Blades

sorry, i've forgotten how to use the forum :/ *sigh*
so good blades are v v v crucial for a skater
they have to match the skater's ability and style too
i'm looking at blades for my next pair of skates, and the john wilson pattern 99 revolution look p good to me as of right now, but i've never had top-level competitors' blades. i'm currently on jackson elites (4200), but my mom is thinking about trying edeas (ice flys) next... so if anyone who has ever skated competitively or has used john wilson blades before can tell me what might be a good fit, that would be fabulous :3 tytytytysm to you all!

*also what is the major difference in terms of skating quality between regular blades and parabolic blades???

Whoa, whoa. Back up. Ice Flys? You do know what they're designed for, right? We're talking boots so strong and stiff that Max Aaron has worn his for over a year, and I don't even want to begin to imagine how many quads he's done in them in that time.

What level are you at? How about we start with the basics? Level, age, etc, etc.

heh yes i do understand how great ice flys are. max aaron probably rebuilds his at some point each season. yuzuru hanyu and patrick chan are both on edeas too.
but there are juvenile girls w/ edeas. it's not completely a matter of level either, and it's only a small possibility for me. I have custom-made jacksons right now so...
I'm 14 and a half years old, freeskate: intermediate- testing novice this 2014-2015 season, testing senior moves in less than a month (i've waited 3 years to take this test)...
my primary coach isn't extraordinarily picky... she's got a few kids on edeas, some w paramount blades, a few with gold seal, most with elite and legacy blades i think

my main question is still about the blades though.... i know pattern 99 revolution are semi-hollow, but i just want to know how well they work, and what the main difference is between the regular or the parabolic. the john wilson site doesn't say too much...

The most important factor in choosing your next blade is "rocker profile", meaning the shape of the blade, especially in the front where you spin and take off on your jumps. The Jackson Ultima blades are designed to copy the rocker profiles of the top John Wilson blades: Gold Seal and Pattern 99. Based on the Jackson catalogue (here: http://www.jacksonultima.com/en/Publications.aspx?Id=%2f0UZuzW4jkx5LfEOYEQrgg1A2B3C4D5E1A2B3C4D5E), it looks like the Jackson Ultima Elite blade you're using now DOES have the Pattern 99 rocker profile, so you should be able to switch to Pattern 99 blades and adjust to them without much trouble. I wouldn't pay any extra $$ to get Parabolic blades, though. I went from regular blades to Parabolic blades and then back to regular blades and honestly didn't feel any significant difference.

As for the Edea boots, I don't think they can be rebuilt like other boots because they aren't made of layers of leather like other boots. When they start to break down, it happens very quickly and you just have to replace them. I'd be very cautious about Edeas for two reasons: (1) They only come in one width, and even though they can stretch them in the front and squeeze them in the heel, those things don't always work. It did not work for me. Even after getting them stretched 3 times (and my feet are just B+ width), my circulation still got cut off and my arches cramped so I had to give up on them. (2) Edea boots take a shorter blade than other boots, so don't order new blades until you're SURE you're happy with the Edeas. Otherwise, you're out the money for another pair of boots AND another pair of blades!

P.S. I just noticed your location says "Sendai-shi". Ima demo Sendai ni sunderu no?

Edea come in a variety of different levels. I have seen no-test girls wearing Edeas but that does not mean they are in IceFlys.

In my area, Edea were the rage about two years ago. Lots of skaters got them and within a month or two, they were very unhappy with them. As soon as their feet grew and/or the boots broke down, they went back to their old boot manufacturer.

Here is what I have been told by my pro shop person (formerly world level skater) and the coaches who initially recommended Edeas. People love Edeas because they are SO comfortable from day one BUT ... if you are doing doubles or more, then they do not stay tied so you need to duct tape them. Also, they have a plastic sole so they better be mounted properly from day 1. If you need to make an adjustment, well it may or may not work. If you have a particular foot issue that in the past you "punch out" to accommodate, you cannot do this with Edeas since they have synthetic inners. Also, they wear well for while and then suddenly they wear out.

A lot of top skaters wear them but I think Edea is supplying them for publicity. I read somewhere that Gracie Gold receives 4 pairs per year. My assumption is your family will be buying them for you and they expect whatever boots they purchase will last you for awhile.

WRT IceFly boots: Gracie Gold wears them and goes through a pair every 3 months or so. They aren't THAT heavy duty. I am sure Max Aaron goes through them about as quickly

thank you so much @vlaurend that is exactly what i needed to know about the blades!!
i've been told edeas won't work for me bc i have two different size feet (6 and 6.5) and C width AA heels.... *sigh* also, i'm on legacy blades not elites but that's okay... i don't skate hard... like 3 or 4 times a week for an hour to two hours... only about 4 hours per week and i'm not doing giant triples so i expect i'll be fine, but thank you @concorde and @mskater93 that is good to know about the edea boots!
P.S., @vlaurend i don't speak fluent japanese and i only put that because i'm a yuzuru hanyu-obsessed weeaboo i'm extremely sorry

pooh-beanie said:

thank you so much @vlaurend that is exactly what i needed to know about the blades!!
i've been told edeas won't work for me bc i have two different size feet (6 and 6.5) and C width AA heels.... *sigh* also, i'm on legacy blades not elites but that's okay... i don't skate hard... like 3 or 4 times a week for an hour to two hours... only about 4 hours per week and i'm not doing giant triples so i expect i'll be fine, but thank you @concorde and @mskater93 that is good to know about the edea boots!
P.S., @vlaurend i don't speaks fluent japanese and i only put that because i'm a yuzuru hanyu-obsessed weeaboo i'm extremely sorry

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Ah, if you are currently using Legacy blades, not Elite, then the Pattern 99 blades will be a bigger adjustment for you. The shape of the spinning rocker will be a little different, but also, the blade will be flatter overall since it's an 8' radius and your current blade is 7'. The biggest adjustment will be that you'll need to get your weight farther back on the blade when skating backwards and it will feel weird for awhile. On the other hand, you'll notice more glide and speed with the 8' rocker blades because the flatter the blade, the faster you go and the more stability you have.

Yes, I overheard Gracie Gold saying she goes through a pair of Ice Fly boots every 3 months, but of course she also does triple jumps for several hours a day, 6 days a week.

P.S. Can't blame you for loving Yuzu. You are too cute!

wow you sure know your stuff!! (@vlaurend)
thank you so so so much!!!! you have no idea how helpful this is thank you thank you thank you!!!
there's a good chance I might be in Elite blades before pattern 99 anyhow, but thanks so much for the info on the pattern 99s!!!

p.s. Yuzu is the real cutie omigod his Xylitol (or w/e it is- that weird gum thing for LOTTE) costume!!! (*cringes*) his commercial costumes are all hideous but he's an angel so it's mediocre

pooh-beanie said:

wow you sure know your stuff!! (@vlaurend)
thank you so so so much!!!! you have no idea how helpful this is thank you thank you thank you!!!
there's a good chance I might be in Elite blades before pattern 99 anyhow, but thanks so much for the info on the pattern 99s!!!

p.s. Yuzu is the real cutie omigod his Xylitol (or w/e it is- that weird gum thing for LOTTE) costume!!! (*cringes*) his commercial costumes are all hideous but he's an angel so it's mediocre

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Well, I didn't know much about the Legacy and Elite blades but their online catalog (I think I posted a link to it above) had the rocker radius and Wilson equivalent of each of the Ultima blades. Actually, I was also thinking the best progression for you might be to go to the Elite blades and THEN the Pattern 99's. At each step, you only have to make one adjustment.

vlaurend said:

Well, I didn't know much about the Legacy and Elite blades but their online catalog (I think I posted a link to it above) had the rocker radius and Wilson equivalent of each of the Ultima blades. Actually, I was also thinking the best progression for you might be to go to the Elite blades and THEN the Pattern 99's. At each step, you only have to make one adjustment.

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either way, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! (domo arigatoogozaimasu ?? hehe)
i'll be sure to check out the sites and talk to the guy who does my skates about Elites and then Pattern 99's next time I go there!

The only thing I would point out with regard to Pattern 99's is to know that they are shorter than many other blades. Some people really like this, others really don't. Personally, I like really deep edges and have wear marks on the sides of the fronts of my soles as it is, so this is why I probably wouldn't try Pattern 99's. I was actually really curious about the Pattern 99 profiles, until I realized that that's what I have now on my Paramounts. Again a personal preference, but for me that profile just isn't working as well as the Gold Seal profile did (take that with a grain of salt though, since my blades aren't real Pattern 99's, but a copy).

Changing your profile will change how you spin - where exactly your weight has to be. I have a much harder time spinning on the Pattern 99 profiles. This diagram showing the differences between Gold Seal, Phantom, and Pattern 99 profiles illustrates that pretty well: http://paramountskates.com/Curves1.jpg

Basically, on a Gold Seal profile your weight needs to be farther towards the front when spinning and on Pattern 99's it needs to be farther back. I would imagine this affects other footwork too.

Also, I personally did not experience any difficulty whatsoever when I switched from 7' rockers to 8' rockers - for me it was a change for the better and felt great!

It's hard to simply talk about and use logic to decide though - unfortunately you've got to experience different blades to find out what works best for you.

Good luck with your next skates - I hope they work out great for you!