Intermediate blades with higher heel lift and rounder rocker?

[bostonskaterguy86]

Hi all!

I’m an adult male skater (90kg, 172cm) at roughly USFSA Freeskate 1/2 level (single toe, single sal, learning forward scratch and beginning back spin). I’ve been in the Jackson Debut with MK Pros for a few years now - but it’s been getting harder and harder to stay off my picks (especially during spins!), so I’m starting to wonder if my blades are worn down enough to need replacing.

I have an appt with my tech tomorrow for a sharpening (which they’re due for), but I also booked some extra time to have her do a general check up on the blades and see if she thinks they might be coming up on the end of their lives.

With regard to my spin woes - it’s important to acknowledge that it’s not just an issue with the blades. I’ve never been an excellent spinner, and I’ve struggled with hitting my pick in the past as well. The reason I’m thinking the blades might be affecting it is that it seems to be much more of an issue than it was before, and got noticeably worse after my last couple sharpenings.

I know this won’t magically fix my spin issues - but I’m wondering if I might benefit from a blade with more of a heel lift, if I’m replacing the blades anyway. From what I’ve read about the Gold Seal and Gold Star, it sounds like they have more of a heel lift and a rounder spin rocker than other blades - but at my level, I don’t think I need a blade that advanced!

Ultimately my question is twofold:

1) I know technique is often a more important factor than equipment, and that I need to put in some work on my spins to stop hitting the pick, but, since I’m looking at new blades anyway - am I right that I might benefit from something with more heel lift and a higher spin rocker, to give me a bit more room to go forward on the blade without hitting the pick? Or will this possibly make things worse?

2) If a higher heel lift might indeed help me out, which intermediate blade should I look at? It seems like there’s not a lot of consensus about whether there’s a significant difference between the MK Pro and Coro Ace in terms of their spin rockers, and I know that Ultima and Eclipse blades seem to generally be pretty flat - which pretty much just leaves Paramount. I know they advertise that their CP High Level blade and SP Intermediate blade both have 12” spin rockers similar to the JW Gold Seal (I know they have 8’ main rockers, which is a change from the Pro, but doesn’t concern me much). Does anyone have any experience with these blades? How are they for spinning?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

So before I answer this, I am curious your preference with toepicks?

 

[bostonskaterguy86]

So before I answer this, I am curious your preference with toepicks?

It’s a little hard to say since I’ve only really skated on Ultima Mirages and MK Pros up til now Luckily I don’t have an issue with tripping on my picks - it’s mostly hitting the drag pick when I spin that’s a problem. The picks on the Pros have been fine, but I don’t think I’d be scared of a blade with bigger picks!

ETA: I realized after I posted that you might have meant straight vs cross cut as well, haha! I guess it’d be accurate to say that I’m used to cross cut from skating on the Pros, so would probably be less of an adjustment overall to stick with cross cut. I’m not opposed to trying straight cut though!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

It’s a little hard to say since I’ve only really skated on Ultima Mirages and MK Pros up til now Luckily I don’t have an issue with tripping on my picks - it’s mostly hitting the drag pick when I spin that’s a problem. The picks on the Pros have been fine, but I don’t think I’d be scared of a blade with bigger picks!

ETA: I realized after I posted that you might have meant straight vs cross cut as well, haha! I guess it’d be accurate to say that I’m used to cross cut from skating on the Pros, so would probably be less of an adjustment overall to stick with cross cut. I’m not opposed to trying straight cut though!

You could try the MK Pro, but honestly my first thought was MK Phantom or Gold Star. Anything is going to be a big change from Mirage.

 

[WednesdayMarch]

I'd say Gold Star or maybe Phantoms. But Gold Star would be my first pick for you.

 

[bostonskaterguy86]

Thank you both!! The Gold Stars really do sound like they’d suit me well. I just wish they weren’t so expensive!!!

I saw my tech last night. She took a look at my current MK Pros and said they’ve still got some life in them, but that she can definitely see the rocker has flattened out enough that it could very well be affecting my spins. She said it wouldn’t be unreasonable to replace them now, but that if I can put up with the rocker for now, it would also be reasonable to give it another six months to a year (which works for me - I’m gonna need some time to save up a bit, even if I don’t end up springing for the Gold Stars!).

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Thank you both!! The Gold Stars really do sound like they’d suit me well. I just wish they weren’t so expensive!!!

I saw my tech last night. She took a look at my current MK Pros and said they’ve still got some life in them, but that she can definitely see the rocker has flattened out enough that it could very well be affecting my spins. She said it wouldn’t be unreasonable to replace them now, but that if I can put up with the rocker for now, it would also be reasonable to give it another six months to a year (which works for me - I’m gonna need some time to save up a bit, even if I don’t end up springing for the Gold Stars!).

I'm confused. Your original post said you had mirage blades and now you are talking about having life left in your MK Pros?

 

[bostonskaterguy86]

I'm confused. Your original post said you had mirage blades and now you are talking about having life left in your MK Pros?

Oh - I mentioned the Mirages in my reply about pick preferences. I had Mirages for about a year when I first started, then switched to the Pros which I've had for the last five years. I brought it up because they're the only two blades I've ever had, so my experience with different picks is kind of limited!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Oh - I mentioned the Mirages in my reply about pick preferences. I had Mirages for about a year when I first started, then switched to the Pros which I've had for the last five years. I brought it up because they're the only two blades I've ever had, so my experience with different picks is kind of limited!

Ok lol IDK how I missed that you had Pros, b/c I wouldn't have suggested them in my reply!

 

[chen395115205]

Mk phantom or phantom revolution. The blades with low heel lifts are p99 and CA. by saying round rocker u mean prefer 7ft over 8ft. otherwise MK pro and Gold seal will work too

 

[bostonskaterguy86]

Just wanted to circle back and update now that I've got my new skates!

I ended up going with Risport Royal Pros, and the Paramount CP High Level blade. I had originally wanted their SP Intermediate blade, but they shipped the wrong one to my tech, who normally doesn't stock Paramount (she was very apologetic and offered to get the right blade for me, but I've been really struggling in my old skates and didn't want to wait, so I decided to go ahead with the CP - the only major difference being that the CP has carbon steel runners, and the SP has 420 stainless).

I won't go into a huge amount of detail about the boots since this thread is about the blades - other than to say they're super comfortable even not fully broken in! I think they could use a punch out in one or two spots, but otherwise, I'm quite satisfied.

I've only skated in them twice so far, but I feel pretty good about the blades as well! The spin rocker is definitely more prominent and easy to find than in my old MK Pros, even when they were brand new. Another benefit of this is that I'm having a much easier time staying off my pick - I had expected these blades to be louder than the Pros, based on what I've read here, but my skating is actually quieter on them because there's a lot less pick dragging They also feel like they've got a good bit more glide than my old blades - probably just a function of them being brand new, vs my 5-year-old Pros.

One adjustment that has been bigger than I expected is the length of the blade. My old blades were 10 1/2", and these are 10". They're definitely the correct size for these boots, but I didn't realize how much I'd gotten used to having a longer blade! On the plus side - I think the spin rocker feels more like it's in the right place than my old blades did. But on the minus side - skating backwards feels a little more precarious than it used to (I fell twice in the first two minutes on the ice with them, just from trying backward crossovers!).

I know the Paramounts get mixed reviews in general, and I've only had them for less than a week - so we'll see how they hold up in the long run, and whether my opinion changes. But so far, I feel like I made the right choice for myself and my skating at the moment!

 

[emilinkaa]

One adjustment that has been bigger than I expected is the length of the blade. My old blades were 10 1/2", and these are 10". They're definitely the correct size for these boots, but I didn't realize how much I'd gotten used to having a longer blade! On the plus side - I think the spin rocker feels more like it's in the right place than my old blades did. But on the minus side - skating backwards feels a little more precarious than it used to (I fell twice in the first two minutes on the ice with them, just from trying backward crossovers!).

This happened to me when I switched boots and blades last year too. New boots needed a smaller blade and it was a big shock the first few times. Landing jumps was also quite an adjustment for the first few days.