Does a high heel necessarily mean a high arched footbed?

[Arwen17]

Arwen17,  I meant no offence. I'm glad you managed to find or order skate boots that fit you. That must be wonderful.

I don't think that is true of most skaters, even those who, like me, ordered expensive custom fit boots from people recommended by our coaches and friends, and who we assumed were competent to do the fitting.

If you order stock boots, and frequently even custom boots, it is nearly impossible for most people to find skate boots that fit everywhere. On top of that, most of the custom boot makers assume that certain final modifications will be made by the in-store fitter.

Next time you see people taking off or putting on their skates, especially those who don't wear socks so you can see the feet, take a look at those feet. Notice how many of them have bruises in front of their toes, or bent toes, because they do slide into them, or because the boots were a little too short for one of their toes, obvious calluses and/or corns and/or blisters and/or other problems that were probably caused by their boots, in one or another part of those feet. Even some of the most competitive figure and hockey skaters.

So if some of us end up finding ways to compensate for poor fit, that doesn't mean we haven't thought long and hard about what we are doing, experimented with many potential fixes, and consulted with many other people on such problems. Including skate techs and boot makers.

A significant fraction of the people who say there isn't any space in front of their toes are constantly sliding their foot around, sometimes hitting their toes against the front of the boot. A few injure their toes or feet because they jam them against the front of the boots. What I mentioned wasn't especially atypical. I have also met people who in fact prefer to support their weight on their toes while doing figure skate jumps, and therefore want their toes to touch all the time - including some very competent skaters, and one of the world's best known skate techs who did his own jumps off of crossed toes, one of the things, along with touching the front of the toes against boots and shoes, that podiatrists frequently warn against.

Since you say there is no room in front of your toes to put anything, I just wondered if you were one of those people who put most of their weight on their toes while jumping, and don't support much of it on the upper part of the boot. And whether that causes any problems - e.g., whether you have ever fractured or broken anything, or developed hammer toes, or bruises, that way. Also, if so, whether you feel touching toes against the front of the boot gives you better control, or there is some other benefit.

Almost all of the kids at my rink skate in Edea now. Other than growing feet because they're growing up and having to buy larger sizes over time, none of the kids have skate issues. Their skates fit, pure and simple, regardless if they choose to use Edea or something else. It's not rocket science to find a skate that fits. It's completely possible. Almost everyone was in Jackson before Edea became so popular and those fit most people as well. Reading your descriptions is like reading about people saying this blade or that blade or boot suddenly helped them spin better when they couldn't spin at all. It's ridiculous. Being able to do basic spins is 90% technique and less than 10% equipment. None of the kids at my rink blame the equipment for lack of technical strength/skills.

I don't agree that the majority of people can't find skates that fit well. I think a majority of adult skaters like to whine about skates being the reason they can't figure out technique issues. Plus, since most American adults are generally unhealthy, it probably creates a lot more feet problems than we ever see in young, fit skaters. It's rare for me to see an unfit child skater or ballet dancer. Total opposite situation in adult skaters. They're usually unfit, with the fit ones being rare.

I jump. My toes are fine. There's no extra weight/pressure on them from the boot. I can't even comprehend what you are describing. This isn't pointe work in ballet.
I've never had any bruises, blisters, or anything. I've seen plenty of feet in my rink. They are fine. They are not covered in injuries like you want to believe.
Half the coaches don't even tightly lace up their skates a lot of the time (because they're there for sooo long every day, its just more comfortable to leave it super loose), or their blades are super-dull, and they still jump and spin like its nothing. That's called excellent technique, even when the equipment isn't even at its max potential.

[Christy]

I have big problems getting boots to fit me these days after several foot injuries, however as a child there was a choice of one brand and about 3 different models / stiffness in our rink skate shop and that's what everyone wore. I only skated for a few years and could only do the basics but have no recollection of any fit issues with my skates. All of my friends wore the same skates as me and I don't recall them mentioning any issues either, however there are posters whose children require custom boots so there really isn't a one size fits all skate (pardon the pun!).
I'd say that 50% of my adult skating friends wear stock boots with little or no customization whilst the other 50% really struggle to get a good fit because of foot issues such as bunions, etc. so the difference between children and adults could well be related to foot problems developed over their lifetime.

[LunarSkater]

I think a lot of initial fit issues come down to the fact that your typical fitter - not a factory fitter/rep - doesn't always have the best knowledge on what skates and modifications will work best with atypical feet. Two skates ago, when I was in desperate need of new ones, I was fit by three different people (including a very reputable tech) and was given three different answers. I picked what I thought would fit best after calling the factory and it worked out for me. I'm still in that size and width, even though I had to go semi-custom to get correct. I still have to modify them because there is no skating boot made that will support my high arch enough.

Back to the original question about feet in pain, have you tried an alternate lacing pattern or experimenting with tightness in different places to tide you over until you can get better-fitting skates? There are several variations out there for arch issues. Here's AgnesNitt's post about lacing for fit: http://icedoesntcare.blogspot.com/2015/12/techniques-for-lacing-your-skates.html.