Returning skater - boot question

[dee]

I started skating as an adult, completely fell in love with it of course, and then life got in the way and between working ridiculous hours  and distance to the nearest rink, I stopped skating about 7 years ago. Now I've got a chance to skate again, and on one hand I can't wait for tomorrow morning to arrive, while on the other I am absolutely terrified! My boots are ridiculously stiff, blades blunt, clothes don't fit, I'll be lucky if I remember how to do a crossover...aaargh, what was I thinking???

I'm sure some of you must have come back after a prolonged hiatus, so I'm hoping for some words of wisdom! Specifically - am I likely to need new boots?? The ones I have are so stiff they hurt my ankles when I've tried them on, and they are about 12 years old - skated on them 2-3 x weekly for 2 years, and in the following 3 years averaged maybe once a week, and then they've sat in a cupboard for 7 years. I bought them on the suggestion of my coach at the time, but I suspect I was overbooted as I've never felt completely comfortable in them - some movements and jump landings felt quite jerky, I've never been able to extend my ankle/foot in them or achieve deep edges and they've never really softened/broken down around the ankles at all. To be honest I've always assumed the problem is me as I've always been clumsy so falling off an edge or out of a landing seems par for the course.

For reference, my current pair are Risport Super Novas, and I used to skate in Super Crystallos. I would break down the Crystallos completely within 8-9m. Risport seem to have changed their boot names, but from what I remember Crystallos used to be a single jumps sort of boot (maybe early doubles?), then came Dimonts, and then Novas. I'm apparently "tough" on my boots  , hence my coach advising skipping a category.

Does anyone have experience with Novas, or any suggestions about boots? I suppose I'll see how they feel on the ice tomorrow and go from there!

Looking forward to reading the forums again, happy skating everyone! 

[amy1984]

Try not lacing the top 1 or 2 hooks.  That might make them a little more comfortable and help you break them in.

I'd give them a few weeks like that and see how you do.

Have fun!

[figureskatehockeylove]

Do you wear bunga sleeves or any type of padding for breaking them in?

[celia]

Hi and welcome! I came back to skating last year after over a decade and was initially skating on my 18 year old riedells.  I was somewhat overbooted in them originally but very happy with them (they were comp 925, one step up in thickness from the old riedell royals).  I skated in them about 3 maybe 4 years max. (2-3 times a week, so yes, they were indeed stiff). When I first started skating again my feet hurt every time.  Since there were already pretty deep creases in the boots but they didn't seem truly broken down, my theory was the leather had stiffened and become inflexible with age as they had always felt great before.  Or my feet had changed.  After a few months, I went to a good skate shop and ended up going down in stiffness to a Jackson Premiere. The newer boots really have progressed.  After baking they felt incredibly soft and comfortable compared to my old skates and it took about 4 hours to break them in.  Part of my hesitancy in buying new boots was dreading the break-in period but this was practically non-existent.  I'm not recommending that specific boot as it really depends on your foot and other factors specific to you, but try going to a skate shop and trying on a bunch of different boots.  Even just standing in them without blades you should be able to compare how they feel comfort wise to your old ones.  Good luck!

[Query]

If there is enough room (you can make extra room using a thinner insole), you might try thick squishy fleece socks, like ski and camping stores sell. It's like having a nice liner in the boots. I'm way over-booted right now, but the socks make it very comfortable, and warmer to boot.    However, squishy socks would let your feet slide around if you lace very loose. On the other hand, like amy1984 said, you may be able to leave off lacing the top 1 or 2 pairs of hooks, so they can be loose up top.

cw_skater mentioned baking. If she means heat molding, that makes a lot of sense, if your boots are designed for it. If they fit your feet better, the pressure is spread about more of your foot, and lets you get away with a slightly looser lacing, which helps a lot. (A 12 year old heat molding may no longer be good, for several reasons. Do it again.)

Your boots are old enough that they are probably a little higher than newer models, which doesn't help. But you can likely make do.

Do you still have your old boots? If they aren't completely broken down, or way too small, you may be able to make them work.

[amy1984]

I've been told not to heat my Risports but I did use a heat gun on some uncomfortable spots and it helped and the skates were no worse for wear.  I'd be a little careful though as they're an older model and probably not built for heating like the newer models are.

[dee]

Thank you all very much for the advice!

I ended up lacing the top hooks loosely, but 20min into the session had to re-lace them to normal tightness - the boots softened up considerably with a bit of skating, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be! My ankles are a bit sore, but no more than usual (they always were a bit sore in these boots). I do have bunga pads, so I'll give those a try. Blade sharpening is organised for end of the month, so that should help (or hinder )

I'm with you on dreading breaking in new boots, and even more so having to fit blades on again! I'll see how I get on over the next couple of months, and once I find a coach hopefully they can give an opinion on the boots.

And most importantly, I had an amazing time and really loved being back on the ice! Despite all the wobbles and hardly being able to do anything