Managing more than one pair of boots and blades per year

[Sunshine247]

My skater is at the point where she is going through a pair of boots in under a year. She’s not growing, she’s breaking them down. She doing 2A and beginning triples. At 9 months I replaced her last pair And I’m trying to plan ahead

Of course she wants her boots in the Goldilocks zone for her most important competitions. Broken in but not broken down. So how does that work? Im sure it’s a bit of guesswork based on the previous pair, but how has anyone else managed this?

I do plan on talking more with her skate fitter (a really good resource for us normally) and her coach, but in the past her coach recommended making a switch and sticking with it. Presumably due to the previous pair being broken down. Is it reasonable to have two pair and switch back and forth? How does one actually do that and manage two pair? As a former runner I used to always have two pair of shoes and alternate to preserve them in good condition. That usually gave them a break and they lasted longer than two consecutive pairs. But skates seem like a different animal. Is it a problem to adjust to two different pair? Should you purchase two pair at once and use them as equally as possible? How long will two pair last? Can I expect to get two years out of them since theyre given a break every other day?

Thanks everyone. That a lot of questions I know, but it seems like there’s always something catching me unprepared along this journey! lol

 

[Coach Aimee]

Many skaters do have two pairs of boots/blades. They buy them both at the same time and rotate them so that they get equal wear. They go for sharpening at the same time too.

If they are purchased at the same time, adjusting to them is no different than one pair. However, the break-in period will take longer because you are rotating from one pair to the other.

How long will they last? Double as long as one pair does now

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Yes of course. When I was competing I had 3 pairs at all times. (2 singles boots that I rotated and then my dance boots/blades). You just rotate them semi-regularly. B/c if you are regularly rotating them they'll still break down the same time.

 

[tstop4me]

Yes of course. When I was competing I had 3 pairs at all times. (2 singles boots that I rotated and then my dance boots/blades). You just rotate them semi-regularly. B/c if you are regularly rotating them they'll still break down the same time.

<<Emphasis added.>> Mr. Spock was loath to express emotion. But if he were to read the above, he would respond thus: .

 

[WednesdayMarch]

So regular rotation of two pairs won't actually stop the problem of having skates in the "Goldilocks" zone at the same time, because they'll both be in the same condition...

 

[Sunshine247]

Well thanks everyone! That’s about what I expected to hear, but not what I was prepared for when we signed up for those fun Learn to Skate classes 6 years ago. What was I thinking? lol

Follow up question, what do you do with boots that are done? And worn down blades? Are boots that aren‘t supportive for my skater still good enough for someone else? I’ve never tried to sell them due to how much they’ve been used, but it seems wasteful to just trash them if they might work for someone else. I’d be willing to donate them if they’d be useful for someone.

 

[WednesdayMarch]

No parent in their right mind ever signs up for that...

As an ice dancer, back in the 1990s, I'd go through a pair of SuperTeri Deluxe in about 9 months before my ankles suddenly went, "Ow!" and "Nope!", at which point I'd need a new pair. To the eyes of everybody else, they looked perfectly fine but my ankles knew better. I would pass them on to my teenage niece, who would happily practice her spins and single jumps in them. Had she had them from new, she'd have cried and given up skating. Worn down blades are only as much use as the life left in them but somebody may well appreciate them, even for a relatively short time.