Adult Beginner Boots and Fitter Recommendations

[momofsewmany]

My kids have been skating for a few months and I decided to give it a try. So, I got on the ice for the first time in my life today! I will be 48 in a few weeks. I had great time and will be joining my kids on the ice 3-4 times a week, so my own skates are a reasonable investment. My husband was ready to go find skates today.
I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and bone spurs at age 30, before I put on weight. But I have been able to treat the PF and keep the pain away while walking 4 miles/day in under an hour, 5 days a week for exercise.
Today, wearing rentals, I had instant severe pain on the inside of my feet that shot through my arches, caused by pressure from the heel of the boot pushing into the muscle and tendons just below my ankle on the inside of my foot, this improved when I went up a size.
In the bigger size (10) the ankle was wide enough while still being snug enough to keep my foot in place. But I still had pressure on the smaller two toes of both feet that caused mild pain. As well, the arches of my feet ached while I was skating, and found myself taking brakes between laps to let my feet recover. I'm guessing this could be due to the new activity and the less than ideal fitting boots. I'm curious if I could use an insert in the rentals to get relief until I can make it to a fitter to get my own.
I'm located in the south end of York County, Pennsylvania. Height 5' 6.5", weight 210, my feet are wide with high arches and my foot shape is African per the chart I saw on another thread. I do not foresee any jumps in my future, but it could be possible in a year or two, but only likely if I have dropped 60 lbs. At which point I expect I would be ready for new boots.

Thank you for reading along!

side note, two of my older children have their own boots, one figure, one hockey, they were fitted, including the bake and shape. But I only saw a couple of Jackson skates at the shop we were at, and from what I have read in the threads here, it sounds like the ones they put my petite 13 y/o in will not be suitable for me.

 

[momofsewmany]

My kids have been skating for a few months and I decided to give it a try. So, I got on the ice for the first time in my life today! I will be 48 in a few weeks. I had great time and will be joining my kids on the ice 3-4 times a week, so my own skates are a reasonable investment. My husband was ready to go find skates today.
I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and bone spurs at age 30, before I put on weight. But I have been able to treat the PF and keep the pain away while walking 4 miles/day in under an hour, 5 days a week for exercise.
Today, wearing rentals, I had instant severe pain on the inside of my feet that shot through my arches, caused by pressure from the heel of the boot pushing into the muscle and tendons just below my ankle on the inside of my foot, this improved when I went up a size.
In the bigger size (10) the ankle was wide enough while still being snug enough to keep my foot in place. But I still had pressure on the smaller two toes of both feet that caused mild pain. As well, the arches of my feet ached while I was skating, and found myself taking brakes between laps to let my feet recover. I'm guessing this could be due to the new activity and the less than ideal fitting boots. I'm curious if I could use an insert in the rentals to get relief until I can make it to a fitter to get my own.
I'm located in the south end of York County, Pennsylvania. Height 5' 6.5", weight 210, my feet are wide with high arches and my foot shape is African per the chart I saw on another thread. I do not foresee any jumps in my future, but it could be possible in a year or two, but only likely if I have dropped 60 lbs. At which point I expect I would be ready for new boots.

Thank you for reading along!

side note, two of my older children have their own boots, one figure, one hockey, they were fitted, including the bake and shape. But I only saw a couple of Jackson skates at the shop we were at, and from what I have read in the threads here, it sounds like the ones they put my petite 13 y/o in will not be suitable for me.

I just checked, daughter's figure skates are Mystiques.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

My kids have been skating for a few months and I decided to give it a try. So, I got on the ice for the first time in my life today! I will be 48 in a few weeks. I had great time and will be joining my kids on the ice 3-4 times a week, so my own skates are a reasonable investment. My husband was ready to go find skates today.
I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and bone spurs at age 30, before I put on weight. But I have been able to treat the PF and keep the pain away while walking 4 miles/day in under an hour, 5 days a week for exercise.
Today, wearing rentals, I had instant severe pain on the inside of my feet that shot through my arches, caused by pressure from the heel of the boot pushing into the muscle and tendons just below my ankle on the inside of my foot, this improved when I went up a size.
In the bigger size (10) the ankle was wide enough while still being snug enough to keep my foot in place. But I still had pressure on the smaller two toes of both feet that caused mild pain. As well, the arches of my feet ached while I was skating, and found myself taking brakes between laps to let my feet recover. I'm guessing this could be due to the new activity and the less than ideal fitting boots. I'm curious if I could use an insert in the rentals to get relief until I can make it to a fitter to get my own.
I'm located in the south end of York County, Pennsylvania. Height 5' 6.5", weight 210, my feet are wide with high arches and my foot shape is African per the chart I saw on another thread. I do not foresee any jumps in my future, but it could be possible in a year or two, but only likely if I have dropped 60 lbs. At which point I expect I would be ready for new boots.

Thank you for reading along!

side note, two of my older children have their own boots, one figure, one hockey, they were fitted, including the bake and shape. But I only saw a couple of Jackson skates at the shop we were at, and from what I have read in the threads here, it sounds like the ones they put my petite 13 y/o in will not be suitable for me.

Hello and welcome! There is alot to unwrap here so please bear with me! Before I give you info for yourself I wanted to mention that your petite 13y/o daughter should not be in Mystiques, they're not stiff enough. She shouldn't be in a starter boot set lower than a Jackson Elle.

Now, onto yourself: You will need to see a podiatrist to get special insoles made for your PF to fit in your new boots (not the rentals). I would suggest a Jackson for you, but with your other stats you will need a stiffer boot. Jackson Synergy Ignite or Supreme 5300. You'll need blades to go with such a boot, so look into traditional John Wilson Coronation Ace or MK Pro.

In the area that you are in, you would need to travel to get fitted by someone proper. There was someone in your area for years and he was one of the best but he passed away 8 years or so ago. If you want suggestions for fitters I could send you a DM on those, just let me know here.


Good luck!

 

[momofsewmany]

Hello and welcome! There is alot to unwrap here so please bear with me! Before I give you info for yourself I wanted to mention that your petite 13y/o daughter should not be in Mystiques, they're not stiff enough. She shouldn't be in a starter boot set lower than a Jackson Elle.

Now, onto yourself: You will need to see a podiatrist to get special insoles made for your PF to fit in your new boots (not the rentals). I would suggest a Jackson for you, but with your other stats you will need a stiffer boot. Jackson Synergy Ignite or Supreme 5300. You'll need blades to go with such a boot, so look into traditional John Wilson Coronation Ace or MK Pro.

In the area that you are in, you would need to travel to get fitted by someone proper. There was someone in your area for years and he was one of the best but he passed away 8 years or so ago. If you want suggestions for fitters I could send you a DM on those, just let me know here.


Good luck!

Thanks so much for the quick reply!
At the cost of the recommended boot for myself, I will have to put off that purchase for a while. I wish that wasn't the case, but such is life. Could be a few months, could be a year, depends on whatever else comes up.
I'm sorry to hear that such an excellent fitter is no longer with us.
I would appreciate a list of suggestions. I will keep it handy for when I am able to make the investment in myself.

 

[Mimi2789]

OP you do not need a $1000+ dollar pair of skates to do laps around a public session with your kids. You sound like you are really excited about skating and I think it's a shame that you received advice that is discouraging you from getting started. No reasonable fitter would try to put an absolute beginner in this kind of set-up, regardless of weight. You will most likely break down a pair of freestyles prematurely, but they will be more than fine for casual beginner skating and dipping a toe into lessons.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

OP, you may be able to get away with a Jackson Spark or Premier but that's the lowest you can safely go. Figure skating is one of the most expensive sports and you need the proper boots to support you properly while also not risking you injuring yourself. That is my professional experience and opinion for 30+ years and I will stick by that. If you are going to be taking lessons etc then my suggestions stand. If you are skating laps around a rink and not doing much else or have plans for that then Jackson Debut 2550. Do not go lower than that though. If it is the latter ( just recreational lap skating, then I misunderstood your original post and my apologies).

 

[momofsewmany]

OP you do not need a $1000+ dollar pair of skates to do laps around a public session with your kids. You sound like you are really excited about skating and I think it's a shame that you received advice that is discouraging you from getting started. No reasonable fitter would try to put an absolute beginner in this kind of set-up, regardless of weight. You will most likely break down a pair of freestyles prematurely, but they will be more than fine for casual beginner skating and dipping a toe into lessons.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[momofsewmany]

OP, you may be able to get away with a Jackson Spark or Premier but that's the lowest you can safely go. Figure skating is one of the most expensive sports and you need the proper boots to support you properly while also not risking you injuring yourself. That is my professional experience and opinion for 30+ years and I will stick by that. If you are going to be taking lessons etc then my suggestions stand. If you are skating laps around a rink and not doing much else or have plans for that then Jackson Debut 2550. Do not go lower than that though. If it is the latter ( just recreational lap skating, then I misunderstood your original post and my apologies).

Yes, just recreational lap skating. And maybe joining my littlest in the parent/tot lessons offered at our local rink. The coaches there are amazing and just as excited to see me try out skating as my family. I don't foresee myself doing anything further than skating forwards and backwards, learning to control my speed and stop effectively. I'll be happy with that for years to come!
If by some chance I gain the confidence to progress, I will keep tucking away funds to upgrade my skates.
I see the stiffness rating on the Jackson Debut 2550 is 50, and the men's Freestyle is 45/49. Can you explain the difference to me or point me to somewhere to learn more about this?

I will leave the proper fitting to the professionals, but just following the guidelines on the Jackson website
Chart labeled Jackson Ultima size chart, the Men's size 7 wide are my exact measurements. Foot traced onto paper to measure length, and then used soft tape measure to get width.

Also, do the blade recommendations from your first reply still stand with the Debut 2550s?
I am also still interested in getting the name of fitters, understanding that I may have to travel for it.
Thank you

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Yes, just recreational lap skating. And maybe joining my littlest in the parent/tot lessons offered at our local rink. The coaches there are amazing and just as excited to see me try out skating as my family. I don't foresee myself doing anything further than skating forwards and backwards, learning to control my speed and stop effectively. I'll be happy with that for years to come!
If by some chance I gain the confidence to progress, I will keep tucking away funds to upgrade my skates.
I see the stiffness rating on the Jackson Debut 2550 is 50, and the men's Freestyle is 45/49. Can you explain the difference to me or point me to somewhere to learn more about this?

I will leave the proper fitting to the professionals, but just following the guidelines on the Jackson website
Chart labeled Jackson Ultima size chart, the Men's size 7 wide are my exact measurements. Foot traced onto paper to measure length, and then used soft tape measure to get width.

Also, do the blade recommendations from your first reply still stand with the Debut 2550s?
I am also still interested in getting the name of fitters, understanding that I may have to travel for it.
Thank you

Sorry that I misunderstood initially. Welcome to the sport!

You want the Debut 2550 which is rated 50, do not go below that in rating. Also, you really need to get fit by a professional because you can't trace and measure your own feet properly for skate boots.

As far as blades, if you are just doing rec and maybe initial learn to skate lessons you could get away with the Ultima Mirage or Aspire XP blades.
Good luck!

 

[tstop4me]

I see the stiffness rating on the Jackson Debut 2550 is 50, and the men's Freestyle is 45/49. Can you explain the difference to me or point me to somewhere to learn more about this?

It's probably not worthwhile for you to pursue this. Key points.

* There's no industry-wide standard for measuring stiffness. In fact, there's no industry-wide definition of stiffness.

* You can't compare values of stiffness from different boot manufacturers. That is, a Jackson boot with a stiffness of 50 may be less stiff than, the same stiffness as, or more stiff than a (Riedell, Edea, Risport, ...) boot with a stiffness of 50.

* Within a single boot manufacturer's line, it's not clear how much stiffer a 50 vs a 75 vs a 100, e.g., is. And some numbers are indeed puzzling. Most Jackson boots have stiffness increments of 5 (..., 40, 45, 50, 55, ...), implying that a skater can feel the difference of an increment of 5. But then there are some oddities with a couple of their men's boots. As you have noted, the men's Freestyle is a 49 (not a 50) and the men's Premiere is a 69 (not a 70). Does that imply that a skater can feel the difference of an increment of 1? Can they measure to that degree of accuracy? Beats me. [FYI: For men's Freestyles, 45/49 refers to 45 for boy's sizes and 49 refers to men's sizes.]

* In principle, you wouldn't characterize stiffness by a single value. First, there are at least 4 major directions in which to flex a boot (forward, backward, side/outwards, side/inwards), and stiffness is not necessarily constant with direction. Then, the stiffness is not necessarily constant with the degree of flex (e.g., flexing the boot by ... 15, 30, 45, 60 ... deg). If you read other threads, the Edea Ice Fly and Piano are considered to be very stiff boots. But the uppers and tongue are shaped to allow substantial free-play at the front of the ankle. So, in the forward direction at small flex angles, the stiffness is nearly zero. Models of boots from other manufacturers have varying degrees of free-play. Older traditional boots have little free-play and hug the portion of the leg above the ankle tightly.

* In principle, you wouldn't characterize the stiffness of a boot in isolation. You would need to introduce a standardized dummy jointed foot, and lace up the boot. This would introduce a lot more variables. But this would be more representative of real-life scenarios.

* In summary, if a shop has various model boots in your size, then try them on and feel the difference in ease of flex. Caveat: For a total beginner, this is not an easy task except at the extremes (e.g., soft and squishy vs hard as a rock).

 

[momofsewmany]

Sorry that I misunderstood initially. Welcome to the sport!

You want the Debut 2550 which is rated 50, do not go below that in rating. Also, you really need to get fit by a professional because you can't trace and measure your own feet properly for skate boots.

As far as blades, if you are just doing rec and maybe initial learn to skate lessons you could get away with the Ultima Mirage or Aspire XP blades.
Good luck!

It's all good! Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I truly appreciate it!
Today I tried the size 7 wide rental and wow the difference is incredible! My feet are so much better today! Skating went even better than Monday. They're still pressing on the outsides of the widest part of my foot, but overall better. I'm glad I have done a little research in the last couple of days.
And thanks for the welcome!
Next up, finding someone to fit me.

 

[momofsewmany]

It's probably not worthwhile for you to pursue this. Key points.

* There's no industry-wide standard for measuring stiffness. In fact, there's no industry-wide definition of stiffness.

* You can't compare values of stiffness from different boot manufacturers. That is, a Jackson boot with a stiffness of 50 may be less stiff than, the same stiffness as, or more stiff than a (Riedell, Edea, Risport, ...) boot with a stiffness of 50.

* Within a single boot manufacturer's line, it's not clear how much stiffer a 50 vs a 75 vs a 100, e.g., is. And some numbers are indeed puzzling. Most Jackson boots have stiffness increments of 5 (..., 40, 45, 50, 55, ...), implying that a skater can feel the difference of an increment of 5. But then there are some oddities with a couple of their men's boots. As you have noted, the men's Freestyle is a 49 (not a 50) and the men's Premiere is a 69 (not a 70). Does that imply that a skater can feel the difference of an increment of 1? Can they measure to that degree of accuracy? Beats me. [FYI: For men's Freestyles, 45/49 refers to 45 for boy's sizes and 49 refers to men's sizes.]

* In principle, you wouldn't characterize stiffness by a single value. First, there are at least 4 major directions in which to flex a boot (forward, backward, side/outwards, side/inwards), and stiffness is not necessarily constant with direction. Then, the stiffness is not necessarily constant with the degree of flex (e.g., flexing the boot by ... 15, 30, 45, 60 ... deg). If you read other threads, the Edea Ice Fly and Piano are considered to be very stiff boots. But the uppers and tongue are shaped to allow substantial free-play at the front of the ankle. So, in the forward direction at small flex angles, the stiffness is nearly zero. Models of boots from other manufacturers have varying degrees of free-play. Older traditional boots have little free-play and hug the portion of the leg above the ankle tightly.

* In principle, you wouldn't characterize the stiffness of a boot in isolation. You would need to introduce a standardized dummy jointed foot, and lace up the boot. This would introduce a lot more variables. But this would be more representative of real-life scenarios.

* In summary, if a shop has various model boots in your size, then try them on and feel the difference in ease of flex. Caveat: For a total beginner, this is not an easy task except at the extremes (e.g., soft and squishy vs hard as a rock).

Thank you for all of this!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

It's all good! Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I truly appreciate it!
Today I tried the size 7 wide rental and wow the difference is incredible! My feet are so much better today! Skating went even better than Monday. They're still pressing on the outsides of the widest part of my foot, but overall better. I'm glad I have done a little research in the last couple of days.
And thanks for the welcome!
Next up, finding someone to fit me.

I'll DM you fitters. Also, you may need a wide version of boots.

 

[Query]

It is possible for you to make your own inserts, especially if they are just revised shape insoles - but there is a lot to learn and experiment with. If you can afford it, seeing a podiatrist - or perhaps an orthotist, but in many locations you can't legally see an orthotist without seeing a podiatrist first - is the simplest option. That said, I make my own for skates (and I mostly used the elimination of pain, along with a uniformly snug fit, as a guide), though I wear ones made by an orthotist in my athletic shoes. And a lot of people here would not advise making your own, because there are mistakes you could make. Plus, a good podiatrist could check whether there are any new problems with your feet to be taken care of. I would suggest a "sports podiatrist" (not just a podiatrist who sees many athletes, but one with extra sports related training), preferably one that other skaters say has done a good job for them, because skate podiatry is to some extent a specialty. If you can afford it, and/or your health insurance covers it.

Inserts designed for another pair of boots or shoes probably won't work - because, by definition, they are custom devices that adapt the shape and perhaps stiffness of one pair of shoes or boots to fit your feet, so to do a good job, they must be designed to fit both the shoes or boots, and your feet. (Exception: some very stiff orthotics only need to fit your feet - usually they are heat molded to your feet. But that tends to mean they rock around inside a snug boot like a figure skates, which I feel to be unsafe, and could cause a loss of control.)

But I'm not an expert. And I didn't entirely figure out what to do until I had done things like create bone spurs in my feet. Seeing a first rate podiatrist or orthotist would have saved me a lot of pain and grief.

 

[momofsewmany]

It is possible for you to make your own inserts, especially if they are just revised shape insoles - but there is a lot to learn and experiment with. If you can afford it, seeing a podiatrist - or perhaps an orthotist, but in many locations you can't legally see an orthotist without seeing a podiatrist first - is the simplest option. That said, I make my own for skates (and I mostly used the elimination of pain, along with a uniformly snug fit, as a guide), though I wear ones made by an orthotist in my athletic shoes. And a lot of people here would not advise making your own, because there are mistakes you could make. Plus, a good podiatrist could check whether there are any new problems with your feet to be taken care of. I would suggest a "sports podiatrist" (not just a podiatrist who sees many athletes, but one with extra sports related training), preferably one that other skaters say has done a good job for them, because skate podiatry is to some extent a specialty. If you can afford it, and/or your health insurance covers it.

Inserts designed for another pair of boots or shoes probably won't work - because, by definition, they are custom devices that adapt the shape and perhaps stiffness of one pair of shoes or boots to fit your feet, so to do a good job, they must be designed to fit both the shoes or boots, and your feet. (Exception: some very stiff orthotics only need to fit your feet - usually they are heat molded to your feet. But that tends to mean they rock around inside a snug boot like a figure skates, which I feel to be unsafe, and could cause a loss of control.)

But I'm not an expert. And I didn't entirely figure out what to do until I had done things like create bone spurs in my feet. Seeing a first rate podiatrist or orthotist would have saved me a lot of pain and grief.

Thanks so much! Seeing a sports podiatrist makes a lot of sense to me!
Our oldest had to do PT for a soccer injury many years ago, choosing the Sports Physical Therapist was the best thing we did for her!