Advanced blade advice (Matrix blades vs MK vs JW)

[bugzy19]

Hi guys,

I have been lurking on here for months now... finally gave in to making a post. Some background about me, I have been skating for 12 years on and off and have been consistent with my skating now for the past couple years. I am an adult skater with all my single jumps, axel included, as well as Juvenile MITF working on. I am planning on transitioning soon to double jumps. Most spins I have down, with the exception of some back camel/illusion/broken foot spins which are coming along. All in all i would say I am somewhere in between intermediate and advanced. I have been severely under booted/blade profiled (freestyles w/ aspire XP) in the past .. I know! LOL. Consulted with coach we ordered semi custom Jackson supreme boots with a 65 stiffness.

Anyways I am currently stuck on the blade situation because my my coach is recommending matrix elite blades, and they seem great, however I am terrified of the fact that the toe pick is straight cut instead of cross cut. I know they are comparable to the pattern 99's, and have heard great things. I like the 8' rocker, but I am very curious about the MK Gold Star Blades (7' rocker) as they seem very well rounded for everything, and I am kind of tired of having to work extra hard to spin. And I love doing footwork. Also, I have very high jumps and would like to keep it that way.
Basically, what do you guys think about the transition from cross cut to straight cut- its weird cause I always thought that cross cut is more advanced and its grippier? Would it be that big of a change to a straight cut?
Any advice on any of the blades mentioned with my skill level as well rounded skater?

Thank you very much all.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Hi guys,

I have been lurking on here for months now... finally gave in to making a post. Some background about me, I have been skating for 12 years on and off and have been consistent with my skating now for the past couple years. I am an adult skater with all my single jumps, axel included, as well as Juvenile MITF working on. I am planning on transitioning soon to double jumps. Most spins I have down, with the exception of some back camel/illusion/broken foot spins which are coming along. All in all i would say I am somewhere in between intermediate and advanced. I have been severely under booted/blade profiled (freestyles w/ aspire XP) in the past .. I know! LOL. Consulted with coach we ordered semi custom Jackson supreme boots with a 65 stiffness.

Anyways I am currently stuck on the blade situation because my my coach is recommending matrix elite blades, and they seem great, however I am terrified of the fact that the toe pick is straight cut instead of cross cut. I know they are comparable to the pattern 99's, and have heard great things. I like the 8' rocker, but I am very curious about the MK Gold Star Blades (7' rocker) as they seem very well rounded for everything, and I am kind of tired of having to work extra hard to spin. And I love doing footwork. Also, I have very high jumps and would like to keep it that way.
Basically, what do you guys think about the transition from cross cut to straight cut- its weird cause I always thought that cross cut is more advanced and its grippier? Would it be that big of a change to a straight cut?
Any advice on any of the blades mentioned with my skill level as well rounded skater?

Thank you very much all.

Hi and welcome! If you struggle to spin easily, you don't want P99- it has low profile stanchion, and parallel feature plus the straight cut pick. I will tell you that the pick is the least of your worries. I'd suggest looking at MK Gold Star or even the Phantom.

 

[bugzy19]

Hi and welcome! If you struggle to spin easily, you don't want P99- it has low profile stanchion, and parallel feature plus the straight cut pick. I will tell you that the pick is the least of your worries. I'd suggest looking at MK Gold Star or even the Phantom.

Ahh the legendary ice rabbit!! Haha thank you for your reply! Sounds good about the toe pick. To clarify, I might have been exaggerating about working hard to spin after reading so many forums about people spinning on good blades LOL. I don’t work too hard to spin, my spins are decent but they could use an extra boost. I guess my next question then is how is the transition from a 8’ rocker to a 7’ rocker? I am scared for that lol if I don’t happen to get the matrix elites. How do you think transitioning to a matrix elite from the aspire XP blade would be would be in comparison to the transition to a 7’ rocker MK blade?
Are gold stars stable and good for jumping? I know the phantoms are. I do enjoy doing flying entrances into spins sometimes like butterfly. Also, I feel like Gold Stars are good for footwork which is great .

 

[WednesdayMarch]

Phantoms and Gold Stars are both great blades. I'd recommend Gold Stars for you for the utter joy of spinning on them. They're all-round brilliant blades. Don't give the 8' v 7' rocker a thought. Seriously.

 

[bugzy19]

Phantoms and Gold Stars are both great blades. I'd recommend Gold Stars for you for the utter joy of spinning on them. They're all-round brilliant blades. Don't give the 8' v 7' rocker a thought. Seriously.

Thank you very much for the great feedback!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Ahh the legendary ice rabbit!! Haha thank you for your reply! Sounds good about the toe pick. To clarify, I might have been exaggerating about working hard to spin after reading so many forums about people spinning on good blades LOL. I don’t work too hard to spin, my spins are decent but they could use an extra boost. I guess my next question then is how is the transition from a 8’ rocker to a 7’ rocker? I am scared for that lol if I don’t happen to get the matrix elites. How do you think transitioning to a matrix elite from the aspire XP blade would be would be in comparison to the transition to a 7’ rocker MK blade?
Are gold stars stable and good for jumping? I know the phantoms are. I do enjoy doing flying entrances into spins sometimes like butterfly. Also, I feel like Gold Stars are good for footwork which is great .

Don't sweat the transition b/t 7 and 8 foot rockers. It will be a small difference. And yes, gold stars are great for both jumping and spinning which is why they are top of the line and widely worn by top singles and pairs skaters. I would get away from Matrix if it were me-they are flat rocker/spin rocker compared to MK/JW.
Good luck!

 

[bugzy19]

Don't sweat the transition b/t 7 and 8 foot rockers. It will be a small difference. And yes, gold stars are great for both jumping and spinning which is why they are top of the line and widely worn by top singles and pairs skaters. I would get away from Matrix if it were me-they are flat rocker/spin rocker compared to MK/JW.
Good luck!

I really appreciate your feedback on these blades, I have never tried them so this makes me less nervous about the transition Thank you very much!