I was just curious about something.
I was looking for some figure skate images to accessorize my skating journal and one of the images I came up with was this: http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2004/skate042904.html

Has anyone here ever heard of/seen/used these new boots? If so, what's the concensus? Wave of the future or flash in the pan?

I suppose everything gets redesigned but these are hard to get used to the idea of. And also kind of ugly.

Thoughts?

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"Anything worth doing is worth overdoing." (Kathy Butler)

Well, the most famous example would be Alissa Czisny of which I've heard using this boots. She seemed to be very happy with them, but still had boot problems sometime later in this last season. I've also seen them in the catalogues but dont know any skaters personally that use them.

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Tidesong

There are a bunch of low-level skaters at my rink using them. Can't say one way or the other if it's helped their jumping and other elements.

I've heard miscellaneous rumbling about maintenance problems with the boots, though. Broken cables or other broken parts.

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

As far as I know it's not supposed to help with jumping etc but rather reduce the risk of injury and strain on the skater's joints. Here's another article:

http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2006/a...lex041306.html

And the official Jackson site:

http://www.jacksonskates.com/html/fr...et-Proflex.htm

I seriously doubt that these are in use by beginning or low-level skaters...

My daughter has been wearing them for over a month now and loves them. (Novice) It took a few hours on the ice to adjust to being able to bend and point her feet, but she landed all her doubles the first day in them. Her jumps are higher because she can push off with the ball of her foot. She said she can feel the difference in landing - it's not as jarring as with her old boots. These are the re-worked version of the boots. They did have a lot of little things going wrong with the ones that first came out - as is to be expected in a new product - but she hasn't had any problems with this pair yet. I think they're here to stay. This type of innovation is absolutely necessary to minimize the pounding our skaters' bodies are taking in this sport these days.

I don't see why not. They are available for sale to anyone at this point. Well - probably not absolute beginners as I would hope they wouldn't spend that much money on a boot.... However, I've heard of several high-level coaches saying they are trying to get all of their skaters to wear them.

But the cost factor is exactly what I'm talking about... at just short of $600 just for the boot it's not exactly a beginner modell!

I have personally got a pair on order which should be in in a couple of weeks. I have tried them on and i like them. There is a girl at our rink that is at least doing doubles in them and she loves them she was having knee problems and they have helped her. I was also talking to someone else at the rink who knew someone who had them and they said they were happy too and that they had helped with previous pain. I can post what i think of them personally after i get to try them out on the ice, which should be in the next two weeks. I am looking forward to getting them in my opinion when i tried them on they were more comfortable to me the the ones i got i only got the others because i needed skates then and didnt want to wait 4 weeks. yes they did go through a recall but they have supposedly fixed those problems with the new model.

A few girls at one of the rinks I skate with use them. Currently they are having problems with the hinges actually slipping out because they are made of plastic. Personally, I would wait a while before buying them and let them work out some more of the kinks. I don't know about you buy if I spent $600 on a boot that kept breaking or having issues like that I'd be beyond upset.

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the truth lies in between the 1st and 40th drink - tori amos

I've never actually tried them and never plan to. I've looked into them for purely academic purposes but I think that they're ugly and that there's more to 'break' on them. Give me good old fashioned custom Harlicks any day of the week.

If you've got them and like them then fair play to you but they're not something that I would ever consider.

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The best whisper is a click

A friend of mine tried a loaner pair on for a few sessions- and said that while she liked the "spring" you'd get for edge jumps, and she liked the knee bend/toe point for a lot of things - she didn't like NOT having the boot tongue to press against while going up into spirals (for example). Can you tell me what your daughter's experience is for stuff like that? AND, what was her experience like in being able to *point* the toe so much - eg., for take-offs of toe jumps?

thanks! Sara

well, I'd really love to try them...b/c i would assume they would have a very short break in period. Although i really don't know if i would want that much of a toe point. i like stiff botts and the stiffer the better because they amke me feel secure on landings. If I was able to bend my ankle that much I think I would have to rely more on the ankle absorb the shock of jumps and I have weak ankles as it is.

In addition they are way out of my price range, I mean $600 is about how much i would pay for boots+blades. It seems cool, but not that practical

I've considered these because my old knees don't like to bend much, thought every little bit would help.

I hadn't thought about those things where you need resistance, like spirals, or potential instability on toe-assisted jumps. I wonder....

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Karen

I skate - therefore I am

Sara, My daughter said she's never had a problem with the boot tongue in spirals. You can adjust the tightness, so maybe your friend had it a little too tight? Not sure on that one. As for the toe, she said the only jump it took longer to adjust to was the triple-toe. However, she was only just beginning to land that one fairly frequently, so it wasn't a solid jump anyway. Her coach said it wasn't the boot's fault; it was whatever my daughter was doing or not doing. Now, she says she loves being able to point her toe because it gives her more spring in the take-off.

I certainly don't see myself trying them - at least, not yet. Maybe in ten years' time or so, when they have been most thoroughly tested and used and people know what can go wrong and the worst bugs have been fixed - and the price has come down a bit!

Like Tivos - we plan to wait at least another year before getting one!

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Just wanted to add that my skater is now in the Graf hinged boot and she really doesn't see much difference between the Graf hinged boot and the Graf Edmonton. In other words, it doesn't really "hinge" much. The one good thing is that the hinged model is made in Switzerland whereas many of the other Graf models are now being made in Canada and the quality seems to be better on the boots made in Switzerland. She did not have much trouble breaking in the boots, but I understand that that is true of all Grafs. Also, she wears a relatively small sized boot, and we were told that the smaller the boot, the less the boot would hinge (which makes sense). It's a nice looking boot--not bulky like the Jackson--but it does not have the same hinge properties of the Jackson.

I got the new hinged boots in December and I can't say enough good things about them. I will never go back to normal boots. If you have questions about them, I would be happy to answer.

I have just a few questions:

Do you have the Graf hinged boots, or the Jacksons?
What jumps and spins are you doing?
How hard was it to get used to doing toe assisted jumps in them?
Was there anything else that took some getting used to?
Did you get stock or custom, how much were they?
Who did you get them through?

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Karen

I skate - therefore I am

Mine are the Jackson Proflex. And I'm doing doubles in them. You're used to them in about three days and you don't have to break them in like normal boots. I bought mine at the Ice House in Hackensack, NJ.

So did you find anything different about about doing toe assisted jumps in them? Was anything harder to do at first? Was it harder to land a flying camel correctly? Did it really help your knee bend in general skating or things like sit spins?

I ask all these questions because I really want to know. I am going to by new boots, and won't get a chance to see whatever I decide on in action before ordering them.

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Karen

I skate - therefore I am

I felt no difference in the take off of the toe assisted jumps. None. The difference is the landing because I have never been good at landing on the front of the blade... with these boots I am doing that now and my landings are much better.

The axel took a bit of getting used to with the hinged boot. It took me a week to really feel comfortable about it. But other than that no problems.

Spins improved so much, especially my sit spins for obvious reasons. As far as a flying camel, I'm the last person to comment since I'm still trying to understand that spin.

I just recieved my jackson hinged boots last week and i love them. I dont ever see myself going back to regular boots. I have not noticed any problems doing anyhthing i was doing before i was a little scared to try the jumps i was working on for fear of not being able to hold the landing position but once i got the courage i found out that they all felt the same except for one very important thing no pain when i landed the jump as in my last pair of jacksons. I am bending my knees so much better and have finally moved off that darn toe pick that i always scratched on back crossovers and my blades have bigger toe piicks than my old blades. Everything feels more effortless in these boots i dont have to fight against the boot like i did in my old boots they feel so comfortable and do what i need them to when i need them to and they have plenty of support i dont feel wobbly in them at all it only took me about a day to get back to doing everything that i was doing before. I absolutely love them and will never switch back.

This may be a silly question--aren't the hinged boots just the slightest bit wider, overall, at the ankle area? Has anyone had any issues with that--like knocking them together or catching the overlapped area on anything?

I personally havent had any problem with hitting the ankles together. The only thing i usually hit together is the toepick on the heel of the blade. And actually these boots arent any heavier than a regular jackson boot my old jackson boots are just as heavy as the hinged boots.

I don't have hinged boots myself, but examined one dancer's boots the other day, and was surprised to find that they aren't as wide at the ankle as I thought they would be. The tightening thing in the back aside (that could really be smaller...), they didn't look that ugly in person, either!

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--renatele