Recommendations for skate fitters/skate shop in Melbourne, Australia?

[RineX]

Hi, can anyone recommend me a reliable skate fitter/shop in Melbourne, Australia? As far as I'm aware, there are the Skater Network stores that only sell Risport (and are based at the rinks), and Google shows me one other store called Bladeworx that sells Jackson and Edea as well, but seems to be more of a roller skating shop. I've planning to check both out but would be good to know if their fitters are reliable as I'm not 100% sure I'll know what to look for when fitting. Also if they are reliable for heat moulding/sharpening etc? Can anyone provide reviews of those or recommend any other option?

Bit of background if relevant (and for further skate model recommendations): I'm a woman in her 30s, (155cm, 60kg). I skated for about 1-1.5 years in 2010-2011 (only up to doing tiny waltz jumps) and then quit as I got too busy, but am now looking to get started again. The first skates I bought were Risports (not sure what model as I've lost them, possibly Etoile?) which I found squashed my little toes (especially the right foot) so probably too narrow toebox. When those starting wearing down I bought some WIFA skates online but those are even more uncomfortable and would become painful after a short period of skating (I think my toes are proportionally longer than the skate accounts for despite total length being correct so while initially ok, they slowly slide down while skating and get squashed. Or possible too arched for my feet? I'm not sure.) I tried for awhile to make them work, and then I ended up quitting anyway so I never fixed the issue or got new skates then. I still have the WIFA skates and am planning to restart skating in them for a few sessions, but I want to get new skates that fit well as soon as I can. My goal is to at least get back to where I was before, and I would like the skates to be able to at least accommodate single jumps in case I want to pursue that. From my online research, Jacksons may suit my toes better and perhaps the Freestyles would be a good level given my heavier adult weight. Other options are Risport, but I don't know if the toebox will be too narrow again, sounds like the RF3 Pro may have a wider toebox but that may be too much boot for me? Perhaps Electra if the toebox is ok? Mixed info on Edeas for wider toes but happy to try. For the Edeas they don't sell any boot/blade sets here so their beginner Overture is quite expensive and only 100AUD less than the Chorus, so sounds like it would make sense to go for Chorus if Edea fits best, but again may be overbooting?

Thanks in advance for your help!
ETA: Melbourne, Australia. Just remembered I should specify as there are other Melbournes!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Hi and welcome! What type of foot do you have based on that chart? Arches: Very high/high/normal/low/flat?
That info will also help me suggest boots to you. I can tell you from reading your first post that Edea is out for you. Also, you had cheap, child starter set skates from Risport previously so they were small and narrow. The RF line of top boots are not that way in the toebox.

 

[RineX]

Hi, thanks! I'm not sure, maybe orient or African in terms of toe shape? My 1st two toes are a similar length and then there is a gentle taper to the little toe. I think I have a fairly normal arch, certainly not particularly high or low.

How do you know that Edea would not fit? I thought some of the models had wider toeboxes than others? And would the RF line of boots be too stiff for me?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Hi, thanks! I'm not sure, maybe orient or African in terms of toe shape? My 1st two toes are a similar length and then there is a gentle taper to the little toe. I think I have a fairly normal arch, certainly not particularly high or low.

How do you know that Edea would not fit? I thought some of the models had wider toeboxes than others? And would the RF line of boots be too stiff for me?

Thanks for your help!

Hi. Risport does with the toeboxes, not Edea-it's going to be too narrow for you. And b/c you ask: I know from experience for multiple decades, as a former elite, now pro who has worn or tested most boots and blades out there and some that don't even exist anymore.

Based on your foot type and what you have said already in your initial post: Graf, Risport, and possibly Jackson would work for you.
Now, being in Australia you more than likely can't get Jackson there but Graf and Risport you should be able to. With your other stats included you should be fine in Risport RF3 Pro (no it won't be too stiff). In Graf F4000 would work as well. If you do have a place to get fit in Jackson you should try Synergy Elite or Premiere 2800.

Blades: traditional intermediate blade: JW Coronation Ace or MK Pro.

The next closest would be Skaters Edge in New Zealand, which is a figure skating fitter and they specialize in that along with some dabbling in inline and roller. I know they carry the boots I have suggested (at least Jackson and Risport). I would contact them if you can and they may be able to do a virtual fitting if you cannot travel there.

Good luck!

 

[RineX]

Thanks for the quick response! I actually haven't seen any Graf on the websites of any of the stores in Melbourne. But Risport is available and Bladeworx carries Jackson so I'll should be able to try them on there. What do you think of virtual fittings in general? Do they just use tracings and it can often work out ok?

Re: blades, my understanding was that should be based on skill level, so would it be easier to start on a more beginner blade before moving to an intermediate blade later? Thanks again!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Thanks for the quick response! I actually haven't seen any Graf on the websites of any of the stores in Melbourne. But Risport is available and Bladeworx carries Jackson so I'll should be able to try them on there. What do you think of virtual fittings in general? Do they just use tracings and it can often work out ok?

Re: blades, my understanding was that should be based on skill level, so would it be easier to start on a more beginner blade before moving to an intermediate blade later? Thanks again!

No. Intermediate blade is where you would start. Beginner blades are for beginner sets and usually flat which will not help your skating whatsoever.

I will not steer you wrong here and there are many that also give advice here like @tstop4me and @Diana Delafield that usually chip into these threads and agree to recommendations. I have helped countless skaters here for 8 yrs, as well as offline for decades.

As far as virtual fit-I'm always going to say that getting fit by a figure skate fitter in person is always the best.
VF techniques vary and well, it's better than nothing especially with a fitter that knows what they are doing and specializes in figure skates.
That's all I'll say on that front.

 

[RineX]

No. Intermediate blade is where you would start. Beginner blades are for beginner sets and usually flat which will not help your skating whatsoever.

I will not steer you wrong here and there are many that also give advice here like @tstop4me and @Diana Delafield that usually chip into these threads and agree to recommendations. I have helped countless skaters here for 8 yrs, as well as offline for decades.

As far as virtual fit-I'm always going to say that getting fit by a figure skate fitter in person is always the best.
VF techniques vary and well, it's better than nothing especially with a fitter that knows what they are doing and specializes in figure skates.
That's all I'll say on that front.

Thanks! Definitely not questioning your expertise, just trying to make sure I understand the reasoning.

I will check out my local options and maybe contact skatersedge.nz as well. To be honest, I've previously had an unpleasant interaction with Bladeworx when I was trying on skates in the past so I was kind of hoping someone would mention another option I wasn't aware of! If he knows what he's talking about it would be worth having to deal with him, but I haven't been able to find clear reviews on that either. Hoping someone local who knows will be able to chime in!

ETA: in case it sounds weird that I wasn't familiar with Bladeworx in the initial post, I actually couldn't recall if it was the same store at first, but after that I searched my emails and found that it was though I think it's moved suburbs

 

[Diana Delafield]

Thanks! Definitely not questioning your expertise, just trying to make sure I understand the reasoning.

I will check out my local options and maybe contact skatersedge.nz as well. To be honest, I've previously had an unpleasant interaction with Bladeworx when I was trying on skates in the past so I was kind of hoping someone would mention another option I wasn't aware of! If he knows what he's talking about it would be worth having to deal with him, but I haven't been able to find clear reviews on that either. Hoping someone local who knows will be able to chime in!

I agree with what @Ic3Rabbit advises about boots and blades for you. I hadn't chimed in on this because I don't know anything about shops and fitters in Australia, but you can't go wrong with one of the intermediate blades. I used MK Pro blades right from a beginner as a child up to the senior level of competition, because there wasn't as wide a choice of blades in my younger days. Those intermediates are good workhorse blades on which you can learn anything. Only recently did I follow Ic3Rabbit's suggestion that I give the more advanced MK Phantom blades a try, because I trust her judgment, and I love them.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Thanks! Definitely not questioning your expertise, just trying to make sure I understand the reasoning.

I will check out my local options and maybe contact skatersedge.nz as well. To be honest, I've previously had an unpleasant interaction with Bladeworx when I was trying on skates in the past so I was kind of hoping someone would mention another option I wasn't aware of! If he knows what he's talking about it would be worth having to deal with him, but I haven't been able to find clear reviews on that either. Hoping someone local who knows will be able to chime in!

ETA: in case it sounds weird that I wasn't familiar with Bladeworx in the initial post, I actually couldn't recall if it was the same store at first, but after that I searched my emails and found that it was though I think it's moved suburbs

It's all good. I hope you find a decent fitter and don't have to deal with the one from the past.

If you have any more questions, you can send me a DM.

Good luck!

 

[RineX]

I agree with what @Ic3Rabbit advises about boots and blades for you. I hadn't chimed in on this because I don't know anything about shops and fitters in Australia, but you can't go wrong with one of the intermediate blades. I used MK Pro blades right from a beginner as a child up to the senior level of competition, because there wasn't as wide a choice of blades in my younger days. Those intermediates are good workhorse blades on which you can learn anything. Only recently did I follow Ic3Rabbit's suggestion that I give the more advanced MK Phantom blades a try, because I trust her judgment, and I love them.

Thanks! Good to know

It's all good. I hope you find a decent fitter and don't have to deal with the one from the past.

If you have any more questions, you can send me a DM.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[lauragiselle]

Hi, can anyone recommend me a reliable skate fitter/shop in Melbourne, Australia? As far as I'm aware, there are the Skater Network stores that only sell Risport (and are based at the rinks), and Google shows me one other store called Bladeworx that sells Jackson and Edea as well, but seems to be more of a roller skating shop. I've planning to check both out but would be good to know if their fitters are reliable as I'm not 100% sure I'll know what to look for when fitting. Also if they are reliable for heat moulding/sharpening etc? Can anyone provide reviews of those or recommend any other option?

Bit of background if relevant (and for further skate model recommendations): I'm a woman in her 30s, (155cm, 60kg). I skated for about 1-1.5 years in 2010-2011 (only up to doing tiny waltz jumps) and then quit as I got too busy, but am now looking to get started again. The first skates I bought were Risports (not sure what model as I've lost them, possibly Etoile?) which I found squashed my little toes (especially the right foot) so probably too narrow toebox. When those starting wearing down I bought some WIFA skates online but those are even more uncomfortable and would become painful after a short period of skating (I think my toes are proportionally longer than the skate accounts for despite total length being correct so while initially ok, they slowly slide down while skating and get squashed. Or possible too arched for my feet? I'm not sure.) I tried for awhile to make them work, and then I ended up quitting anyway so I never fixed the issue or got new skates then. I still have the WIFA skates and am planning to restart skating in them for a few sessions, but I want to get new skates that fit well as soon as I can. My goal is to at least get back to where I was before, and I would like the skates to be able to at least accommodate single jumps in case I want to pursue that. From my online research, Jacksons may suit my toes better and perhaps the Freestyles would be a good level given my heavier adult weight. Other options are Risport, but I don't know if the toebox will be too narrow again, sounds like the RF3 Pro may have a wider toebox but that may be too much boot for me? Perhaps Electra if the toebox is ok? Mixed info on Edeas for wider toes but happy to try. For the Edeas they don't sell any boot/blade sets here so their beginner Overture is quite expensive and only 100AUD less than the Chorus, so sounds like it would make sense to go for Chorus if Edea fits best, but again may be overbooting?

Thanks in advance for your help!
ETA: Melbourne, Australia. Just remembered I should specify as there are other Melbournes!

Fellow Melbournian here!

I wouldn’t recommend Bladeworx just based upon personal experience & some other women I’ve spoke too, the man that works there can be uncomfortable to be around… he also tries to move stock that may not be best for the individual. I fit pointe shoes for a living so luckily I had a pretty good idea of what was a good fit and what was not. Didn’t end up purchasing through him thankfully.

I would recommend SkatersEdge NZ, I had a great experience with their virtual fitting service. The only downside is not being able to physically try them on but I found the process of sending in photos and measurements really detailed & thorough. They also were great with any questions or concerns I had. Super professional

 

[RineX]

Fellow Melbournian here!

I wouldn’t recommend Bladeworx just based upon personal experience & some other women I’ve spoke too, the man that works there can be uncomfortable to be around… he also tries to move stock that may not be best for the individual. I fit pointe shoes for a living so luckily I had a pretty good idea of what was a good fit and what was not. Didn’t end up purchasing through him thankfully.

I would recommend SkatersEdge NZ, I had a great experience with their virtual fitting service. The only downside is not being able to physically try them on but I found the process of sending in photos and measurements really detailed & thorough. They also were great with any questions or concerns I had. Super professional

Thanks so much for that! I think I may try out the Risports and if those don't work then I'll try the skatersedge virtual fitting process. Did you get them to mount, make adjustments or just send the boot so you could try on and return/exchange if the fit wasn't right? It's such a shame we have so few options here, and that the only store that stocks more brands is run by someone like that!

 

[Query]

So to do it in person you might actually fly between Australia and New Zealand...

I kind of understand why recreational sports that let you stay local for everything might be much more popular there.

I sort of understand why the manager of a pro shop for a locally unpopular sport might sometimes feel a need to move existing stock. Must be a tough gig. I'm not excusing the behavior - just understanding it.

Good luck! I hope it comes out well!

 

[RineX]

So to do it in person you might actually fly between Australia and New Zealand...

I kind of understand why recreational sports that let you stay local for everything might be much more popular there.

I sort of understand why the manager of a pro shop for a locally unpopular sport might sometimes feel a need to move existing stock. Must be a tough gig. I'm not excusing the behavior - just understanding it.

Good luck! I hope it comes out well!

Certainly not, I would be looking at Skaters Edge NZ virtual fitting process and having it shipped to me. Not to say that anyone would be wrong to do that, just doesn't seem necessary at my level. I think there also may be reasonable options in Sydney which is much closer but I'm not willing to travel there for it, so if going online I might as well go with the more established site for virtual fittings.

And perhaps fewer people would feel they needed to shop online or interstate/overseas if the local shop manager behaved professionally. We actually now have 3 ice rinks in Melbourne, so it can't be that niche anymore.

Thanks!

 

[Diana Delafield]

Certainly not, I would be looking at Skaters Edge NZ virtual fitting process and having it shipped to me. Not to say that anyone would be wrong to do that, just doesn't seem necessary at my level. I think there also may be reasonable options in Sydney which is much closer but I'm not willing to travel there for it, so if going online I might as well go with the more established site for virtual fittings.

And perhaps fewer people would feel they needed to shop online or interstate/overseas if the local shop manager behaved professionally. We actually now have 3 ice rinks in Melbourne, so it can't be that niche anymore.

Thanks!

They have the same problem in Scotland, where a couple of my adult kids skate and where the competitive level is really improving in some centres like Dundee -- but the skaters have to travel down into England to find a good skate shop with professional fitters.

 

[RineX]

They have the same problem in Scotland, where a couple of my adult kids skate and where the competitive level is really improving in some centres like Dundee -- but the skaters have to travel down into England to find a good skate shop with professional fitters.

Good skate fitters seem like a rare breed!

I actually went to the shop that fits Risports today, and was surprised to find they had a few lower end Jacksons as well that weren't on the website. I have some questions about the fit of the Risports, etc. so I've DM'ed you, Ic3Rabbit as you kindly offered, hope that's ok!

 

[lauragiselle]

Thanks so much for that! I think I may try out the Risports and if those don't work then I'll try the skatersedge virtual fitting process. Did you get them to mount, make adjustments or just send the boot so you could try on and return/exchange if the fit wasn't right? It's such a shame we have so few options here, and that the only store that stocks more brands is run by someone like that!

Yeah I reckon starting with Risports just so you can be fitted correctly in person & then you can try the virtual fitting in future if you wanted a different brand.
I purchased the Edea chorus set with the blades fully mounted and have had no problems at all. They gave me the option of 2 different brands/styles based on my feet. You can choose to have them not mounted though so you can take them to the shop at the rink and have the guy there mount them for you.
I found them really great with any questions as well

 

[RineX]

Yeah I reckon starting with Risports just so you can be fitted correctly in person & then you can try the virtual fitting in future if you wanted a different brand.
I purchased the Edea chorus set with the blades fully mounted and have had no problems at all. They gave me the option of 2 different brands/styles based on my feet. You can choose to have them not mounted though so you can take them to the shop at the rink and have the guy there mount them for you.
I found them really great with any questions as well

I actually decided to try the virtual fitting process as well with the aim to validate my choice, but then they advised me to go a size down. So I went back to try a size down on in store and I agree that is probably right so I'm glad I reached out. But now I'm trying to figure out whether to keep the RF3s I ordered from them or exchange for Royal Pros...I just posted a new thread asking about that (well, about toe volume and heel lock really) to help me figure it out. Returning it won't be cheap though I guess that's the risk when buying online, especially overseas!

 

[audreyrusso]

Hi, can anyone recommend me a reliable skate fitter/shop in Melbourne, Australia? As far as I'm aware, there are the Skater Network stores that only sell Risport (and are based at the rinks), and Google shows me one other store called Bladeworx that sells Jackson and Edea as well, but seems to be more of a roller skating shop. I've planning to check both out but would be good to know if their fitters are reliable as I'm not 100% sure I'll know what to look for when fitting. Also if they are reliable for heat moulding/sharpening etc? Can anyone provide reviews of those or recommend any other option?

Bit of background if relevant (and for further skate model recommendations): I'm a woman in her 30s, (155cm, 60kg). I skated for about 1-1.5 years in 2010-2011 (only up to doing tiny waltz jumps) and then quit as I got too busy, but am now looking to get started again. The first skates I bought were Risports (not sure what model as I've lost them, possibly Etoile?) which I found squashed my little toes (especially the right foot) so probably too narrow toebox. When those starting wearing down I bought some WIFA skates online but those are even more uncomfortable and would become painful after a short period of skating (I think my toes are proportionally longer than the skate accounts for despite total length being correct so while initially ok, they slowly slide down while skating and get squashed. Or possible too arched for my feet? I'm not sure.) I tried for awhile to make them work, and then I ended up quitting anyway so I never fixed the issue or got new skates then. I still have the WIFA skates and am planning to restart skating in them for a few sessions, but I want to get new skates that fit well as soon as I can. My goal is to at least get back to where I was before, and I would like the skates to be able to at least accommodate single jumps in case I want to pursue that. From my online research, Jacksons may suit my toes better and perhaps the Freestyles would be a good level given my heavier adult weight. Other options are Risport, but I don't know if the toebox will be too narrow again, sounds like the RF3 Pro may have a wider toebox but that may be too much boot for me? Perhaps Electra if the toebox is ok? Mixed info on Edeas for wider toes but happy to try. For the Edeas they don't sell any boot/blade sets here so their beginner Overture is quite expensive and only 100AUD less than the Chorus, so sounds like it would make sense to go for Chorus if Edea fits best, but again may be overbooting?

Thanks in advance for your help!
ETA: Melbourne, Australia. Just remembered I should specify as there are other Melbournes!

I'm an late teen-adult beginner from the melbourne area! I struggled to find a place when i was buying my first skates a while ago, i go to the rink in Oakleigh, and unfortunately the pro shop there was for hockey and only had risport venus (not in my size either). Bladeworx was the closest place to me so i went there. At first i was skeptical, especially since the shop is multiple storage units in one of those big garage places. The guy who runs it is really nice tho, and they have a good amount of options. He has a lot of knowledge in not just roller, but also figure skating. He also wasn't being super salesmany or pressuring me which i appreciate, i'm someone who gets very easily stressed out by that. I don't have much to compare to in terms of fitting but i got the right fit and he tried on a few different sizes to find the right one and he made sure i knew how it was supposed to fit, so i assume that is good.
When i went i had done research but still wasn't really sure on what would be best for me, i was considering either freestyles or the edea overtures(+coronation ace), but he recommended freestyles and said they would last me a while and have the right support for my weight.
Overall i'd recommend, I probably replied to this way too late but oh well