DIY ankle sleeves

[sampaguita]

The top of my boots are rubbing against my leg, near the hooks. Ankle gel sleeves should work, but I don't have the money to spend on skating stuff anymore, with my new boots and all that. I'm thinking of doing DIY: probably tape to my leg some scraps from the insoles I used (maybe 3-4 layers), but I hope to get other suggestions from this forum. Thanks a lot!

[platyhiker]

What about taking some old socks and cutting the foot off to make ankle sleeves?  You could tape insole scraps (or other padding) to the sock that closest to your skin and then put another sock over the padding to help keep everything stable.  I've never tried anything like this, but it might work.

[Kim to the Max]

Foam makeup pads - cut a hole in the middle if you have a blister, but they work well.

[JSM]

I have this problem as well!  The boots were actually drawing blood.  I resorted to a well placed band-aid, believe it or not.  I bought the tough waterproof kind, in bulk, and I should be set for quite some time.

An ankle sleeve would probably be cheaper in the long run, but for now it does the trick.

[jjane45]

Another vote for bandaids. Gel sleeve actually messes with the boot fit and hurts the foot in a different way. For me the solution was finding the right tightness for lacing...

[taka]

Ouch! Breaking in new boots... I bought a neoprene ankle support from poundland and cut the foot part off, just leaving a gel sleeve sized part to wear. It was quite thin (a couple of mm thick - similar to gel tube) so it didn't get in the way but provided enough padding and protection to allow my ankle a chance to heal. I used it thinking it was a temp fix until I bought gel tubes but I never bought them in the end! Best £1 I've spent on skating!

If it is just one point on your boots, the flat round cotton wool pads work too with a bit of tape to attach them. Obviously they have to be replaced everytime so the cost will add up over time...

[fsk8r]

Have a look at podiatry websites for the gel tubes. You can get them cheaper there than from skating websites.

[Hanca]

Do you have a link, please? 

[Skate@Delaware]

I'm also interested.  I googled it but only got links to toe/finger sleeves.

[sampaguita]

Thanks for all the inputs! I cut up a pair of old socks to get the ankle part. I folded it in half and sandwiched a strip of foam (from a cheap insole). That means I effectively have 3 layers of socks and one thin piece of foam. It seems to work okay, but probably not for very long periods of time. I think makeup foam would be better, but  I don't have one right now.

[fsk8r]

I've bought from Simply Feet in the UK. But I google for Silipos Gel sleeves and buy from whoever's cheapest at the time. They do a 20cm one which you can cut in two. It's not cheap, but it's about half the price of the skating ones and you're getting two.

[sampaguita]

My first candidates were the Silipos gel sleeves -- I hear they work really good, but I couldn't afford any more expenses at the moment. Too much cash outflow right now.

Anyway, I did test the sandwiched insole, and it worked! And the best thing is, it cost me almost nothing.

[AgnesNitt]

Foam makeup pads - cut a hole in the middle if you have a blister, but they work well.

Great Idea.