Breaking in skates and outdoor ice/edge question

[rd350]

I've been breaking in my new Harlicks for about a month now but only have 10 hours of actual on ice time in them (I use Skatebase app to track for sharpening, etc. so kept track of actual on ice time).  I spent a lot of time with the boots off, getting circulation back and re-tying and also had to stay in my old boots at first for a holiday show + rehearsals.

Today after a 30 minute re-tie (that is my most time straight in the boots still) I had a moment where I finally felt like I could tie the right boot tight enough that it felt like it fit like a glove.  I started to get numb after around 10-12 minutes but made it to 20 minutes.

That said I was skating on very hard and somewhat bumpy(er than usual) outdoor ice (just because the rink is convenient and I'm skating so much less in the new boots) and I really had problems with my outside edges.  There was a guy skating who has better edges than me and I asked him and he said he did feel like the ice was challenging and although this edges may have looked good to me, he felt like he would slip out of them and didn't get as deep as normal.

So questions, I guess first, the boot break in.  They are custom and I admit I am surprised at the break in but they are extremely stiff.  They're high testers basically.  I thought the stiffness was a 2, but maybe a 3?  My feeling is the numbness is from the stiffness of the tongue and not ill fit.  I do think they fit nicely.  Does that make sense?  Makes complete theoretical sense to me....

Edges and hard outdoor ice - does it make sense edges would be more challenging?  I thought my edges would benefit from the new skates and overall I think they do but I've been on outdoor ice more than I would like and more than normal just because it's much closer and I'm not skating for hours at a time with the break in process.

Thoughts?  All of this normal?  TIA!

[saje]

So questions, I guess first, the boot break in.  They are custom and I admit I am surprised at the break in but they are extremely stiff.  They're high testers basically.  I thought the stiffness was a 2, but maybe a 3?  My feeling is the numbness is from the stiffness of the tongue and not ill fit.  I do think they fit nicely.  Does that make sense?  Makes complete theoretical sense to me....

I got new boots in August and had the same problem.  I did not feel like the boots were too stiff or ill-fitting, but the tongues were SO STIFF and kept making my feet numb.  I experimented with the way I laced my boots and tried different laces.  Eventually the foot cramping/numbness went away.  I'm not sure if anything I did with laces/lacing helped or if I just finally broke in those tongues.

Long story short - I don't think it's abnormal for a stiff tongue to cause discomfort.  10 hours of ice time is not that much for a new pair of skates.  I wouldn't worry about the discomfort just yet...

[twinskaters]

I've got no help on the boots, but I would imagine outdoor ice is super-hard right now, with the cold weather we've had. That would affect your edge quality, I think.

[icedancer]

Super hard ice is harder to skate on.

And 10 hours are not a very long time in boot-breaking-in land.

[rd350]

Thanks everyone!  Gotta' get my butt to the indoor rink!  Now that I can last longer on the ice it'll be more worthwhile traveling farther.

[blue111moon]

The fastest way I've found to break in new skates (even customs!) is to find a public session at really warm indoor rink (in New England that used to be Skating Club of Boston, , tie the laces fairly loosely and skate laps for the entire time.  No jumps, no turns, no sins, just plain forward stroking.  It might take two or three sessions to do it but after 4 to six hours, I was pretty good.  The fastest I've ever broken in new skates was once when I did a Leukemia Skate-a-thon in May and knew that each lap was costing each of my sponsors $.10.  Three and a half hours earned me over $400 and my skates were great.

But if I can't do that sort of thing, it takes a lot longer to get skates comfortable if I'm trying to do it on free skating ice and/or trying to work on skills beyond stroking at the same time.    Sometimes it can be months before I can say that my skates feel "like mine."  It depends on what I'm doing and how much I'm skating of course.  I also think it takes longer to break in skates in the winter because my feet don't sweat as much as they do in warmer months so it takes longer for the leather to soften up and conform to my feet.

As for skating on outdoor ice, as it's been said, outdoor ice is generally rock-hard and a little gritty from the dust and dirt that blows around and freezes on the surface.  Unless you hit it on a warm, sunny day, it's going to take more effort to "get into" the ice - and your edges are going to wear down faster, as if you were rubbing them with sandpaper.  The bumps and ruts shake up your balance too so in general, you're not going to feel as secure as you would on indoor rink ice.  It can still be fun to do, but it's not ideal for increasing the comfort level on your new skates.

[rd350]

That's what my fitter said!  Sandpaper!  He recommended I use my old skates for outdoors.

I am a bit better caught up on my work now that the holidays are over so I think I can get to the usual indoor rinks easier now.  Thanks for your insight!

[twinskaters]

I can definitely attest to the sandpaper effect from natural ice. I would think a maintained rink would have less of that, but probably still more grit than an indoor rink, particularly in the 5 boroughs. I remember what my windowsills looked like when I lived in Brooklyn and Manhattan vs suburbia.

[rd350]

Oh really?  Yeah my windshields!  Yikes.