Skates & fitter advice for adult beginner

[tstop4me]

Thanks for all the information! Do you have any recommendations for thin, absorbent socks?
By thin, does it have to be super thin like those disposable socks they give out at shoe shops, or is a regular thin socks like dance socks good enough?

Since I'm an adult male skater in the US, I 'll let female skaters on this forum make specific recommendations. Here are some general guidelines.

* The socks do not need to be super thin. I'm not familiar with dance socks. As a guy, I consider dress socks to be thin and athletic socks (e.g., for running or hiking) to be thick.

* For primary materials, avoid nylon, which is non-absorbent and has hard fibers (a small percentage of nylon is OK in a blend). What's worked well for me personally are cotton and Merino wool.

* Examine the stitching around the toe cap and heel carefully. The seams should be barely noticeable by sight or touch. The market is flooded with cheap socks in which the seams have hard ridges and the hard ridges are terminated by hard lumps. Literally a pain for figure skating. Well worth it to pay extra for fine seams.

* For many years, I wore GOLDTOE cotton dress socks. They were made in the US and had fine seams. Then they outsourced production to random mills around the world. Their overall quality dropped; in particular, their seams were horrible. I currently wear Smartwool Merino wool socks. They are available in a range of thicknesses, which the company designates as degrees of cushion. "Zero cushion" is the thinnest, but depending on personal preference, "light cushion" is also OK. I've been very happy with them. Since Australia is the number one source of Merino wool, you should check whether there are local mills that produce high-quality socks.

 

[FethryDuck]

.... so very true what you wrote about socks and seems!

 

[Casey]

* For many years, I wore GOLDTOE cotton dress socks. They were made in the US and had fine seams. Then they outsourced production to random mills around the world. Their overall quality dropped; in particular, their seams were horrible. I currently wear Smartwool Merino wool socks. They are available in a range of thicknesses, which the company designates as degrees of cushion. "Zero cushion" is the thinnest, but depending on personal preference, "light cushion" is also OK. I've been very happy with them. Since Australia is the number one source of Merino wool, you should check whether there are local mills that produce high-quality socks.

I hate wearing cotton dress socks or any other cotton sock, because I end up sweating and then the cotton gets really uncomfortable when wet. I used to take along several spare sets of socks with me and change periodically. Wool dress socks are my strong preference - I can skate in them for hours and they end up damp but it's not killing my ankles like cotton does. I have a few pairs from various sources, but these are ones I purchased online not that long ago that I've been using lately that work well: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZ8PX1KL

Silk also works well - I got a pair of these to try that I use sometimes without complaint: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FJTCVPRJ But I usually prefer the wool. I do also like the Smartwool brand and wear a thin hat and gloves from them.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

No problem at all, thanks for getting back to me!

The Synergy Ignite boots look good, but oooh boy the price..... Is the Synergy Spark at 60 stiffness (as opposed to Ignite's 75) not stiff enough for my stats? I see that the Premiere 2850 is at 65 stiffness, so I wonder if it's really that much different to the Spark.
As for their widths, both models are listed as R (A/B) & W (C/D) - do the 2 letters indicate heel width/ball width? Does that mean that both are actually split width boots?

As for the Supreme Pro 5320, it's this one - correct? This looks amazing - I love tan boots Looks like it also come with the same R (A/B) & W (C/D) widths.

Thanks again for all your help!

I recommended what I did b/c that is what you would need.

And NO to the barefoot bootie, that is not what it is for.

As far as your question of what socks to wear look for Edea or Mondor skate socks.

 

[lileychristie]

Thank you everyone for the socks recommendation

I have the Mondor knee-high socks ordered already, and I'll have a look around for good quality thin merino socks. Hopefully I can support some local Australian business at the same time!

I'll keep this thread updated when I do more fittings in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Query]

I assume you aren't allergic to wool? I've had some problems with that, though not, oddly enough with socks. It's possible my real problem is that on sweaters and coats, it irritates my skin and I tend to scratch it.

For other purposes like coats, I love the feel of synthetic fleece (e.g., polyester). It's lighter too - but maybe socks aren't heavy enough for that to be an issue. And it might not be as slip-resistant as some other materials - though some skates are lined with fleece.

Of course, silk, polypropylene and related "performance" fabrics (that are mostly polypropylene), such as you see in shops that support hiking and camping, wick moisture better than wool or fleece. (Note: polypropylene may retain odor.)

OTOH, they aren't very sturdy or heat resistant, so you need to wash them carefully. Some people hand-wash them and then hang dry. Others do it in washing machines, in cold or somewhat warm water, on gentle cycle, and additionally some of those place them inside mesh bags to reduce wear and tear. I was told that ladies who wear stockings or tights frequently do the same with those, so you may already know how to do that.

I don't know much about Lycra. I've used a Lycra dive skin, which worked very well, but that is a completely different purpose. It works well for that.

I admit I now just buy relatively thin dress socks too, and, shame on me, I wash everything on the Permanent Press cycle, in warm water, and dry everything on warm as well. Maybe that isn't completely optimal, but it's easy. Most of my clothing, including socks, lasts 2-3 decades, so it can't be too bad. But maybe stockings and tights are a lot more fragile, because they are so thin.

I have worn fairly thick socks on boots that had stretched too large. If the fit is snug enough with those socks, I don't get detectable slippage. But I don't do fancy jumps. Maybe high level jumps create slippage more because the forces are greater.

 

[lileychristie]

I'm going to the skate shop in Sydney very soon to try out Risport & Jackson, so excited!

Quick question - how much tightness & uncomfortableness is acceptable for a new skate?
I'm aware that as we break the boots in it will be more comfortable plus punching & heat molding can help too, but where do we draw the line where no amount of break-in or adjustment can help?

For example with the Grafs medium width, I could feel it pinching my bunions and pressuring my forefeet a lot that my feet went numb & painful all around after about 10 mins or so - is this something that will improve over time or is it just a no no?

 

[tstop4me]

I'm going to the skate shop in Sydney very soon to try out Risport & Jackson, so excited!

Quick question - how much tightness & uncomfortableness is acceptable for a new skate?
I'm aware that as we break the boots in it will be more comfortable plus punching & heat molding can help too, but where do we draw the line where no amount of break-in or adjustment can help?

For example with the Grafs medium width, I could feel it pinching my bunions and pressuring my forefeet a lot that my feet went numb & painful all around after about 10 mins or so - is this something that will improve over time or is it just a no no?

The scenario you've described would not be acceptable. I've described earlier in this thread how to check for heel fit. Here's my response from a previous thread on further fit tips. It might be helpful for you to skim through all of the previous thread as well. Good luck!

Further fit checks; while in a standing position.

* Ideally (which is rarely the case), your toes should lightly brush the lining of the boot. The lining will compress with break-in, and you will get more clearance; so you don't want too much clearance at this point.

* You should be able to wiggle your toes slightly up-and-down and side-to-side.

* If you feel slight pressure against any one (or couple) of your toes, that can probably be fixed via heat molding/punching. But if your toes are all tightly cramped, either the width or the length is too small.

* Assuming the length and width are OK, you have excessive height (volume) in the toe/ball region if you can curl your toes up without touching the lining of the top of the toebox. Similarly, you have excessive height, if you can form your toes into a claw and push your ball up.

* As long as the height is not overly excessive, it's useful to have a high toebox. If you're lucky, you can skate with the included stock removable footbed (removable insole). But many skaters need to replace the stock removable footbed with a corrective footbed or orthotic. These usually take up more height than the stock unit. If the height of the toebox is too low, sometimes there's not enough room to accommodate the requisite corrective footbed or orthotic; so keep that in mind. If the fit is otherwise fine, but you find the toebox a bit too high, there is a fix (as long as you skate with socks on): Place a foam pad over your bare toes, and then roll the sock on over the pad. Obviously, if there's a boot that fits without doing this, that would be preferable.

 

[lileychristie]

Updates~!! After 3 different skate shops, 3 different fitters and 3 different brands I finally found my boot

You can't really see the blades but they're traditional MK Pro

I've skated twice in my new boots now and honestly the break-in process hasn't been as terrible as I anticipated. I even laced up until the top hook - I find it doesn't bother me, probably because of my very skinny ankles. I tried not lacing the top hook for a bit but the ankles just felt soooo loose and insecure (which made me wonder if that's how Edea boots would feel haha). After the 2nd session I already got all my current skills back (which is not much, but still )

It does hurt a bit in the bunions area and my toes still feel squished from the side - my skate tech already did some punching but I think I need a bit more.

Question - will heat molding help with this or just punching will be enough? My skate tech doesn't have the oven and he seems to prefer just punching rather than a full heat molding for some reasons.

I can get them heat-molded at the rink, but I think the rink only has Jackson oven which I heard is set to a higher temperature than for Risport. Is this something that can damage the boot?

Anyway thank you everyone who helped me find my boots & blades!!

 

[tstop4me]

Updates~!! After 3 different skate shops, 3 different fitters and 3 different brands I finally found my boot

View attachment 11314

You can't really see the blades but they're traditional MK Pro

I've skated twice in my new boots now and honestly the break-in process hasn't been as terrible as I anticipated. I even laced up until the top hook - I find it doesn't bother me, probably because of my very skinny ankles. I tried not lacing the top hook for a bit but the ankles just felt soooo loose and insecure (which made me wonder if that's how Edea boots would feel haha). After the 2nd session I already got all my current skills back (which is not much, but still )

It does hurt a bit in the bunions area and my toes still feel squished from the side - my skate tech already did some punching but I think I need a bit more.

Question - will heat molding help with this or just punching will be enough? My skate tech doesn't have the oven and he seems to prefer just punching rather than a full heat molding for some reasons.

I can get them heat-molded at the rink, but I think the rink only has Jackson oven which I heard is set to a higher temperature than for Risport. Is this something that can damage the boot?

Anyway thank you everyone who helped me find my boots & blades!!

If possible, you should find a tech with experience in heat molding Risports. Heat molding will help with overall fit, including wrapping the uppers around your skinny ankles.

Areas that are merely cold punched will tend to relax to their original shape after a while; you'll then need to get them punched out again. A more permanent solution is overall heat molding followed by localized hot punching. Localized areas can be spot heated with a heat gun, and the punch tool itself can be heated. This allows a greater degree of localized punching (can be done in several stages) than cold punching; and the shape will stay put after cooling. But you need a tech who knows what they're doing; otherwise, they can damage the boot.

 

[lileychristie]

If possible, you should find a tech with experience in heat molding Risports. Heat molding will help with overall fit, including wrapping the uppers around your skinny ankles.

Areas that are merely cold punched will tend to relax to their original shape after a while; you'll then need to get them punched out again. A more permanent solution is overall heat molding followed by localized hot punching. Localized areas can be spot heated with a heat gun, and the punch tool itself can be heated. This allows a greater degree of localized punching (can be done in several stages) than cold punching; and the shape will stay put after cooling. But you need a tech who knows what they're doing; otherwise, they can damage the boot.

Just to clarify - my skate tech actually did hot punching. Like what you explained, he used a heat gun to heat up the boots around my bunions before punching it. He's an experienced skate tech - I've heard great things about him from local skaters and a lot of what he said align with I read here in this thread, so I'm confident he knows what he's doing

I will ask the rink whether they have anyone experienced in heat molding Risports. If they don't then I'll stick with the localized hot punching by my tech - don't want to risk ruining expensive brand new boots

As for wrapping the uppers around my ankles for a better fit, can this be done just by spot heating with a heat gun? Or does it have to be full heat molding?

 

[tstop4me]

Just to clarify - my skate tech actually did hot punching. Like what you explained, he used a heat gun to heat up the boots around my bunions before punching it. He's an experienced skate tech - I've heard great things about him from local skaters and a lot of what he said align with I read here in this thread, so I'm confident he knows what he's doing

I will ask the rink whether they have anyone experienced in heat molding Risports. If they don't then I'll stick with the localized hot punching by my tech - don't want to risk ruining expensive brand new boots

As for wrapping the uppers around my ankles for a better fit, can this be done just by spot heating with a heat gun? Or does it have to be full heat molding?

Thanks for the clarification. With respect to wrapping the uppers around your ankles, given the relatively large area involved, overall heat molding would be best. But, you really want one tech to handle both the overall heat molding and the hot punching. Right now, taking care of your bunions and toe region has a higher priority. So if you are happy with your current tech for the hot punching, then skip the overall heat molding.