Probably been asked before! but pls help

[shell27]

I am new to Skating. After wanting to do it for for many years but never getting round to it etc i have finally been going a few times.

I want to buy my own boots but not sure whether to go for hockey boots or figure skates, i just want to skate for fun and maybe have lessons later on.
Is there much difference in boot styles? is one easier to learn in? or is it just about style.
i know that hockey boots have no toe pick?? so certain figure skate moves cant be done but im not too worried about that now!

Pardon my ignorance but like i said im new to this and could really use some advice

[Isk8NYC]

Shell27: Answer these questions right away.

Do you plan to spin and jump or are you going to do ice dance and footwork?
Or are you just going to recreationally skate? (No harm in having your own skates for that.)

Age:
Gender:
Height:
Weight: (Thin, heavy, in the middle)

What part of the world are you from?
(ie. Northeast USA, Australia, Quebec, London - it affects brand rec's.)

What size shoe do you wear now?

What WIDTH shoe do you wear now? (Narrow, regular, wide)

Anything else we should know?
(ie. Recovering from broken ankle, pronate, etc.)

What's your budget?
(Optional; you'll get tons of suggestions that run the gambit.)

What types of lessons are available to you? Group or Individual.

[shell27]

HIya, thanks for replying.

Im just going to be a recreational skater, nothing fancy, just want to enjoy it and have a bit of fun.

Im in London and we have group lessons and individual tuition availible.

ive heard that hockey boots are much more comftable but take a bit more getting used to??

[NickiT]

It really does depend on what you want to do. If you are happy just to go round and round in laps then go for hockey boots. However if you feel that somewhere along the line you will get hooked onto figure skating, learning turns, jumps, spins etc then invest in a basic figure skating boot.

Nicki

[dbny]

Figure skates are much easier to learn in for these reasons:

Hockey skates have no toe pick or tail on the blades, making it easier to fall forwards or backwards
Hockey blades put you higher off the ice
Hockey blades are thinner than figure blades
Hockey blades tend to be more rockered than figure blades, again making forward & backward falls more likely


There are now several brands of figure skates made exclusively for recreational skating that are as comfortable as hockey skates. The boots look almost like high top sneakers. Riedell, CCM and Jackson all make this type of skate, and there may be other companies also.

[shell27]

Thanks! Figure skates it is then! :)

[NickiT]

Thanks! Figure skates it is then! :)

Good choice :)

Nicki

[Kristin]

If you are just there for recreation, Jackson just came out with a line of recreational skates that are very affordable and made to be comfortable (so not much break-in required). They should be up on the rainbo sports website online, or you should be able to ask your local bootfitter about them.

They look a bit like sneakers, and blades are somewhere between hockey & figure skating in shape. There is a very small toe pick so it will be less likely to get in the way, but the toe pick is big enough so that if you ever choose to take some lessons you can learn a couple of basic jumps on them too.

Good luck!
Kristin