Removing inserts in boots

[morgail]

Hi all -- it's been a while! Long story short(ish): I bought new boots and blades (SP Teri Super Teri and Coronation Ace) in 2016, never mind that I skated something like once a month and not the 4 times a week I used to skate pre-child. Wishful thinking that if I dropped hundreds of dollars, I'd get to skate more often, I suppose. Anyway, this time I got them with inserts since I had terrible issues with tendinitis in my previous boots (the same kind). I'm flat-footed, and I'd hoped those would help the same way the inserts I wear in my sneakers do. Except I never got used to them. My feet would cramp up so badly (waaaaay worse than just breaking-in the boots cramps) and I always felt off-balance, almost pitched forward. So today -- finally (yeah, I know - TWO years later!! Shows how often I get to skate.) -- I pulled those suckers out. And BLISS. My feet still cramped a little, probably because I never fully broke the skates in, but not nearly as bad as with the inserts, and I felt completely balanced. Enough so that I knocked out a few jumps like I'd been skating the way I used to. I didn't feel as if I was about to trip over my toepicks.

Now that my kiddo is old enough to entertain herself on the ice (most of them time! haha), I'm hoping to get more skating in. Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone else has ever had this problem? I hate that I paid extra for the inserts and don't use them. Also, if you've pulled the inserts (or the sole linings -- I did this on my previous pair) out, did you put anything down in the boot to cover the metal? My old pair of Super Teris didn't have metal showing in the bottom of the boot, but these do. I was okay with it today, but I worry that if I skate more, those screws and the edge of the metal will rub my feet and cause blisters.

[tstop4me]

Also, if you've pulled the inserts (or the sole linings -- I did this on my previous pair) out, did you put anything down in the boot to cover the metal? My old pair of Super Teris didn't have metal showing in the bottom of the boot, but these do. I was okay with it today, but I worry that if I skate more, those screws and the edge of the metal will rub my feet and cause blisters.

You should use a replacement liner, both to prevent your foot from snagging against exposed fasteners and to reduce the amount of sweat soaking into the fixed insole.  If your feet are OK with a flat liner, there's a wide selection of flat foam insoles available at the supermarket or drug store (Dr. Scholl's has a large line).  The really cheap ones fall apart quickly, so avoid those. 

These insoles need to be cut to fit.  First make templates by tracing the outline of your current inserts on thin cardstock (a manilla folder works fine).  If your current inserts are more 3-dimensional than flat, the tracings will be only roughly approximate.  Cut the cardstock along the tracings and insert the templates into your boots, and check for proper fit.  You may need several iterations until you get proper fitting templates.  Then trace the final templates onto the flat foam insoles, and cut the insoles along the tracings.

[AgnesNitt]

It sounds like your boots were too short.That would explain the foot cramping. Removing the insoles is a temp fix for that and may be all you need, For your next pair of boots you can investigate getting a size up.

tstop4me is right about needing an insole.  You can buy the foam ones at th Dollar Store to protect the sole. They'll squish flat . At your rate of skating you can get by for a long while on dollar insoles. Go cheap for your experiments. I got a foam insole to last a year and I skate 4 times a week. If there's metal sticking up from the sole, get some gel patches for bunions and see if those work as spot covers.

[DressmakingMomma]

My daughter is flat footed and no matter how many different insoles we try, she likes her boots best with nothing in them, not even a liner. The only thing she has been able to use long term is a flat, thin leather insole. Her boots are not too short, she just can't stand the feeling of anything pushing up into her arch area.

[morgail]

Thanks a million, you all. This is really helpful. I'll get something to put in the boot (thank you for the tracing idea, tstop4me!).

The boots are the same size as my previous pair. We sent in tracings to the factory, just in case. But it's entirely possible that my foot has changed some since I bought these.

[AgnesNitt]

Thanks a million, you all. This is really helpful. I'll get something to put in the boot (thank you for the tracing idea, tstop4me!).

The boots are the same size as my previous pair. We sent in tracings to the factory, just in case. But it's entirely possible that my foot has changed some since I bought these.

Don't take that 'sizing' seriously. Even though they're stock, boots can be significantly wrong sized. Even though they're CUSTOM, boots can be significantly wrong sized. Same with blades. My tech has told me some real horror stories.

If they don't fit, they don't fit. Tell your tech, the company, etc. right away and demand replacements.