My turn to ask a boot question. I am an adult skater with singles through axel. Have been working with my coach on flexing through the ankle on the skating foot in order to keep forward motion on the takeoff to my axel and double salchow. The idea is to get a better vault forward and come completely through the toepick. I hope that this method will help my snap and allow me to increase my rotation on the double sal attempts. I'm at the point where my boots are breaking down and it is getting easier to flex my ankle. However, I need new boots. I am currently in lightweight Reidells. My question is: are the "softer" boots like Risport or Aura easier to flex your ankle in? Or are they just more comfortable for the break in period? I've always skated in Reidells. At my advanced age, I'd prefer not to change unless there would be a clear advantage. Thanks for any experience/opinions.
boot question
- Thread starter ausal
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I think they are silver star. They are several years old and I may not be remembering correctly. Maybe "softer" isn't the right description. Obviously I still want the correct support for my adult size and for landing doubles. Is there a boot that affords enough support but also allows for good flexibility?
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2019
Yesterday's Silver Stars are equivalent to today's Riedell Bronze Stars, and today's Silver Stars are equivalent to the old Gold Stars (which you can still get but they are special order). If Riedell has served you well until now, you should stick with it, and as you are trying to learn doubles, I think you should continue on with the current Silver Stars if not the Gold Stars (adults are heavier than kids and need more support for the same level of skills).
Most all boot makers today are making them with a flex notch to help with your very issue. (it's a notch cut in the boot in between where the hooks end and the eyelets start). If for some reason you think Silver Stars are still not stiff enough for you, you can check out Jackson. A Silver Star equivalent in Jackson would be the Debut, and they have a few more that are stiffer than that. But if you have difficulty flexing your foot, Jackson may not be right for you.
Most all boot makers today are making them with a flex notch to help with your very issue. (it's a notch cut in the boot in between where the hooks end and the eyelets start). If for some reason you think Silver Stars are still not stiff enough for you, you can check out Jackson. A Silver Star equivalent in Jackson would be the Debut, and they have a few more that are stiffer than that. But if you have difficulty flexing your foot, Jackson may not be right for you.
So, (a) you would prefer to stick with a Riedell that you're used to, (b) have firm support, and (c) have added ankle flex. You should probably check out the Riedell 2010 Fusion. It's rated a stiffness of 90, same as the current Silver Star. Only two models of Riedell (traditional Aria and new-line Elara) are stiffer (100). But the ankle cuff and tongue are different from those of the traditional Riedell models; specifically to allow more ankle flex.
I've never worn them, but a friend of mine has them. She was having problems tying them tight enough, and asked me for help. I cinched them up as tight as reasonable, but she still complained that the tongue around the ankle felt too loose. I told her they were designed that way. I asked her why she bought that particular model if she didn't want a looser fit in the ankle. She told me they looked real cool. So they were wrong for her, but might be right for you. At least worth looking into. Good luck.
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- Apr 10, 2019
They said their boot is several years old. The previous generation of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stars were softer than they are now. Older Silver Stars are like today's Bronze Stars. I've handled Bronze Stars and I can't imagine an adult jumping in them at all.
My tech told me that the ratings recommendations advertised on bootmakers' websites are based on the average skater being a light adolescent, not an adult, and that adults should move up a stiffness rating to get an appropriate boot for your skill level.
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- Oct 31, 2020
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I missed the several years old memo whoops. The latter is incorrect as it really depends on the boot brand. For example, Edea's ratings are fairly consistent for the average healthy adult and lighter skaters look like they're "under booting" when in reality they're just like 4'10 or something. Jackson has an entire chart based on weight which is still pretty limited as it cuts off at 120 pounds and anyone substantially heavier than that is left guessing. Riedell on the other hand, is a bit of a mess, as their boots recommended for triples seem to assume fully grown teenager whereas they're boots recommended for singles seem to assume 8 year old (this is just from my experience with Riedell). This is why we have experts like @Ic3Rabbit who know these boots by heart.
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- Apr 10, 2019
I had been following my tech's advice which seemed to make sense to me. I handled Silver Stars and they felt just about as stiff as my Jackson Debuts. Ever since I came back I've been following the "halve the Riedell stiffness to get an equivalent Jackson stiffness" motto - Silver Stars are a Riedell 90 and Debut low cut is a Jackson 45, and they feel the same.
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- Oct 31, 2020
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This is specifically what Edea is designed for. If Riedell is working well for you there's a possibility Edea will fit; there's also a possibility it won't. There's kinda two types of feet that Riedell fits well and one of them loves Edea and the other hates it. You can request softer Auras and I haven't met a person wearing Aura who doesn't like them. They also allow for a lot of bend though I'm not sure what it is about the design that allows that. They're popular at my rink and everyone loves them.
Thanks this is all good advice. I just wish there was a way to try Auras before committing to them. I'm a lifelong skater, I'm just not very good. I used to work more consistently on "all " the doubles and would do double flips and double loops in the harness. So maybe that's why I needed a boot with stiffness for doubles. Now I prefer to spend more time working on the double salchow off harness, because I might actually land it!
