Looking for advice on skate upgrade

[dryagan]

Hello!

I’m a 27-year-old female recreational skater, 55 kg, 170 cm tall. My big toe and second toe are the same length, and my other toes gradually shorten towards the outside of my foot (so I think I have an African foot or a very short second toe Greek foot?). I have slightly high arches and my foot fits in all types of shoes, so I do not think it is particularly wide.

For the past 1.5 years, I’ve been skating in Jackson Artiste skates (EU 39.5, standard width). Over the last six months, I’ve been practicing Salchow and Toe Loop jumps, and I’ve recently started learning the Loop. I have been doing the Waltz jump for over a year. I still struggle with basic one-foot spins but I am slowly improving. My current goal is to land all single jumps and improve my spins.

Recently, my skates have started to feel soft, and I don’t feel as secure when bending my knees or jumping. Since I now skate 3–4 times a week for an hour, I think it’s time to upgrade. I was considering the Jackson Debut with a Coronation Ace blade based on advice I’ve seen for skaters at my level. My reasons:

1. Jacksons have worked okay for me so far with no injuries on my feet (although standing on my toes feels a bit hard).
2. The Debut is vegan, something which I would like to prioritize this time as I follow a vegan lifestyle.

However, I don’t have access to proper figure skating stores selling Jackson Ultima near Basel, Switzerland. The hockey store I visited in Strasbourg, France, last time didn’t provide great fitting advice—they only asked my shoe size and offered one model to try, without heat molding.

I was wondering:

• Would a vegan boot from another brand suit my feet better?
• Do you have recommendations for fitters around Basel who can heat mold skates, or fitters in Madrid, Spain (as I’ll be there during Christmas)?
• If I stick with Jackson Debut, would the same size as my Artiste (EU 39.5) fit? I might need to order online if the Strassburg store doesn't have any stock...

Thank you in advance for your advice! I really appreciate it.

 

[bostonskaterguy86]

Welcome to the forum!

I'd definitely recommend upgrading as soon as you can - the Artistes are not supportive enough for an adult skater to jump in!

I think if the basic fit and shape of the Artistes has worked for you, the Debuts will probably be alright for you as well. I'd still recommend trying them on before purchasing, though - the Debuts are from Jackson's 2000 series and are built on a different last than the Artistes, so the fit might be slightly different in a few places.

As far as other vegan boots - Edea makes four different vegan models according to their website (the Tempo, the Wave, the Ice Fly, and the Piano), and I could be wrong, but I think the Riedell Vega and Elara are both vegan as well (though, now that I look at Riedell's website, it appears they're changing the sole to a leather one in the near future.) Of these models, I think only the Vega is right for your size and skill level - the Tempo and Wave are both too soft for you, and the Ice Fly, Piano and Elara are all triple/quad level boots.

It's worth noting that the Riedell fit is quite different from Jackson - so if the general shape and fit of the Artistes suit you well, it's possible Riedells won't be as comfortable. They do tend to work well for high arches, and for feet with tapered toe shapes (such as Greek or Egyptian) - so it might be worth trying them on if you can. But all of that is dependent on my being correct that they're vegan (which I could be wrong about), and on being able to find a pair with the current outsole (as opposed to the incoming leather/cork one). I think I've heard it can be difficult to find Riedell boots in European shops as well, so it might be a challenging route to go.

All of that being said - to me, it seems like Jackson is probably going to remain your best bet for finding a vegan boot that is right for your level.

Hope this is helpful!!

 

[dryagan]

Welcome to the forum!

I'd definitely recommend upgrading as soon as you can - the Artistes are not supportive enough for an adult skater to jump in!

I think if the basic fit and shape of the Artistes has worked for you, the Debuts will probably be alright for you as well. I'd still recommend trying them on before purchasing, though - the Debuts are from Jackson's 2000 series and are built on a different last than the Artistes, so the fit might be slightly different in a few places.

As far as other vegan boots - Edea makes four different vegan models according to their website (the Tempo, the Wave, the Ice Fly, and the Piano), and I could be wrong, but I think the Riedell Vega and Elara are both vegan as well (though, now that I look at Riedell's website, it appears they're changing the sole to a leather one in the near future.) Of these models, I think only the Vega is right for your size and skill level - the Tempo and Wave are both too soft for you, and the Ice Fly, Piano and Elara are all triple/quad level boots.

It's worth noting that the Riedell fit is quite different from Jackson - so if the general shape and fit of the Artistes suit you well, it's possible Riedells won't be as comfortable. They do tend to work well for high arches, and for feet with tapered toe shapes (such as Greek or Egyptian) - so it might be worth trying them on if you can. But all of that is dependent on my being correct that they're vegan (which I could be wrong about), and on being able to find a pair with the current outsole (as opposed to the incoming leather/cork one). I think I've heard it can be difficult to find Riedell boots in European shops as well, so it might be a challenging route to go.

All of that being said - to me, it seems like Jackson is probably going to remain your best bet for finding a vegan boot that is right for your level.

Hope this is helpful!!

Thank you so much for your detailed reply and invaluable advice! I will try to see if I can find a fitter around here that has the vegan version of the Riedell Vega to try it on

If I cannot find either of the Jackson Debut nor the Riedell Vega for an in-person fitting, I will try to get an online fitting from Everglides or similar before purchasing everything online and hoping for the best.

Thanks again!

 

[skaterviolet]

I have the same footshape! Keen to know your thoughts on the debut, as I’m considering the debut/premier for my next pair.

I posted this in another post, basically I’ve been skating in risport in pain for a year, tried on my friend’s Jackson premiers and the pain was gone. Maybe Jackson’s are the better fit for our footshape?

 

[dryagan]

Hello!

I actually made a virtual fitting with the store Overglides the other day and they suggested the Risport Electra could be a good match for my foot. From the pictures of my feet I had sent them, they didn't think my foot shape was specifically made for Jackson (they actually told me the skates I had been using were a bit too big for me cos my sole's front had a big empty section in front of them).

They also told me the Jackson Debut are not actually vegan after confirming it with the manufacturer, which was quite surprising. Therefore, I ended up opting for the Risport Electra (2024 version), which are vegan. I also got high arch soles to improve a bit arch support. They seemed to know what they were doing during the fitting, so I ordered online from them. I will let you know how this new skate turns out to be for my foot

I am happy to hear the Jackson Debut worked well for you though! Fingers crossed my new skates also work well for me! Otherwise I will have to exchange them and try something else.

 

[bostonskaterguy86]

I ended up opting for the Risport Electra (2024 version), which are vegan.

Thanks for letting us know - I didn't realize the Electra was being redesigned, and it is indeed a vegan boot now! I didn't even think of suggesting Risport as their boots have always had leather soles (except for the lowest level models). Glad you found something that will work for you!

 

[dryagan]

Update: I received them yesterday and they fit my feet perfectly! I also tried them on the ice and the new blade is a wonder.
I'm very happy Thank you all for your help!

 

[Query]

As an aside, many "vegan" shoes and boots (which use no leather) include glues that are usually derived from animal products like collagen. I don't know if yours do. I doubt the boot manufacturer knows. Other uses of collagen include (sometimes) paper, cardboard, particle board, plywood, felt, and some other fibers. So if your boots were packaged with those materials, the packaging likely isn't vegan.

Plastics, including any resins used in your nominally vegan boots, are probably derived from petroleum, which in turn is (naturally) derived from archaic plants and animals. And if you go back far enough, virtually every atom on earth has at some point in time been part of an animal.

But of course most vegans ignore these things. After all, you can only go so far...

Leather, and the animal derived substances (e.g., collagen) that go into making most good glues are considered animal byproducts - meaning that most of the economic benefit derived from raising and killing animals is from the sale of meat, so using leather and such glues only contribute a little to the economic value of raising and killing animals. But they contribute some. So if you don't use leather, that might slightly reduce the use of meat, which is what I assume you want.

Now if you really want to reduce the use of meat, you should try to convince the rest of us to be vegan... But some of us like leather boots.

 

[dryagan]

By the way, at the store I got my skates (everglides) they sell these super cute skate protectors with crystals!

Not many people seem to have heard of them, so I thought it would be nice to share them here in case anyone is looking for something like this