So Auras aren't actually custom?

[christy]

I have extremely odd feet and have always had major problems buying skates. I've had to fit one foot then try to adapt the other boot to work reasonably well, but never managed to get skates that actually worked. Consequently I decided to give Auras a try as they're supposed to be custom made. So I got them and whilst one boot is a reasonable fit (but I' think will actually be too big once I try skating) the other one is completely wrong and has pressure / pain points everywhere.

My skate tech spent ages trying absolutely everything we could think of such as different insoles, heel lifts, reheating several times, punching out in various areas, remolding, and after nothing but horrendous pain I'm not sure what to try next so wondering what other people's experiences of Aura have been.

This is my first time trying customs and I was shocked that they provide a very poor quality standard (so not customized at all) insole, and that the boots themselves don't appear to have been made to fit my foot in any way. Is this normal for custom skates, or are Auras not really as custom as they claim to be?

 

[kolyadafan2002]

I have extremely odd feet and have always had major problems buying skates. I've had to fit one foot then try to adapt the other boot to work reasonably well, but never managed to get skates that actually worked. Consequently I decided to give Auras a try as they're supposed to be custom made. So I got them and whilst one boot is a reasonable fit (but I' think will actually be too big once I try skating) the other one is completely wrong and has pressure / pain points everywhere.

My skate tech spent ages trying absolutely everything we could think of such as different insoles, heel lifts, reheating several times, punching out in various areas, remolding, and after nothing but horrendous pain I'm not sure what to try next so wondering what other people's experiences of Aura have been.

This is my first time trying customs and I was shocked that they provide a very poor quality standard (so not customized at all) insole, and that the boots themselves don't appear to have been made to fit my foot in any way. Is this normal for custom skates, or are Auras not really as custom as they claim to be?

They are completely custom (they 3D print a scan of your foot and build around that, but sometimes there is some error (either due to the scanning, 3D printing, or process error). Contact Aura with issues, and they will make you another pair fixing the issues you have / ask you to do a new scan and send new pair based around that.
If boots are too big, that often indicates an error in the scanning of the foot and not getting that correct.


You can email or dm them and get a relatively quick response and turnaround. Best of luck, and hope your issues get solved!

 

[kolyadafan2002]

I don't think the scan is the problem They have already told me that they made one of the boots over 15mm bigger than the scans because they decided adult skaters like loads of room in their boots!! Also I checked the insoles and one of my feet hang about 5mm over the edge so there's no support for that foot, and that boot is too small.

Okay, sad to hear. Are you in touch with the support - and are they going to remake the boots for you?

 

[kolyadafan2002]

I have heard from them, and they want to remake the boots, but from what they've said I don't think it's possible. They need to make the soles a certain length to accommodate the blades, but the difference in the size of my feet is significant (around 14mm). Also the email they sent was confusing and contradictory with random bits of marketing speak pasted in - just odd really!
They say they made one boot 15mm bigger than my foot and the other 12mm bigger, then they say one boot is 10mm bigger than the other. All I know is that one boot is much too big and the other too small, and the insoles reflect that.
Also, there is no way I want 12mm of space in my boot, never mind 15mm! That's way too big for anyone and will cause me all sorts of problems

It's a shame to hear that coming from their customer service, I've usually had on point customer service with them.
I'd try specifically email them asking them if 1-4mm extra space is possible - as from what I recall above 5mm isn't recommended if your feet have stopped growing. (As far as I'm aware 5mm is one boot size in conventional boots?)

It could be possible that they were trying to accommodate a bigger blade, as truly perfect fits usually require smaller blades - but message them asking as there are also other ways around this anyways.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

They're more of a fad than anything. I'd be asking for my $ back and go spend it on real custom boots.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I have asked for a refund as I don't believe they can actually make a skate that will work for my feet. They said as much in their very convoluted and contradictory email, and after reading their email I have zero confidence in their ability to make anything useful. The thing is that I know that it's not easy to make the perfect skate for my feet and I would have had complete respect for them if they'd come back and said it wasn't possible. So much better to be upfront and honest than trying the palm the customer off with something that is obviously not what they need. All they've done so far is to waste a day of my time and several hours of my skate techs, and now they want to waste the same again!
I think the idea is great but iirc they were recently acquired by True which seems to have had a negative impact on them.

I was wondering if they've gone to designing everything by hockey standards recently. And if that truly is the case, try to get your $ back but definitely run far away from them lol!

 

[MCsAngel2]

If that was your review on the Aura size (you have very narrow feet?) you should look into Riedell customs.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

No idea where you get the idea I have narrow feet as I've never mentioned foot width, and actually have wide feet. I have read great things about Riedell customs but after this experience will be avoiding all custom options for the foreseeable

If you have wide feet your best bet is going to be Jackson and you may have no choice with your feet when it comes to custom or semi-custom.

 

[christy]

If you have wide feet your best bet is going to be Jackson and you may have no choice with your feet when it comes to custom or semi-custom.

I was actually debating Risports

 

[MCsAngel2]

No idea where you get the idea I have narrow feet as I've never mentioned foot width, and actually have wide feet. I have read great things about Riedell customs but after this experience will be avoiding all custom options for the foreseeable

I went to the Aura size and there was a customer review by someone who had significant issues with their boots; I thought it might have been yours because the complaints sounded similar.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I was actually debating Risports

They may not come wide enough for you depending on boot model needed.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I thought they were as wide as Jacksons? My foot it wide, but not massively so. More D than C in Jackson.

It depends on the model.