Advice on upgrade from Risport Rf3 Pro’s

[GaLexie]

Hi,
I have 2 issues with my skates currently:

Firstly, my current boots Risport Rf3 pros, are breaking down in the tongue causing lots of stress and pain on my shins, ankles and foot arches. The main problem is the tongue is very soft and squishy but the main heel and structure of the boot show very little signs of creasing or breakdown. I often have to retie my skates frequently to feel secure enough to jump and spin in them, and even then I still have issues with stability.

For reference, my skates are 3 years old, I wear gel ankle sleeves, to help combat the pain I have taken to putting pieces of foam down the front of my skates to try and give back some of the strength in the tongue. But nothing seems to be working long term.

I am not sure what to do or how to fix these problems with my skates. Would anyone have any advice to help with this pain and skate issues? Or how to make the skates last longer?

2.
Secondly, I am aware that these are signs of skates breaking down, and getting new skates would probably fix these problems. I am not sure which skates to upgrade to! I have seen my local fitter and they advised me to upgrade to Edea Ice Fly’s which I have tried on and seem really comfortable. I have also tried on Risport Royal Pro’s and Rf1 Elites, but they somehow seem less comfortable and less supportive than the Ice Fly’s.

However, the Ice Fly’s are not available in my country in the correct size until July 2026!! Im not sure what to do with my skates until then, and have been considering other options.
What would be the best advice for me to upgrade my skates to, if the ice fly’s are not an option?

For reference: I am 20y.o Female, 68Kg and 175cm tall. I have been skating for 4.5 years and i'm currently working on single axel, double salchow and combination spins. I skates around 8-10 hours per week and compete in adult competitions.

Any advice or comments are greatly appreciated as I am a bit stuck as what to do with my current skates and whether to consider new ones!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Hi,
I have 2 issues with my skates currently:

Firstly, my current boots Risport Rf3 pros, are breaking down in the tongue causing lots of stress and pain on my shins, ankles and foot arches. The main problem is the tongue is very soft and squishy but the main heel and structure of the boot show very little signs of creasing or breakdown. I often have to retie my skates frequently to feel secure enough to jump and spin in them, and even then I still have issues with stability.

For reference, my skates are 3 years old, I wear gel ankle sleeves, to help combat the pain I have taken to putting pieces of foam down the front of my skates to try and give back some of the strength in the tongue. But nothing seems to be working long term.

I am not sure what to do or how to fix these problems with my skates. Would anyone have any advice to help with this pain and skate issues? Or how to make the skates last longer?

2.
Secondly, I am aware that these are signs of skates breaking down, and getting new skates would probably fix these problems. I am not sure which skates to upgrade to! I have seen my local fitter and they advised me to upgrade to Edea Ice Fly’s which I have tried on and seem really comfortable. I have also tried on Risport Royal Pro’s and Rf1 Elites, but they somehow seem less comfortable and less supportive than the Ice Fly’s.

However, the Ice Fly’s are not available in my country in the correct size until July 2026!! Im not sure what to do with my skates until then, and have been considering other options.
What would be the best advice for me to upgrade my skates to, if the ice fly’s are not an option?

For reference: I am 20y.o Female, 68Kg and 175cm tall. I have been skating for 4.5 years and i'm currently working on single axel, double salchow and combination spins. I skates around 8-10 hours per week and compete in adult competitions.

Any advice or comments are greatly appreciated as I am a bit stuck as what to do with my current skates and whether to consider new ones!

Hi. I need a few more pieces of info before offering advice. What is your foot shape and are your arches: Very high/high/normal/low, flat?

 

[GaLexie]

Hi. I need a few more pieces of info before offering advice. What is your foot shape and are your arches: Very high/high/normal/low, flat?

I have narrow feet with pronounced bunions on both feet. (Boot width C) I think i have what is called an Egyptian foot shape. I have low arches in both feet.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I have narrow feet with pronounced bunions on both feet. (Boot width C) I think i have what is called an Egyptian foot shape. I have low arches in both feet.

Egyptian foot shape you should be in the other line of Risports--the Royal Line not the RF line. Or Edea Chorus. Or you could look into Riedell brand if you can get it in your country. You haven't said where you are in this world so it's hard to suggest where you could get these.

Also, after 3 years and the way you are describing your current boots with the tongue issue: Those boots are beyond broken down. You really do need to get fitted for something new. Good luck!

 

[IceM]

If there's Edea Chorus or Concerto available in your size sooner, you could try those as well. Chorus might not last that long for you though. Riedell is also an option, but unless you go for the Elara/Vega models with raised heels (sort of their Edea alternatives) you will almost certainly need a longer blade for Riedells, which might not be optimal (extra cost, different feel to the blade etc.).

The equivalent stiffness to the Ice Fly from Risport is Royal Prime, not the Pro. It is a stiff boot though, but if you felt like the Ice Fly wasn't too stiff, then you should be ok (given your stats you should be fine). The Prime does have plenty extra hooks and good lacing options, so they're sort of more forgiving in that regard.

As to your current skates, the Royal lineup is a bit tricky, because the creasing isn't as obvious, but assuming the tongue is the most broken down part, then you could get that reinforced (cobbler could do it, or you could even do it yourself), or you can also use some skate/hockey sock tape etc., to wrap the boot a bit more secure around the instep and/or the ankle. But this is kind of last resort that you do while you wait for new boots. Given the wait time on those Ice Flys, I would probably try to find some other boots sooner if possible.

 

[ajjcanada]

Hi,
I have 2 issues with my skates currently:

Firstly, my current boots Risport Rf3 pros, are breaking down in the tongue causing lots of stress and pain on my shins, ankles and foot arches. The main problem is the tongue is very soft and squishy but the main heel and structure of the boot show very little signs of creasing or breakdown. I often have to retie my skates frequently to feel secure enough to jump and spin in them, and even then I still have issues with stability.

For reference, my skates are 3 years old, I wear gel ankle sleeves, to help combat the pain I have taken to putting pieces of foam down the front of my skates to try and give back some of the strength in the tongue. But nothing seems to be working long term.

I am not sure what to do or how to fix these problems with my skates. Would anyone have any advice to help with this pain and skate issues? Or how to make the skates last longer?

2.
Secondly, I am aware that these are signs of skates breaking down, and getting new skates would probably fix these problems. I am not sure which skates to upgrade to! I have seen my local fitter and they advised me to upgrade to Edea Ice Fly’s which I have tried on and seem really comfortable. I have also tried on Risport Royal Pro’s and Rf1 Elites, but they somehow seem less comfortable and less supportive than the Ice Fly’s.

However, the Ice Fly’s are not available in my country in the correct size until July 2026!! Im not sure what to do with my skates until then, and have been considering other options.
What would be the best advice for me to upgrade my skates to, if the ice fly’s are not an option?

For reference: I am 20y.o Female, 68Kg and 175cm tall. I have been skating for 4.5 years and i'm currently working on single axel, double salchow and combination spins. I skates around 8-10 hours per week and compete in adult competitions.

Any advice or comments are greatly appreciated as I am a bit stuck as what to do with my current skates and whether to consider new ones!

I have almost the exact same issue with the RF3 - the ankle itself seems strong, but the tongue is very soft. I've had them about 2.5 years, Im an adult skater as well, skatinf Gold freeskate and working on diamond dances, but I skate much less than you - maybe 3-4 hours/week. I had hoped that I could eek out another season, but I'm not confident in my skates for jumping. I actually bought the Royal Pro, but I did not like the fit. Contemplating driving a couple of hours to get fitted for new skates.....look forward to hearing what you decide to do.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

OP, with your current jump line up, you don't need ice fly's or Royal Primes. The highest you should need to go right now in Edea would be Concerto.
Good luck!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I have almost the exact same issue with the RF3 - the ankle itself seems strong, but the tongue is very soft. I've had them about 2.5 years, Im an adult skater as well, skatinf Gold freeskate and working on diamond dances, but I skate much less than you - maybe 3-4 hours/week. I had hoped that I could eek out another season, but I'm not confident in my skates for jumping. I actually bought the Royal Pro, but I did not like the fit. Contemplating driving a couple of hours to get fitted for new skates.....look forward to hearing what you decide to do.

Your boots are beyond broken down. Start a thread and give us info on yourself and we can make suggestions for you!