Skate Buying Adventures

[Orianna2000]

I went to USASkates in Anaheim. They're right across from the Mighty Ducks skating rink. According to their site, they're the only figure skating store in southern California. There were several other Harlick dealers listed for the area, but they had names like "Hockey Pro" or whatever, so I'm guessing they weren't specialized in figure skating. This place definitely knows figure skating. They had a special seat that's really high up, so the fitter can sit on his stool and reach your feet easily, without having to crouch on the floor.

As far as breaking them in, I've never had pain with breaking-in skates beyond maybe two or three hours of skating. Typically, it was my ankle bone rubbing against the side of the skate, but it stopped after a few hours of skating. Other than that, none of my skates had a painful break-in. But, obviously, none of them really fit me, either, so there's no telling how that will affect it. I wish I could get them heat-molded, but it would be a five-hour drive to get that done, and I don't even know if they can be heat-molded.

I'm a little concerned about getting the blades mounted. The shop in CA will do a temporary mounting, but they said for the permanent mounting, it'll need a layer of silicone put between the sole and the blade, to waterproof it. Since there is no shop in my area that can do that, I have to find out if the rink manager who does sharpenings and punchings can do it, or if I'll have to drive several hours to the nearest place that does that sort of thing. It's possible the pro-shop in Little Rock, Arkansas will be able to do the mounting; if so, it's only a 2 hour drive, instead of 5 hours.

[Sk8tmum]

They are custom skates, so it is very unlikely that you would need heat molding.  These are built to fit your feet, after all.  In terms of breaking them in: please follow the guidelines that Harlick gives you. They are very specific in terms of how to do it, and it does work.  The other thing to remember is that when you lace them, you do need to pull the laces tight around your foot. The way they cut the boot, it "wraps" around your foot, and, by pulling the laces in tight, you pull the boot into proper alignment.

Are you getting Harlick to waterproof them? if so, then, you wouldn't need the silicone layer. Frankly, my DD's skates are simply sno-sealed, she's often careless about drying her boots, and we've never had an issue with her skates; her "backup" pair (used for coaching and pleasure skating) is now 4-1/2 years old, heavily used, and there is no water damage at all.  All she has to remember is to take them out of the bag and put them, without soakers, in a safe place between wearings.  Since she's been using a Transpack bag for her backup skates, it's even less of an issue ... the side mounted mesh skate holders are fantastic, as they don't trap the skates in a humid environment.

[Orianna2000]

The guy at the shop said that they prefer to waterproof the skates themselves, rather than to have Harlick do it. I'm not sure why. I wasn't entirely thrilled, since they charge for it and Harlick doesn't. But whatever. I was so overwhelmed with the whole process, I wasn't able to argue the point.

Once the skates arrive, he'll waterproof them, but he said I would still need to add silicone to the blade, to keep moisture from going through the screws and making them rot out.

I'll definitely follow the instructions for breaking the boots in. I want to do everything right with these skates, so they'll last as long as possible, so I've been researching how to care for them and everything. Hopefully I can get four to five years out of them, instead of just one or two. I can't afford new custom skates every year or two.

[irenar5]

They are custom skates, so it is very unlikely that you would need heat molding. 

I have custom Harlicks.  We heat molded them and they still had to be punched out in a few areas.  All 4 of my ankle bones needed punching out as well as one spot on the ball of the foot.  (On a side note, my stock Riedells did not need any adjustments after the heat molding, so go figure...)
You can probably do the heat molding yourself at home.  Check with Harlick, though- to make sure the warranty will not be voided if you do.
Some manufacturers actually have instructions how to do this at home.

[Orianna2000]

Yeah, I am a little worried about my ankle bones. In my first two pairs of skates, they rubbed against the sides of the boots. With the Classiques, they had this memory foam padding through the ankles, and my ankle bones made a permanent indentation in the foam. I expected it would fill back out in-between skating sessions, but it didn't. So I don't know what kind of padding the Harlicks will have, whether I'll need the ankle bone area punched out or not. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

[irenar5]

Yeah, I am a little worried about my ankle bones. In my first two pairs of skates, they rubbed against the sides of the boots. With the Classiques, they had this memory foam padding through the ankles, and my ankle bones made a permanent indentation in the foam. I expected it would fill back out in-between skating sessions, but it didn't. So I don't know what kind of padding the Harlicks will have, whether I'll need the ankle bone area punched out or not. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

When Harlick gets your order, I would call them and let them know that you live very far away from a skate shop with a punching machine. Ask them for a suggestion- maybe they can prepunch the ankle?  Mine were incredibly tight- I could not even lace them up at home without pain, let alone   skate in them. The punching is done in the leather- sort of a little outpocket.  Eventually your ankle bones make a permanent  indentation in the inside foam as well.   

[hopskipjump]

I'm sure too if the skates are going to Anaheim and not her directly, they can punch the ankle.

[Orianna2000]

The trouble with pre-punching is, they wouldn't know exactly where my ankle bones are, so they might punch the wrong place. But it's okay, there is a guy at our rink who does private stretching and punching and sharpening. I was kept out of the loop as to who he was for a long time, but my instructor finally told me when we were considering punching the arches of my Classiques flat. If I need the ankles punched, I'm sure he can do it. Hopefully they'll be okay though.

[Sk8tmum]

Yeah, I am a little worried about my ankle bones. In my first two pairs of skates, they rubbed against the sides of the boots. With the Classiques, they had this memory foam padding through the ankles, and my ankle bones made a permanent indentation in the foam. I expected it would fill back out in-between skating sessions, but it didn't. So I don't know what kind of padding the Harlicks will have, whether I'll need the ankle bone area punched out or not. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

My kid has exceptionally narrow heels and very bony ankles with protusions. We got the deluxe padding/heel hugger padding on their recommendation.  No need to punch anything out; the foam just fit perfectly around the ankle area. Given how thick the padding is, I don't know how you'd punch out the ankle area - ?? 

[Orianna2000]

Oh, okay. I did order the heel hugger/deluxe padding, so hopefully that will work great with my ankle bones. There's so many variables and possibilities, it really feels like this whole thing is just a gamble. All I can do is wait and see and hope like crazy they'll fit.

[hopskipjump]

Do you have your skates yet?

[Query]

Congrats on your new boots!

There is a huge advantage to having mods (like punching, heat molding) be done by the shop you buy from. It's a really big deal.

Otherwise, it will likely be impossible to return the skates if something is wrong, and you can't make them fit, or something was made wrong - fairly frequent problems with even high end custom skates. Plus, they may do it for free, and there is fair amount of skill involved in doing it right. Once in a while customs fit well without mods, but I think that's less than 50% of the time.

Given all the problems that can and do occur (look at all the posts in this forum relating to poorly fitting boots, including customs!), it's worth the extra drive. Make sure the best person there (usually the skate shop manager) does the work. Get an appointment.

Look up your skates on the Harlick web site to find out if they are nominally heat mold-able. All leather boots are to an extent - maybe to 160 - 180 degrees F, but some are more so than others. The pro shop will know, though if Harlick doesn't say, they probably won't do it.

[Orianna2000]

No, I haven't got the new skates yet. I paid for expedited production, so they should be ready any day now. The guy who fitted me said he would call when they arrived at his shop, and then he'd mount the blades (temporarily), make sure everything looked good, and ship them to me.

I can't find anything on Harlick's site about whether the skates are heat-moldable or not. Unfortunately, the pro-shop where I got fitted is in California and I live in Tennessee, so there won't be much chance of going back there for heat-molding, punching, or adjustments. There is a local guy (the rink's manager, I believe) who does private work, such as punching and sharpening, and he's the one who'll do the permanent blade mounting for me. If I need anything done, I'll have to use him, or else drive three to five hours to a pro-shop.

[Kim to the Max]

I don't think they can be. Asking Harlick would be your best bet. I know that I have never tried to heat mold mine and I haven't heard of anyone else doing it, but that doesn't mean that it can't be done.

[Query]

If the local guys don't do a good job, try contacting Harlick to see what they can do, when and where.

http://www.harlick.com/order/faq.php#break says how to break in your boots.

http://www.harlick.com/boots/lightweight.php says all Harlick boots are heat moldable.

Harlick might also tell you a shop fairly near you that they trust to work on your boots.

[irenar5]

My Harlicks are lightweight design (they are microfiber, not leather) and they were heat molded.   In my case, I still needed a few punch outs, even after heat molding. 

[Orianna2000]

I know all the pro-shops around us. Basically, there are shops in Little Rock, Arkansas; Nashville, Tennessee; and St. Louis, Missouri--three hours, three hours, and five hours away, respectively. The closest preferred Harlick dealer is in Atlanta, Georgia, a seven-hour drive, and it's nothing but a woman who takes measurements out of her living room. So I don't know where Harlick would send us, if we asked for a referral.

If I have trouble breaking in the boots, I'll see if I can travel to Nashville to get them heat-molded. Not sure if they do that there, though. Might have to travel five hours to St. Louis.

I'm about due for things to go my way, especially where skates are concerned, so hopefully all my worries will be for naught and the skates will fit perfectly, with no need for punching, or heat-molding, or any other adjustments.

Apparently, my feet aren't quite as wide as Jackson led me to believe. They are extra-wide, yes. But not EEEEE wide. The guy at the pro-shop in California said that my feet are actually pretty thick, from top to bottom. So when you measure around the ball, you get a number that appears to be a very wide measurement, but a lot of that is from the thickness of my foot, not the width. He asked whether I had trouble with the tongue of the skate rubbing against the top of my foot, but that's one problem I haven't had. I guess I've been fortunate enough to have skates that are tall enough inside to accommodate my thick feet, even if they aren't wide enough.

[Sk8tmum]

Yes, they are heat moldable. However, I would suggest that you defer doing this until necessary, as, with custom boots, you should find them to be a neat fit.  Be sure to follow the specific and very directive instructions for breaking them in; they work.  Also, the boots are cut on what my mother would have called "the bias" thus, when,you are lacing them, you need to pull them in very snugly around your foot. My kid describes it as feeling as if the boot is "wrapping" around the foot as the laces are pulled into place; they lift and form around your foot and pull up from the toe.  When they were first put on, there was a certain sense of disappointment in the fit until the fitter pointed out that the laces weren't pulled in tightly; once they were, the "wrap" effect came into play and the fit was perfect - in fact, better than the other customs that we were used to.

[Orianna2000]

So, it's been almost 9 weeks since I ordered my skates and my receipt promised 5-6 weeks with expedited production. I called USASkates twice last week and each time was told someone would call me back. Well, the manager finally called me back yesterday and informed me that my skates are due in today. They'll inspect them, mount the blades, and then ship them off to me ASAP. I should get them early next week, if all goes well.

He even offered to inscribe my name on the soles for free. I wasn't going to do it, because I'm not big on monograms or labels, but then I decided, what the heck, and agreed to it. Honestly, I still don't know why I said yes, but I figure, if I don't like it, no one will ever see it. Not unless I fall spectacularly on the ice and they have to carry me off, in which case I'll have more on my mind then whether anyone will notice that my name is written on the bottoms of my skates. 

Quick question. Not sure if I mentioned this before or not, but I got the custom gray Superfeet insoles, the ones that are vacuum-molded to your feet for a perfect fit, in lieu of Harlick's orthopedic inserts. The skate fitter said they would compensate for my flat feet and pronation. The thing is, he didn't mention how I'm supposed to wear them. Am I supposed to remove the Harlick insoles and replace them with the Superfeet insoles? Or do they fit on top of the regular insoles? Or under them? These aren't the regular yellow Superfeet skating insoles, but the custom gray insoles. I checked the Superfeet website and it says that regular Superfeet are meant to replace your insoles entirely, while the Easy-Fit ones go over your insoles. It didn't say anything about the custom insoles, though. Any idea?

[sarahspins]

They replace your stock insoles

[hopskipjump]

He does a nice job with the name.  You'll be happy. 

[Orianna2000]

They replace your stock insoles

Okay, thanks.

He does a nice job with the name.  You'll be happy. 

He did double-check the spelling, which reassured me. Most people spell my name wrong, and how awful would it be to have a pair of custom skates inscribed with the wrong name! In any case, I'm sure I'll love them.

[irenar5]

I was wondering about your skates the other day:-)  It is great you will be getting them soon!  Let us know how things are going!  In the beginning they may feel awkward and stiff, but hang in there, a couple of weeks makes a HUGE difference!

[Orianna2000]

I can deal with discomfort if I know it's temporary. I ordered the lightest, least-stiff boots, so hopefully they'll break in fast. I do kind of wish I'd gotten flex-notches, as I'd planned, but the guy at the skate shop recommended skipping them. He said they would make the boots break down faster, creating a crease at the ankle, and they wouldn't provide enough of a benefit to make them worthwhile. I was so overwhelmed with everything that I didn't push the issue, but now I'm thinking I should have asked more questions. Oh, well. There's always my next pair of skates, once these wear out. (Trying not to freak out at the idea of needing a new pair of $1,000 skates a year or two from now. . . .)

I'm also thinking I'll get either the Ice Halo or the Ribcap this week. I don't have great balance or strength and the idea of falling and hitting my head is causing me a lot of anxiety. Even if the protection it offers is minimal, at least it would give me greater confidence. I just wish I could try them both out before spending the money. I'd hate to buy one, only to find out that it's too hot and I overheat while wearing it, or that it obscures my hearing. (Covering my ears makes my hearing problems ten times worse. I dislike wearing my winter headband because it muffles my hearing, making me feel like I'm handicapped while skating. I can't hear the approach of other skaters, or my coach's instructions, so it really makes me uncomfortable.)

[Bunny Hop]

I strongly advise adhering strictly to Harlick's instructions for breaking in the boots, even if this makes things a bit difficult in the first few weeks. It certainly worked for my husband breaking in his boots, and he's now happy with them (still working through some issues with his blades, but boots are fine).

I wouldn't worry too much about when the boots will break down. If you're only skating at a low level, and not that many hours a week, then it may take way longer than two years for them to break down. I've had my current boots since 2007 (although there was about 18 months when I didn't skate in the middle of that) and mine are nowhere near needing replacing. The length of time it takes for boots to break down (or otherwise need replacing) is different for everyone.