Blade question for new freestyler

[skatemom189]

My daughter will be in need of new skates in the next month or two.  She has been wearing the Risport Lux boot for the past year, and it's working very well for her so we want to keep her in that; she doesn't need anything stronger yet (she only weighs 39 lbs and is turning 5 in 2 months, btw, these are not too stiff for her).  She wears these expensive boots because it's either these or full customs, and these are cheaper!  She has a very narrow and straight foot, high arch, narrow heel, and extremely wide and large ankle bones that made Jackson and Riedell not options at all; they didn't even begin to close around her ankles.  The boots come without blades, and she's been using the Eclipse Astra so far.  We are perplexed as to which blade to get for the new boots.

We are limited in blade choices because her foot is so small - she needs a size 7 1/4" or 7 1/2" blade for the new boots, and many of the blades the next step up from the Astra do not come smaller than 8". Her coach only wants her on a 7' radius blade, which eliminates Jackson blades as options.  Our choices are to stick with the Astra, or put on the Wilson Majestic, MK double star, Wilson Coronation Ace, Eclipse Mist (Ace clone), or MK Professional.  Opinions please?  Our skate shop just says 'whatever, all fine'.

Her skating level is she will be starting to learn freestyle skills, such as waltz jump, scratch spin, toe loop.  She has some higher level skills, like forward and back power pulls, alternating edges,  and lovely edge spirals.  During her practices she focuses on power, control, and speed in edge work (especially those hard backward inside edges!), and she now has nice smooth deep outside edges.  She skates for 1 group class, one 'bridge' class, one power class, 1 private lesson, and 3 1-hour practice sessions each week - total of 5 hours of ice per week (over 3 days/week).  Based on her general rate of progress, and her historically very slow foot growth, we expect these new skates to last her through learning the single jumps, except the axel.

My inclination is to either stick with the Astra, or pick the Coronation Ace.  It seems like the majestic or double star are not really 'better' than the Astra, and 2-3X the price.  Various websites recommend moving to the Eclipse Volant or Crescent but they don't come smaller than 8" so those are not options.  The Ace obviously is better, and costs more, but at least we'd get 'more' blade for the extra money.  Would the Ace be too much blade for her?  Should we save our money and do the Astra again?  But would her progress be improved with the better blade?  We're willing to spend the money if it will truly make learning skills easier or more technically correct.  I'm so confused!

[jlspink22]

Following.

Currently my daughter (also 5, also only 42 lbs) is still in Basic Skills but already has a waltz, and is working on toe loop/salchow/deeper edges/scratch spin etc. Her foot hardly grew between 3-4 BUT we have already gone through 3 sizes and 4 pairs of skates since last February when she started so I am cautious about putting out big money until I know she's truly committed and moving on to pre-pre, etc.

She had a MK IV (8' rocker) on the last two pairs and could jump just fine but now has an older model Wilson Jubilee (7' rocker) and can spin easier. The profile looks close to the Majestic or Astra. I guess it boils down to how much $ you want to spend, and if she is not breaking down her boots, you could probably resell them (either together or separately) to recoup the money.  I am not sure what your rink is like, but there are not many 5-6 year olds at the level where their parents are looking to buy or upgrade to coronation aces. But if its not a saving $ factor then her coach might have an opinion.

[JSM]

Sometimes you can purchase a blade that is *almost* too long for the current skate, so that when the next larger size is needed, you can reuse the blade.  Most blades can be up to 1/4" shorter than the boot sole. 

Coronation Aces (or the Mist) are fantastic blades, and I will recommend them for almost all levels.  But if you're expecting her to grow quickly, it's not necessary.   

[skatemom189]

More like 3-4 year olds!  She wears a toddler size 9 shoe.  We are NOT expecting her to grow quickly.
A 7 1/2" blade would be *almost* too long (or quite possibly just too long) for the new boots,  71/4" would be a perfect fit, with a little space as recommended.  But thanks for the reminder; depending on the exact measurement of the boot when it comes it getting a blade that will fit this pair, and the next pair, may be an option, and might tilt the choice towards a more expensive blade.  Thank you!

By the time we get her new skates, she will have worn the same boots/blades for 1 year.  The pair before that she only wore for 3 months, but that's because she totally KILLED them - they were not strong enough.  Before that, the previous pair also lasted 1 year of growth.  My husband has tiny feet for his size, and she's taking after him.  Meanwhile, I look like I'm walking around on skis all day (size 10 ladies).....

There is no market in our area to resell used skates, so that is not something that is a consideration.  Play It Again Sports won't even take them.  No one is interested, unless you're giving them away.  Everyone wants new skates because of the way they mold to the foot.  Not very likely to find someone who would buy used tiny Aces! 

The Astra is a nice blade, and only costs $42.  I don't want to spend money unnecessarily, but if the Astra will hold back progress we'll spend the money.  Jubilees would be an option, but they are not made anymore.

[jlspink22]

I know the Jubilee is discontinued, just using as an example. My daughter has only been taking lessons for a ~9.5 months now and learned quite a bit on stock boots and blades, so I tend to be skeptical of what is truly needed at this point. All of her skates have been gently used so far, and her next pair will probably be Elle's with Mirage baldes (both stock) unless someone convinces me otherwise, only because I am not finding what I need used.  I do find keeping her skates sharpened (at least 1x a month with about 4 hours of ice time a week) is extremely important so that may be a factor for you.

[Loops]

There is no market in our area to resell used skates, so that is not something that is a consideration.  Play It Again Sports won't even take them.  No one is interested, unless you're giving them away.  Everyone wants new skates because of the way they mold to the foot.  Not very likely to find someone who would buy used tiny Aces! 

That is uber frustrating.  You'd think those with younglings like yours would be scrambling for the cheaper used but still good quality skates.  There are Facebook groups I've seen for exchanging/selling on equipment, and there's always Ebay or Craigs list!

Good luck with the blade choice!
 

[sarahspins]

Opinions please?  Our skate shop just says 'whatever, all fine'.

My reaction is the same as the shop - they are all fine, and honestly, at her size/level I would just stick with the Astra - she'll need new boots/blades soon enough, at which time you can evaluate her needs again.  Remember you're not making a permanent decision - it's only for as long as she fits this pair of skates

My inclination is to either stick with the Astra, or pick the Coronation Ace.  It seems like the majestic or double star are not really 'better' than the Astra, and 2-3X the price.

The majestic and double star would be good blades for her level, but they are not significantly better for what they cost compared to the astra.  I don't know that she'd really benefit from the added expense of the coronation ace or professional - but the shop would.

That said, my daughter skates on coronation ace's, and it's because I was able to get them for super cheap - the first (on her old skates) I bought new in box for only $50 (and they still had the protective gel on the blades, so I know they hadn't been used), and the second pair was only sharpened once for $70 (and those are about to be replaced by used matrix legacy's because I promised my daughter colored blades when she made it to freeskate 1, and she is very close to passing basic 8 ).  If I was paying full retail she'd be skating on a lower blade just to keep costs down a bit and I wouldn't feel bad about it - as a skater myself I am comfortable evaluating used blades, but I realize that is a scenario that is probably beyond the comfort zone of most parents.

[skatemom189]

Thanks!
It sounds like I really don't need to buy a higher level blade.  So I think we'll stick with the Astra, which my checking account sure will appreciate.
It's not a bad blade at all.  Yesterday she was showed how to do a little footwork sequence of continuing forward outside 3-turns in a circle, so that she could 'draw' a flower on the ice after doing 4-5, and with a little practice she was able to do that right away (and she really liked the ice flower aspect - 4 year olds!).  She would not have been able to do that with her old blades.
Thanks very much for your perspectives.

[littlerain]

Another thought - does your fitter/pro shop not resell used skates? Or maybe your rink posts used items available for sale? Might be worth asking just in case, since there's gotta be other parents in situations similar to yours!

[sarahspins]

Another thought - does your fitter/pro shop not resell used skates?

+1 to this.. I know our rink has a whole stock of blades in all sizes/levels, not just skates.  It's worth asking

[skatemom189]

We have two skate shops in town.  Neither of them keep stocks of used skates.  I've never asked specifically about blades; it's certainly worth a call.

I've never seen another young child wearing skates that come boot-only, so that there would even be the chance that they would have a higher-level blade.  She was the only child in her group classes, up until about Basic 6 or 7, that even had her own skates; other kids wore (really crappy) rentals.  Now in bridge and level 7 & 8 most other kids have their own skates.  But she's the youngest by 4 years, and she has tiny feet for her age.  But I'll call and ask.  It can't hurt.
Thank you.