I have just started ice skating as an adult skater. My first pair of figure skates were given to me as a present, and had no ankle support. I have been given a secondhand pair which are a lot more rigid and allow me to skate with my knees bent a lot easier. They are comfortable when my knees are bent. However, when I straighten my leg, the skates really cut into the back of my heel/ankle and it’s quite painful. The length and width of the skate feels correct. Is this common with more supportive skates? As I am a beginner - and have not been to a shop to try on different brands yet - I don’t know how they are supposed to feel. I only have rental skates and my previous pair for comparison. I will look into buying my own pair quite soon and be properly fitted, but just interested in getting an opinion on here as well as to why they might feel like this.
Fitting advice - skates pressing Achilles
- Thread starter Ange
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- Jan 9, 2017
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No, they aren't supposed to cut into your heel/ankle. So it's probably a bad fit. You need to go see a professional figure skate tech/fitter to get measured properly and go from there.
its relatively normal for the top of the back cuff of the skate to press into your lower calf when you point your toe a lot - this is something that might hurt at the beginning but you'll get used to. However, if its digging in INSIDE the skate, then it sounds like a bad fit like IceRabbit said. Maybe the previous owner had them heat molded in an unusual way.
To: OP. In addition to the previous advice, also stick your finger inside the boot and feel along the inner heel cup and backstay. Do you feel any sharp ridges? Properly designed boots have feather edges and padding that mitigate sharp ridges, but I have come across poorly designed boots that do have sharp ridges (including coarse stitching)... and these will dig into the back of your heel and ankle. A gel sleeve may help in this instance. But do have a competent skate tech check.
