Boot brand recommendations

[alsilis]

Male, 34, 100 KG (220 LBS), Greek toe shape.
Very flat arches and slight pronation in the knees, skating with red CURREX hockey insoles - before the insoles suffered a lot from arch pain, the insoles helped a bit.
Have been skating in size 285 Edea Chorus (only fitting help was the Edea measuring device). There seems to be around 15mm distance between the foot imprint and the end of the insole.
Working on basic skills (edges, crossovers) but planning to progress. There's a decent amount of power being used while pushing.
Current setup has several issues:
-Very not happy with the looseness of the ankle area in the Edeas - used to rollerblades fit
-It's tricky to get the heel to lock in
-The right blade/boot keep leaning to the inside after several readjustments. The coach is beginning to suspect the boot itself is leaning in rather than the blade.
-Foot pain has not been fully eliminated by the insoles - tying the skates tight enough to have some support still hurts while skating, and finding the sweet spot where there's enough support and no foot pain has been difficult.
-Recently the boots have been getting progressively less comfortable with every wear - they might be starting to break down a bit

Located in Israel, and not sure if there will be an opportunity to go anywhere for a professional fitting in the near future. Likely to end up taking a gamble on an online order.
Suggestion for brands that might be better suited than Edeas would be highly appreciated, as well as Europe-based stores that carry those brands in case there will be an opportunity to travel for a fitting.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Male, 34, 100 KG (220 LBS), Greek toe shape.
Very flat arches and slight pronation in the knees, skating with red CURREX hockey insoles - before the insoles suffered a lot from arch pain, the insoles helped a bit.
Have been skating in size 285 Edea Chorus (only fitting help was the Edea measuring device). There seems to be around 15mm distance between the foot imprint and the end of the insole.
Working on basic skills (edges, crossovers) but planning to progress. There's a decent amount of power being used while pushing.
Current setup has several issues:
-Very not happy with the looseness of the ankle area in the Edeas - used to rollerblades fit
-It's tricky to get the heel to lock in
-The right blade/boot keep leaning to the inside after several readjustments. The coach is beginning to suspect the boot itself is leaning in rather than the blade.
-Foot pain has not been fully eliminated by the insoles - tying the skates tight enough to have some support still hurts while skating, and finding the sweet spot where there's enough support and no foot pain has been difficult.
-Recently the boots have been getting progressively less comfortable with every wear - they might be starting to break down a bit

Located in Israel, and not sure if there will be an opportunity to go anywhere for a professional fitting in the near future. Likely to end up taking a gamble on an online order.
Suggestion for brands that might be better suited than Edeas would be highly appreciated, as well as Europe-based stores that carry those brands in case there will be an opportunity to travel for a fitting.

Hi and welcome. With the way your foot sounds, you're more than likely do best with Graf and Jackson.

There's a few places that come up for me in Israel: Canada Centre in Metula being one. But I can't read Israeli enough and the translator online isn't doing a very good job. Also, OneIce in Tnuvot.

If you are 220lbs you are going to need a stiffer than usual boot to support you while learning.

I can provide you with European fitters (as can others) but I just need to know where in Europe you were thinking of traveling?

 

[alsilis]

Hi and welcome. With the way your foot sounds, you're more than likely do best with Graf and Jackson.

There's a few places that come up for me in Israel: Canada Centre in Metula being one. But I can't read Israeli enough and the translator online isn't doing a very good job. Also, OneIce in Tnuvot.

If you are 220lbs you are going to need a stiffer than usual boot to support you while learning.

I can provide you with European fitters (as can others) but I just need to know where in Europe you were thinking of traveling?

Thank you so much!
The shop with the most stock of anything figure-skating related is Ice Peaks (Holon), but they're also unlikely to have sizes available at least for a few months. OnceIce (Tnuvot) has a good stock of hockey equipment.
When you're saying stiffer, do you mean rated for doubles, or a bit more? How stiff would be over-booting for a 220lbs man? Jacksons Fit Guide only goes up to "Above 115lbs" and at double that not sure how accurate it stays.


As far as Europe travel goes - UK, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic are more likely than others - but a skate-fitting trip anywhere else is not out of the question. Of course it's preferable if they have both Jacksons and Graf's in stock.

 

[tstop4me]

Male, 34, 100 KG (220 LBS), Greek toe shape.

As far as Europe travel goes - UK, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic are more likely than others - but a skate-fitting trip anywhere else is not out of the question. Of course it's preferable if they have both Jacksons and Graf's in stock

I'm an adult male skater in the US. You'll need careful advance planning. Even in pro shops in the US, there's typically no stock for adult men's boots beyond low-level recreational kits (boots with attached blades). When I need boots, they need to be ordered for me. I can't simply try out several models in the store. So contact prospective shops for how they would handle a customer flying in. E.g., they might do an initial virtual fitting and order some boots in advance for you to try on. There will likely be upfront charges for this, so ask,

And do you have a competent local tech who can make adjustments to the boot and blade mounting?

 

[Elenea]

If you travel in Europe, have a look at Bladerunners in St. Pölten, Austria. They sell both Graf and Jackson boots.
But send them tracings and your preference first, so they can make sure that they have the right boots in stock when you go for a fitting.

 

[IceM]

Fit wise, you want to make sure to get fitted by a professional, or the very least try the boots on beforehand. The foot imprint should be pretty much at the end of the insole, so based on what you say you are wearing almost if not more than a full size too large boot. That's going to affect the heel lock as well as probably cause at least more pain than a proper fitting boot would. Personally, I like a really tight fit at the front, so toes almost touching the end of the boot (but still able to move them). This will also help getting the width of the boot correct, as you're not compensating the lack of width with a larger size boot (which is bad).

You might also want to contact retailers beforehand if they have whatever boot you're looking for. Chances are high, that they need to order them from the manufacturer, which will take time (for regular good retailers, this shouldn't incur any extra costs to you, at least if it's a standard order).

Risport might also be an option. Their Royal line has a really big tongue that gives more of that "roller blade" feel, (although, the RF line is slightly higher at the back of the achilles' I believe). But again, make sure you get fitted/try whatever you get as always.

Hardness wise, you might want to go with the hardest boot you can get (this would be Royal Prime for Risport, which are built like a tank). You're basically twice the size of an average elite skater. You're going to put a lot of force on whatever boot you'll wear.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

OP, do NOT go with top of the line stiffness, you can tone it back some. The last thing you need is to go from your current stiffness to something like a Supreme or Risport Prime.

 

[IceM]

OP, do NOT go with top of the line stiffness, you can tone it back some. The last thing you need is to go from your current stiffness to something like a Supreme or Risport Prime.

Not having seen the OP skate, you might be right, but I'm just voicing my own opinion based on experience as someone around the same weight category as the OP. There is no way for a 220 lbs. individual who can do basic skating to "overboot". For a beginner, sure. But I wouldn't expect something like an Edea Chorus to last long doing anything than casual skating around the ring for long, when you're carrying that sort of weight. I would certainly not want to learn any jumps in them, for example. And the next step down (Royal Pro) is "comparable" to Chorus.

It's up to the OP to judge his level, but he says he can put force on the boot, so I expect him to be able to "skate".

Also, based on personal experience, I don't think the Edea design serves the heavier type very well. The tongue is a weak point. I've broken "in" Ice Flyes in a few sessions (except the tongue went broken broken, lol).

But regardless of the hardness, a boot with a good fit should be a priority, and extra hardness doesn't necessarily help there, agreed.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I'm going to agree to disagree on this one and just say yes, the skater is heavier than most figure skaters, and I usually suggest stiffer boots. But this skater does not need top of the line stiffness.