Piano vs Ice Fly

[sashavis]

I'm just posting this because I'm curious to see if people have noticed a genuine difference between the Ice Fly and the Piano.

I'm currently in the Ice Fly (and I did get fitted by a professional for all of my skates and return to him often, do not worry), and I absolutely adore them (I'm on like..,,, pair 4 or 5 now haha), but I was just wondering if anyone who has skated extensively in both saw/felt any sort of difference between the two boots.

I personally hate how the Pianos look (I am so sorry to anyone who loves the Pianos--I adore Edea and really support the brand, I am just not a fan of the look), and I already found the perfect boot in the Ice Fly, so I'm really just posting this out of curiosity.

Thanks guys!

 

[macy]

i haven't skated in either, but i just got fitted for new boots and tried on both the ice fly and the piano. the main difference i noticed is the piano has more padding around the top and is just a bit higher than the ice fly. it felt too restrictive to me so i went with the ice fly, but my skate guy said those who have gone from ice fly to piano have liked the pianos better. i also don't like the look of them either, they remind me of kids roller blades or something.

 

[gliese]

I have. Ice Fly is slightly lower cut and Pianos are snugger.

I prefer everything tight (but not too tight). That goes for my costumes, leggings, and of course skates; it gives the feeling of being lifted and supported throughout my entire body. That's why I prefer Pianos.

I started in Ice Fly and then went up to Pianos upon getting my first triple. I left skating for a while and am now back and was in Ice Fly's for a bit when regaining my doubles and recently went back to Piano (like two weeks ago). Better than I remember it. I actually prefer how Piano looks compared to Ice Fly.

 

[Arwen17]

Having been in both, Piano and Ice Fly feel exactly the same to me except for the stiffness. Even though their stiffness ratings say 95 vs 90, the difference feels a lot greater to me. I actually like the softer Ice Fly because I have to work a lot harder to break in Piano. Whereas another skater I know hated Ice Fly because she thought it was way too soft and loves Piano. Chorus feels mega-soft to me, and although it gets the job done for my skill level, I like the stiffer Ice Fly. The skater who loved Piano more just does doubles, not triples. I only do singles and severely underrotated doubles.

The only other thing that felt different was that Piano comes with those shock absorbing soles and Ice Fly doesn’t. So my jump landings felt just slightly “muffled” because of that. It was slightly disconcerting the first week because I was used to the feeling of more “solid” landings, but I quickly stopped feeling the difference.

 

[Elija]

I’ve worn both, currently in piano. Not a huge difference, a lot of people comment on the difference in stiffness, but I really didn’t notice that. They were super easy to break in and was able to do all my elements within the first 20 minutes or so. The main difference for me is the heel, which is why I got them in the first place. Pianos have a different heel lock and what feels like a narrower heel to the other edea models. Have had these boots almost 5 months now and heel stays in place perfectly, whereas that was a bit of an issue with my ice flys and chorus before that.

The other differences are the height at the back - some people I know prefer ice flys as you can point your toe easier due to the low cut. Pianos are cut a bit higher but have the padded bit at the top like all the other edeas (except ice fly), which I like. The cut doesn’t take long to get used to. There is also a better insole than ice flys have, with much better arch support, although I believe you can buy the insoles separately as well and put them in any other edea boot. Overall, I just like the fit better - my feet are narrow and small and the fit in the B width is perfect.

 

[gliese]

Like @Elija I don't notice a difference in stiffness, however I notice a difference in support due to them being higher cut. Same with the comment about the heel too. In Ice Fly, I had to do a lot more modifications to keep my heel down. My foot is not a perfect Edea foot and I'm just in them due to tendonitis and needing the more open ankle. The Piano just needs a little bit of extra padding near the achilles tendon and I'm set.