Boot/blade advice

So, I bought Jackson Competitor skates that came with aspire xp blades back in (I think) July. I had my feet measured and eveything. Since then, I have skated and jumped quite a bit of hours, over a hundred hours. However, there's still constant pain around the width of my foot - yes, I do have wide feet; the boots have been punched around the ankle and the box area. I've noticed that if I don't tie tight enough then my heel slips, but if I tie too tight my feet, my right more than my left, suffer. There are times when I tie my boots tight and my heels still slip. Should this pain still be happening? Or are the boots a misfit?

Next, my coach suggested getting edea boots and paramount blades; she wears idea ice fly and uses paramount blades. However, I'm a little hesitant to purchase skates that range from $699-799 and blades that need more special treatment than typical figure skating blades. Personally, I'm looking at John Wilson gold seal blades. Anyone have any experience with edea? edea boots for wide feet? Lastly, advice/personal experience with gold seal blades or gold seal revolution? The revolution blades have caught my attention because I like the design and concept behind them.

Note: my Jacksons are a 6C, the 6.5C didn't lock my heel into place.

I'm surprised to hear your coach recommend either brand, honestly. She's not in the wrong or anything, Edea is just such a newish brand that I don't hear a lot of coaches used to teaching with them.

Edea claims they work for wide feet but I have heard from many other skaters that they don't work as well as Jacksons/GAM, which have wider toeboxes. It really depends on where your foot is wide. Edea offers a wide width but it's craaaazy wide, from what I've heard. They don't do split width, where Jackson's high level lasts are stock split width. I have Pianos and for me they were worth every penny, but they are extremely loose in the heel when you get them out of the box so if you're having problems with heel slippage tbh with you I probably wouldn't recommend them. They're kind of weird... generous in the heel, very normal width in the ball and forefoot. It sounds like your feet are wide in the ball or toe and narrower in the heel, so split width is kind of what you need to stick with. Maybe you even need to see what can be done to bring the heel in as you bring the forefoot of the boot out.

As far as blades, I don't think you're going to hear any negative feedback on Gold Seal, besides maybe that the Revolution blades have really high stanchions and will lift you off the ice like crazy. That's quite a jump from Aspire to Gold Seal. As far as Paramount goes, the lightweight blades are going to add yet another new thing into how brand-new skates feel, if you decide to switch brands. I use lightweight two-part chassised blades in the same concept as the Paramount ones (Ultima Matrix blades) and I can say to their credit that as long as you have someone who knows how to sharpen them, they actually require less maintenance, because they hold their edges much longer than traditional blades.

If I were fitting you (and I'm not a fitter) I'd recommend you stick with Jackson, but hopefully your fitter can advise you more personally.

My coach swears by edea. The gold seal was a recommendation from the other coach at my rink. My boots used to fit the heel amazingly so, but have since waned, but mostly in the right foot - my landing foot. Currently, I've been trying to loosen around my foot to see if that helps, but without them skates being tight I can't keep edges as clean as myself or my coach like. Maybe I'll just keep practicing with the looser boot and see if I adapt. And yes, my foot is widest as the ball, in which the outer sides of my foot suffer horrendously; I can guarantee that every time I out on my skates I walk away with foot pain and the outer sides of my feet being red and on fire.

Sbh said:

So, I bought Jackson Competitor skates that came with aspire xp blades back in (I think) July. I had my feet measured and eveything. Since then, I have skated and jumped quite a bit of hours, over a hundred hours. However, there's still constant pain around the width of my foot - yes, I do have wide feet; the boots have been punched around the ankle and the box area. I've noticed that if I don't tie tight enough then my heel slips, but if I tie too tight my feet, my right more than my left, suffer. There are times when I tie my boots tight and my heels still slip. Should this pain still be happening? Or are the boots a misfit?

Next, my coach suggested getting edea boots and paramount blades; she wears idea ice fly and uses paramount blades. However, I'm a little hesitant to purchase skates that range from $699-799 and blades that need more special treatment than typical figure skating blades. Personally, I'm looking at John Wilson gold seal blades. Anyone have any experience with edea? edea boots for wide feet? Lastly, advice/personal experience with gold seal blades or gold seal revolution? The revolution blades have caught my attention because I like the design and concept behind them.

Note: my Jacksons are a 6C, the 6.5C didn't lock my heel into place.

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If I were you, I would not be making the jump from Aspire to Gold Seals at all, esp the Revs. I have worn Gold Seals in standard and Revs and hated the Revs. They make some spins and other movement very difficult, especially if you are prone to having very deep edges like I happen to. You should find a middle ground blade to wear and there is no need for you to be forking out that much for boots either, it also seems to me that you need a split-width boot as I do that is wide in toebox and more narrow in heel area. If you like John Wilson blades try a Coronation Ace. Just be aware anything you get in Wilson or MK blades will seem more curved to you because Aspires lay more flat in their profile than the others IIRC.

Good luck!

I've actually been pining to get new blades since I hit the ice with the aspire xp blades. Tbh, I hate them because they are so flat. I hit my toe pick a lot, which is due to using a more curved blade prior to getting new skates. This is why the other skate coach at my rink recommended a john Wilson blade; I think she suggested the gold seals because I'm working on doubles and I practice jumps a lot; I also think she suggest revolution because she has revolution blades. Thank you all for wonderful advice!

Sbh said:

I've actually been pining to get new blades since I hit the ice with the aspire xp blades. Tbh, I hate them because they are so flat. I hit my toe pick a lot, which is due to using a more curved blade prior to getting new skates. This is why the other skate coach at my rink recommended a john Wilson blade; I think she suggested the gold seals because I'm working on doubles and I practice jumps a lot; I also think she suggest revolution because she has revolution blades. Thank you all for wonderful advice!

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If you are only working on doubles the Coronation Ace would do the job for you. They have a rev option in that too.

Ic3Rabbit said:

If you are only working on doubles the Coronation Ace would do the job for you. They have a rev option in that too.

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Do the coronation ace hold their edges/sharpness well? The other coach said something about the gold seal holding the sharpness longer because during the summer I have to travel a few hours away to see a sharpener, in which I have to leave my skates at the shop and come back when he calls me - normally a few days later.

Sbh said:

My coach swears by edea. The gold seal was a recommendation from the other coach at my rink. My boots used to fit the heel amazingly so, but have since waned, but mostly in the right foot - my landing foot. Currently, I've been trying to loosen around my foot to see if that helps, but without them skates being tight I can't keep edges as clean as myself or my coach like. Maybe I'll just keep practicing with the looser boot and see if I adapt. And yes, my foot is widest as the ball, in which the outer sides of my foot suffer horrendously; I can guarantee that every time I out on my skates I walk away with foot pain and the outer sides of my feet being red and on fire.

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If the outer edges of your feet are constantly in pain 8 months after you bought your boots, that’s not normal. I am not a fitter, but it sounds like the boots may be too narrow for you - a C width is only medium wide - or there is something else wrong. It also sounds like the padding in the heels has compressed (causing the slipping) and/or that the boots may be breaking down. You should go back to the fitter with your skates, explain the problems, and ask him or her what can be done. If the fitter says you need new skates, make sure they measure you again.

Sbh said:

Do the coronation ace hold their edges/sharpness well? The other coach said something about the gold seal holding the sharpness longer because during the summer I have to travel a few hours away to see a sharpener, in which I have to leave my skates at the shop and come back when he calls me - normally a few days later.

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From what I recall yes, I haven't worn something rated for doubles in many years. I wear Pattern 99's for quite some time now.

You sound like you're having the same problem me and a few of my friends had. We all started with Jacksons but within a few months had problems with heels slipping/moving in the boot. Our fitter recommended re-heat moulding them which helped for maybe a week before the problem came back.

Including myself, at least 4 of us were having this problem (and we all wore different models of Jackson boots). 2 of us switched to Edea (different models) and though it does seem "looser" than Jackson's tight fit, we've not had that problem anymore. I wore my Jacksons for about 8 months and had the problem about 3 months in. I'm currently in the Edeas going on 9 months and no problems so far. The only thing that differs in our situations is that me and my friends have pretty standard shoe-shaped feet so I'm not sure if your wider fit may not be helped if you switched?

Re: blades, I'm using gold seal revs right now and moved from coro ace revs and really love them. Funnily enough though everyone says coro aces' 7" rocker helps with spins, I could barely do a basic 1 foot spin in them. Whereas my first week in gold seals even doing scratch spins were pretty effortless. But then again I always knew I liked 8" over 7" because I had a hard time adjusting to the coro aces and the moment I stepped on with gold seals I felt much better even without having used them before. I don't have any experience with aspire blades, but I am curious to try paramounts but they're hard to find here haha

Ristique said:

You sound like you're having the same problem me and a few of my friends had. We all started with Jacksons but within a few months had problems with heels slipping/moving in the boot. Our fitter recommended re-heat moulding them which helped for maybe a week before the problem came back.

Including myself, at least 4 of us were having this problem (and we all wore different models of Jackson boots). 2 of us switched to Edea (different models) and though it does seem "looser" than Jackson's tight fit, we've not had that problem anymore. I wore my Jacksons for about 8 months and had the problem about 3 months in. I'm currently in the Edeas going on 9 months and no problems so far. The only thing that differs in our situations is that me and my friends have pretty standard shoe-shaped feet so I'm not sure if your wider fit may not be helped if you switched?

Re: blades, I'm using gold seal revs right now and moved from coro ace revs and really love them. Funnily enough though everyone says coro aces' 7" rocker helps with spins, I could barely do a basic 1 foot spin in them. Whereas my first week in gold seals even doing scratch spins were pretty effortless. But then again I always knew I liked 8" over 7" because I had a hard time adjusting to the coro aces and the moment I stepped on with gold seals I felt much better even without having used them before. I don't have any experience with aspire blades, but I am curious to try paramounts but they're hard to find here haha

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I agree, paramount blades can be hard to find, but it's harder to find the the right sharpener because paramount blades need specialized equipment. My coach had to go nearly two weeks without her primary skates when she needed them sharpened, but she said it was the first time she had sharpened them in a while.

I feel you on the 8' rocker! I'm prefer them over 7' because I feel more stable with jumping and I feel like I have more power on the ice; one of the few reasons I like the aspire xp is for the 8' rocker. Thus, I think the other coach recommend the gold seal and not the coronation ace, which has a 7' rocker. I talked to her today and she thought it would be a setback from going to 8' to 7' and then back to 8'.

Sbh said:

I agree, paramount blades can be hard to find, but it's harder to find the the right sharpener because paramount blades need specialized equipment. My coach had to go nearly two weeks without her primary skates when she needed them sharpened, but she said it was the first time she had sharpened them in a while.

I feel you on the 8' rocker! I'm prefer them over 7' because I feel more stable with jumping and I feel like I have more power on the ice; one of the few reasons I like the aspire xp is for the 8' rocker. Thus, I think the other coach recommend the gold seal and not the coronation ace, which has a 7' rocker. I talked to her today and she thought it would be a setback from going to 8' to 7' and then back to 8'.

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So true, especially with having just moved to Japan I've been putting off sharpening my blades because there's only 1 person sharpening for pretty much the whole Kansai area and nobody's sharpened anywhere else so can't comment whether it's actually good or not... Not to mention Japanese skaters seem to favour P99 over GS. Back when I lived in Melbourne though, there was a coach who did really great sharpens, and he even did sharpens for a girl with paramounts too! Another coach recommended my friend who's now moved to Singapore to switch to Ultima blades so that she can just mail the detachable blades to Melbourne to be sharpened and keep multiple spares but that's a bit too much hahaha.

Same! Even though I'm small-sized and everyone said I'd have a better time with the 7' and that it'd make me "faster" but honestly I rather feel stable, then at least I'd be fast and safe haha. I agree that if you're ultimately going to get GS anyway, then yeah switching back and forth would probably just cost you the time it takes to readjust. Blades > boots though, you'd be surprised how many second-hand blades with decent sharpen life is sold online. Just doing an ebay search today I found 2 gold seal revs in my size so if you're not rushing to set up your new kit you can probably find a cheap pair!

Sbh said:

I agree, paramount blades can be hard to find, but it's harder to find the the right sharpener because paramount blades need specialized equipment. My coach had to go nearly two weeks without her primary skates when she needed them sharpened, but she said it was the first time she had sharpened them in a while.

I feel you on the 8' rocker! I'm prefer them over 7' because I feel more stable with jumping and I feel like I have more power on the ice; one of the few reasons I like the aspire xp is for the 8' rocker. Thus, I think the other coach recommend the gold seal and not the coronation ace, which has a 7' rocker. I talked to her today and she thought it would be a setback from going to 8' to 7' and then back to 8'.

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<<Emphasis added.>>Yes, this an illogical progression, but unfortunately more skaters will be faced with this situation. Jackson's been bundling their recreational kits (up to the Freestyle boot) with their beginner Ultima blades with an 8' main rocker. MK and Wilson used to have their beginner blades with 7' rockers. But even they have switched their beginner blades to 8' rockers [their websites no longer list their old beginner blades; not sure if they are being dropped, or whether their websites haven't been updated; online stores still list the old beginner blades as current, not discontinued].

In your situation, if you want to upgrade to an intermediate blade (~$220 range) with an 8' rocker, your options are limited. If you stick with Ultima, the choice is the Legacy with 8' rocker (they are introducing a 7' rocker as well, so be careful to choose the right model). For MK and Wilson, the only choice appears to be the Wilson Coronation Comet, which has an 8.5' rocker [the Wilson website no longer lists the Comet; again not sure if it's being dropped, or whether the website needs to be updated; online stores still list it as current, not discontinued]. If you consider either one, be sure to find out what the spin rocker profile is. Ultima blades, in general, tend to have flatter spin rockers than MK and Wilson. I don't know whether the Coronation Comet has the same spin rocker as the Coronation Ace (you need to check); but if it does, it would be worthy of consideration. It doesn't appear to be a common choice though; but perhaps someone here has experience with it.

Your third option then would be to go directly to the Gold Seal. That would likely be a major transition, since your current blades have a very flat (large radius) spin rocker and low heel lift and the Gold Seal has a very pronounced (small radius) spin rocker and high heel lift; that is, you'll be going from one extreme to the other. I skated on the Coronation Ace for many years, then switched to the Eclipse Aurora, a close, but not identical, copy of the Coronation Ace. The advantage of the Aurora is that it's fabricated from 440C stainless steel, and requires fewer sharpenings. Unfortunately, it has a flatter spin rocker. I'm focussing on scratch spins, and my coach strongly urged me to upgrade to a Gold Seal. In the end, I got the Paramount version (not identical) because I could get the same spin rocker, main rocker, and heel lift, but fabricated in 440C stainless steel. That spin rocker is very unforgiving, and took me a while to get used to. Transition ease will depend on the individual skater of course. But if the Legacy and the Comet are not to your liking, then taking the time to transition to the Gold Seal now may be better than transitioning to the Coronation Ace and then to the Gold Seal. Personally, I liked the easier glide and higher stability of the 8' rocker right away, and I wouldn't care to go back to a 7' rocker. But other skaters may switch back and forth OK.

Ristique said:

Another coach recommended my friend who's now moved to Singapore to switch to Ultima blades so that she can just mail the detachable blades to Melbourne to be sharpened and keep multiple spares but that's a bit too much hahaha.

Blades > boots though, you'd be surprised how many second-hand blades with decent sharpen life is sold online. Just doing an ebay search today I found 2 gold seal revs in my size so if you're not rushing to set up your new kit you can probably find a cheap pair!

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(a) Runners were interchangeable only on the original Ultima Matrix I blades. Not sure when they were discontinued (at least prior to 2014), but current Ultima Matrix blades no longer have interchangeable runners.

(b) I'd be real wary of buying used blades, especially off the net. All it takes is one bad sharpening to ruin a pair of blades for good. Then that $200 pair of Gold Seals that you hoped would be a bargain of a lifetime ends up being an $$ paperweight.

OP, Be aware that All MK brand blades have a 7 foot rocker except for their synchro and lower level blades (all purpose blades).

Ic3Rabbit said:

OP, Be aware that All MK brand blades have a 7 foot rocker except for their synchro and lower level blades (all purpose blades).

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Do you understand why MK and Wilson switched to 8' rockers for their beginner blades?

tstop4me said:

(a) Runners were interchangeable only on the original Ultima Matrix I blades. Not sure when they were discontinued (at least prior to 2014), but current Ultima Matrix blades no longer have interchangeable runners.

(b) I'd be real wary of buying used blades, especially off the net. All it takes is one bad sharpening to ruin a pair of blades for good. Then that $200 pair of Gold Seals that you hoped would be a bargain of a lifetime ends up being an $$ paperweight.

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Hahaha well I've never seen anyone in Ultima blades so even before he said that I didn't know detachable blades were a thing! Would make things easier I'd assume but then again maybe it's not so safe when combined with jumps? hmm...

Yeah that's true. I was lucky to get a pair of GS that were never used because the person bought them in the wrong size so that was lucky for me

I've looked at MK blades and have no interest for them because they were 7' rockers. I will most likely never buy blades online, only in person for me.

Thank you for all the helpful replies!

Sidenote: what are all the differences between gold seals or pattern 99? I know the profile is different, but I'm not well knowledgeable of the difference yet. Granted I do know that Mel (the other coach at my rink) said I'd be able to spin and do turns easier because I rocker more on the ball of my foot, closer towards the toes - I'm guessing it's a side habit from past sports I played. In my old blades I could turn and spin, even land jumps so much better than with the aspire xp, which I have a probably going on the toe pick or my movements too "toe-picky," as my coach puts it.

Sbh said:

I've looked at MK blades and have no interest for them because they were 7' rockers. I will most likely never buy blades online, only in person for me.

Thank you for all the helpful replies!

Sidenote: what are all the differences between gold seals or pattern 99? I know the profile is different, but I'm not well knowledgeable of the difference yet. Granted I do know that Mel (the other coach at my rink) said I'd be able to spin and do turns easier because I rocker more on the ball of my foot, closer towards the toes - I'm guessing it's a side habit from past sports I played. In my old blades I could turn and spin, even land jumps so much better than with the aspire xp, which I have a probably going on the toe pick or my movements too "toe-picky," as my coach puts it.

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P99’s have a straight cut pick with a tapered large top pick which is good for spotting jumps and in my opinion launching your toe jumps in a big intense way. The overall profile of the blade is different with the tapered tail. The blade sets lower to ice so that’s good if you are a big jumper.

Gold Seal is cross cut picks, still has taper tail but had higher stachions. It’s more “grippy” IMHO but some people like that.

Both are elite blades that are toe picky in their own ways. If you aren’t to the level where you’d be able to sufficiently control this properly then you’re going to have pick issues.

Either way, good luck!

Ic3Rabbit said:

Gold Seal is cross cut picks, still has taper tail but had higher stachions. It’s more “grippy” IMHO but some people like that.

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What is the difference between Gold Seals and Gold Stars. When my daughter switched coaches, she was told to switch blades and I have not worried about it but now I am curious.

I think there is a difference in the rocker which means the Stars are supposedly better for spins.

What are the other differences?