Best for Axel and Doubles? Edea vs Jackson?

I am currently wearing Jackson Freestyle skates from 12 years ago. I purchased them when I was 14 and skated in them for less than a year (made it up to loop jump and camel spin before I quit). I returned to skating in January, so I've been skating in these same skates for almost a year now as an adult. So the skates have now be used for around 1.5 to 2 years grand total.
I am the same weight and height I was at 14 years old. 5'9 and 150lbs
I have all of my single jumps, except axel, and am working hard on getting my axel right now, I'm also working on back-camel, but no flying spins yet.

Since I'm an adult and therefore my foot size will not change, I would like to invest in skates that will last, but at the same time I don't want to "overboot" myself and stall progress.


Currently wearing: Jackson Freestyle womens size 9B, Mark IV blade 10 1/3, Stiffness rating: 45 (purchased 12 years ago)
These skates have always fit really well, so I'm extremely likely to just stick with Jackson since I know it fits.
My feet are definitely not narrow, but neither are they super-wide. They are the average B. If Riedell is narrower than Jackson in the toebox that wouldn't be good.
I'm also very interested in the Edea skates because they look so sexy! But I know "looks" don't matter, comfort and support is what matters!


I purchased the Jackson skates (with the blade pre-attached) from the internet when I was a kid. I was lucky they fit well without any adjustments because no one around here knows how to adjust size or mount blades or anything.

I plan to be in a big city in a few weeks that has a skate shop stocked with Jackson, Riedell, Edea, etc and they will size your foot, mount blades, do heat-molding etc. So this is a great time to find out what Edea feels like and what my "true" size is since I've never been sized by a professional or worn any skate other than Jackson.

My skates have creases, but aren't fully broken down yet. I don't really notice anything on jumps, but I do often feel like I want more support in my camel spins. I'm often re-tightening the laces after too many camel spins. I'm crappy about getting the laces tight enough, but if the boot was stiffer, maybe it wouldn't matter as much?

I think skaters can learn axel and early double jumps with just a Jackson Freestyle (stiffness rating 45), but would a stiffer boot help or hurt me? It is better to underboot a bit (to develop stronger muscles) or overboot a bit (to make skates last longer)?
(my coach says she thinks I would be fine in boots rated for double jumps, so I've already got an OK from her, whatever I decide to do.)


Jackson or Edea?
Which Jackson would you recommend for my current axel attempts and my future doubles?
Which Edea would you recommend?
Would Ice Flys be too much? (Everyone is in love with those skates lol. Great marketing.)

I have read mixed reviews about Edea (some people come to hate them, some love them). Any good stories or horror stories about these skates? I'm willing to put down the money, but I don't want to waste money buying something I will end up hating. Will Edea's high level skates last longer? If I have to put down that kind of money every 2 years because they wear out too quickly, that's too much.
I like the idea of Edea's "lighter" skates, but I read about horror stories about keeping the laces tied or having too much flexibility in the ankle. While I never tie very tight at the top of my skate, I want lots of support in the "hinge area" of the foot. Whenever I'm retying the laces on my current skates, it's because I'm desiring more support in that hinge area for camel spins or jumps.


I have no real opinion about blades. I just generally choose whatever is considered a "normal choice" for the boot I going to buy. But I'm open to suggestions for blades as well.


UPDATE (10/13):
Here's what I learned after cornering a few of the girls who do wear Edea at my rink.
They said there was an adjustment period, but it wasn't that bad. They said it does feel loose in the ankle, but that's the way it supposed to be and you eventually get used to it.
My coach said that Jackson redesigned their boots with a higher heel etc to be more like the Edea skates so since my Jackson boots are from 12 years ago, I'll still have to get used to the new version of Jackson anyway. So she said if I want Edea, and it doesn't feel bad when I try them on, there's no reason to stay with Jackson since I'll have to adjust anyway.
My coach is going to try to find out if the Edea and Jackson reps will be at regionals in Nashville because that's a much shorter drive for me and that would allow me to get fitted by a "pro".
She also knows someone who can put the boot and blade together for me once I make up my mind! Yay!!!!
She thinks I should just go for the Edea Chorus if I decide on Edea. And the other girls who already wear Edea IceFly/Piano said the boots don't last any longer than any other skate, even if the skate is above your level like Ice Fly, Piano, etc. AKA there's no reason to buy skates that expensive until your skating level requires it. Seems like they think Chorus is for beginning doubles and Ice Fly or Piano for later doubles like flip, lutz, axel since no one at my rink does triples.

If you're going to see a good skate pro, they'll evaluate your feet, talk about your level of skating, evaluate your body type, understand you're an adult, and suggest boots that will work for you. For all you know, you'll end up Harlick. :lol:

Edeas work for some people and not for others. Likewise with Jacksons or any other brand. It's hard for people online to recommend a boot that really might work for you. It's fun to talk about, but don't take anything that you read online as being the voice of God or anything.

Generally speaking, some pros will put adults into a slightly higher level boot/stiffer boot than they'd put a similar kid into, because your feet don't grow, and because an adult, generally speaking, tends to be a bit heavier than a kid skating at a comparable level. So what might be overbooting if you were a kid, might not be overbooting as an adult. Within reason.

I've heard that the Edeas break down more quickly than comparable boots in other brands, but YMMV.

Skaters do learn axels and double jumps in the Jackson Freestyle.

Note that a stiffness rating in one brand is not necessarily comparable to a stiffness rating in another brand. So you can't say a Jackson stiffness 45 is the same as some other brand's 45.

As an example, I started out in a boot rated for double jumps, because I'm an adult and I'm not slim. It really depends on the boot, and on your body, etc. So your coach may be right in that you'll end up in a boot rated for double jumps. But anything higher than that might be overkill. Again, a good skate pro should guide you in all this. Do you have an appointment with someone specific at the shop you're going to?

They know I'm coming and that I'm interested in Jackson Elite, Edea Chorus, Ice Fly etc so they'll have my size on hand. But they're just a skate shop owner, not a "pro". They'll have some experience considering they've sold skates for a long time, but it's still going to be up to me to decide what's best. It's a two hour drive to get to this city's shop. In contrast, it's a 4+ hour drive to get to Richmond, IN where there is a pro fitter for Edea skates. (But that assumes I want to go with Edea.) These are the only two options in my area where anyone stocks and fits skates. Everything else is online or even further away.

The two-hour-away city is a good option for me since I'm going to be visiting anyway to see Cirque du Soleil on Ice. Might as well visit the shop since I'm going to be in town anyway.

My coach isn't a skate pro either. All she can tell me is her own experiences and what her other students wear. Jackson is what most people in our rink wear. Only a few are in Riedell or Edea etc. But I'm the only adult freestyle skater. All the other freestyle skaters are little kids or teens. But I'm the size of a teen, weight-wise for my height, so I don't think I need anything heavy-duty.

If you know that Jacksons are working for you, it might be easier to stick with them. There's something to be said about the path of least resistance, right? I don't think you'd be overbooting if you went up to the Elite model as you work on the Axel/etc. (I wear the Elite Low Cut model and I have axel/doubles.)

The only caveat is that the more advanced boot models don't come with blades, so you'd have to figure out what you want.

The upfront cost (i.e. time/effort/etc) of working with a great fitter might feel like a pain, but in the end it's worth it when you consider the alternative of winding up in a boot that doesn't fit you correctly and the expense involved in correcting the error. (Speaking from personal experience, of course.)

If the Jacksons you currently have fit your feet and don't hurt you anywhere, I would advise sticking with Jacksons. Sometimes you get lucky on the first try and then assume all boots are going to fit as well as the first brand you tried. And then you end up like me, $1,300 poorer, with a pair of brand new boots & blades sitting in your bedroom for a year because they don't fit, even after stretching. And I got fitted by a highly reputed "pro" who fits some of the top skaters in the U.S., so, trust me, there is no safe gamble when it comes to changing boot brands. I even got to try the boots on before buying, but they felt different once I had blades on them and was actually skating in them. This is especially true of Edea boots, which felt fine when I tried them on, but wobbled side to side in the ankle when I actually got the blades mounted and skated in them. It didn't matter how tight I tried to tie them around the ankle; I still struggled to stay on top of my blades, something I'd never experienced in 20 years of figure skating. Fortunately, I'd bought those at half price and was able to sell them for what I bought them for. I paid full price for the Grafs I'm stuck with now, which I was told could be stretched to give me the extra width I needed. Nope.

UPDATE (10/13):
Here's what I learned after cornering a few of the girls who do wear Edea at my rink.
They said there was an adjustment period, but it wasn't that bad. They said it does feel loose in the ankle, but that's the way it supposed to be and you eventually get used to it.
My coach said that Jackson redesigned their boots with a higher heel etc to be more like the Edea skates so since my Jackson boots are from 12 years ago, I'll still have to get used to the new version of Jackson anyway. So she said if I want Edea, and it doesn't feel bad when I try them on, there's no reason to stay with Jackson since I'll have to adjust anyway.
My coach is going to try to find out if the Edea and Jackson reps will be at regionals in Nashville because that's a much shorter drive for me and that would allow me to get fitted by a "pro".
She also knows someone who can put the boot and blade together for me once I make up my mind! Yay!!!!
She thinks I should just go for the Edea Chorus if I decide on Edea. And the other girls who already wear Edea IceFly/Piano said the boots don't last any longer than any other skate, even if the skate is above your level like Ice Fly, Piano, etc. AKA there's no reason to buy skates that expensive until your skating level requires it. Seems like they think Chorus is for beginning doubles and Ice Fly or Piano for later doubles like flip, lutz, axel since no one at my rink does triples.