skate boots

[skatrgrl]

I have a hard time bending my knees. I own Jackson freestyle boots and the tongue is made of a foamy material. However, my friends own higher level boots with a black spongy tongue and they can bend their knees easily. Do you think it is problem with the tongue or I just need time to break into my boots? I bought the boots a week ago. I also tried loosening up the laces, but that just made the boots looser and harder to control.

[Isk8NYC]

The boots are new, so they have to be broken in, even if you had them heat-molded.

Don't tie them looser, tie them the normal tightness but leave the top hook undone so you can get more knee bend. Another alternative is to skip the top eyelets, but the Freestyle boot has an ankle notch, so it won't buy you much knee bend.

[kimberley801]

You just need to give it time to break in. It could take a few weeks. You could try leaving the top hooks undone until the boot breaks in a bit. That will allow some additional knee bend without compromising support. I just got a pair of Jackson Competitors, which is the boot above the Freestyles. Leaving the top hook undone has done wonders for breaking mine in.

[Sessy]

Try squatting/doing sits in them off-ice a couple of evenings in a row (couple of minutes, not all evening...) to speed up the break-in process.