About guys' skates . . .

[wannask8]

Hubby is tired of just watching my snail's pace, pathetic skating progress and has decided to take the next cycle of adult beginner figure sessions. He's looking for skates now, and I was hoping some of you could weigh in on any differences in looking for a good fit/ brand for guys. His foot is pretty "normal" for a guy -- maybe a bit wide. He skated a little as a kid -- not much -- but has been goofing around on hockey skates recreationally for the past few years (we've done some pond skating this season, with the real winter in the northeast) and actually had one private lesson from my coach a few months ago to learn back crossovers; he will definitely be able to jump (he is already doing ungainly airborne things in his hockey skates). He's about 5'8" and 150-155 lbs.

The last guy he talked to recommended a size the same as his street size. Is that typical for guys? (My boots are smaller.) They also said he could go with either Jackson Freestyles or Riedell 300s. I thought the Riedells would be narrow for him (they are for me, and I have narrow feet), but this guy said the men's are different -- and unlike mine, they're heat moldable (as are the Jacksons, of course). I'm having him talk to my coach for a second opinion, but we'd be interested in other guys' experiences in addition to what's in the recent "Jacksons" thread.

Thanks,

--wannask8

[MQSeries]

A guy skates in general should also be at least 1 size smaller than his shoe's size, just like women's skates. When I skated, my skate was a size 8 whereas my shoe size was a 9.

I think Reidell tend to be narrow also. I used to skate in the Reidell's Competitor model, and I went through several painful months with my right toe.

[fadedstardust]

I would suggest Riedell..they're great beginner boots and guys seem to like them. As far as size...get fitted by a professional. There's no better advice to get than that, and you really can't afford to get an ill fitting boot. Your guy might SAY and FEEL like it fits when it fact it doesn't cause it's hard to make the call when you're not used to figure skating boots.

-FadedStardust

[Justine_R]

The Skate always must be a smaller fit because it has to give your feet a lot of support.

Pick the One's which he feels best in!..How about Gams?

[Mrs Redboots]

The trouble is, our fitter told my husband, there is a lot less choice in men's skates than in women's. He will want a good beginner-level boot-and-blade combination, ideally with Coronation Ace blades or similar for that level. Make sure he is fitted by someone who knows what they are doing.

If the worst comes to the worst, there is such a thing as shoe dye - you could always buy a woman's pair that fits him and then dye them black!

[Elsy2]

My hubby chose Riedells, and they are a size 9 (he wears a 10 1/2 street shoe). The only problem is they ordered a B width which is really too narrow for him. He has a very wide boxy foot.

I don't know too much about the Jackson fit....but I would suspect skate size would be smaller than street shoe size too. My old Jacksons were also 1 1/2 sizes smaller than my street shoes.

[skaternum]

I hate to say it, but if he has a wide, boxy foot, the Riedell's were probably not the best choice. Jacksons would probably fit better. Riedell is known for being "narrow," and Jacksons are known are being "wide."

[Elsy2]

You are right Skatermum.....wish we had known that. And he was fitted by a very well respected professional fitter too.

[dbny]

Originally posted by Elsy2
You are right Skatermum.....wish we had known that. And he was fitted by a very well respected professional fitter too.

My husband was also, and his first pair were also Riedells which turned out to be too long in order to get the width! I had known about that kind of problem, but trusted the fitter. We didn't find out until he got custom Klingbeils.

[wannask8]

Thanks, all! I have passed along your comments, which pretty much confirmed what I've been telling him. Although coach says this fitter knows his stuff, I think he overestimated the size, in part because of the socks worn during the fitting (way too thick). However, there's no telling hubby this -- he is just going for it and will have to learn for himself if this is the wrong move. Whatever . . .. He is going for the Jacksons, at least, which the concensus seems to be will be better for his wider feet.

Stay tuned -- should be interesting!

-- wannask8

[singerskates]

What are his heels like, normal, wide or narrow? REmember if the skates don't fit right to bring them back right away and go for something else.

Brigitte

[fadedstardust]

I'm surprised to hear that Riedell is considered a narrow skate because I have wide feet and even the stock boots fit me better than others. Then again, I've never tried Jacksons. I just know SP-Teri stock boots are ridiculously narrow, so stay away from those.

Make sure you tell your guy to wear those nylon trouser socks! There's less friction so he won't get blisters, he'll get the exact same fit everytime, and he won't sweat as much, ultimately making his boots last longer (and smell better! haha). Get fitted with nylons and stick to 'em...if he's gonna do figure skating he really wants to get rid of cotton socks, you just slide around in there and it's not good. I think Coronation Ace or MK Professionals are good blades to start out with for an adult...you don't want to outgrow your blades in 3 months so you don't wanna go with a bottom end blade which barely has any toe pick. Might as well dive right in.

-FadedStardust

[skaternum]

I know it's tough to make a husband listen to reason :) but make sure he doesn't wear really thick socks when he starts skating in them. And FWIW, no decent fitter should let you be fitted in thick socks. Or if they do, they should know enough to order a slightly smaller size and instruct you not to wear big ol' thick socks. One of the cardinal rules of skating is Thou Shalt Wear Thin Socks.

[skatepixie]

Dont even get me started on Reidell. Actually...to be fair, the problem wasnt the company, or the skates themselves. It was the person who fit me at our pro shop and my bizare feet. My street shoes are 8B (but tight in the legnth...I hate loose shoes...). She tells me I need 7D. I ask to try on 7B. I do. They feel a little short, but the width feels good, maybe a bit loose in the heals, tho. She tells me that they are too narrow and that my foot is being pushed forward. So, Im stupid and I figure she has more experence, and I get 7D.

Fast forward 4 months to summer 2003. I have a waltz jump and Im working on back xovers and single jumps. My feet hurt like *beep*. My feet are sliding, and there is more pain in my arch than ive ever felt in my life. My coach tells me to go to Harlick next time.

january 04. My boots arent worn out, but i cant take the pain another day. Besides, the boots are starting to split. Like the layers are seperating or something weird. So, I finally get a day where Im off early and my dad is off and we can drive down to Harlick. Guess what? I have B width balls, and AA width heals, as well as flat feet. My current reidells are 1/2 a size too small. I have custom boots on order and they should be done in 28 days. (but whos counting?)

Moral: Make sure you have a good fitter. If its at a pro shop, ask a friend who fitted them and if they were good. Request a fitter your friends like. make sure the fitter is experenced with *figure skates*. Mine wasnt. Watch the fitter. Im pretty sure that the fitter at my pro shop didnt touch the slider to the width of my feet. Check for split widths. Esp for people who hope to jump on the boots. If you have flat feet, reg boots are going to hurt because the arch support will push up...

[flippet]

Originally posted by fadedstardust
I'm surprised to hear that Riedell is considered a narrow skate because I have wide feet and even the stock boots fit me better than others. Then again, I've never tried Jacksons. I just know SP-Teri stock boots are ridiculously narrow, so stay away from those.




My feet are very narrow, with super-narrow heels, and while my Riedells always started out okay, I trashed them rapidly, and by the end of their useful life, my heels were always slopping around in them, and they were probably looser than necessary everywhere else, too.

I now have SP-Teris, off the shelf, and the 'ridiculously narrow' comment is right on the money. My heels have never felt better (they are singing the praises of SP-Teri), however the mid-foot area is just a shade [i]too[i] narrow for me, so unfortunately I'll probably have to get a split width next time. I think I have AA this time, but next will have to have an A ball and AA heel.


Make hubby wear thin socks. He'll thank you for it. :D

[Andie]

I'm not sure about men's skates, but for mine I didn't even get fitted before I got them! :evil: The salesgirl just had me try on the skates and use my judgment, although I wasn't sure what it was supposed to feel like (it was my first pair of real, good skates). She wasn't helpful in that department.

My feet - particularly my ankles - are somewhat narrow and Riedells fit OK, but seem to be loose in the heel and instep. :evil: Next time my coach wants me to buy Jacksons.

The ones I have are Riedell 320's, size 8. My regular shoe size is 8 1/2, so maybe my skates should be 7 1/2? I tried on a size 7 and those were too small.

[Elsy2]

I was never able to fit in Reidell's, and I do have feet that may be considered narrow (until I developed tailor's bunions from my first pair of Jackson's). So, I'm not so sure it's a question of narrow, just that my shape of foot doesn't fit that toebox right.

I can wear stock SP-teri's with a combination width. Even though my foot measures for a size 7 1/2....I had to move up to an 8 to be comfortable. So then the fitter changed the width to accomodate the longer length. So even though I measure for a 7 1/2A, I have 8AA, with AAA heels.

My point is that no matter what your measurements say, you really don't know what feels best until you put those skates on.

Thought I should add I wear a 9 1/2 street shoe....