Overbooting as an adult and appropriate boot stiffness?

[khi]

Hey all,

I'm looking to return to casual figure skating (lessons etc) after a break of several years. I had some skates a few years ago which honestly were probably too stiff for me at the time but I made them work, but i feel like they're definitely too stiff now. I'm only working on basic footwork - edges, getting back all my 3 turns, stuff like that. Eventually hope to get back to learning basic jumps and spins but that's about the limit. 130lb.

The boots I have are SP-Teri KT2, in a B/D split width. I didn't actually buy them new, they were used, but very lightly used. At the time i was struggling a ton to find any boots that fit well and I ended up buying these, which fit me pretty well. They have no obvious creasing at all. According to an old stiffness chart I found, they're about a 4.5 out of 5 stiffness for the sp-teri boots, higher than Zero Gravity X but lower than KT3.

Should I just keep going with the ones i have, and get used to the stiffness again? Or will I find it easier to learn the skills I need with softer skates?

I think I have a Greek foot, narrow ankle and wider toes. Located around Montreal South Shore. Absolutely no Edeas, i owned a pair briefly in the past and they were no good for me haha, not even bunga pads and heat molding was able to make them give my skinny ankles any support

I will probably go and see a fitter at some point, but I've had enough experience with ski boot fitters to know that they're not all good... so I'd like to have some idea of what's appropriate for me before I go in, or if I even need to go and see one, given I do already have skates

Thanks!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

You are in way too stiff boots. You could try Risport RF3 with your foot being Greek Shaped.

 

[threeturncluster]

The absolute best skate fitter I know is in Montreal. People from all over the world go to him because he knows every boot inside and out. He also has many boots in common sizes in stock, so you can try different skates on to see what feels best. He will look at your foot and tell you what brand and model should suit you best.

I highly recommend him, or anyone at his shop as they will be super well trained too.

His name is Steve Laframboise and his shop is called La Maison du Patin Laframboise. I believe they are in St-Leo area, but just google them it will come up (don't think I'm allowed to post the link). I would say well worth the trip!

 

[khi]

Thanks! Yeah, looking at google maps, La Maison du Patin is fine for me to drive to, it sounds like it's worth making an appointment. I was a bit surprised by the lack of all the brand options on the website (especially as I have been told many years in the past that I'd probably do well in something like a split width Riedell, but it was not really possible to buy them where in the country where I lived at the time), but it seems to be hard to find Riedell to try here too. In the past I tried on Jackson and didn't find the fit to be any good (anytning which fit my foot was far too wide at the ankle), but I'm willing to try them again, they certainly weren't as dramatically bad as the Edeas. Sounds like trying on Risport would be worth a shot.

You are in way too stiff boots. You could try Risport RF3 with your foot being Greek Shaped.

Would they not also be too stiff? Just looking on the Risport website, they seem to be describe as also being suitable for high level jumps.

Thanks again!

 

[Diana Delafield]

Thanks! Yeah, looking at google maps, La Maison du Patin is fine for me to drive to, it sounds like it's worth making an appointment. I was a bit surprised by the lack of all the brand options on the website (especially as I have been told many years in the past that I'd probably do well in something like a split width Riedell, but it was not really possible to buy them where in the country where I lived at the time), but it seems to be hard to find Riedell to try here too.

Riedells used to be easy to buy in Canada, but they're made in the US and the tariff kerfuffle is now making it complicated and slow to import them, according to my fitter in Vancouver. Boots made in other countries, like Risport, are profiting from this, although their new increased demand can make them slower also when ordering a size the shop doesn't currently have in stock. Good luck!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Thanks! Yeah, looking at google maps, La Maison du Patin is fine for me to drive to, it sounds like it's worth making an appointment. I was a bit surprised by the lack of all the brand options on the website (especially as I have been told many years in the past that I'd probably do well in something like a split width Riedell, but it was not really possible to buy them where in the country where I lived at the time), but it seems to be hard to find Riedell to try here too. In the past I tried on Jackson and didn't find the fit to be any good (anytning which fit my foot was far too wide at the ankle), but I'm willing to try them again, they certainly weren't as dramatically bad as the Edeas. Sounds like trying on Risport would be worth a shot.



Would they not also be too stiff? Just looking on the Risport website, they seem to be describe as also being suitable for high level jumps.

Thanks again!

Not an RF3 Pro it's only a 60 Rating and with your height/weight stats you'd be fine.

 

[khi]

Riedells used to be easy to buy in Canada, but they're made in the US and the tariff kerfuffle is now making it complicated and slow to import them, according to my fitter in Vancouver. Boots made in other countries, like Risport, are profiting from this, although their new increased demand can make them slower also when ordering a size the shop doesn't currently have in stock. Good luck!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh right that makes sense. Good ol' 2025 haha, we're dealing with tariff related import issues at my work too (completely unrelated to skates). That's a shame to have fewer choices as a result, but at any rate I'll see if anything that is available would work for me, and go from there. At least I'm in no screaming rush, so if it looks like the Risports would be good but they don't have the right size, I can wait. It sounds like there's actually a good chance they'll be good for my feet!

I'm so fed up with the stiffness of my current skates that I would have probably gone for a too-soft skate if I was making the choice lol, thanks for reassuming that the RF3 Pro would still be appropriate.

I have an appointment this weekend at Maison du Patin, I'm interested to see how it goes . I've never been to a proper skate fitter before. I'm excited to now live in a place where there are real skate shops/fitters within driving distance!

 

[khi]

Update!

 

[threeturncluster]

Woohoo! I hope you had a great experience and you're happy with the new boots!

 

[khi]

Woohoo! I hope you had a great experience and you're happy with the new boots!

Yes, it was great, thanks for the recommendation! And how funny that in the end I ended up in the same boots that IceRabbit here suggested, the RF3 pro. I didn't ask for anything in particular, just said my current skates (brought them with me) were too stiff (they agreed) and that I didn't want to try any Edeas. They gravitated instantly toward the same stiffness of boot that is recommended on this forum for an adult skater. I'm pretty sure I was given Elles to try on at a rink pro-shop many years ago, which I've since learned are far too soft lol.

That said..... after having gotten home this evening and tried on the skates again, I'm a little anxious that I didn't try on any smaller sizes - in the shop, the fit of this boot was certainly the best of the ones I tried, but I notice a very small amount (a cm or less) of vertical heel slip if i "point" my toes e.g. put the weight on the front of the blade/boot. The rest of the boot fits like a glove, and there is some space in front of my toes (my foot has no forward movement at all though) so I wonder if I could have gone down a size, and if that would help the heel movement... it's really slight, but the one thing my last skates had (beyond being wildly too stiff and honestly sometimes rather painful over my instep/arch) was super aggressive heel grips. It's basically why I put up with such a ridiculously stiff boot for so long haha.

I'll take 'em skating soon though and see how they go on the actual ice I suppose if I don't like the heel movement in the end, I can probably go back to the fitter and see what they suggest!