Blade advice for spinning

[7940ice]

Hi all,
I'm a casual adult skater trying to skate again after many years away. Previously, many years ago, I was doing singles through lutz and skating 4 hours a week working on USFS juvenile moves. Now, in coming back, I'm more focused just on moves and spins, and I am less interested in jumping. I'm happy in my boots and they are not broken down, but I am curious about potentially switching blades to have spins be easier to perform (easier to feel and reach the sweet spot).

--- Skater: 6 feet tall, 180lbs

--- Feet: 'Egyptian' toes, absolutely flat feet (no arch, severe ankle overpronation due to lack of arch). Narrow heels, normal width balls of the foot. I wear normal-width street shoes.

--- Boots: (discontinued model) Jackson DJ2900 Elite, still in great shape due to lack of use, Jackson firmess rating 75 (double jumps). Not broken down. Professionally fitted & heat molded in 2013 and my feet/height/weight/etc have not changed. I have superfeet insoles for arch assistance.

--- Blades: Ultima Legacy, probably a 8' rocker according to the internet? They are also from 2013, so I can't find the exact model online. As I recall, the technician (in consultation with me and my coach) mounted them quite a bit inwards of center to assist me in reaching the outside edges, given the ankle overpronation issue. The placement has been good generally & I've been able to do everything I've tried other than spin well.

I've never been a great spinner and despite having solid back outside edges & back outside turns, a formerly solid single loop, etc I cannot backspin to save my life. If there is a better blade that would allow easier spins, I'd love to give it a shot. I also want to continue improving moves in the field.

Any blade recommendations for my use case?

I'm going to the pro shop/fitter soon for a sharpening, but wanted to ask experts here for any recommendations as well since I'm not sure which technician will be at the pro shop.

Thank you!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Hi all,
I'm a casual adult skater trying to skate again after many years away. Previously, many years ago, I was doing singles through lutz and skating 4 hours a week working on USFS juvenile moves. Now, in coming back, I'm more focused just on moves and spins, and I am less interested in jumping. I'm happy in my boots and they are not broken down, but I am curious about potentially switching blades to have spins be easier to perform (easier to feel and reach the sweet spot).

--- Skater: 6 feet tall, 180lbs

--- Feet: 'Egyptian' toes, absolutely flat feet (no arch, severe ankle overpronation due to lack of arch). Narrow heels, normal width balls of the foot. I wear normal-width street shoes.

--- Boots: (discontinued model) Jackson DJ2900 Elite, still in great shape due to lack of use, Jackson firmess rating 75 (double jumps). Not broken down. Professionally fitted & heat molded in 2013 and my feet/height/weight/etc have not changed. I have superfeet insoles for arch assistance.

--- Blades: Ultima Legacy, probably a 8' rocker according to the internet? They are also from 2013, so I can't find the exact model online. As I recall, the technician (in consultation with me and my coach) mounted them quite a bit inwards of center to assist me in reaching the outside edges, given the ankle overpronation issue. The placement has been good generally & I've been able to do everything I've tried other than spin well.

I've never been a great spinner and despite having solid back outside edges & back outside turns, a formerly solid single loop, etc I cannot backspin to save my life. If there is a better blade that would allow easier spins, I'd love to give it a shot. I also want to continue improving moves in the field.

Any blade recommendations for my use case?

I'm going to the pro shop/fitter soon for a sharpening, but wanted to ask experts here for any recommendations as well since I'm not sure which technician will be at the pro shop.

Thank you!

Hello and welcome! The Ultima blades you have are known to be more flat in the rocker. You could look into John Wilson Coronation Ace or MK Pro blades. Those will be more helpful with your spinning. My suggestion b/t the two would be MK Pro. Also just get the classic version of whatever blade you choose, there is no need for Rev or Lites.

Good luck!

 

[7940ice]

Hello and welcome! The Ultima blades you have are known to be more flat in the rocker. You could look into John Wilson Coronation Ace or MK Pro blades. Those will be more helpful with your spinning. My suggestion b/t the two would be MK Pro. Also just get the classic version of whatever blade you choose, there is no need for Rev or Lites.

Good luck!

Thank you so much! MK Pro it is - will buy asap.

 

[Query]

A not-so-good tech can really mess up a blade in a single sharpening, or mount it completely wrong.

So, Suggestion: if you trust one of the techs better, use him/her to sharpen the blades. And keep using him/her unless he/she does a bad job. Techs, even at the same store, are not interchangeable. To some extent, they often have their own ways of doing things, partly because there are no standard reference materials on how to do skate tech stuff.

While you are at it, bring the old boots/blades to provide a model of proper placement, and remind him/her about the inward placement and the overpronation.

And if you still have trouble with the back spin, tell your coach. I'm definitely not good enough to tell you how to fix it - I can barely do it at all, only slowly and off-center, and I have to drag one foot to start the backspin, but maybe good skaters have much more graceful ways to initiate and control it.

 

[7940ice]

A not-so-good tech can really mess up a blade in a single sharpening, or mount it completely wrong.

So, Suggestion: if you trust one of the techs better, use him/her to sharpen the blades. And keep using him/her unless he/she does a bad job. Techs, even at the same store, are not interchangeable. To some extent, they often have their own ways of doing things, partly because there are no standard reference materials on how to do skate tech stuff.

While you are at it, bring the old boots/blades to provide a model of proper placement, and remind him/her about the inward placement and the overpronation.

And if you still have trouble with the back spin, tell your coach. I'm definitely not good enough to tell you how to fix it - I can barely do it at all, only slowly and off-center, and I have to drag one foot to start the backspin, but maybe good skaters have much more graceful ways to initiate and control it.

thanks - thankfully covered on all those fronts & new blades have been already purchased and temp mounted by my old, former preferred tech in the right spot. he sharpened my old blades for years and is highly trusted as well so all good there!