Skating Barefoot Or, Nothing Comes Between Me And My Harlicks

[montanarose]

Personally, I always skate wearing a pair of footed tights over which I layer a pair of either over-the-boot tights or black supplex leggings (with my Skating Safe knee and hip pads inserted in between, LOL).

Lately, though, I've observed a number of skaters and coaches who, to paraphrase Brooke Shields, allow nothing to come between them and their Harlicks/Klingbeils/ SP Teris or whatever.

I'm curious . . . for those of you who do this, what does this feel like and why do you find it preferable to wearing sox or tights? And, not to be too indelicate, but if you do in fact skate this way what does it do to the inside of your boots?

Cheers,
Ellen

[sk8er1964]

I wear tights, but your post brought up an issue that I have. I have three pairs for six days of skating (I wash them all on the 7th day). My feet do tend to sweat quite a bit in my skates. Anyway, I have been seeing white spots on the insoles, and wonder what the heck it is. Is it athlete's foot fungus? (I haven't had any itching.) I would assume that would be a problem with barefoot skating, as well as the cold.

Anyway, has anyone else seen this?

[jazzpants]

Just my personal thing: I DO want something to come between my feet and my boots. I don't wanna know what's growing in those boots of mine, much less letting my barefeet touch it. :P (So far nothing, but... I've been pretty good about airing the boots out afterwards, drying the blades, wearing skate guards (except on the ice) :P , etc.

[Lmarletto]

I wear very thin socks. I have skated barefoot a few times when I've forgotten socks and it feels really, really good.8-) But my heels seem to slip more and I worry that long term my skates would smell dreadful.

Lu

[NickiT]

Yuk!!! I couldn't imagine anything worse than skating barefoot in my boots! Personally I wear either in the boot tights, or over the boot tights with ankle high tights and I wash them after every time I've worn them.

Nicki

[TashaKat]

:D

I wear footed tights with OTB/Stirrup/Footless tights on the top! I DID go 'commando' once when I hadn't expected to skate and it was a really nice feeling, you can REALLY feel the boot ..... the next time I tried it my feet were cut to ribbons :(

A couple of people that I know who go commando have THE most minging boots known to man! I treasure my Harlicks too much to wreck them :)

Lx

[Mrs Redboots]

I have skated barefoot, but disliked the sensation. However, when you forget to pack your socks and only have OTB tights with you, you don't exactly have much choice.

Certainly at one time, I am told, many top skaters were barefoot - it is alleged that you can feel what is happening more easily. I found that bare feet caused rather too much friction.

I'm jolly glad I didn't have bare feet last night, though, I must say - we were skating at another rink, and my husband had taken my skates in the car. They had sat in the back of the car all day and were seriously cold inside when I put them on! Another friend had the same problem with hers.... Yarooooch! :( :x

[garyc254]

I barefoot. I've never tried wearing socks, so can't make a comparison. I like the feel and control I get from having my feet to the leather. No chance that a sock could bunch up or slip.

My feet don't sweat unusually, so I don't have any problem with the leather breaking down. I never zip my skating tote completely, so my boots are constantly airing.

[JDC1]

I've skated barefoot because I had no stockings with a few times, you can feel the boot more but that can be bad too. :-) It feels just like wearing leather shoes without socks, no big deal.

Mrs. Redboots, OUCH on the cold boots!! Last time I left mine in the car I turned the heater on and held them up to the vent at red lights!

J

[jenlyon60]

I had to leave my boots in the car all day ... because of work issues. Had afternoon lesson after work 1 day a week, which made for cold boots this winter. Tried "Hot Hands" but found that the inside of boots don't provide enough air for them to work. Best solution I found (in addition to sticking the boots under the floor vent of the heater) was to carry a cheap hair dryer in the car, and plug it in and blow hot air into the boots for a few minutes (being careful not to overheat the hair dryer).

[Kristin]

I don't know anyone who skates without socks.

We have a Senior lady in our club who has a severe foot fungus between her pinky toe & 4th toe due to constantly skating in wet skates (the skates never have time to fully dry between sessions). The fungus has basically eaten thru the skin and you can see the tendon. As you can guess, this is very painful and has affected her skating since she has pain whenever she lands her jumps.

So anyone not wearing any socks in their boots...well, I just think it is a bad idea since I have seen firsthand what happens to people who get a fungus in their boots.

Kristin

[dbny]

Originally posted by Kristin
We have a Senior lady in our club who has a severe foot fungus between her pinky toe & 4th toe due to constantly skating in wet skates (the skates never have time to fully dry between sessions). The fungus has basically eaten thru the skin and you can see the tendon. As you can guess, this is very painful and has affected her skating since she has pain whenever she lands her jumps.


OMG 8O She needs to RUN to a doctor. I once had a tiny bump on the inside of my big toe. I mentioned it to a doctor that I was seeing for something else, and he gave me a cream for it. After about 6 months, the entire ball of my foot was blistered and bleeding and itching to kill. At my husband's urging, I went to a different doctor, who recognized the fungus immediately and gave me a prescription for it. It took almost a year for my skin to return to normal, but it did. Luckily, that was before I started skating.

[flippet]

Originally posted by Mrs Redboots
I found that bare feet caused rather too much friction.



Me too. Hubby and I had to try it once due to forgotten socks--both of us had nasty blisters, hubby's were so bad they looked like craters in his heels. 8O (Word of advice-- those Band-Aid gel strips that 'seal and heal' are fantastic for healing open blisters.) I think the problem occurs when your boots have molded to socks, and when you don't have the socks, you have a tiny space for rubbing to happen.

As for cold boots...I'm weird, I actually like them. I feel that as the boots warm up they mold to my foot better. (I have used the hair dryers on really frigid days or at seriously heat-challenged rinks!)

[skatepixie]

Socks bug my arches (if you could call them that...I have flat feet), but I do wear tights for skating...I dont think that it would be weird not to, though, except that they would be pretty nasty. I have to wash my reg shoes all the time and I dont think you can really wash skates, so I wont be doing that...

[Figureskates]

I do both, it just depends on my mood. I am more likely to go barefoot if I really want to feel the edges.

[TashaKat]

Originally posted by Mrs Redboots
I'm jolly glad I didn't have bare feet last night, though, I must say - we were skating at another rink, and my husband had taken my skates in the car. They had sat in the back of the car all day and were seriously cold inside when I put them on! Another friend had the same problem with hers.... Yarooooch! :( :x

That's what the hand dryers in the ladies loo are for :)

x

[skatepixie]

Originally posted by Kristin
We have a Senior lady in our club who has a severe foot fungus between her pinky toe & 4th toe due to constantly skating in wet skates (the skates never have time to fully dry between sessions). The fungus has basically eaten thru the skin and you can see the tendon. As you can guess, this is very painful and has affected her skating since she has pain whenever she lands her jumps.

She should see a doc NOW, if not sooner. She should also buy this:
http://www.seaproductsonline.net/index81.html
It will dry out her skates so she wont skate in wet ones anymore.

[Isk8NYC]

I wear knee-hi pantyhose socks under pants or tights under skirts. Socks are too thick for me to "grip" the sole properly. I've skated barefoot when needed and I felt like my foot was stuck to the sole and I couldn't fix it without taking off the boot.

If you're really in a pinch to warm up skates, use the car heater, a hairdryer, or the hand-dryer in the ladies' room. I've also found that a radiator works well, and you can try the hunters' chemical boot warmers. (Take them out before you skate, though.)