Boots and blades recommendation

[malingsu]

Hi everyone, I want to change my skates, and it would be great if you could give me some advice about this!

I am currently 18, 162cm, and 60kg. The skates I have now is Jackson Mystique, size 8 from thrift store. (believe it or not, it only me cost 12 dollars lol) However, they are too big for me.

info of my feet:
low arch, roman/african shaped

	right	left
length	234-236mm	236-238mm
ball	23	23
instep	22.7	22.7
heel	29	29
ankle	21	21

I have a question about maybe I could wear 5/5.5W according to the jackson international sizing chart.

So far, I can do waltz jump, forward/ backward crossovers, and forward 3 turns, forward C step, etc.(most of them I learned by myself.) I am learning single jumps and spinning now. I really want to do all single jumps (including 1 axel) in the skates I am going to buy. I go skating 3-6 hours per week and also do off-ice training by myself. (both of these are outside of class) My classes are twice a week for 25mins off-ice training and 1hr on-ice training every time now and I am planning to sign up for private lessons once I got new skates. To be honest, I learned much more from youtube than classes, cuz club courses are too slow and I know I need more practice to achieve my goals.

I am considering change my boots to Jackson premeire. I want to use the new skates for a long time. The skating store near my place said jackson 150 skates for beginners like me, and I think it’s completely wrong option. They said freestyle doesn't have my size and beyond my level so I didn't have chance to try them or anything else on then and left. I want to order skates myself online since there's no other fitter around me that I could go. Do you have any suggestions for this? Or do you have any advice for my skating journey? I’d really appreciate it.

I am REALLY REALLY overthinking about blades. I just still can’t decide legacy 7or 8. Rocker is a problem for me to decide, because on one hand I don't have budget for another pair if I don't like it, on other hand I am scared of changing to 7ft rocker for too unstable jumping or stay with 8ft rocker but struggling with spinning. My budget can't afford CA or MK pro so I need to choose between legacy 7or 8. Could anyone recommend me which rocker should I choose? I want to lend all the single jumps, including 1 axel and do step sequence. I don’t really focus on spinning but I don’t want it to be a problem when I want to do it. I love jumping > step sequence > spinning.

Learning figure skating has always been my dream since I am 13 and now I glad I have a good chance to learn it! Thank you so much for all you’ve done for me!!!

 

[bostonskaterguy86]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm sorry to hear you didn't have a great experience with your local fitter - it doesn't sound like they gave you very good advice. If you're comfortable sharing roughly where you live (city or at least general region), someone here might be able to point you towards a better fitter in your area, or at least somewhat nearby. Not everyone has access to a good fitter, of course - but it's always best to avoid ordering skates online if you can. If you order online, you're at the mercy of the website's return policy if you order something that doesn't fit - and even if you end up picking something that's a decent match, you'll still likely need to bring it to a skate tech anyway for heat molding / punching out (all of which will cost you money, whereas most fitters will provide these services for free if you purchase your boots from them).

From your description of your feet, I think you'll definitely end up needing some fitting work done on any boots you buy - one key way that wide skates can be different from wide shoes is that getting the right width for both your heel and ankle is much more important. For example - the balls of my feet are moderately wide, but my heels and ankles are normal / a bit narrow, so my heels slipped out of place a lot when I wore wide Jacksons. I switched to regular width Risports, and while I did need a heat molding and punchouts to get them to fit comfortably across the balls of my feet, my heels always stay nicely locked in place in them. Off the ice, I typically wear wide sneakers, and I get some up-and-down heel movement with each step in those - but it's not nearly as big of a deal when walking or running.

I will say that I think you need to replace your skates as soon as possible. The Mystiques are definitely not supportive enough for you, and with them also being the wrong size, there's a real risk of injury there. I'd go so far as to say that you shouldn't be jumping in them at all - landings put a lot of stress on your ankle, which is why it's so important to have good support there to keep from bending or twisting it in a way that causes injury.

As far as what boots to look at - at your height/weight and with the skills you're learning, I'd actually say the Jackson Freestyle is less supportive than you need. You'd be better off in the Debut or Premiere. It sounds like your foot shape is probably well-suited for Jackson - though you might also fit OK in Graf or Risport, depending on the model. This is another reason to go to a fitter if you can - you have the option of trying on a few different brands, and you might be surprised by how much you like a brand you aren't familiar with!

Regarding blades - there's definitely a difference between 7' and 8' rockers, but a lot of folks find that the difference impacts them less and less as they advance, to the point where it becomes a matter of personal preference more than anything else. Personally, I found that switching from 8' to 7' was really helpful when I first started learning one-foot turns and spins - but now that I'm at the point where I've been learning single jumps and backspin, the spin rocker (the smaller curve in the front of the blade) makes more of a difference in my skating than the main rocker.

Ultima blades are known for having flatter-than-average spin rockers, which folks sometimes find can make spinning in them a bit more challenging compared to other brands. That being said, though - either Legacy blade will be an improvement over the Mark II blades on the Mystiques you're wearing currently (those are super flat). Additionally - getting boots that fit properly will likely make much more of a difference in your skating than changing blades will. So overall - I wouldn't agonize too much over the blade choice, though for your specific situation and level I'd personally pick the Legacy 7 over the 8. The 7' rocker helps when you're still learning how to feel and control which part of your blade you're using for each skill (it was really helpful for me when I was first learning backward 3-turns!). And it's important to remember that, while we talk about different blades being "better" than others for certain skills, most skaters will be able to learn most skills on most level-appropriate blades without any particular attributes of the blade helping or hindering them too much (for example, conventional wisdom is that the JW Gold Seal is a "spinner's blade" and the Pattern 99 is a "jumper's blade" - but there are plenty of advanced skaters landing quads on Gold Seals and doing beautiful spins on Pattern 99s).

I hope this is helpful!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Hi everyone, I want to change my skates, and it would be great if you could give me some advice about this!

I am currently 18, 162cm, and 60kg. The skates I have now is Jackson Mystique, size 8 from thrift store. (believe it or not, it only me cost 12 dollars lol) However, they are too big for me.

info of my feet:
low arch, roman/african shaped

	right	left
length	234-236mm	236-238mm
ball	23	23
instep	22.7	22.7
heel	29	29
ankle	21	21

I have a question about maybe I could wear 5/5.5W according to the jackson international sizing chart.

So far, I can do waltz jump, forward/ backward crossovers, and forward 3 turns, forward C step, etc.(most of them I learned by myself.) I am learning single jumps and spinning now. I really want to do all single jumps (including 1 axel) in the skates I am going to buy. I go skating 3-6 hours per week and also do off-ice training by myself. (both of these are outside of class) My classes are twice a week for 25mins off-ice training and 1hr on-ice training every time now and I am planning to sign up for private lessons once I got new skates. To be honest, I learned much more from youtube than classes, cuz club courses are too slow and I know I need more practice to achieve my goals.

I am considering change my boots to Jackson premeire. I want to use the new skates for a long time. The skating store near my place said jackson 150 skates for beginners like me, and I think it’s completely wrong option. They said freestyle doesn't have my size and beyond my level so I didn't have chance to try them or anything else on then and left. I want to order skates myself online since there's no other fitter around me that I could go. Do you have any suggestions for this? Or do you have any advice for my skating journey? I’d really appreciate it.

I am REALLY REALLY overthinking about blades. I just still can’t decide legacy 7or 8. Rocker is a problem for me to decide, because on one hand I don't have budget for another pair if I don't like it, on other hand I am scared of changing to 7ft rocker for too unstable jumping or stay with 8ft rocker but struggling with spinning. My budget can't afford CA or MK pro so I need to choose between legacy 7or 8. Could anyone recommend me which rocker should I choose? I want to lend all the single jumps, including 1 axel and do step sequence. I don’t really focus on spinning but I don’t want it to be a problem when I want to do it. I love jumping > step sequence > spinning.

Learning figure skating has always been my dream since I am 13 and now I glad I have a good chance to learn it! Thank you so much for all you’ve done for me!!!

Hi and welcome. I'd love to help you more, especially with a fitter and then make boot/blade suggestions. But where in this world are you? That helps me (us) give you the name of a good fitter.

 

[Query]

You say you want to use your skates for a long time. Are your feet still growing? If so, how fast?

BTW The size of your thrift store boots might be as big an injury potential as the relatively low support they are capable of.

Also, since they are used, they might be even softer and provide less support than new Mystiques. Amazing that you have learned to jump in them - but if you seriously injure yourself, that would be a lot less fun, and kill your wonderful enthusiasm.

1 size up, you might be able to adjust, by putting stuff inside the boot to make it snug - if you are willing to spend a lot of time doing that, and are good at figuring out that sort of thing. Most of the experts here would say that's too much, but people whose feet are still growing fairly fast sometimes do that. Though they end up with a fairly clumsy set up, where they can't put their feet as close together as is ideal, and they are heavier than they need to be because they are large. You could also accidentally land a jump on the tail of the other skate, because it too is too long. 2 - 2.5 sizes up is a huge amount. Even for normal walking or hiking shoes it is probably too much of a size mismatch to be healthy.

I hope you take private lessons from a good coach who can adjust their teaching style to your particular learning style. Feedback from a coach can be very useful for learning any skill, especially one in which you will be judged on style, or where there is a significant athletic injury potential, or one in which different people sometimes need to move in somewhat different ways, all of which apply to figure skating. There is a huge difference between the amount and quality of feedback you can get in a private lesson compared to a group lesson. (And many group lesson teachers aren't very good at teaching in group settings. It's a lot easier to teach one than many - as with lessons or classes in any subject.) Youtube gives you no feedback at all, and if you watch Youtube videos from many teachers, they may teach you incompatible ways of moving, which leaves you confused. And given a group lesson instructor or Youtube video may try to teach you ways to move that don't work well with your particular body. It's great if you can find and stick with one coach who works well with you reasonably fairly long term. Switching back and forth between different group lesson instructors who teach everything differently from each other can also be very confusing.

I've personally run into all those problems.

Unless you have an incredibly strong athletic background in something like performance dance or gymnastics, starting at age 13, you likely won't reach elite (e.g., Nationally competitive) performance levels. So you maybe don't need an elite level coach. But you need one who can adapt to your needs, and can meet your needs for a fairly long time, not one who is barely competent to teach you the next skill level.

Some students learn best by watching and copying. Some learn best from verbal descriptions. Some need both. Maybe pick a coach who is particularly good at teaching the way you learn? Sometimes you can guess whether they can teach the way you want by watching them teach a few students. If you are very flexible, it might help to pick a coach who seems to be so too. Etc.

 

[malingsu]

You say you want to use your skates for a long time. Are your feet still growing? If so, how fast?

BTW The size of your thrift store boots might be as big an injury potential as the relatively low support they are capable of.

Also, since they are used, they might be even softer and provide less support than new Mystiques. Amazing that you have learned to jump in them - but if you seriously injure yourself, that would be a lot less fun, and kill your wonderful enthusiasm.

1 size up, you might be able to adjust, by putting stuff inside the boot to make it snug - if you are willing to spend a lot of time doing that, and are good at figuring out that sort of thing. Most of the experts here would say that's too much, but people whose feet are still growing fairly fast sometimes do that. Though they end up with a fairly clumsy set up, where they can't put their feet as close together as is ideal, and they are heavier than they need to be because they are large. You could also accidentally land a jump on the tail of the other skate, because it too is too long. 2 - 2.5 sizes up is a huge amount. Even for normal walking or hiking shoes it is probably too much of a size mismatch to be healthy.

I hope you take private lessons from a good coach who can adjust their teaching style to your particular learning style. Feedback from a coach can be very useful for learning any skill, especially one in which you will be judged on style, or where there is a significant athletic injury potential, or one in which different people sometimes need to move in somewhat different ways, all of which apply to figure skating. There is a huge difference between the amount and quality of feedback you can get in a private lesson compared to a group lesson. (And many group lesson teachers aren't very good at teaching in group settings. It's a lot easier to teach one than many - as with lessons or classes in any subject.) Youtube gives you no feedback at all, and if you watch Youtube videos from many teachers, they may teach you incompatible ways of moving, which leaves you confused. And given a group lesson instructor or Youtube video may try to teach you ways to move that don't work well with your particular body. It's great if you can find and stick with one coach who works well with you reasonably fairly long term. Switching back and forth between different group lesson instructors who teach everything differently from each other can also be very confusing.

I've personally run into all those problems.

Unless you have an incredibly strong athletic background in something like performance dance or gymnastics, starting at age 13, you likely won't reach elite (e.g., Nationally competitive) performance levels. So you maybe don't need an elite level coach. But you need one who can adapt to your needs, and can meet your needs for a fairly long time, not one who is barely competent to teach you the next skill level.

Some students learn best by watching and copying. Some learn best from verbal descriptions. Some need both. Maybe pick a coach who is particularly good at teaching the way you learn? Sometimes you can guess whether they can teach the way you want by watching them teach a few students. If you are very flexible, it might help to pick a coach who seems to be so too. Etc.

Thank you so much for your reply! My feet don't grow anymore so I think if I could get a well-measured skates then them could last longer.
I just went fitting again and it's surprising they let me try on premiere when I directly ask for them. I felt feel fine ( nothing is moving when I shook my feet) in the jackson premiere 5.5W when I tried them on but I can’t touch the end of the toe box in the skates. When I try on the 5W I can feel I touch the end and it feels stiff (little hurt) . There is a little gap on the insole of the 5.5W one when I step on it and on the other hand my feet length are right cover all of the insole of the 5W one but just maybe need to pouch out the width because I feel squeezed from the sides.

I ask the fitter to keep the 5.5W one for me, but do you think I should go try on again to make sure? I’m thinking about would that be weird to ask for try them on again or not… Could give me suggestions on which one should I choose? What should a pair of right skates supposed to feel like when you try them on?

I would like to ask if toes can touch the end, but they cannot move maybe just a little bit it’s that correct? I think if I am going to try them on again I would try to kick my ankle back when I step inside to make sure my ankles are secured by the boot and see if there’s pressure from the end of the boot or not. If there’s just a little pressure, would that be better I bought them and heat molding them so they can be more wider instead of find the one that cannot touch the end? The one cannot touch the end feel good like I can immediately break in them and they don’t move at all when I shake my feet. The smaller one feel the pressure from the toes and sides, sides can be solved by punching them out but just wondering the right feeling from the toes. I know boots would become bigger after a period of time, so maybe it will be better to choose the smaller one? Not really want to find out it’s too big after skating for months because I know the foam inside would get thinner after you wear for a while.

For the coach, I am always observing the best style for me during the group lessons since we have different coaches different days. Your advice is very helpful. Thank you so much for all you've done for me!

I have pictures when I stepped on the insole of the 5.5W one. However, I don't know how to upload them to here...

 

[malingsu]

Hi and welcome. I'd love to help you more, especially with a fitter and then make boot/blade suggestions. But where in this world are you? That helps me (us) give you the name of a good fitter.

Thank you so much for your reply! I am an exchange student in Canada right now and I can't leave the school district to the other fitter by myself. Therefore, 2 days ago I decided to try my local fitter again and it's surprising they let me try on premiere when I directly ask for them. I felt fine (nothing is moving when I shook my feet) in the jackson premiere 5.5W when I tried them on but I can’t touch the end of the toe box in the skates. When I try on the 5W I can feel I touch the end and it feels stiff (little hurt). There is a little gap on the insole of the 5.5W one when I step on it and on the other hand my feet length are right cover all of the insole of the 5W one but just maybe need to pouch out the width because I feel squeezed from the sides.

I ask the fitter to keep the 5.5W one for me, but do you think I should go try on again to make sure? I’m thinking about would that be weird to ask for try them on again or not… Could give me suggestions on which one should I choose? What should a pair of right skates supposed to feel like when you try them on?

I would like to ask if toes can touch the end, but they cannot move maybe just a little bit it’s that correct? I think if I am going to try them on again I would try to kick my ankle back when I step inside to make sure my ankles are secured by the boot and see if there’s pressure from the end of the boot or not. If there’s just a little pressure, would that be better I bought them and heat molding them so they can be more wider instead of find the one that cannot touch the end? The one cannot touch the end feel good like I can immediately break in them and they don’t move at all when I shake my feet. The smaller one feel the pressure from the toes and sides, sides can be solved by punching them out but just wondering the right feeling from the toes. I know boots would become bigger after a period of time, so maybe it will be better to choose the smaller one? Not really want to find out it’s too big after skating for months because I know the foam inside would get thinner after you wear for a while.

Thank you so much for all you've done for me!

I have pictures when I stepped on the insole of the 5.5W one. However, I don't know how to upload them to here...

 

[malingsu]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm sorry to hear you didn't have a great experience with your local fitter - it doesn't sound like they gave you very good advice. If you're comfortable sharing roughly where you live (city or at least general region), someone here might be able to point you towards a better fitter in your area, or at least somewhat nearby. Not everyone has access to a good fitter, of course - but it's always best to avoid ordering skates online if you can. If you order online, you're at the mercy of the website's return policy if you order something that doesn't fit - and even if you end up picking something that's a decent match, you'll still likely need to bring it to a skate tech anyway for heat molding / punching out (all of which will cost you money, whereas most fitters will provide these services for free if you purchase your boots from them).

From your description of your feet, I think you'll definitely end up needing some fitting work done on any boots you buy - one key way that wide skates can be different from wide shoes is that getting the right width for both your heel and ankle is much more important. For example - the balls of my feet are moderately wide, but my heels and ankles are normal / a bit narrow, so my heels slipped out of place a lot when I wore wide Jacksons. I switched to regular width Risports, and while I did need a heat molding and punchouts to get them to fit comfortably across the balls of my feet, my heels always stay nicely locked in place in them. Off the ice, I typically wear wide sneakers, and I get some up-and-down heel movement with each step in those - but it's not nearly as big of a deal when walking or running.

I will say that I think you need to replace your skates as soon as possible. The Mystiques are definitely not supportive enough for you, and with them also being the wrong size, there's a real risk of injury there. I'd go so far as to say that you shouldn't be jumping in them at all - landings put a lot of stress on your ankle, which is why it's so important to have good support there to keep from bending or twisting it in a way that causes injury.

As far as what boots to look at - at your height/weight and with the skills you're learning, I'd actually say the Jackson Freestyle is less supportive than you need. You'd be better off in the Debut or Premiere. It sounds like your foot shape is probably well-suited for Jackson - though you might also fit OK in Graf or Risport, depending on the model. This is another reason to go to a fitter if you can - you have the option of trying on a few different brands, and you might be surprised by how much you like a brand you aren't familiar with!

Regarding blades - there's definitely a difference between 7' and 8' rockers, but a lot of folks find that the difference impacts them less and less as they advance, to the point where it becomes a matter of personal preference more than anything else. Personally, I found that switching from 8' to 7' was really helpful when I first started learning one-foot turns and spins - but now that I'm at the point where I've been learning single jumps and backspin, the spin rocker (the smaller curve in the front of the blade) makes more of a difference in my skating than the main rocker.

Ultima blades are known for having flatter-than-average spin rockers, which folks sometimes find can make spinning in them a bit more challenging compared to other brands. That being said, though - either Legacy blade will be an improvement over the Mark II blades on the Mystiques you're wearing currently (those are super flat). Additionally - getting boots that fit properly will likely make much more of a difference in your skating than changing blades will. So overall - I wouldn't agonize too much over the blade choice, though for your specific situation and level I'd personally pick the Legacy 7 over the 8. The 7' rocker helps when you're still learning how to feel and control which part of your blade you're using for each skill (it was really helpful for me when I was first learning backward 3-turns!). And it's important to remember that, while we talk about different blades being "better" than others for certain skills, most skaters will be able to learn most skills on most level-appropriate blades without any particular attributes of the blade helping or hindering them too much (for example, conventional wisdom is that the JW Gold Seal is a "spinner's blade" and the Pattern 99 is a "jumper's blade" - but there are plenty of advanced skaters landing quads on Gold Seals and doing beautiful spins on Pattern 99s).

I hope this is helpful!

Thank you so much for your reply! I am an exchange student in Canada right now and I can't leave the school district to the other fitter by myself. Therefore, 2 days ago I decided to try my local fitter again and it's surprising they let me try on premiere when I directly ask for them. I felt fine (nothing is moving when I shook my feet) in the jackson premiere 5.5W when I tried them on but I can’t touch the end of the toe box in the skates. When I try on the 5W I can feel I touch the end and it feels stiff (little hurt). There is a little gap on the insole of the 5.5W one when I step on it and on the other hand my feet length are right cover all of the insole of the 5W one but just maybe need to pouch out the width because I feel squeezed from the sides.

I ask the fitter to keep the 5.5W one for me, but do you think I should go try on again to make sure? I’m thinking about would that be weird to ask for try them on again or not… Could give me suggestions on which one should I choose? What should a pair of right skates supposed to feel like when you try them on?

I would like to ask if toes can touch the end, but they cannot move maybe just a little bit it’s that correct? I think if I am going to try them on again I would try to kick my ankle back when I step inside to make sure my ankles are secured by the boot and see if there’s pressure from the end of the boot or not. If there’s just a little pressure, would that be better I bought them and heat molding them so they can be more wider instead of find the one that cannot touch the end? The one cannot touch the end feel good like I can immediately break in them and they don’t move at all when I shake my feet. The smaller one feel the pressure from the toes and sides, sides can be solved by punching them out but just wondering the right feeling from the toes. I know boots would become bigger after a period of time, so maybe it will be better to choose the smaller one? Not really want to find out it’s too big after skating for months because I know the foam inside would get thinner after you wear for a while.

For the blades, I think I would go with Legacy 7 to give them a chance.

Your advice is very helpful! Thank you so much for all you've done for me!

I have pictures when I stepped on the insole of the 5.5W one. However, I don't know how to upload them to here...

 

[Query]

I can't advise you on what boots to buy. But Jackson is a brand well known for fitting people with substantially wider toes than heels, and perhaps for medium-to-high arch heights. I don't know enough about boot measurements, but it sounded like you have the opposite foot shape. There are things you could do to snug up the toes - by making or modifying insoles that wrap around their sides, or push them up, but I wonder if there is space inside the boot to compensate for an incorrect arch height?

Anyone? Does that sound plausible?

Anyway, making mods for yourself can be a fairly complicated and time consuming process. And it involves money too - and you can't always guess whether a given set of tools and supplies will be sufficient to do the job.

I'm not even sure what you mean that there is a gap on one of the insoles. E.g., where is this gap? If it is somewhere under your foot, heat molding alone probably won't help. And it would be hard for us to guess whether you could eliminate the problem by filling space. A typical goal, though it isn't sufficient for everyone, is to try to equalize the pressure on different parts under your feet.

It isn't practical to modify the boot insoles before you have bought the boots. But you could buy insoles at a shoe store, and add tape (I have sometimes used good quality "cloth athletic tape", because it tends to hold its shape well - much better than duct tape, though for a brief experiment that would do too, and would be cheaper) at low pressure points.

There is disagreement over whether the toe should touch the end of the boot. Many podiatry sources warn against that, because it can cause a variety of long term foot problems, but figure skating is a sport - and people frequently do things for sports that might not be optimally healthy. E.g., a fair number of figure skaters feel that toe touching, with various degrees of pressure, makes it easier to jump well. But I'm not expert in that either.

The reality is that you would likely be better off using a really good fitter. And then making your own mods if that isn't quite enough.

I'm curious about

I am an exchange student in Canada right now and I can't leave the school district to the other fitter by myself.

Does Canadian law or visa rules bar you from leaving the school district, or do you just not have transportation easily available to you, because you you don't feel comfortable asking the people you are with? If the latter, I don't know anything about public transportation resources in Canada - and even if someone here does, they would need to know approximately where in Canada you are, which AFAICT, you still haven't said. Nor do I know if it is practical for you to travel with a skating friend to the fitter - who perhaps also has trouble and wants a better fitter too. Which isn't unlikely, given that it sounds like your fitter has made mistakes.

On top of that, a skate tech who isn't very good at fitting boots, often isn't very good at sharpening skates either. So maybe you and other skating friends would be better off going to someone else for sharpening too - even one bad sharpening sometimes destroys blades.