Bronze MITF and single jumps so Ice Fly's would certainly be overkill, although I sure did like how they felt.

[Slowpoke]

I skate in Riedell 225s and find them very comfortable.  I also have a pair of Riedell Diamonds as my "backup skates".

I skated on the Astra blades for several months, and then bought a set of Eclipse Aurora stainless steel blades for both pairs of skates.

Nothing wrong with the Astra blades, but I skate almost every day and the Auroras do not need sharpening quite as often.

[tothepointe]

I actually preferred the Eclispe Astra over the Ultima Aspire. Probably because the Astra has a 7' rocker and the Aspire an 8' https://ice.riedellskates.com/2014/eclipse-blade-month-astra