Looking for new boots - help needed

[Aussie Willy]

Okay I am seriously thinking about buying new boots in the new year, but need some help and advice from you guys. Basically they have to be shipped in (unable to be fitted or tried on beforehand) so to buy boots is risky.

I am contemplating buying Grafs which are heat mouldable but someone has also told me Jacksons are heat mouldable too. Also I have a very wide foot so I need to find a brand that has a variety of different widths.

Now the Jacksons are much cheaper than the Grafs, once you take the exchange rate into account (converting US dollars to Australian dollars I could save up over $100). So it is a big decision.

Also I will only be doing single jumps but I do need support because I have weak ankles and slightly flat feet. I am used to a firm boot because of Risports.

So I suppose what I want to know is what boots people have found to their liking. Obviously people have different preferences, but after the problems I have had with my Risports over the last 3 years I will not be going back to them.

[Mrs Redboots]

Why don't you ask your teacher what s/he would recommend? The thing is, feet are so very different that it's impossible to say at a distance. I love my Gams, but I know other skaters who have simply hated theirs.....

The thing to do is talk to your coach, and to other skaters at your rink, and see what they would suggest.

[NickiT]

I switched to Gams and I love them. However, I agree with Annabel in that everyones feet are different and everyone has preferences on which boot they think is the best.

Nicki

[blurrysarah]

I recently tried on a pair of Jackson's at Canterbury rink. I really liked them as they came in different widths and had nice ankle padding. Shame I just bought a pair of Risports which may or may not be too big for me. :??
Be wary of Riedells if you have a wide foot, as another flipper foot myself, they are very stiff and padded but I felt for all the padding there was no room for my foot.

[jp1andOnly]

Jackson's are great for wide feet. Graf's seem to be a bit more narrow. I have had both pairs, though my graf's are only a few weeks old.

[sk8taxi]

We just recently bought new boots for my daughter. Her previous pair were Sp Teri Deluxe.($450) She wore them for a year untill she outgrew them. She loved them, albeit it took TWO weeks to break in. Blisters and Pain for sure! Once they were broken in she loved them. They have been pure quality not one bit of breakdown.(she is doing doubles and skates 5 days a week)

Her coach swithched to Jacksons we decided to give them a try when the Sp Teris became too small. Awesome so far! Broke in in 1 day!!! No joke! Not a blister yet, even after a month. The Jackson Elite($250) has a built in flex (notch) at the ankle. We molded them in the oven. VALA! PErfect! They are much lighter also.

Hint: When you measure the WIDTH of your foot at your toes, toe bone to toe bone. If the measureing tape is mostly horizontal --- then you probably would like the toe box in spteri or jackson. If the tape is diagonal \, you have more of a harlick or Reidell foot. So I have been told and it has been true for us. Good Luck.

[Aussie Willy]

Annabel - we have a problem here with coaches recommending boots because generally all skaters have access to such a limited range, including the coaches. The Risports I have were sold to me by a coach who gets them in. One of the other coaches is trying the Jackson coaches boot for herself(she is the one who might be getting the boots in for me). One of the other coaches gets Wifa. We don't have an shop that sells a wide range of boots and that is the problem. Also all the coaches at our rink don't have a really good knowledge of what is out there in the boot world.

sk8taxi - thanks for the positive feedback and suggestion about measuring. That sounds good and will definately give me some food for thought.

Blurrysarah - I assume you are talking about Canterbury in Sydney. Do you mind me asking you how much they were? Would it be worth a trip to Sydney to try a pair on and does Canterbury have a wide range?

[alexeiluvr]

If you want good support, try a Graf Richmond. They are still heat moldable, but have a better price than the Graf Edmonton. Also, Riedells are very good for support.

[mikawendy]

Right now, I'm in Jackson 2700. They are heat mouldable. I have a wide foot at the toe area (C width) but narrow heel (AA). I am just learning single toe loop, and my pro said that the boot should be able to handle all of the single jumps (including axel) unless I wear them out before I am able to learn those jumps. I weigh about 120 lbs.

I really like these boots. Everyone has a different preference, but I like how padded these are and how much room I have in the toes. I had very little break-in time as far as comfort. I still am not able to fully bend in the ankle after 3 months of skating in them, but I never developed blisters.

I wear bunga sleeves around my ankles to help keep my heels from wiggling, and tie them a certain way. The boots feel very light but offer a lot of support. I could tell when I did a waltz jump in them--my landing ankle didn't bend sideways like it did in my old, wornout boots.

My previous pair were Riedell 275s (the model just before Bronze Stars). They were the wrong length and width and my foot always wobbled in them and my toes felt squashed.

Since you will have to be trying the skates blind, without a fitting at first, you might want to contact the manufacturer for specific instructions for foot measuring. Perhaps they would be accommodating and let you return the skates in exchange for another pair if the first pair you receive don't fit right.

If you get heat mouldable boots, be sure get them moulded at a pro shop that has a proper oven for doing this. (For instance, my boots could not have been done in a regular oven--it would have voided the warranty, I think.)

[who]

AW,

Both Jacksons and Grafs come in various widths (Narrow,Medium and Wide). I tried Jacksons on at the Glaciarium (Sydney) when I was there just out of curiousity, they seem fine..a lot stiffer...but you know I love my Grafs! Both are heat mouldable, and neither need to be moulded in a "proper" skate oven, I moulded my Grafs perfectly in my oven at home, I emailed Jennifer Calvert at Graf Canada (email me if you want her email) and she said this was fine and gave me the temperatures. Plenty of people at my rink have done this.

A girl at my rink drove to Sydney where she bought her Jacksons, she didn't want to pay the extra $60 to have them heat moulded in their oven, so she did them at my friends house and they too have been fine, no problems (she's not jumipng, but she is an adult, she got the competitor I think).

Be wary of ordering from your rink, they can usually charge up to $100 in handling (our rink charges $60 for anything other than Risports which we have in stock), so most people order themselves.

[blurrysarah]

Yes, it was Canterbury in Sydney. I didn't ask how much they were. All I got was a sizing and I tried a Jackson Synchro boot on, which probably isn't exactly the boot you are looking for... I do know if I ever want a pair, there are plenty of online overseas skate shops that sell Jacksons most probably cheaper than the Canterbury rink, even after conversion rates and postage.
If you can get yourself a Jackson sizing and the model number suited to your level of skating, then you'd be set.

[96.23??]

I have graf Edmonton specials and I have a very wide foot, unfortunately I went to a skate shop that fitted me improperly and had to get the skates stretched but now they are very comfortable. They have lots of padding but not so much that there's no room for your foot.

If you are only working on singles you could, as someone mentioned already, buy the graf richmond specials which are a bit cheaper I believe.

Good Luck finding your perfect boot! :)