Soft rubber guards and guard theft

[thisismynewsport]

Weird question or maybe not weird. But during public sessions where do you put your skate guards? I’ve seen way too many people getting these stolen.

Also I plan on going to a “fancy” recreational rink on the weekend. The ice there is super nice and it’s one of those places you go to on a date or with your family. It has a beautiful huge chandelier and everything. I am not really planning to do any figure type skating. You cannot bring any personal items on the ice and it must be left in a locker room.

With that being said what are your thoughts on those soft walkable soakers? They have rubber on the bottom and the bonus is I can fit them in my pocket. The walkable areas of this rink has rubber mats all over but I’m paranoid about getting my new blades ruined. I also want to wear my new skates to this rink to help break them in further.

Link to Guards

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Weird question or maybe not weird. But during public sessions where do you put your skate guards? I’ve seen way too many people getting these stolen.

Also I plan on going to a “fancy” recreational rink on the weekend. The ice there is super nice and it’s one of those places you go to on a date or with your family. It has a beautiful huge chandelier and everything. I am not really planning to do any figure type skating. You cannot bring any personal items on the ice and it must be left in a locker room.

With that being said what are your thoughts on those soft walkable soakers? They have rubber on the bottom and the bonus is I can fit them in my pocket. The walkable areas of this rink has rubber mats all over but I’m paranoid about getting my new blades ruined. I also want to wear my new skates to this rink to help break them in further.

Link to Guards

You do not walk in soft soakers. You only walk in hard guards. The soft soakers are for when you are done walking around in and using your skates, you take your skates off, wipe the soles and blades off and then put the soft soakers on the blades.

 

[thisismynewsport]

You do not walk in soft soakers. You only walk in hard guards. The soft soakers are for when you are done walking around in and using your skates, you take your skates off, wipe the soles and blades off and then put the soft soakers on the blades.

I would never walk in soakers but I am not sure if you saw the link I posted. They are walkable soakers.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I would never walk in soakers but I am not sure if you saw the link I posted. They are walkable soakers.

for hockey only.

at the level I am in my skating career, I've seen just about everything there is for skates as far as equipment etc. I know what they are.

 

[thisismynewsport]

for hockey only.

at the level I am in my skating career, I've seen just about everything there is for skates as far as equipment etc. I know what they are.

Got it! Just thought I’d ask because kicking myself for ruining a pair of new blades. Guess that’s why you don’t see this type of product at any figure skating shops.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Got it! Just thought I’d ask because kicking myself for ruining a pair of new blades. Guess that’s why you don’t see this type of product at any figure skating shops.

They're in the figure skating shops and are great for using as soakers just don't walk around in them.

 

[gliese]

Just put them on the boards near the entry. The risk of guards getting stolen is cheaper than the risk of ruining blades. No rink is going to tell you that you can't have your skate guards near the ice.

 

[tstop4me]

OP: You didn't mention what guards you have. But since you're concerned about them getting stolen, I would guess they are pricey ones in the $30 or more range (such as Rockerz or Edea). Is that correct? If so, why don't you buy a less expensive pair for use on public sessions? You can get two-piece units with metal springs in the $10 - $15 range. You can also use a marker to grunge them up to make them easy to identify and to make them less attractive for a potential thief. There are cheaper guards for less than $10; these are one piece with rubber or plastic straps. I would stay away from those, because the strap pops off or snaps easily. ETA: On occasion, you might find the discontinued, one-piece units with a metal spring loop (strap). Those are fine; and actually my favorite design.

 

[sandraskates]

Just put them on the boards near the entry. The risk of guards getting stolen is cheaper than the risk of ruining blades. No rink is going to tell you that you can't have your skate guards near the ice.

Bingo!

And I wouldn't even walk around in those soft soaker "guards" in my hockey skates (which I don't wear much). The bottoms of those soakers are still very thin.

 

[thisismynewsport]

OP: You didn't mention what guards you have. But since you're concerned about them getting stolen, I would guess they are pricey ones in the $30 or more range (such as Rockerz or Edea). Is that correct? If so, why don't you buy a less expensive pair for use on public sessions? You can get two-piece units with metal springs in the $10 - $15 range. You can also use a marker to grunge them up to make them easy to identify and to make them less attractive for a potential thief. There are cheaper guards for less than $10; these are one piece with rubber or plastic straps. I would stay away from those, because the strap pops off or snaps easily.

I have Rockerz so ya I paid $40 for them ... but I kinda have no choice because of the chassis on the Matrix blades. I probably should have mentioned that in my original post. Unfortunately the regular hard guards won't fit on my blades. There are rubber mats all over at the place I am going to over the weekend but I don't trust it because who knows how often they are cleaned during the day and it seems like leading down to the locker rooms people can wear their outdoor shoes on the mats. Since its winter time I am sure there are little rocks on them..

 

[Sunshine247]

In the past few years I’ve picked up stones, pieces of broken jewelry(chains) etc., glass, coins and all kinds of things from the mats. And my rink is good about cleaning them! I don’t care if I have to replace 10 guards a year, I’ll still want my skaters to wear them up to the doors and put those blades on the ice only!

Not many people know what they are at a public session. Just put them on the boards and don’t worry about it. For freestyle sessions I don’t think it’s an issue at al. They’re cut to fit your blade for one, and usually everyone has their own. On the off chance you forget them or they are moved, you can check the lost and found. They have tons of guards for some reason. lol. We’ve only ever “lost” guards. Never had them stolen in four years. And many many rinks. one time someone recognized my daughter left her guards at one rink on Saturday, and brought them to us on Monday morning at our home rink!

ETA: my one daughter has a board bag which is a little bag she can use to hold water, tissues, music, etc when she’s skating. She used to put her guards in that at first since she was a bit forgetful. Now they just go right at the door somewhere. come to think of it most skaters have a regular spot even. lol

 

[MCsAngel2]

When I first went back to skating 2 years ago, I splurged on a bunch of accessories including hard guards. The very very first time I went to the rink fully kitted out (a public session), my guards were 'stolen' from where I'd left them by the door (but a few minutes found one on the floor in the walkway behind the enclosed benches then found the other in a nearby trash can).

Screw that. I now use $10 cheapie guards that have my last name written in black marker on the bottom and I put them down bottom side up so they can be seen. The cheap guards actually fit better than any of the more expensive ones and no one has ever touched them since. Putting your name on them goes a long way to discourage theft.

 

[Minz]

Not many people know what they are at a public session. Just put them on the boards and don’t worry about it. For freestyle sessions I don’t think it’s an issue at al. They’re cut to fit your blade for one, and usually everyone has their own. On the off chance you forget them or they are moved, you can check the lost and found. They have tons of guards for some reason. lol. We’ve only ever “lost” guards. Never had them stolen in four years. And many many rinks. one time someone recognized my daughter left her guards at one rink on Saturday, and brought them to us on Monday morning at our home rink!

Yeah, at my rink everyone just puts them on the boards. Most people at a public session don't know what they are, and any coaches/skaters who come by just leave them be.

 

[Arwen17]

No one has ever had guards stolen at our rink on any type of session, even the most expensive Edea guards. The most the kids do on the public session is pick them up and examine them because they don’t know what they are. No one on a freestyle session is going to bother them. On a public, they would get moved around sometimes by the kids because they don’t know what they are and they might have been using them to hit each other in the hockey box. My solution to that was putting them in the area behind the glass door. You know where they open up the big door to let the public kids onto the ice? I just put the guards on the other side of that door so they aren’t easy to reach and play with. They’d literally have to close the door to get at them. You can still see your guards thru the glass, it just stops curious kids from grabbing them and moving them around and using them as weapons on each other.

 

[Kat12]

I've always just put them on the boards, and haven't had them stolen, but once when skating at a rink I used to go to that was attached to the school (and had an "after-school skate" that was open to the public), I saw some boys messing around with them, trying to put them over their shoes, etc. I was getting off the ice anyway, so I skated over and said sarcastically, "Can I help you with my skate guards?" They were at least embarrassed (and one tried to say "I thought they were his" pointing to another boy on the ice. Yup, my sparkly skate guards belong to your middle-school-boy buddy. Nice try). I think after that I did something else with them when at that rink.

If I was worried about it, I would probably carry them with me on the ice and put them in a hockey box or on the edge of the hockey box (just remember to get them later). They might still be stolen, but less likely if they're actually on a bench in the box (not as easily seen), and even if on the edge, it's less likely that some random person will just walk up and take them (because they'd have to either cross the ice, or walk all the way around the rink).

If you're truly not allowed to have them at all, then do as someone once suggested to me and walk on your toe picks on the mats. It's awkward and I wouldn't want to do it often, but people do it.

 

[Arwen17]

I've always just put them on the boards, and haven't had them stolen, but once when skating at a rink I used to go to that was attached to the school (and had an "after-school skate" that was open to the public), I saw some boys messing around with them, trying to put them over their shoes, etc. I was getting off the ice anyway, so I skated over and said sarcastically, "Can I help you with my skate guards?" They were at least embarrassed (and one tried to say "I thought they were his" pointing to another boy on the ice. Yup, my sparkly skate guards belong to your middle-school-boy buddy. Nice try). I think after that I did something else with them when at that rink.

If I was worried about it, I would probably carry them with me on the ice and put them in a hockey box or on the edge of the hockey box (just remember to get them later). They might still be stolen, but less likely if they're actually on a bench in the box (not as easily seen), and even if on the edge, it's less likely that some random person will just walk up and take them (because they'd have to either cross the ice, or walk all the way around the rink).

If you're truly not allowed to have them at all, then do as someone once suggested to me and walk on your toe picks on the mats. It's awkward and I wouldn't want to do it often, but people do it.

XD epic way to respond and typical response from a kid trying to pretend innocence. *rolls eyes*

Our hockey boxes are on the side where everyone gets on the ice. So tons of people camp in the hockey box the entire session, which increases the likelihood of kids (almost always boys) playing with my guards. So that’s why I have to get creative and put them in a less obvious place like behind the glass door.
Little girls are so much nicer. Little boys are extremely grabby.

 

[Kat12]

XD epic way to respond and typical response from a kid trying to pretend innocence. *rolls eyes*

Our hockey boxes are on the side where everyone gets on the ice. So tons of people camp in the hockey box the entire session, which increases the likelihood of kids (almost always boys) playing with my guards. So that’s why I have to get creative and put them in a less obvious place like behind the glass door.
Little girls are so much nicer. Little boys are extremely grabby.

Yeah, I think I've put mine kind of behind the door, too, for the same reason.

Hockey boxes at my local rinks are usually on the opposite side from the door to the rink itself, and so also usually from the entrance door... so anyone walking to the hockey box from the outside of the rink would kind of have to go around the side where pretty much nobody goes because it's close to the wall...