Adult returning/beginner boot & blade advice

[natuhliiee]

Hey everyone, adult beginner skater here looking to purchase some new skates!

I used to take some private lessons several years ago working on basic skills (stroking, one foot skating, 3-turns, crossovers). Life got in the way since then, but I’m ready to get back into skating! I have average/slightly wide feet and lower arches, so I’m currently looking into Jackson skates and appropriate blades to go along with them. For reference, I’m 21, 5’1, and weigh roughly 95-100 pounds.

My current long-term goals particularly revolve around developing my skating skills to a higher level and learning solo ice dance. Eventually, I hope to take the Skating Skills, Solo Pattern Dance, and Solo Free Dance tests and pass up to at least the juvenile or intermediate level — might sound like a stretch but I’m determined! While ice dance is my primary interest, it’s still a goal of mine to learn single jumps up to the axel, though that’s more of an afterthought and I intend to focus much more of my time on dance. I left off at around Basic 5-6 in the Learn to Skate levels back when I took lessons. Moving forward, I’m considering resuming group lessons to brush up on basics before moving onto private coaching to learn dance, and single jumps later in the future. I’m fairly active/fit and plan on skating around 10-15 hours weekly. I live 5 minutes away from my local rink and my work schedule luckily permits me to have lots of ice time!

Given my height/weight, current skill level, and future goals, some preliminary research has me led me to three different Jackson models: the Freestyles, the Entres, and the Debuts. As for the Debuts, they have the standard cut and the low cut made for dance. The Freestyles seem like a great value outfit often recommended to adult beginners, however I’m not a huge fan of the flat 8’ rocker on the Aspire XP blades. My previous skates were Edeas with MK Double Stars (now discontinued) and they had a 7’ rocker which I’ve grown to prefer. With the Entres and Debuts I can choose the blade, and the Freestyles I believe can have a different blade mounted (correct me if I’m wrong). I’m considering the JW Coronation Ace or Dance blades to pair with whichever boot I end up choosing.

This leads to some questions I have. If my primary focus is learning ice dance but eventually also learning single jumps later down the line, should I:

• Get the Freestyles (replace blade), Entres, or Debuts?
• Go with standard freestyle cut boots or low cut dance boots, if going with the Debuts?
• Get the Coronation Ace or Coronation Dance blades? Is learning jumps possible in the Dance blades? Or would the Aces be sufficient for beginning dance?

The stiffness levels of the Freestyles, Entres, and Debuts are 45, 40, and 50 respectively. Given how much ice time I’ll have, I think I’d prefer a stiffer boot so they’ll last me longer, but since I’m also a more petite adult, I don’t want to risk over-booting and hindering my progress by not allowing myself to develop more ankle strength.

I intend to work on ice dance + testing for a while before even starting on single jumps. Though once I get around to that and eventually the axel, I’m aware I may need to upgrade to a stiffer boot. Would love to hear any recommendations! I’m also open to hearing about any alternative boot and blade models if the ones I mentioned are incompatible with my body composition, current level, and goals.

All responses and advice given are super appreciated, thanks guys!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Hey everyone, adult beginner skater here looking to purchase some new skates!

I used to take some private lessons several years ago working on basic skills (stroking, one foot skating, 3-turns, crossovers). Life got in the way since then, but I’m ready to get back into skating! I have average/slightly wide feet and lower arches, so I’m currently looking into Jackson skates and appropriate blades to go along with them. For reference, I’m 21, 5’1, and weigh roughly 95-100 pounds.

My current long-term goals particularly revolve around developing my skating skills to a higher level and learning solo ice dance. Eventually, I hope to take the Skating Skills, Solo Pattern Dance, and Solo Free Dance tests and pass up to at least the juvenile or intermediate level — might sound like a stretch but I’m determined! While ice dance is my primary interest, it’s still a goal of mine to learn single jumps up to the axel, though that’s more of an afterthought and I intend to focus much more of my time on dance. I left off at around Basic 5-6 in the Learn to Skate levels back when I took lessons. Moving forward, I’m considering resuming group lessons to brush up on basics before moving onto private coaching to learn dance, and single jumps later in the future. I’m fairly active/fit and plan on skating around 10-15 hours weekly. I live 5 minutes away from my local rink and my work schedule luckily permits me to have lots of ice time!

Given my height/weight, current skill level, and future goals, some preliminary research has me led me to three different Jackson models: the Freestyles, the Entres, and the Debuts. As for the Debuts, they have the standard cut and the low cut made for dance. The Freestyles seem like a great value outfit often recommended to adult beginners, however I’m not a huge fan of the flat 8’ rocker on the Aspire XP blades. My previous skates were Edeas with MK Double Stars (now discontinued) and they had a 7’ rocker which I’ve grown to prefer. With the Entres and Debuts I can choose the blade, and the Freestyles I believe can have a different blade mounted (correct me if I’m wrong). I’m considering the JW Coronation Ace or Dance blades to pair with whichever boot I end up choosing.

This leads to some questions I have. If my primary focus is learning ice dance but eventually also learning single jumps later down the line, should I:

• Get the Freestyles (replace blade), Entres, or Debuts?
• Go with standard freestyle cut boots or low cut dance boots, if going with the Debuts?
• Get the Coronation Ace or Coronation Dance blades? Is learning jumps possible in the Dance blades? Or would the Aces be sufficient for beginning dance?

The stiffness levels of the Freestyles, Entres, and Debuts are 45, 40, and 50 respectively. Given how much ice time I’ll have, I think I’d prefer a stiffer boot so they’ll last me longer, but since I’m also a more petite adult, I don’t want to risk over-booting and hindering my progress by not allowing myself to develop more ankle strength.

I intend to work on ice dance + testing for a while before even starting on single jumps. Though once I get around to that and eventually the axel, I’m aware I may need to upgrade to a stiffer boot. Would love to hear any recommendations! I’m also open to hearing about any alternative boot and blade models if the ones I mentioned are incompatible with my body composition, current level, and goals.

All responses and advice given are super appreciated, thanks guys!

Hi and welcome. Low cut debut with MK Dynasty. It's a synchro/crossover blade and you can learn dance and jumps on them. And yes I know it's an 8ft rocker but you shouldn't have a hard time getting used to them. It beats having to get two pairs of boots so you can have a dance blade on one and then singles blade on other. Also, if you were to get a regular blade like coronation ace and try to learn dance on them you're going to have a possible rougher transition to a dance blade later, with the MK Dynasty not so much.
DO NOT get dance blades and try to jump in them it's not very safe and they aren't made for that.

Also, higher stiffness does not mean your boots will last longer, just FYI.

Good luck!

 

[natuhliiee]

Hi and welcome. Low cut debut with MK Dynasty. It's a synchro/crossover blade and you can learn dance and jumps on them. And yes I know it's an 8ft rocker but you shouldn't have a hard time getting used to them. It beats having to get two pairs of boots so you can have a dance blade on one and then singles blade on other. Also, if you were to get a regular blade like coronation ace and try to learn dance on them you're going to have a possible rougher transition to a dance blade later, with the MK Dynasty not so much.
DO NOT get dance blades and try to jump in them it's not very safe and they aren't made for that.

Also, higher stiffness does not mean your boots will last longer, just FYI.

Good luck!

Thanks for the response! I do have a couple other questions based on your suggestions.

How would you compare the MK Dynasty blades to the Coronation Dance? Since they have the exact same toe pick as the Coronation Ace, could they also be used for single jumps? Admittedly, the MK Dynasty blades may be a bit out of budget at the moment.

Also, would the Debuts not be considered over-booting (since they are the stiffest at a rating of 50) for someone my height/weight and current skill level? The low cut would allow for greater toe point in dance, but would they still be suitable to eventually support single jumps?

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Hi and you're welcome!

There's no comparing the two blades you asked about a dance blade is just that, you can't jump in them.
Dynasty is used for Synchro/Dance and is more of a crossover b/t dance and singles blade which I thought I said in my initial post.
So you are down to this: Get the Dynasty and the Debut and have one pair you can do dance and singles in. Or have to buy two pairs of boots and separate blades (coro dance and coro ace/mk pro). And again, you could learn dance in a singles blade but if you intend to partner dance for any tests etc, you run the risk of injury to you or partner b/c the tail will be too long on singles blades to partner dance, plus you would have to adjust to those dances once you could get dance blades. Also, singles blades have different picks that will be too much for dance.

And yes the boots should be fine or I wouldn't have suggested them, that being said if Jackson even works for your foot type.

Good luck!

 

[bostonskaterguy86]

Have you worn Jackson skates before? I ask because you mentioned your previous skates were Edeas.

The Jackson fit is different from Edea's. The toebox tends to be rounder and wider, while Edeas are more tapered. Jacksons are built to wrap around the ankle and lower shin securely (though this isn't as true for the low cut boots), while Edeas are designed with a more open collar to allow for easy knee bend. Jacksons also tend to have stiffer tongues than Edeas.

This isn't to say the Jacksons won't work for you, of course! But I'd definitely recommend seeing a fitter and trying on the Jacksons before buying, to make sure they work for you.

Regarding the blades - take this with a large grain of salt as I haven't skated on these blades myself and I don't do dance (not yet, anyway!) - but if the Dynasty is out of your budget, there might be a couple of other options that could work. The Ultima Finesse blade from Jackson is another blade that is designed for synchro/dance, and per Jackson can be used for jumps and spins. There's also the MK Vision Synchro - which was discontinued and replaced by the Dynasty a few years ago, but there still seems to be a lot of brand new pairs floating around on various shops and websites.

Both of these blades are more affordable than the Dynasty, which might mean there are other trade-offs (different quality steel, etc) - but, on the plus side, they also both have 7' main rockers, which might be a bit of an easier adjustment for you. The Vision Synchro might be a nicer blade than the Finesse, I'm not sure - I know the regular Vision blade was a freestyle blade that was slotted in between the MK Professional and the MK Phantom, so it sold for something like $400USD. I'd assume the Vision Synchro was probably similar in price - but it can be had for around $200-250USD most places I'm seeing it. The Finesse's MSRP is $250USD. (Sight unseen, if I were choosing between the two, I'd probably go with the Vision Synchro myself - everyone I've talked to who skated on the regular Vision said it was a fantastic blade!).

Again I haven't used any of these blades myself - but maybe someone else on the forum who has can speak more to how well they might work for you.

Hope this helps!

 

[tuleytoes]

Hi! I’m in the same boat doing dance and single jumps. 5’0 ~110lbs. I have the Coronation Ace regular blades and Jackson Entres (will be getting customs soon for my second pair after about 18 months). This was great to start with and I don’t feel like they limit me in dance at all and support me for jumps. Sometimes I tie my boots to the second top hook instead of all the way up for better knee and ankle bend.

My coach who is an ice dancer told me that I can pass all of my dance tests with a freestyle blade so I shouldn’t worry about this now or really ever. I partner sometimes and it hasn’t been a problem either.

If I ever want to change to a specific dance boot/blade, then she said I can later on and my skills will be more advanced that getting used to the new profile should be easier than starting out when I had less stability. However she did say I probably won’t ever need to change to a dance boot/blade, esp since I want to do jumps whenever I want. Hope this helps!

 

[SkatersWaltz]

I started group adult figure skating lessons this Winter. Since I'm a beginner, I started using a pair of recreational skates I already had from 10 years ago - Jackson Softec. After one class, my feet were in such pain, that I decided to scrap those skates and get new skates. I went to the local figure skating shop and got professionally fitted. I tried on about 4 pairs of skates. The best in-store fit were a pair of Risport RF 4 B.O. They were actually on sale since that brand no longer exists (apparently, it was replaced by Risport RF light). Anyways, I've been to 2 lessons since and my feet are still really hurting, specifically the bottom and in the middle on the outside of the foot. I bought the Superfeet arch supports as well but they haven't helped. I haven't been able to skate for more than 15 minutes without needing to take my skates off and massage my feet before going back on the ice. Obviously, I can't continue skating if I my feet keep hurting this much. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I started group adult figure skating lessons this Winter. Since I'm a beginner, I started using a pair of recreational skates I already had from 10 years ago - Jackson Softec. After one class, my feet were in such pain, that I decided to scrap those skates and get new skates. I went to the local figure skating shop and got professionally fitted. I tried on about 4 pairs of skates. The best in-store fit were a pair of Risport RF 4 B.O. They were actually on sale since that brand no longer exists (apparently, it was replaced by Risport RF light). Anyways, I've been to 2 lessons since and my feet are still really hurting, specifically the bottom and in the middle on the outside of the foot. I bought the Superfeet arch supports as well but they haven't helped. I haven't been able to skate for more than 15 minutes without needing to take my skates off and massage my feet before going back on the ice. Obviously, I can't continue skating if I my feet keep hurting this much. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Height/Weight, foot style, arches: v high/high/reg/low/v low?
Where are you in this world?

 

[SkatersWaltz]

Height/Weight, foot style, arches: v high/high/reg/low/v low?
Where are you in this world?

Height: 5 foot 5 1/2 inches
Weight: 250
Foot style: Not exactly sure. My big toe is virtually the same height as the next toe and the other 3 descend on an angle from there, each lower than the other.
Arches: Low to medium

I live in Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). I got my fitting from Figure 8 skate shop