Hi! Like many others, I'm looking to upgrade my skates and I need some help!
Some background: I'm an adult skater, started skating a few years ago on Jackson Artistes with a Mark IV blade. They're a little big, but overall, they've been good skates. I'm an average to slightly above-averagely sized woman, and I have decent knee-bend, but I'm not tremendously hard on my skates. I spent a lot of my "beginning" time working on turns and footwork, and I'm getting ready to test the Adult Bronze MITF. I also have consistent (but...ugly...) single salchows and toe loops, though I haven't done any freestyle tests.
I actually haven't noticed anything wrong with the pure quality of my current boot or blade; I learned two single jumps and a number of turns, and it feels secure enough to start landing bigger/harder jumps when my skill level gets there. I'm looking to upgrade because, as I start skating more, and start doing harder technical content, the fact that my skates are a little big is really starting to grate.
I tried out a pair of the new Jackson Freestyles from my local pro shop first--the person who fitted me insisted that my current skates were the right size, so I tried them in that size. Turns out, I really should not have listened to him--not only were they too big, in trying to tie them tight enough to mimic the correct size, the laces ripped open my left hand in three different places.
I measured myself at home, and according to the size chart, I was actually a full size smaller. When I went back in to the pro shop to explain the situation, he had me try out that smaller size--in a Riedell. It actually really well, though because I have a wider toe box and narrower heels (the reason I went with Jacksons in the first place!), I had to try them out in a wide size.
He might just be traumatized from having me bring the skates back with evidence that they really were too big, but since I tried on and liked the size of the Riedells, he's really pushing for me to buy the Riedell 225 Motion. I'm sympathetic to his point that I've struggled in finding a boot that feels good, and since I know the Riedell in that size and width does, I should go with that. That said, I went with the Jackson Freestyle for a lot of good reasons (the cushy interior! the wide toe box and narrow heel! the decent pre-attached blade!), and I'm worried about switching.
Here's what I would love some thoughts on:
1. Stiffness: I'm still learning single jumps, beginning spins, and some of the harder turns. When I put the Freestyles on, I was OVERWHELMED by how stiff they were--it felt like I was trying to splint my ankle in comparison to my worn in, plastic skates. (And I would have kept the plastic skates through all of my single jumps, if the fit wasn't getting so irritating!) The Freestyles are only a 45 in stiffness, though, while the 225 Motion is 70. I'm worried I won't be able to bend my knees or lace them properly. That said, I hate buying anything for my feet, and I would love to learn an axel some day (a genuinely possible goal), so if buying a better boot is a smart long-term strategy, I'm interested.
2. Sizing: the pro shop guy insists that the Jackson and Riedell sizes match up really closely, but I'm not as inclined to trust him now (sadly, I can't just go somewhere else, because this is the only pro shop in town, and I do want to support him since he may end up eating the cost of the Freestyles that didn't work out for me). According to their size charts, they're very close (within 1/8"-2/8"), but I've heard that Jacksons run a little bigger, so if anyone knows about that. Similarly--I was wearing the Riedell in Wide, which according to the Kinsie's Closet chart, is about the same as a Jackson width C, but I've heard that Jackson's run wide in the toe box.
3. Blade: If I do end up going with the Riedell, should I upgrade from the default Eclipse Astra blade? I don't know a ton about blades, but the Aspire XP that's on the Freestyles has a larger pick and seems to have a better "reputation" as a blade.
4. Experiences: Has anyone tried either or both of these skates? How did they compare?
Some background: I'm an adult skater, started skating a few years ago on Jackson Artistes with a Mark IV blade. They're a little big, but overall, they've been good skates. I'm an average to slightly above-averagely sized woman, and I have decent knee-bend, but I'm not tremendously hard on my skates. I spent a lot of my "beginning" time working on turns and footwork, and I'm getting ready to test the Adult Bronze MITF. I also have consistent (but...ugly...) single salchows and toe loops, though I haven't done any freestyle tests.
I actually haven't noticed anything wrong with the pure quality of my current boot or blade; I learned two single jumps and a number of turns, and it feels secure enough to start landing bigger/harder jumps when my skill level gets there. I'm looking to upgrade because, as I start skating more, and start doing harder technical content, the fact that my skates are a little big is really starting to grate.
I tried out a pair of the new Jackson Freestyles from my local pro shop first--the person who fitted me insisted that my current skates were the right size, so I tried them in that size. Turns out, I really should not have listened to him--not only were they too big, in trying to tie them tight enough to mimic the correct size, the laces ripped open my left hand in three different places.
I measured myself at home, and according to the size chart, I was actually a full size smaller. When I went back in to the pro shop to explain the situation, he had me try out that smaller size--in a Riedell. It actually really well, though because I have a wider toe box and narrower heels (the reason I went with Jacksons in the first place!), I had to try them out in a wide size.
He might just be traumatized from having me bring the skates back with evidence that they really were too big, but since I tried on and liked the size of the Riedells, he's really pushing for me to buy the Riedell 225 Motion. I'm sympathetic to his point that I've struggled in finding a boot that feels good, and since I know the Riedell in that size and width does, I should go with that. That said, I went with the Jackson Freestyle for a lot of good reasons (the cushy interior! the wide toe box and narrow heel! the decent pre-attached blade!), and I'm worried about switching.
Here's what I would love some thoughts on:
1. Stiffness: I'm still learning single jumps, beginning spins, and some of the harder turns. When I put the Freestyles on, I was OVERWHELMED by how stiff they were--it felt like I was trying to splint my ankle in comparison to my worn in, plastic skates. (And I would have kept the plastic skates through all of my single jumps, if the fit wasn't getting so irritating!) The Freestyles are only a 45 in stiffness, though, while the 225 Motion is 70. I'm worried I won't be able to bend my knees or lace them properly. That said, I hate buying anything for my feet, and I would love to learn an axel some day (a genuinely possible goal), so if buying a better boot is a smart long-term strategy, I'm interested.
2. Sizing: the pro shop guy insists that the Jackson and Riedell sizes match up really closely, but I'm not as inclined to trust him now (sadly, I can't just go somewhere else, because this is the only pro shop in town, and I do want to support him since he may end up eating the cost of the Freestyles that didn't work out for me). According to their size charts, they're very close (within 1/8"-2/8"), but I've heard that Jacksons run a little bigger, so if anyone knows about that. Similarly--I was wearing the Riedell in Wide, which according to the Kinsie's Closet chart, is about the same as a Jackson width C, but I've heard that Jackson's run wide in the toe box.
3. Blade: If I do end up going with the Riedell, should I upgrade from the default Eclipse Astra blade? I don't know a ton about blades, but the Aspire XP that's on the Freestyles has a larger pick and seems to have a better "reputation" as a blade.
4. Experiences: Has anyone tried either or both of these skates? How did they compare?