Figure skates vs hockey skates: blade interchangeability and boot design

[seanspotatobusiness]

Hey. Is it possible to attach figure skate blades to hockey skate boots? The designs of hockey boots are wicked awesome and the designs of figure skates... well there basically one design and it might as well be a glittery pink ballet shoe. All the cool kids at the rink have hockey skates and I'm still a beginner so it doesn't make much difference at this point but I guess I'd later lament the lack of a toe pick, whatever that's for. I'm not interested in ever playing hockey.

[FigureSpins]

Hockey boots are "wicked awesome?"  They look like giant blobs of plastic that consumed your feet!  What's awesome about wearing Herman Munster skates?   

Go for it - buy skates and blades, pay to have them connected, then tell us how you make out.  I wouldn't waste the money - you can't get the ankle/knee mobility of a figure skate or support for jumps or edging.  You'll essentially skate like a wanna-be hockey player and muscle everything, but try it out for yourself!  If you don't figure skate, it's not a fair test, though.  You have to have skating skills to get any meaningful information out of the experiment.

Figure skates are designed for figure skating, so their appearance is perfect since it's functional.  If you're not going to do figure skating, get a pair of Soft Skates to tool around in circles at public sessions or on a pond.  They're a cross between a figure skate and a hockey skate with lots of padding.

You should talk to Query on this board - he wanted to make figure skating boots out of duct tape at one point.  He likes curiosities.  I've never seen a "glittery pink ballet shoe." Are you en pointe?  Do you wear them just to go clubbing?  Are they custom-made?

[sampaguita]

Hmm yeah I'd be interested in that, too. The difficult part might be finding blades with holes which will match hockey boots. But if you can find one, I say go for it!

[jjane45]

haha interesting guess it depends on what do you plan to do in them? hockey boots probably don't support the ankles enough for jumps.

also what is your budget? the entry level figure skating boots are not designed to change blades, not sure about beginner hockey skates.

with regards to appearance / peer pressure, what about making some really cool boot covers for figure skating boots?

[Query]

Since my name was used in vain  , I've given up on making duct tape boots for now. I never thought that was a long-lived boot solution, I just wanted to experiment with different skate characteristics. And it's too hard for a beginner to bother with anything other than standard store-bought equipment.

I think mounting figure blades on an ice hockey skate would be fairly difficult. The bases of the boots aren't really designed for that. You might be able to do it on certain types of goalie skates, as some of them are mounted much the same ways as figure skates, but you are looking for something pretty complicated, and possibly expensive - and that's way outside my knowledge. Again, I encourage you to stay with store-bought boots, or well-fitting used boots for now.

Hockey skates have blades that only a real expert can offset, so it is harder for a fitter to adjust center balance if you need that.

For the most part, figure skates are expected to have a certain "look", just as ballet slippers, hockey skates, and formal dress shoes are expected to have a certain "look".

Some of the "Soft-Tek" and similar brands look like tennis shoes or like hockey boots, but have some limitations. They might be fine for a beginner, if you don't expect them to last too long. Some figure-skating coaches make do in them, because they find them comfortable to skate in for hours, but they have the skill to compensate for any issues that arise.

Before you order any boots on-line, remember that fit is very important in skates, and that as a beginner you may be better off finding boots that fit you well in a store than worrying about the look.

I'm not a coach, but I've helped out teaching beginners in LTS classes, and I've tried hockey skates. Skaters in those classes who use hockey boots run into certain types of problem in figure skating classes. The first few sets of classes are fine, but you have to spend a few extra hours outside class getting hockey blades to balance forward/back. During those few extra hours, you will fall a lot - just like hockey skaters.

It's harder to do clean figure-style 3-turns and spins using hockey blades, and definitely harder to do figure-style jumps.

Edges (leans) are easier to hold in hockey skates. I don't know why, maybe it is the lower heels, or being closer to the ice. But that isn't reason enough to use them for figure skating.

People who prefer hockey skates often have attitude issues in figure skating classes. They don't want to look like a figure skater or do figure skating moves. Maybe you should examine your own attitudes to decide if the dance-like moves of figure skating are what you want to do.

There are lots of sports with what you might consider "cool" looking gear.

If figure skating is what you want to do, you will probably be better off in figure skates.

[icedancer]

I did see one kid with a pair of skates that looked like a hockey blade but the front of the blade had picks on them like a figure skate.  I thought that was pretty cool and maybe a great skate for a beginner skater - the picks help you not fall flat on your face but the skate and blade looked more like a hockey skate... kind of a cool alternative.

I have mentioned before that I have known hockey guys to do ice-dance in hockey skates and one guy I know can do all of his dances up through gold in his hockey skates - he is a VERY good skater, however - he wears the hockey skates because he can and his figure skates are trashed and for whatever reason he doesn't want to get new figure skates as he is not skating that much or that seriously any more.

[JSM]

It sounds like a pair of soft skates might be your best bet for now, especially at the beginner level.

To be honest, having skated in figure and hockey skates - I don't think putting figure blades on hockey skates would really work.  Hockey skates nowadays are a lot of synthetic materials, and the blades are a LOT lighter than your standard figure skating blades, which are typically heavier, and attached to boots with thicker soles.

Most importantly, your balance points in hockey skates versus figure skates are quite different, and the blades are designed to take advantage of that.  This is a simplification, but figure skaters do a lot of their tricks more on the front part of their blade - the rocker - and figure skates (mens and womens) have heels to accommodate that balance point.  Hockey skates don't have those features as they are meant for a different style of skating.

I suppose it could be done, but I would pick a style of boot depending on what you want to learn, instead of how they look.  Black and white are standard colors for beginner boots, but you could always pay for a custom boot down the road if you wanted, and make it look like however you want - as long as they function properly!

[AgnesNitt]

Hockey boots don't have a heel. Figure skate blades depend on the heel of the boot to place you over the rocker.

[Skittl1321]

If you're a beginner, why not look at the softec skates? They look like heeled tennis shoes.

If you don't like white skates, get black ones. How does a black boot look anything like a "glittery pink ballet shoe"?  The basically just look like boots.

[Clarice]

Hey. Is it possible to attach figure skate blades to hockey skate boots? The designs of hockey boots are wicked awesome and the designs of figure skates... well there basically one design and it might as well be a glittery pink ballet shoe. All the cool kids at the rink have hockey skates and I'm still a beginner so it doesn't make much difference at this point but I guess I'd later lament the lack of a toe pick, whatever that's for. I'm not interested in ever playing hockey.

All the cool figure skaters at the rink wear figure skates.  If you want to figure skate, wear the correct equipment for that sport.  It will work better, and you'll fit in better with the figure skating crowd.  On the other hand, if you're only interested in recreational skating, I guess it doesn't matter what kind of skates you use.

[seanspotatobusiness]

Hi everyone. Thanks a lot for your input. I've decided I'll probably get figure skates and paint them. Some people on Etsy are selling skates they've painted with acrylic paint. My main concern at the moment is that I currently use the rental skates that look a bit like the skates below. They're very rigid (plastic, I think) which I like because it requires less effort to keep my ankles straight and also I think it protects me from breaking my ankle if I fall the wrong way. The regular figure skates I've seen on the Internet don't seem to come up as high past the ankles and I'm wondering whether that will be an unpleasant transition. Does anyone know what I mean?

[sarahspins]

Most figure boots come up to about the same height.  There may be some subtle differences in the height of the backstay, but generally they are all very similar unless you are specifically looking at dance boots (and even then, some are cut lower, and some aren't).  A good fitting quality skate will support your ankle - cheap department store skates and those purchased several sizes too large will not.

[sampaguita]

You will find that proper figure skating boots are a LOT better than rental skates in terms of safety, comfort, and maneuverability. If your concern is the color, why not get BLACK skates? All men's skates are black.