I always skate in knee highs, well because when I bought the giant bag o' skate clothes, they were in there. Socks seem too thick, so they work well.

I'm wondering- would skating barefoot in the boots, help break them in better? My boots are a perfect fit, except they are too narrow in the front. I never got any sort of blisters from them, and they are mostly comfortable, I'm wondering if the sweating from my feet went straight to the boot, instead of being absorbed into the tights it would help loosen the skate up.

Does anyone have anything to say about this idea?

__________________
-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Hm. I don't know.

Only thing I do know is that I skate in knee-hi's, and once I had to skate barefoot and got ginormous blisters. Ouch.

You're talking about ordinary nylons, right? I think that they're so thin that the sweat just goes right through them--if you want the sweat to hit your boots, it probably is.

You could do a wet-sock treatment if you really wanted. Basically, all I've ever done to break in skates was skate in them, wear them around the house a bit, and not tie them all the way up. Oh, and get them punched out if necessary (very necessary for my little concrete SPTeris, I love them so much).

But some folks love skating barefoot, so you could always give it a try. Just have bandages on hand, LOL!

__________________
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
--Thomas Jefferson

www.signingtime.com ~sign language fun for all!

Nylons, or even very thin cotton socks (that's what I prefer) should allow the heat and sweat from your feet to reach the leather of the boots and soften them up. But don't suffer in the meantime. If your boots are too narrow in the front, get them punched out or stretched by your pro shop now.

__________________
"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

No, these are more like skating tights that are knee-high.

But, I imagine most of them the sweat goes through, definetly more absorbant than nylons.

__________________
-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

I used to skate with socks/dress socks, now I dont. When I had them I was slip sliding all over my boots, now I have a better grip on the ice.

__________________
Tim David's Website

My feet perspire when I skate. though I wear tights, my boots get PLENTY wet inside. Whether that helps break them in or not, I couldn't say.

Lots of the "mature" coaches here skate barefoot - it was all the range many years ago among serious competitive skaters. I did try skating barefoot once but because my feet sweat, I just about couldn't get the boots OFF!

__________________
Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

I don't know if it will help you break them in, but if you have slippage issues, it's something to consider.

I alternate between barefoot and not. If your skates are too snug across the front, get them stretched a tad. You could end up with damage to your toes if you don't.

Try skating barefoot once and see if you like it. I do because I can "grip" the ice better. Sounds weird but don't knock it until you've tried it!

__________________
Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

yep,,, i can relate to a better 'grip' as delaware said.
i've skated barefoot from day one.
as for sweat issues,,,,,,,sprinkle gold bond powder into the boot before you put them on.

__________________
JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE ELSE GETS TO YOU FIRST..

DOES 'THAT' MAKE THEM 'RIGHT'?

Saw Michelle Kwan doing it, so I followed along

__________________
Tim David's Website

I saw some discussion about barefoot skating in the weekly thread, so thought I'd revive this thread...

I forgot and wore too thick of socks last Wednesday...so I went skating barefoot instead. I tried once before in my new skates, and while it was admittedly much much better than when I tried in the old non-custom skates, I wouldn't call it terribly enjoyable. But they're a bit more broken in now, and I just got the wool added to the tongue recently. They felt nice putting on, I didn't notice a difference on the ice after a couple minutes but I skated like crap (I think unrelated) that night...and it didn't irritate my feet at all and they were fine at the end of it all...so I think I'll pursue this more and try again. I'm curious how it feels more grippy to you skate@delaware...maybe I'm just ignoring it. Or maybe I just need to get more used to it?

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

I sometimes do, depending on the tights I'm wearing. If I wear the footless ones I go barefoot. Seems nice to me, but I don't really notice a grip difference.

If the boots are narrow across the toe, you can get them punched out (spot stretched) at a skate shop, which will relieve the pressure.

Well, right now my boots are WAY too big, so anything that helps me to grab the inside and keep me from sliding around is a plus. Once I do a lap or two, the sweat starts and my feet don't move as much so they aren't sliding around as they would if I were wearing tights. I still push my toes down if I'm doing edges or backspins-whether or not I'm wearing tights.

Whether or not I wear tights when I get my new boots is another issue. I'm thinking once they start to break in I won't. Maybe.

__________________
Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Watch yourself though, my dd tried it (her coach skates that way) and loved it, but after two days had quarter size blisters on the sides of each foot.
Just pay attention if you are getting rubbed anywhere.

Spa Mama

Forgot my skating socks/stockings 2 weeks ago and had to skate barefoot. One hour, many blisters, still have scabs. Never doing it again! (and these are boots that fit very well--I'm not slipping around in them or anything.)

Hey, that is VERY weird. . . I did not post that message! Whose message ended up getting labeled as mine?

__________________
"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

It's the third post from the top of the page. Maybe you don't recall posting?

__________________

It's barefoot for me. I'm a convert! I did get one little blister on my big toe, but a bandaid took care of it and I didn't feel it, just saw it when I took my skates off. It's well worth getting rid of that awful slippy feeling.

__________________

I'm going to have to try this--I usually skate in thin socks with no problems, but we had a Halloween skating party last night. I had on a pair of dance tights instead of socks (couldn't imagine bare legs below knee length trousers on the ice) and found that I was sliding all over inside the boots. If that's what the distaff members ordinarily feel, I can see the appeal of bare feet!

Rob