Blade size and effect on the ice.

[TropicalSk8ter]

Hello everyone, I have been looking at the matrix ultima blades and paramount blades and realize that the biggest blade size they make is a size 11 im currently skating on 11 1/4.  Does anyone know from expirience or general knowledge if I was to go down a quarter size would it drastically change my skating abilities. Thanks.

[Willowway]

You will have a quarter inch less blade to skate on. Also depending on how you mount them, your sweet spot may not be exactly where you expect it to be.

[TreSk8sAZ]

I recently moved from 11.25" blades to 11" blades. However, this was because when I got my new skates we kept my old blades. The 11.25" blades ended up being mounted basically end-to-end on my new skates which were a bit smaller as I had lost weight. when I was ready for new blades, my fitter recommended that we go down the .25" in order to have the blades fit the new boots better. They now have a .25" gap from the back of the heel, which is what my fitter (and I) prefer. I kept the exact same blade model, just shorter (and new).

Besides the obvious difference of going from trashed, rockerless blades to brand new blades, there was only a slight difference in the longer to shorter blade. The biggest thing was finding the new spin rocker positioning on the blade, as it was in a slightly different spot. Because this blade was the proper size for my boots, once I found it my spins and footwork improved dramatically. Also, my turns and crossovers were quieter and somewhat easier. It did take some time to convince my brain I wasn't going to go over backwards, though.

That being said, however, going down the .25" was for a specific reason: to make the blades better fit my skates. I would be worried that if I changed to a size just to get a specific blade, without the blades being the proper size for the boots, it could cause more problems than not. As stated, you may have the spin rocker in an odd place that may be frustrating when trying to learn new things. I think it really depends on what you are trying to do, and how the blades fit and are mounted on your boots.

[TropicalSk8ter]

I recently moved from 11.25" blades to 11" blades. However, this was because when I got my new skates we kept my old blades. The 11.25" blades ended up being mounted basically end-to-end on my new skates which were a bit smaller as I had lost weight. when I was ready for new blades, my fitter recommended that we go down the .25" in order to have the blades fit the new boots better. They now have a .25" gap from the back of the heel, which is what my fitter (and I) prefer. I kept the exact same blade model, just shorter (and new).

Besides the obvious difference of going from trashed, rockerless blades to brand new blades, there was only a slight difference in the longer to shorter blade. The biggest thing was finding the new spin rocker positioning on the blade, as it was in a slightly different spot. Because this blade was the proper size for my boots, once I found it my spins and footwork improved dramatically. Also, my turns and crossovers were quieter and somewhat easier. It did take some time to convince my brain I wasn't going to go over backwards, though.

That being said, however, going down the .25" was for a specific reason: to make the blades better fit my skates. I would be worried that if I changed to a size just to get a specific blade, without the blades being the proper size for the boots, it could cause more problems than not. As stated, you may have the spin rocker in an odd place that may be frustrating when trying to learn new things. I think it really depends on what you are trying to do, and how the blades fit and are mounted on your boots.

Thanks for your response. I see that the risk might be a bit high. Once I find a fitter ill ask him/her what is the possibility of getting a 11 inch blade for my boot size. 

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