Hi Everyone,

I'm new. I found your forum because my 8 y/o daughter has asked Santa for ice skates for her x-mas present this year. I am trying to figure out what is the best kind of skate to start off in. I have seen double runner blades on training skates. Are these good/recommended to start with or should I go for a traditional single blade skate for beginners? Please let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Hi there!

I'm not an expert on ice skates, but I do teach beginners in learn to skate.

First off- DO NOT get double runners. The kids who can (slightly) benefit from these skates are 2-3 year olds. But even those kids don't need them- and many rinks will not allow them. These will not allow your daughter to learn how to skate.

If your rink has a pro-shop start there. They will be more knowledgeable than a sports shop.

The two most popular brands for beginning skaters are Jackson and Reidell.

A good skate for a beginner who is interested in recreational skating, rather than "proper" figure skating is the Jackson Softec. This is a comfortable skate that fits more like a shoe than a traditional skate.

The Reidell Ribbon series are good for begining skaters as are the Jackson Mystique, Artiste and Classique. The skate you choose will depend on how much money you want to spend and the size of your daughter. I would talk to the proshop to get a better understanding of the skates.

If your daughter is already skating (though since you asked about double runners, I don't think she is) the Jackson freestyle is a good skate for a beginning figure skater.

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I'd highly recommend the softec. They're pretty inexpensive, but seem to have a decent amount of support. The youngest kids I teach (age 4) started out in old reidells, but their skating improved remarkably when they switched to the softec. It has more support, but they also complain about their feet a lot less now. And if she decides to do freestyle eventually, there's no reason why she can't switch to classic boot later on.

Edited to add: we also have a high level coach (AND boot fitter) who teaches in them and cannot say enough good things.

I teach beginners from 2 yrs old to almost 60 yrs old 6 days a week. I agree that double runners are not worthwhile at all, and are even a hindrance. I also like the Jackson Softec, but even more, the Jackson SoftSkate, which is like a Softec inside, but is designed to be a figure skate. Your 8 yr old will love these "real white figure skates". Sizing is pretty standard on these - go one size smaller than your daughter's street shoes. Your daughter should wear tights or thin socks with the skates. Just in case they don't fit (half sizes are a problem), make sure you can exchange them. Also, skate blades need to be sharpened before use. Most pro shops include a sharpening in the purchase price. The Jackson SoftSkate is $50, as is the least expensive Softec, which is pink and white with velcro closures.

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Jackson also has an alternate line of skates branded under the name Glacier. They are excellent skates, and make the transition easy into regular Jackson entry-level figure skates (like the Mystique); they're nicely designed (white figure skates with a toepick) - and they are attractive on the foot. Our skate store, which is the largest in the province, can't keep them in stock, and Jackson regularly seems to run out of them due to the high demand. Priced around $50 to $100, and really easy to resell. We were discouraged from putting our little one into the softskate because they were going to make it harder to move to a 'regular' fitting figure skate that doesn't fit like a sneaker - i.e. she's heading hopefully towards not-recreational skating. (Please don't jump on me for that comment, that's just what our coach and our fitter believe, and I'm passing it along for input, not as gospel )

I can see some merit to their argument, but for a very first skate, I don't think it makes a difference, except that comfort is more significant when one is not yet passionate about skating. It's also harder to find the Glacier.

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I'm not thrilled with the Glaciers for "bigger" skaters - they need more support in the boot. Otherwise, they're stuck on inside edges and they can't pick up their free foot for more than a second without falling to the inside. For lightweight skaters, they're fine.

My major complaint about the glaciers is the thousand-yard laces they use - Jackson must have gotten a deal on 120" laces, so they put them in every size - even the tiny sizes. Parents REFUSE to cut the laces ("I forgot" "I dont' want them to unravel") so we have the triple-wraps and double-knots all over that come undone regularly.

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The proshop at our local rink had these, so I bought them:

http://www.hockey2.com/show_results.asp?thisID=1371

I'm not sure if this is the Glacier or Soft Skate. I think the Soft Skate, but I have seen them called the Glacier on some web stores too.

Do these skates run big? My daughter's street shoes size is a 13.5 so I went with a size 1, but they look kind of big when compared to her shoes. Unfortunately I didn't see the suggestion to size down before I bought them. Do you all think I should return them for the size 13?

Thanks for all your help!
Vanessa

Those don't look like glaciers at our skating shop rink do, but maybe that's because our skating rink only carries 1 model of glacier.

Is it a surprise gift, Vanessa? If not, just take her to the pro shop and have them measure her feet.

Otherwise, if the innersole is removable, see how it matches up to her street shoes in terms of sizing. If it's a lot bigger, then I would exchange them for a 13.

I think it's the softskate - I don't remember the Glaciers having that thick blue padding inside.

ETA: I see - the "Glacier" line has the grey-lined regular skate that I know as the glacier as well as the "soft skate" model.

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Here's the link to the Jackson site. If you look at the navigation bar down the side, you'll see links to all of their models (including the SoftSkate, the Glaciers etc) - there's some general info about sizing, construction etc. And, of course, pictures!

http://www.jacksonskates.com/html/fr...eset-prod.html

p.s. Glaciers are shown as GS and then the model number.

it's both. the SoftSkate falls under the Glacier line for Jackson (the giveaway is the model number).

Sorry, dupe post.

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That is the SoftSkate.

I would get the smaller size. Like Isk8NYC says, you can always take them back later. The smaller size is more likely to fit, IMO.

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I started out with single I think. I think they would be a good thing to start out with and get used to.