Oh wow! Jackson changes so much, so often. haha. I believe the Evo was made to replace the Artiste, especially since almost everything is the same. I used to have boots that were leather all around too! Then came into the Artistes. A side question (since you seem like you know a lot), when you do start working on axels and doubles, are custom boots really needed?
No. You don't need customs ever sometimes. It depends on your particular foot and what works for you at that level.
Ohh, i see. how do you know if you need them or do you not really ever know?
I just told you. It's based on YOUR FOOT and if it requires a custom boot b/c no other stock boot will work for you. Also, once you get to a certain level (elite as in triple triples and quads), many skaters feet are a mess at that point and they want/need customs.
Ohh ok. that makes more sense. Also what do you mean by "many skaters feet are a mess"?
Ic3 is correct as always, but I'll expand based on my skater's experience.
Skating for years and years at a top level and everything that goes with it stuffed in a leather boot will ruin your feet quickly. AKA many top skaters have or develop "ugly painful feet."
Truth! Painful and hideous feet are part of the territory when you've spent your life with your feet in little concrete foot coffins.
thank you!
Oh, I see. love how you described skates tho LOL
ok cool! thanks for clarifying
Makes sense. Thank you so much.
I just ordered semi-custom /split size because my heel/ankle are narrow but my toebox is wider, plus have bunions that add width and high arches as well so the boots to fit comfortably would end up too long and/or way too loose around the heel. I’m an adult skater not doing competitions or anything like that. In my Jacksons with heat molding my toebox was ok but it was getting super annoying to try to wear all sorts of padding and inserts and take 20 min to get the skate tight enough so my heel would sit secure and I’d have to redo it again almost every time due to it still being loose or pain from trying to tie too tight etc. I needed to update to a separate blade/boot combo anyway and the additional fee for the narrow heel wider toebox was very reasonable. I think something like $60 or $80 more than stock and 4 week time for what I ordered. It feels like it will address my fit issues without having to do full custom boots. But I trust my skate tech anyway, he has long worked with international competitive skaters (including olympic team) so I assume he knows his business. He doesn’t upsell me on anything even when he could (like more advanced boots bc I’m an adult since I’m very short and light for an adult and I’m old so won’t be doing doubles or anything. He has been right about everything he has recommended/done to help my skate/blade issues in the past so I’m hoping this will give me a better fit with less hassle/pain. I’d definitely suggest to try to find someone you can trust locally who can see you in person who knows what they’re doing. I found mine asking around where people were getting their skates sharpened (ask figure skaters not hockey! )
So many callouses haha. My toes also changed shape when I started skating more.
Yes, it's so bad.
My blade came mounted, so idk how i should change it. especially since skate techs in my area i think r VERY far away. I went to canada to get skatesOh and about your original, I think people already commented that entry level blades tend to be relatively flat. And that’s pretty true I think, but I feel like I suck at spinning because I suck at spinning primarily rather than totally the blades fault. However for my previous Jackson Frestyles with the aspire xp blade I could do turns and some bad spins. In my case I continued with an 8’ rocker rather than go to a 7’ because I feel like I could develop technique to be able to spin better on any decent intermediate blade first that is the right size. But another issue can be blade size and placement. Because my current boots are a little bit long and there’s empty space in front of my toes, I feel like the rocker is not in the ideal placement - not under the balls of my feet but more close to toes. My new blade is a quarter inch shorter and hoping with the better fitting boots the rocker will be in a better place. Beform, my tech had moved one of my blades by at most a millimeter to one side in the front when I reported I was having a harder time getting on one outside edge than the other. Seemed a miniscule change but that helped with my turns and spins for example. If you find someone in your area they can help you fine-tune your existing equipment for the issues you are having, like blade placement.
i don't think anyone sells in this area, or i've heard of none from the seattle/bellevua WA area. i go to canada, like a bunch of my other friends for skates cuz there r more shops there. does anyone know of a good fitter/tech in washington state?I always tell people to find a good pro fitter/figure skating tech in their area, but I do have to say that a few of us here, esp myself because I can comment on myself more are: current or former elite skaters and now pro(latter two for myself). I've lived and breathed this sport for over 30+ years and would never guide anyone wrong or try to "upsell" them. What would I get out of doing that? I don't make a profit from helping and am here on my own valuable time to help and guide others who aren't as knowledgeable and to welcome them to our wonderful sport.. I don't want to see anyone hurt themselves and so on. Just saying.
I hope all are enjoying this sport and welcome to any newbies.
