Boot Advice for a Heavy Adult Beginner with Wide Feet

[JuliaW]

Hi all, I've been browsing this forum for the last couple of months and finally decided it was time for make my own account and my own post.

I'm an adult woman (31) who has been figure skating for the past 4 years. In that time, I've been to adult group class for 1 hour a week for 6 months of the year, but inconsistent due to work and family health issues. The family issues have been dealt with and I've managed to adjust my work schedule, meaning I can now go practice on my own for 1-1.5 hours two times a week, in addition to the hour of adult group class. I'm also in contact with a private coach to take a one hour private session every other week starting soon. So moving up to 4 hours a week of skating.

I'm in the Netherlands, but I'm probably roughly equivalent to US Adult 6 / Pre-Free Skate / Adult Pre-Bronze MITF. I'm relatively comfortable with edges, working on getting my crossovers and forward 3-turns to be smoother, and starting to learn (very small) waltz jumps and salchows.

I'm having fun and I feel like I'm (slowly) progressing, but I feel like I continue to struggle with my boots. I started out on Jackson Freestyles, 7 1/2 W, but I worry they might still be too narrow for me around the ball of my foot. I feel like my feet start hurting / cramping within 15-30 minutes of skating, mostly focussed on the ball of my foot. I've read advice online about making sure not to curl / grip with my toes, but I don't think that's the issue.

But at the same time, I feel like my skates are maybe too loose? Like I'm not entirely sure my heel is properly secure and maybe there's even a (very) little bit of room for my feet to slide forwards in my skate. The issue becomes worse the longer I skate, so I'm usually redoing my laces every 20-30 minutes.

I'm going to a fitter on Monday (Oomssport, The Hague, The Netherlands) and have an appointment for a fitting session, including a 3D scan. (The scanner itself is a Bauer FitLab 3D scanner, so mostly focussed on hockey skates, but the measurements should still be useful - length, width, volume, arch hight, heel width. Someone else in my adult group mentioned they did a scan and helped her get a better fitting boot last year, so I'm hopeful.)

Like I said, I'm currently wearing Jackson Freestyles, 7 1/5 W, but when I take out the insole and stand on it, I can see the ball of my foot is wider than the insole. My boots were heat molded, but I'm not sure if they were stretched or punched out or anything as well. (Fitted at Thillartssport, Den Bosch, The Netherlands about 4 years ago, before I started skating)

I've also started wearing Jackson's ProSupport+ Insoles this season, as I have protonation issues on my right foot. I think this might have made the boots feel a bit tighter as well? My left foot is generally okay, but my right foot tends to collapse inwards towards an inside edge. (This is also visible if I do a squat test in regular shoes or socks, my left knee goes forward, my right knee goes a bit inward.) The insoles help, but I still have some issues on the right, where I have trouble getting an outside edge. (Should I consider mounting the blade ever so slightly inwards on my right foot?)

Anyway, would greatly appreciate some advice on potential new skates. Various manufacturers have guides for boots/stiffness ratings based on current skills, but they're usually assuming lighter kids/teens and I'm an adult that's honestly quite overweight. Any advice is greatly appreciated! (I've seen lots of awesome advice by @Ic3Rabbit in other threads, hope it's okay if I tag you?)

Summary stats / info:
Height: 170 cm / 5'7"
Weight: 115 kg / 250 lbs
(I know, I know, I'm working on the weight.)
Age: 31
Skill level: rough US Adult Pre-Bronze
Practice time: 4 hours/week
Foot shape: African / Orient ?
Second toe seems to be roughly the same size of my big toe, maybe ever so slightly shorter. Toe sizes taper of afterwards, with my little toe perhaps a bit shorter than the average size decrease, making for an ever so slight rounding if I were to trace my feet. Front of my feet looks relatively square and then becomes smaller towards the heel.
Location: The Netherlands, Europe

 

[JuliaW]

Found the measurements for a foot scan I did a few years ago in a regular shoe store. I was probably wearing my own socks, so measurements might be a bit off. Also been a couple years, so might be off a bit in general.

Length: 246 mm / 247 mm (9.69 / 9.72 inches)
Width: 104 mm / 103 mm (4.09 / 4.06 inches)
Height: 64 mm / 62 mm (2.52 / 2.44 inches)
Circumference: 262 mm / 257 mm (10.31 / 10.12 inches)

When I walk with wet feet on my bathroom tiles, the shape looks like regular arches. With regular walking, I have normal alignment. But when I put pressure on my feet, my right foot shows pronation.

Assuming the above numbers are still accurate, and this Jackson size chart (as linked from their FAQ on the Canadian site) is still accurate for my Jackson Freestyles bought and couple years ago, my current 7 1/2W size look correct in length, but quite small in width (8 15/16). It looks like the men's boot for the same foot length (6W) is a little wider (9 1/8), but even then it's still too small.

Would it make sense to pick a men's boot and try and heat mold / stretch / punch out that one instead of a female boot? Or are there other differences between the boots besides the width that would make that a poor choice? (I don't care about white vs black boots.)

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Found the measurements for a foot scan I did a few years ago in a regular shoe store. I was probably wearing my own socks, so measurements might be a bit off. Also been a couple years, so might be off a bit in general.

Length: 246 mm / 247 mm (9.69 / 9.72 inches)
Width: 104 mm / 103 mm (4.09 / 4.06 inches)
Height: 64 mm / 62 mm (2.52 / 2.44 inches)
Circumference: 262 mm / 257 mm (10.31 / 10.12 inches)

When I walk with wet feet on my bathroom tiles, the shape looks like regular arches. With regular walking, I have normal alignment. But when I put pressure on my feet, my right foot shows pronation.

Assuming the above numbers are still accurate, and this Jackson size chart (as linked from their FAQ on the Canadian site) is still accurate for my Jackson Freestyles bought and couple years ago, my current 7 1/2W size look correct in length, but quite small in width (8 15/16). It looks like the men's boot for the same foot length (6W) is a little wider (9 1/8), but even then it's still too small.

Would it make sense to pick a men's boot and try and heat mold / stretch / punch out that one instead of a female boot? Or are there other differences between the boots besides the width that would make that a poor choice? (I don't care about white vs black boots.)

Hi. What is your height/weight/foot type/skill level? And yes, men's boots are stiffer than womens

 

[JuliaW]

Hi. What is your height/weight/foot type/skill level? And yes, men's boots are stiffer than womens

They're all in the first post

 

[Query]

A short while ago, I bought some (somewhat used) white boots, and I'm an adult guy. No one has said anything to me about the fact they are white.

And if someone wants to make assumptions about my (sometimes) wearing white boots, I don't really care what they privately think.

Sometimes I prefer to make my own decisions about what I care about, and what I need.

It's sometimes worth listening to what more experienced people say. But I also listen to my inner voice.

If I was unhappy with what a particular skate tech had fit me with, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to find another skate tech.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

They're all in the first post

I'll get back to you later.

 

[JuliaW]

A short while ago, I bought some (somewhat used) white boots, and I'm an adult guy. No one has said anything to me about the fact they are white.

And if someone wants to make assumptions about my (sometimes) wearing white boots, I don't really care what they privately think.

Sometimes I prefer to make my own decisions about what I care about, and what I need.

It's sometimes worth listening to what more experienced people say. But I also listen to my inner voice.

If I was unhappy with what a particular skate tech had fit me with, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to find another skate tech.

I'm not necessarily unhappy with my initial pair of boots or the skate tech. They seemed to fit me okay when I started skating. They felt tight, but not necessarily painful. Some mild cramping issues when skating, but I figured that was just from getting used to skating in general. I was struggling a bit with how tight my lacing was supposed to be to not be painfull but also feel supportive enough to do edges, crossovers, etc. Again, I figured it was because I was new and didn't really know what I was doing yet.

If new boots and blades will help with my skating, awesome! And I'm happy to give a different skate tech / shop a try, but I guess I'm not sure if the previous one actually did something.. wrong, necessarily. They put me in the widest boots there were, they were heat molded, and they felt fine to me? I guess I just maybe have very wide feet..

 

[IceM]

From those measurements, I can tell you that you have a very wide forefoot for your size. Just for reference, you're around UK size 6 in Graf sizes length wise, but your ball circumference is between 10.5-11.5 L; L meaning the widest, and Grafs have wide forefoot compared to many other brands, so that's more than 4 full size difference in a brand that's good for wide forefeet...

Given your foot type, I would suggest trying Risport RF lineup (RF1/RF3 Pro) in the widest width you can find, and see how those feel.

Since you're in Europe, you should have access to some Graf boots as well. You could find a shop that can take your measurements to Graf and see what they say. They might offer you a semi-custom that doesn't break the bank.

Graf Edmonton Specials in white (little softer than black for whatever reason) could be a good boot for you (although, to be honest, you could get the slightly stiffer black versions and be ok, I think). If you can get them in custom width, even better.

Grafs have the widest soles in the forefoot too, so if you can't get semi customs, I'd still say that ordering Grafs in L width is your best bet, you will just have to get the ball widened drastically. Which is possible.

 

[Diana Delafield]

Graf Edmonton Specials in white (little softer than black for whatever reason) could be a good boot for you (although, to be honest, you could get the slightly stiffer black versions and be ok, I think). If you can get them in custom width, even better.

Grafs have the widest soles in the forefoot too, so if you can't get semi customs, I'd still say that ordering Grafs in L width is your best bet, you will just have to get the ball widened drastically. Which is possible.

Graf will do custom widths, or did when requested by my skate shop in Canada anyway. I have what my fitter calls "mouse paws", so when I ordered the Edmonton Specials as an experiment instead of my usual Risport RF1s, the company took their narrowest width of their largest children's size and made it even narrower. A touch of moulding at the MTP joint by my fitter and they fit perfectly.

 

[JuliaW]

From those measurements, I can tell you that you have a very wide forefoot for your size. Just for reference, you're around UK size 6 in Graf sizes length wise, but your ball circumference is between 10.5-11.5 L; L meaning the widest, and Grafs have wide forefoot compared to many other brands, so that's more than 4 full size difference in a brand that's good for wide forefeet...

I wonder if the measurements I listed are off? More than 4 full sized difference seems a lot, when I still wear normal shoes. Granted, usually a wider model / brand, but still. Would I be able to wear normal shoes if my feet really wear that abnormally wide compared to the length?

I know measuring your own feet is.. not recommended, but I grabbed a measuring tape and gave it a go anyway. By my own measurements - standing on both feet with some knee bend, bending over to measure - ball circumference would come down to 249/251 mm (about 9.85 inches, or 9 7/8). Still slightly wider than a 4E width for a 7 1/2 size women's Jackson (which would be 9 5/8 wide). But that's already quite a bit less than the numbers in my earlier post..

But anyway, thanks for the recommendations! I'll look into them.

 

[JuliaW]

So my appointment today was unfortunately not very helpful.

They told me the scanner isn't meant for figure skates but just hockey skates and they would just go through the normal figure skates procedure instead. Which ended meaning I stood on one of those foot length/shoe size measure things, and the woman who was helping me declaring I had a wide foot by just a glance. Didn't even bother to look at the state of my current figure skates (after they specifically asked me to bring them when I called to make the appointment including a request for a foot scan..)

She said I should be in a 6 1/2 instead of a 7 1/2 based on my foot length and when I asked if she was sure because when I checked online the 7 1/2 seemed the correct one, implied I might have looked at the wrong chart.

She made me try on a Jackson Premiere in 6 1/2 W and when I could immediately feel my toes hitting the front and my forefoot being squeezed, I was told unfortunately figure skating was a sport for people with smaller/narrower feet. I insisted to at least get a 7W to try, but it didn't necessarily get much better, and she immediately mentioned how there would be no warranty if I insisted on buying an incorrect size. (She also didn't help with lacing or anything, just handed me the boots, waited for me to put them on and asked how they felt.) She also said customs would take more than a year, so would probably not really be an option.

At that point I figured I would cut my losses and told her I would take some time to consider and I would come back if I wanted to purchase anything later on.

I think there's supposed to be an actual good fitter at this location, because people do recommend this location together with the one where I got my first skates as the two good places in my country, but I'm not sure if the woman who helped me was like.. a proper figure skating fitter or just.. a store employee whose experience may be in other areas. But at that point I felt too awkward to say/ask much more.

Think I might just go back to the other location. At least the guy there was helpful with my first skates, insole purchases later on, and all sharpenings.. Can't be much worse than this appointment went.

 

[Diana Delafield]

So my appointment today was unfortunately not very helpful.

They told me the scanner isn't meant for figure skates but just hockey skates and they would just go through the normal figure skates procedure instead. Which ended meaning I stood on one of those foot length/shoe size measure things, and the woman who was helping me declaring I had a wide foot by just a glance. Didn't even bother to look at the state of my current figure skates (after they specifically asked me to bring them when I called to make the appointment including a request for a foot scan..)

She said I should be in a 6 1/2 instead of a 7 1/2 based on my foot length and when I asked if she was sure because when I checked online the 7 1/2 seemed the correct one, implied I might have looked at the wrong chart.

She made me try on a Jackson Premiere in 6 1/2 W and when I could immediately feel my toes hitting the front and my forefoot being squeezed, I was told unfortunately figure skating was a sport for people with smaller/narrower feet. I insisted to at least get a 7W to try, but it didn't necessarily get much better, and she immediately mentioned how there would be no warranty if I insisted on buying an incorrect size. (She also didn't help with lacing or anything, just handed me the boots, waited for me to put them on and asked how they felt.) She also said customs would take more than a year, so would probably not really be an option.

At that point I figured I would cut my losses and told her I would take some time to consider and I would come back if I wanted to purchase anything later on.

I think there's supposed to be an actual good fitter at this location, because people do recommend this location together with the one where I got my first skates as the two good places in my country, but I'm not sure if the woman who helped me was like.. a proper figure skating fitter or just.. a store employee whose experience may be in other areas. But at that point I felt too awkward to say/ask much more.

Think I might just go back to the other location. At least the guy there was helpful with my first skates, insole purchases later on, and all sharpenings.. Can't be much worse than this appointment went.

Definitely the wrong person to be fitting figure skate boots! Everything she did or said was wrong wrong wrong! Which shop did you go to? I'd contact the manager if I were you and describe your experience. Mention that you've been seeking advice here from this international forum. They need to know their shop's reputation is being damaged by ignorant salespeople like this.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Hi all, I've been browsing this forum for the last couple of months and finally decided it was time for make my own account and my own post.

I'm an adult woman (31) who has been figure skating for the past 4 years. In that time, I've been to adult group class for 1 hour a week for 6 months of the year, but inconsistent due to work and family health issues. The family issues have been dealt with and I've managed to adjust my work schedule, meaning I can now go practice on my own for 1-1.5 hours two times a week, in addition to the hour of adult group class. I'm also in contact with a private coach to take a one hour private session every other week starting soon. So moving up to 4 hours a week of skating.

I'm in the Netherlands, but I'm probably roughly equivalent to US Adult 6 / Pre-Free Skate / Adult Pre-Bronze MITF. I'm relatively comfortable with edges, working on getting my crossovers and forward 3-turns to be smoother, and starting to learn (very small) waltz jumps and salchows.

I'm having fun and I feel like I'm (slowly) progressing, but I feel like I continue to struggle with my boots. I started out on Jackson Freestyles, 7 1/2 W, but I worry they might still be too narrow for me around the ball of my foot. I feel like my feet start hurting / cramping within 15-30 minutes of skating, mostly focussed on the ball of my foot. I've read advice online about making sure not to curl / grip with my toes, but I don't think that's the issue.

But at the same time, I feel like my skates are maybe too loose? Like I'm not entirely sure my heel is properly secure and maybe there's even a (very) little bit of room for my feet to slide forwards in my skate. The issue becomes worse the longer I skate, so I'm usually redoing my laces every 20-30 minutes.

I'm going to a fitter on Monday (Oomssport, The Hague, The Netherlands) and have an appointment for a fitting session, including a 3D scan. (The scanner itself is a Bauer FitLab 3D scanner, so mostly focussed on hockey skates, but the measurements should still be useful - length, width, volume, arch hight, heel width. Someone else in my adult group mentioned they did a scan and helped her get a better fitting boot last year, so I'm hopeful.)

Like I said, I'm currently wearing Jackson Freestyles, 7 1/5 W, but when I take out the insole and stand on it, I can see the ball of my foot is wider than the insole. My boots were heat molded, but I'm not sure if they were stretched or punched out or anything as well. (Fitted at Thillartssport, Den Bosch, The Netherlands about 4 years ago, before I started skating)

I've also started wearing Jackson's ProSupport+ Insoles this season, as I have protonation issues on my right foot. I think this might have made the boots feel a bit tighter as well? My left foot is generally okay, but my right foot tends to collapse inwards towards an inside edge. (This is also visible if I do a squat test in regular shoes or socks, my left knee goes forward, my right knee goes a bit inward.) The insoles help, but I still have some issues on the right, where I have trouble getting an outside edge. (Should I consider mounting the blade ever so slightly inwards on my right foot?)

Anyway, would greatly appreciate some advice on potential new skates. Various manufacturers have guides for boots/stiffness ratings based on current skills, but they're usually assuming lighter kids/teens and I'm an adult that's honestly quite overweight. Any advice is greatly appreciated! (I've seen lots of awesome advice by @Ic3Rabbit in other threads, hope it's okay if I tag you?)

Summary stats / info:
Height: 170 cm / 5'7"
Weight: 115 kg / 250 lbs
(I know, I know, I'm working on the weight.)
Age: 31
Skill level: rough US Adult Pre-Bronze
Practice time: 4 hours/week
Foot shape: African / Orient ?
Second toe seems to be roughly the same size of my big toe, maybe ever so slightly shorter. Toe sizes taper of afterwards, with my little toe perhaps a bit shorter than the average size decrease, making for an ever so slight rounding if I were to trace my feet. Front of my feet looks relatively square and then becomes smaller towards the heel.
Location: The Netherlands, Europe

Sorry it has taken so long for me to get back to you but I was dealing with Nationals.

Due to your stats you would need a stiffer boot. I would suggest you look at Risport RF1 and Graf Edmonton Special, Windsor or Galaxy. You could also look at the Jackson Synergy Torch.

You'll need blades: MK Pro or JW Coronation Ace traditional style blades.

Good luck!

 

[IceM]

I wonder if the measurements I listed are off? More than 4 full sized difference seems a lot, when I still wear normal shoes.

It's not unheard of, I have a similar difference. Normal shoes are typically made wider, and the materials used are much softer than in skates, so they can actually stretch to your feet more. Skates, especially the stiff ones you need, absolutely do not. Yet they need to be snug on your feet, hence the problem.

Measuring your own feet is fine, so long as you remember that the measurements might not be exactly accurate. But it's enough to give you some idea.

Like I said, Graf is probably your best bet, or then Risports. But you will need to get them stretched quite a bit, which is a standard procedure in any half decent shop, and doesn't cost you much. But if the difference in width is a lot, getting custom width boots to begin with is better.

 

[JuliaW]

Sorry it has taken so long for me to get back to you but I was dealing with Nationals.

Due to your stats you would need a stiffer boot. I would suggest you look at Risport RF1 and Graf Edmonton Special, Windsor or Galaxy. You could also look at the Jackson Synergy Torch.

You'll need blades: MK Pro or JW Coronation Ace traditional style blades.

Good luck!

Absolutely understandable about the delay in reply! I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to so many of us on this forum in the first place!

I had been looking at Jackson Premieres and Risport R3 Pros online so far, figuring those were already 'overbooting' a bit based on skills, but taking into account I'm an adult. But I guess I can understand that based on my weight, I might need to go a bit further still.

Would you still recommend the Risport RP1 and Jackson Synergy Torch over the RP3 and Premier if I hold of on learning jumps for another season or two while using those boots and focus instead on getting more comfortable with my skating skills? (Edges, crossovers, 3 turns, etc)

I get comments about needing a deeper knee bend during those skills during my current group lessons, and am slightly worried going up in stiffness for new boots will make the problem worse. Athough to be completely fair I think at least partially that's because I'm a little hesitant on sinking into my knee that deeply on one leg and trust my body to be able to handle that position, not my skate not allowing me to. Something to work on off-ice anyway.

(Will centainly keep in mind that it looks like I definitely shouldn't try and properly jump with my current skates, and wait until I have new ones)

 

[JuliaW]

It's not unheard of, I have a similar difference. Normal shoes are typically made wider, and the materials used are much softer than in skates, so they can actually stretch to your feet more. Skates, especially the stiff ones you need, absolutely do not. Yet they need to be snug on your feet, hence the problem.

Measuring your own feet is fine, so long as you remember that the measurements might not be exactly accurate. But it's enough to give you some idea.

Like I said, Graf is probably your best bet, or then Risports. But you will need to get them stretched quite a bit, which is a standard procedure in any half decent shop, and doesn't cost you much. But if the difference in width is a lot, getting custom width boots to begin with is better.

I'd always heard Jackson's are better for wider feet. The Risports definitely seem smaller/more pointed in the front than Jackson's do. Could you explain to me why you recommend the Risport over Jackson then?

As for Graf, it seems they're not sold in my country (the Netherlands) except for maybe like a Graf 500 model somewhere. Same for our neighbors, Belgium and Germany. I'm gonna assume trying a Graf 500 on for size is gonna be a bit useless in figuring out what I would need from a proper, high level Graf boot.

So then I would need to go to Switzerland itself to figure out a boot. Perhaps an option for the next next boot, but the costs involved make me a little hesitant at the moment.

I appreciate the recommendation though, I wouldn't have even considered a Graf myself, and I assume neither would the shops/people around here because they don't sell them themselves.

 

[IceM]

I'd always heard Jackson's are better for wider feet. The Risports definitely seem smaller/more pointed in the front than Jackson's do. Could you explain to me why you recommend the Risport over Jackson then?

No problem, I'll try to explain as well as possible. It's because you also said:

But at the same time, I feel like my skates are maybe too loose? Like I'm not entirely sure my heel is properly secure and maybe there's even a (very) little bit of room for my feet to slide forwards in my skate.

First, your foot type matches the toebox of Risport and not Jackson. Grafs (L) are also wider in the forefoot than Jacksons (W). Second, Jacksons typically have a wider heel, which is why I recommended trying how Risport feels, because you have significantly narrower heels than forefeet (and I know this from your stats, because no human has anywhere close 10cm wide heels). And fitting the heel is really the most important part to fit correctly. Tightness elsewhere can be fixed, a loose heel cannot. And what you're describing sounds to me like you got fitted in a brand that comes in split widths (Jackson) where the heels get wider with each width size, just because you have "wide feet", which resulted in you getting boots that are still not even wide enough for your forefeet, yet are now too wide for your heels. In Risports, only the forefoot gets wider, not the heel. Same for Graf. Hence I recommended you try Risports for fit. And I still say Grafs would be better. In Jacksons, you would actually have to go down in width, then stretch.

As for Graf, it seems they're not sold in my country (the Netherlands) except for maybe like a Graf 500 model somewhere. Same for our neighbors, Belgium and Germany. I'm gonna assume trying a Graf 500 on for size is gonna be a bit useless in figuring out what I would need from a proper, high level Graf boot.

You'd need to try a model that comes in wide L width at least. Shops in Germany certainly do sell them, although they are rarely stocked and ordered on request. Ask the shops you go to about it. If they say no, then I wouldn't bother.

If you can't get custom width boots, then you need to fit the heel first, then stretch the forefoot to fit. No stock boot will fit you well out of the box, I can guarantee you that. Risport D and Graf L will come closest, though.

It sounds like the shops you went to aren't really good at their jobs, so I hope you can take this information and find a better boot with someone who is. If you have more questions, ask away. If you can trace your foot (keep the pen straight perpendicular to the paper) and measure the width of your heel, I can help you more.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Absolutely understandable about the delay in reply! I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to so many of us on this forum in the first place!

I had been looking at Jackson Premieres and Risport R3 Pros online so far, figuring those were already 'overbooting' a bit based on skills, but taking into account I'm an adult. But I guess I can understand that based on my weight, I might need to go a bit further still.

Would you still recommend the Risport RP1 and Jackson Synergy Torch over the RP3 and Premier if I hold of on learning jumps for another season or two while using those boots and focus instead on getting more comfortable with my skating skills? (Edges, crossovers, 3 turns, etc)

I get comments about needing a deeper knee bend during those skills during my current group lessons, and am slightly worried going up in stiffness for new boots will make the problem worse. Athough to be completely fair I think at least partially that's because I'm a little hesitant on sinking into my knee that deeply on one leg and trust my body to be able to handle that position, not my skate not allowing me to. Something to work on off-ice anyway.

(Will centainly keep in mind that it looks like I definitely shouldn't try and properly jump with my current skates, and wait until I have new ones)

Thanks. And no---I would not go lower than RF1 and Synergy Torch for you with or without jumps.

 

[JuliaW]

Thanks. And no---I would not go lower than RF1 and Synergy Torch for your with or without jumps.

Ok, clear, thank you

 

[JuliaW]

If you can't get custom width boots, then you need to fit the heel first, then stretch the forefoot to fit. No stock boot will fit you well out of the box, I can guarantee you that. Risport D and Graf L will come closest, though.

It sounds like the shops you went to aren't really good at their jobs, so I hope you can take this information and find a better boot with someone who is. If you have more questions, ask away. If you can trace your foot (keep the pen straight perpendicular to the paper) and measure the width of your heel, I can help you more.

I'm assuming measuring the widest part of my heel, the diameter of the half-circle it makes when tracing it out? I measured 70 mm / 2.76 inches.

I tried looking up information about heel width in skating boots, but couldn't really find much. I believe they come in the A-E system as well, right? (That's what I understand from looking into Jackson semi-customs with their separate width options, at least.) But how do I know which corresponds to which measurements? Any charts I look up, be they a Jackson size chart or a Risport size chart, seems to just have a width chart with a single measurement, which looks to be corresponding to the measurements for the circumference of the forefoot. But circumference is very different from width/diameter, which is what we measure for the heel.