Blades

[Sk8tngMommy]

I have a question for you more experienced skaters/coaches out there. Normally I would contact my daughter's coach with this, but she is out of the country for the next month, so I need some expert advice!

My daughter needs new skates this year, and I have the opportunity to pick up a pair of MK Vantage blades in excellent shape for only $50.00. The question I have is whether they would be appropriate for her. She is working on dbl toe and dbl loop. I have checked the MK site, and I couldn't find Vantage blades on it anywhere. The picks look soooo scary compared to the ones she has now! She is currently on MK professional, just fyi.

I am tempted even just to pick them up anyways, as I am sure I could resell them, but the size won't fit her next set of boots, so its now or never.

Thanks in advance!

Mom

[TashaKat]

I don't know them myself but here's a link to their 'profile':

http://www.pro-filer.com/html/education.htm

Vantage/Vision between $315 - $349.99 US is the price that I have seen for them!

They seem to put Vantage & Vision together .... does this mean that the Vision blades are an updated version of the Vantage?

If so Vision are listed by MK as 'Freestyle' blades rather than 'Advanced Freestyle' and their recommendations for use are:

ISI

Freestyle Test 5
Freestyle Test 6 & 7
Freestyle Test 8
Freestyle Test 9

USFSA
Intermediate Free Skate
Novice Free Skate
Junior Free Skate
Senior Free Skate
Adult Silver Free Skate
Adult Gold Free Skate
Juvenile Pair
Intermediate Pair
Novice Pair
Junior Pair

Skate Canada
Sr Bronze Freestyle, Sr Bronze Dances
Jr Silver Freestyle, Jr Silver Dances
Sr Silver Freestyle, Sr Silver, Dances, Pre-Novice Competition


http://www.mkblades.com/images/blades/vision.gif

Don't know if that's of any use to you :)


x

[Sk8tngMommy]

That is a HUGE help to me! Thank you.

Sounds like they should be perfect for her. She is on Sr. Br. Dances right now and since Sr. Br. Freeskate is the first level with doubles, sounds like they will be just the blade for her. I guess worst case scenario would be to put them on her new boots and try them. They can always be removed.

Thanks again!

Mom

[Sk8tngMommy]

OOPS, hit enter too soon.

I was a little concerned because the guy at the skate shop where we bought the new boots said I would be crazy to put that blade on her boots. He said it is not a freeskate blade, but rather more of a combination blade, and that her jumps would suffer as a result. He suggested the G3 blade (gam blade), so I wasn't sure if he was just pushing his product or being truthful.

[fadedstardust]

It's not just about the "recommended usage" though. I mean you have to make sure these blades are the same rocker as professional, or it would throw her off- unless she has problems with the rocker she's in now. Also, make sure the toepicks are the same kinds as those she's in now unless, again, she desires change (cross-cut vs straight cut picks). All this will throw off a skater for a little while, and if she liked what she had before she might not like the new ones if they aren't similar in these specifics. Compare the fact sheets and decide that way, too. I personally HATED Mk professionals back when I had them, so I went to Pattern 99 which had both a different rocker and different pick cut- it felt like I had two left feet for a week but I loved the changes it made. If I hadn't had issues with my blades before and desired something completely different though, I would have been miserable.

Thankfully, whatever you decide, 50 dollars is not as bad a setback as if you were buying them new. Make sure they aren't bent, rusted, and have a lot of life left in them before buying them because 50 bucks sounds cheap- and if they've been sharpened a lot you'll end up having to get the toepick grinded so that it doesn't get in the way of the blade- this is when more than 3/4th of it are gone, but that's just not something you want to deal with, so double check that it's a long way to go to get to that point first. Good luck!

[Edit: I looked it up and the rocker's the same- the picks are larger, IMO too big, but if she'd like Phantoms, she'd like vantage. Some people like big toe picks and some don't. As far as gam blades...um...unless your daughter has really pissed you off lately, I wouldn't do that to her. :P]

[TashaKat]

It's not just about the "recommended usage" though. I mean you have to make sure these blades are the same rocker as professional, or it would throw her off- unless she has problems with the rocker she's in now

Of course it's not just about recommended usage but at that price it's probably worth getting them anyway if they're in good condition with a fair bit of use left in them. Having a different rocker or toepick wouldn't put me off getting them though (having gone from Coronation Ace (yak) to Gold Star and then Gold Seals). You never know till you try them what you prefer and it's better to pay $50 to find that you don't like them than $300. I say go for it!

[Sk8tngMommy]

These blades are in mint condition, and at 550 CDN new, I can't go wrong. They have about a year worth of sharpening, which at the rate her feet have grown, she will need new ones next year. I went ahead and had them mounted today, so I guess tommorrow will be the true test.

As for her having pissed me off lately, welllll.... if you consider the fact her feet grew 1.5 sizes since May, ya, I am pretty ticked! :) But such is life. She was in a Graf Richmond last year (another steal of a price for used - $50.00 for boot and MK blade) and this year we went to a Gam 95 boot. Lets hope all goes well and that the new blades are suitable.

Again, thanks for the knowledge and for sharing

Mom

[Elsy2]

Let us know how she likes the blades. I think she is at a level where you do consider upgrading to a higher level blade. So I don't think you are "crazy", as the skateguy said. She may really like the larger toepick which can provide a more secure feeling to her jumps.

It can take several hours of skating to get used to new blades, so be patient.
Some kids adjust very quickly, so we'll hope for the best for her!

[Sk8tngMommy]

Well, she tried out the new boots and blades last night for the first time and LOVED them. She had absolutely no trouble adjusting at all. The only thing i noticed is her catching a toepick every now and then on her dances, but other than that all is well!

WAHOOOOOOOOOO.... It's always nice to find a bargain!

[Elsy2]

That is so great! 8-)

[flippet]

Late reply here, but I'll add that if Vantage and Vision are really the same...I'm surprised they have the same rocker as Professionals.


....anyway, I moved from Professionals to Visions, and I *loved* the change. IIRC, the Pro rocker is a bit flatter than the Vision, so when I got my Visions, spinning got downright zippy. (Which was good, since I couldn't spin worth beans with what I had.) I felt like they are a much 'faster' blade. I'd definitely recommend them. Glad your daughter likes the new blades!