What boots and blade do you wear???

[Nate]

Follow Up: Gonna have to upgrade blades as I need more boot clearance.

Due to the change in boot weight, I've basically lost all of my toe jumps, but edge jumps are much improved. Timing is kind of miffed on the toe jumps. Not brave enough to try doubles in them. Did some of my best axes ever today. 3 in a row.

Nothing like landing a jump and then ending up on the side of the boot sole instead of the blade.

I hate the small pick on Gold Seal/Pinnacle. Might have Paramount make me a Gold seal with a P99. they say they can do that.

Gonna take a break until then, cause it's hard to accomplish much when you can't even do decent crossovers!

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[Loops]

Yay Nate!  I'm glad you got the boots and that they're working well for you!  I can't imagine what you were going through with the old ones.

Good luck with your blade decision.

[TropicalSk8ter]

Me and my boyfriend are on the edea concertos and matrix elite now and it feels really weird compared to what we've worn before.  They definitely feel that the heel is higher and it's going to take some time getting used to. The blades are amazing love the stainless steel edges, they feel much more crisp and more bite on the ice. The wait was an unexpected two months for the new unexpected equipment but we are happy with it.

[Nate]

Blades should hopefully be in today, hopefully.

I was going to get the Ultima Elite but the wait time (2-3 weeks) was too long and Jackson Ultima was out of 10" blades.  So I went with the Eclipse Infinity instead.  Don't think I could deal with a Matrix blade.  They're too light and I prefer a bit of weight.

[TreSk8sAZ]

Got my new boots last week. Lightweight Harlick High Testers with modifications. Kept my MK Phantom blade. Break in is a pain, but loving them so far!

[Nate]

Blades not til Tuesday. Oh well, one can't complain

[sarahspins]

I am waiting on my daughter's blades which won't be here until Tuesday as well - and she complains, loudly and often   She really likes her new boots (SP Teri's) and just can't wait to get to skate in them.

[Nate]

Put the Infinity blades on.

That toe pick destroys the ice the moment it touches it. Biggest divots ive ever seen from a jump I've done. My take offs on the toe jumps I tried were a ton more stable and I even found myself spotting my landings a lot less than usual as a result.

Didn't try any edge jumps cause I didn't use my tongue lace bar and it started twisting and popping out before I got to them.

Spinning seems a bit easier since the spin ticker is closer to where my body naturally wants to balance (on my foot), and getting to the tor pick in edge jumps and axel take offs is a lot easier. Also, I can get to the toe pick easier (it's "right there").

Will probably take me only 1-2 sessions to fully adjust to them. I should be able to do literally everything in them already (tried a double toe loop). Did some 3 turns, brackets, and other turns and they were fine.

The metal feels to have a different run than my professionals, though...

But, I felt a lot more balanced overall..

I will know for sure tomorrow after all placebo effect wears off, though.

Biggest thing I'll have to get used to is the straight cut picks. The difference between them and the cross cut were clearly apparent to me 

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[sarahspins]

Nate, have you ever been on Pattern 99's or Phantoms?  Those are also known for leaving huge divots because of the larger top pick compared to Coro Ace/Professional/Gold Seal's configuration, so it would make sense since the infinity is supposed to be similar to the pattern 99.

[Nate]

I don't think I ever pick in with the top pick. It's the large master pick that is ripping the ice up. Plus the straight cut teeth dig a lot deeper than I'm used to.

The Ice at that rink was softer than I'm used to, so maybe I was just picking in harder than I needed to since I wasn't used to it.

The extra travel time of the pick digging in the ice instead of just jamming and popping me up was interfering with the timing on my takeoffs.

I can definitely feel the flatter rocker profile, but don't think I'd call these a clone since the stanchions and tail are about the same as my MK Professionals. That being said, the Pro is a combination blade and I haven't really checked how it compares to Visions outside of the pick cluster. They may be lower and shorter than those.

Another skater here has Visions and the pick cluster is like that of a Pattern 99 (though slightly smaller), but have a ridiculous spin rocker (like a Pro/Gold star) and I couldn't fathom skating on them.

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[Nate]

Update: Oh My God... My spins are so much better. I don't rock back and forth and I just go right to the spot where my body naturally wants to balance. I made a great choice going to the flatter rocker profile. Did everything up to Axes just fine. Tried some double Toes but I have to adjust to the lower weight and straight cut teeth that dig into the ice an inch or so before I can fix the those.

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[severina]

I wear edea ice fly with paramount C9 (carbon steel pattern 99 profile).  Love them and wouldn't trade them for the world.

[Gabby on Ice]

I have Riedells, which are the right boot for me because I have narrow feet. My blades are Eclipse Crescent.

[TropicalSk8ter]

Hey guys, I wanted to bring this thread back since it did so well the first time. Just to see what ya'll are skating on now. Did you guys love the equipment you were skating on four years ago, so you did a repeat? Or did you hate your equipment and upgraded to something different that better suited you? As I said before I'm super nosey so I'm just dieing to know. Me and my boyfriend took a break for about year or so and we've both put in an order for Jackson elite boots. My elites will be paired with Eclipse infinity blades and my boyfriend's elites will be paired with Apex Supreme. Happy skating ya'll!

[skategeek]

Good for you!  Glad to see you back. 

My Jackson Classiques turned out to be way too big, and after struggling with them for a while (three layers of insoles, etc.) I finally moved up to Jackson Elles (stock Mirage blade) about three years ago.  And from an 8C to a 7B, which my skate tech (not the one who sold them to me) still thinks might be a bit big.

[Bill_S]

Still in my Riedell Gold Stars and Coronation Aces after 11 years. They are comfortably broken in and suitable for someone doing just singles, but the insides are showing advanced signs of age.

[tcuplvr]

Just yesterday bought my first pair of ice skates - Jackson Artistes. I an a beginner adult skater and I start lessons on Sunday

[AgnesNitt]

Still in my full custom Harlicks with Pros.  I can't believe it but another 6 months they may need to be replaced. I thought these would be my lifetime boots.

[Sibelius]

I'll add my daughter's boots/blades for reference.

She is now in Jackson Debut Fusion Standards (size 3 1/2) with Eclipse Mist (size 8 1/2) Coro Ace/MK Pro "clones".  These are the old model replaced by the stainless Eclipse Aurora.  She's been on the blade for 5 months and in the boots for about 1 month.  Her previous boot/blade was the Jackson Elle with the stock Mirage.  Once we changed blades her spins were vastly improved.  Now in the new boots she's getting bigger jumps.  Working on her Axel now, wish I could say she's getting close, but no.

I think we're lucky in the sense that so far, stock Jackson boots fit her feet just perfectly.  This new pair of Debuts had no break in at all, just heat molded and done.  We bought them on a Friday and she passed her Preliminary MITF test in them the following Wednesday.  As a side note on the blade fitting, Jackson's blade size chart recommended a size larger that would have fit flush toe to heel.  That didn't seem quite right so we used the 8 1/2 instead of the 8 3/4 Jackson's chart recommended.  That gives the traditional 1/4" gap at the heel.

Interesting anecdote I'll share.  She skates at 2 rinks.  One rink, where the elite skaters train many FS and almost all dancers are in Edea, FS coaches are mostly SP-Teri, younger dance coaches Edea, older ones, Klingbeil/Harlick.  Her other rink is Sp-Teri and Harlick dominant.  I don't think I've seen one Edea there.  Coaches at that rink are in Sp-Teri and Harlick with Wilson and MK blades.

When I asked all her coaches at both rinks about boots not one recommended Edea.  Blade recommendation was universally MK Pro.  I couldn't spend the $$$ on that blade for a few months of use so I got lucky with the closed out clone (almost, pick on Mist is bigger than MK Pro) Mist and bought 3 pairs in 3 sizes for a little more than 1 pair of MK Pros would have cost.  We have one more pair to use then we'll have to decide whether to stick with that profile or move on.  Boots were an easy choice, blades are so much more challenging because you just don't know until you try.  We almost tried the Aurora under the 60 day NQA return policy, but the fitter recommended using that option later when the $$$ go way up for her blades.

[ChristyRN]

Still in my split-width Jackson Premieres with a new set on order since they are breaking down. It's taking far longer than last time to get them in.

[tstop4me]

Previously in Riedell Royals and Wilson Coronation Aces for mucho years.  Late 2014 switched to Jackson Elite Suedes (last model in traditional leather) and Wilson Coronation Aces.  Same boots since but switched blades to Eclipse Auroras and then to Paramount 440C Freestyle 12". 

[Query]

If you talk to enough people, and enough fitters, one thing that becomes obvious is that different peoples' feet fit different brands and models of boot differently, and that there is no such thing as a good choice for everyone. Oddly enough, that seems to be true even for custom boots. Also that getting the right fitter matters at least as much as getting the right brand and model.

And, for some strange reason, even some people with very good fitters, who do all the "right" things, end up with boots that don't work for them. I don't completely understand why that is true. However, to some extent, they are not precision crafted, and aren't always made to the desired shape. In addition, I suspect current foot shape measurement techniques aren't as good as they should be.

The only boots that fit me fairly perfectly were the Riedell 220's (old style, single leather thickness - the newer Riedell 220's were much stiffer) I bought at Play-It-Again Sports - my first pair of skates. They shouldn't have fit, as I have completely the wrong foot shape for Riedells - but were flexible enough to mold to my feet anyway. Of course, that flexibility doubtless played a part in the leg I broke... I tried once another pair of single layer leather boots (Risport dance boots, which were almost new), but they broke down in about 2 or 3 weeks - apparently, though I'm not a very good skater, single-layer-leather isn't good enough once you have fairly deep edges, which is one thing my ice dance coaches had emphasized a lot (they said the side or top of the boot should brush the ice, though I never quite got there consistently, except in crossover and progressive underpushes), despite my other limits. Apparently, you have to accept relatively stiff boots to avoid rapid breakdown if you edge much, not just if you jump.

I've gone back to my mostly broken down 12 or 13 year old Klingbeil custom Dance boots, because they are finally somewhat comfortable, and because I don't jump enough for the relative lack of support to matter. Every once in a while I have to re-stretch the boot near the toes and ankle bones, and make myself new insoles, probably because they were fit wrong by the wrong custom fitter/skate tech, and because I didn't realize that you can take custom boots back to the manufacturer and get them re-done right, when they are fairly new.

My experience with other types of shoe has been much better. I can make do for a long time with fairly cheap tennis shoes, as long as they fit in the first place, and provide a fair bit of support.  (Though the very cheapest tennis shoes did break down once I started going to the gym much.) But I don't edge normal shoes much the way I edge skates... I make my own custom-fit insoles for them too, which plays a major role in making the fit better, and my insoles cushion impacts better. My XC ski boots and hiking boots never wore out, though in retrospect they fit poorly, which contributed to numerous ankle sprains.

I didn't like the Coronation Ace blades I bought first, but that may be because they were warped - sold to me by the same fitter/tech who misfit the Klingbeils. I switched to MK Dance, and loved them.

I switched to Ultima Matrix I blades (the ones that had the interchangeable runners) some time ago, because, the were cheaper MK Dance, and because I thought the idea of quickly switching between freestyle and dance blades sounded cool, though it turned out to be harder than I thought, because the bolts are trouble prone. When Ultima stopped making them, I bought a sufficient number of runners (several Dance runner pairs, as well as a Supreme freestyle pair, and a Synchro pair, as well as some extra bolts) to last me the rest of my lifetime. It took me a long time to get used to the different shape Ultima blades had, but I am sort of used to them now.

Anyway, it is wonderful that you (TropicalSk8ter, the o.p.) are fairly happy with your current boots. Some people never get there.

[skatemom189]

My daughter age 7 wears Risport Excellence size 205 and Coronation Ace blade size 7 3/4".  This is her 5th pair or Risports, but this current model is now discontinued.  When her foot grows she'll go into the new Risport Electra Light size 210 with Gold Seal blades size 8".  She is working on double toe and double flip, pre juvenile Moves.  She has tried on most of the major brands but refuses to wear anything but Risport.

[holdontilmae]

I am currently in Riedell Bronze Stars with a Coronation Ace blade. My first pair of real skates  Since I bought the boots on ebay with very little guidance or knowledge, they do not fit well. Much too narrow and at least a full size too long. I am currently working on axels and have quite a bit of life left in these boots. When I am ready for new boots (and every time my foot cramps, I feel ready  ) I am planning on going to visit Bruce in Colorado Springs for a pair of Edeas. He's fitted both of my adult skating pals and they're thrilled with their boots. My coach also recently switched and she recommended that I do the same. After watching the Olympics, it seems like Edeas are taking over the world!

[Slowpoke]

Reidell Motion 225s and Aurora blades