Beginner skater: Start with 7' or 8' blades?

[Giselle]

(Sorry for any errors, english is not my mother tongue)

Hi. I started skating a year ago, with 8' rocker blades by Jackson Ultima. Now I'm changing skates because these were big.
I researched and read that the 7' rocker blades are best for beginners and for spins... And the 8' rocker blades were best for double jumps?

With my previous blades I could hardly turn. I thought it would be better for me to get a Coronation Ace blades, and perhaps in the future if I get to do that kind of jumps,
change to a 8' rocker blades.

What do you think? It's a good decision? I will have some difficulty passing from 8' to 7'? Or in the future, passing from 7' to 8'?

Thanks.

[Matsumoto]

Giselle -

Welcome to the forum.  I also started skating on Jackson Ultima blades and I still use Ultima blades today (2 years later).  I personally don't think that the Ultima blades are making my spins more difficult - I just need more practice.     If you continue with the Ultima blades, I think you will be fine.

On the other hand, it seems that the Coronation Ace blades are very popular and may suit you.  The blade difference will be noticeable but your body will adapt to them in a few weeks.

Best of luck - let us know how it turns out!

[Loops]

A lot of the beginning skaters at my rink start off on Ultima blades, and although some do move up to higher level blades, they for the  most part, stick with the Ultima line. 

My skate tech in the US, who is very well respected and knows his stuff highly recommends the ultima line for two reasons:

1) Most skaters eventually do move up to an 8' rocker, so the logic of just starting off there, thus eliminating the eventual transition does make some sense. (having said that, when you're at the level to switch to an advanced blade, that will likely have an 8' rocker, you're a good enough skater that the transition isn't that huge a deal).

2) Quality control.  They do it.  MK/Wilson do to, but much less so.  He has been in the business a looooong time.  He's been my skate tech since the 80's when I started skating competitively (and he was already well respected then), and is still in business.  Over the course of his career he has seen some pretty messed up blades new in box, delivered from MK/Wilson.  He showed me some Gold Seals (top of the line blade) that were so warped even I could see it.  If you get warped blades, at best it's a pain in the bum, since you'll have to re-order and wait for the new ones to arrive.  Ultima have a very strict quality control procedure, and I feel like he told me that warped ones just don't leave the factory.  Nobody is perfect though.

He also points out that Ultima are cheaper, and they're just as good. 

I tend to take his advice, so am very likely to switch to Ultima's next go around.  Even factoring in shipping and customs charges to France, they're cheaper than the MK/Wilson lines.  So, I'll just leave it there.  But if you want to try the 7' rocker, why not?  The only way to know anything for sure in this sport is to try it yourself.  Professionals (MK) or Coronation Ace (Wilson) are the standard blades for someone who's a committed skater.  They're both 7' rockers and will take you through your doubles.   I skated on Professionals up until last year, when I decided to try out synchro blades.  Like I said, if you're curious the only way to satisfy it is to give it a go. 

You won't make a wrong decision here, so don't sweat it!  Plus on the next pair of skates there will be another opportunity to try something else out.

[sarahspins]

You won't make a wrong decision here, so don't sweat it!  Plus on the next pair of skates there will be another opportunity to try something else out.

Ditto this, and it's also worth noting that blade choice can be fairly personal - what works great for many might not work for you, and that's okay because there are lots of other options

That said, there are PLENTY of skaters skating with 7' rocker blades.  Patrick Chan skates on Phantoms, which are 7'.

I've even heard (somewhat anecdotally) of skaters doing triples on Professional and Coro Ace blades - not everyone does move up to high level blades as soon as they have doubles, and while the higher end blades do offer some improvements/features, those mid-level freestyle blades are really quite capable. 

As far as switching between 7' and 8' rocker blades, there's just more to it than the radius of the entire blade the "spin rocker" or the more rounded area at the front of the blade is truly where 90% of the "feel" of a different blade comes from.

[Casey]

That said, there are PLENTY of skaters skating with 7' rocker blades.  Patrick Chan skates on Phantoms, which are 7'.

Actually, Patrick Chan prefers the aggressive toe pick of the Phantoms, but has them pattern ground to the profile of Gold Seals, resulting in an 8' radius blade.  He's been doing that since 2004.  Check out this video for more information about it:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTPzMuPCWzY