Hello all...I have another question. I have had my skates (Jackson Freestyles for a little over a year). I have a feeling that they are starting to break down. My heel moves and I am not feeling secure on my landings. Is there anything I can do to them? They look fine on the outside.

TIA

I have a chronic problem with my right heel moving. I've found that insoles sometimes help..........the cheap Dr. Scholls kind you can cut to fit. Also, a bunga sleeve sometimes takes up enough space to work for awhile. These are only temporary fixes, but they will extend the life of your boot. Good luck!

Sounds silly but ... have you checked the attachment of the blade to the boot? It may be that a screw in the heel has come loose.

I had this happen a couple of times, on different boots, about four years apart. All of a sudden nothing worked!

[QUOTE]Have you tried wearing SP Teris? I have narrow heels and they fit me really well, plus I can have them sized so they are normal through the ball of my foot, but narrow in the heel. My heels always slipped until I started wearing Teris.

__________________
"We work in the dark - we do what we can - we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art." Henry James

You're an ISI Freestyle 3 skater, right? You're doing singles and a couple of one-foot spins? Do you jump a lot? Skate many hours each week (more than 6?)

Unless you're really beating the boots up, they shouldn't break down within a year. Heat and/or cold will accelerate the boots' demise, so keep them out of your car trunk/boot. (I say as I think about my skates baking in my car right now!)

I would go back to your pro shop and ask them to take a look at the skates. A year seems too short a life for the skates. Unfortunately, I don't think the heat-molded skates can be rebuilt, but they can be remolded to your feet. Maybe that's all you need.

Good luck!

__________________

My first skates lasted 11 months. I completly broke them down. My problem was, that within the year, I was doing more then anyone expected me too (singles on Riedell Blue Ribbons) and I was skating 5 days a week for over 12 hours. The skates were also half a size too big. When I discovered I couldn't stand up in them without wearing socks or three pairs of tights and my heel lifted up no matter what I did we bought new skates. I'm now very happy in an old model of Riedell Silver Stars with the ball punched out (B width) and MK pro blades.

__________________
Working on:
NOVICE! MIF
Juvenile FS
Bronze Dances

Thanks everyone. I will probably take them to a pro shop some time this weekend and see what they can do. If not, I guess I will have to buy new boots

Don't be sad. Be slightly confused and polite when you speak with the pro shop, which is what you are feeling. Call and ask when the owner/manager is going to be there. If you go when a teenage rookie salesclerk is there, you'll get no satisfaction -- he/she can't help you. A good pro shop person cares about the shop's image and the quality of goods they sell. They'll make good on the sale. I would expect, at the very least, a discount on new skates.

Someone in the skate trade mentioned to me recently that Jackson's planning to get away from heat-moldable skates. He said they've been having a lot of trouble with quality. I think it's idle trade gossip, but there's got to be a kernel of truth there, given the person who made the statement.

When I burned through two pairs of Reidell Gold Stars in less than 18 months, including a rebuild, I bought Klingbeils. The quality and customer service made it worth the investment. They do cost quite a bit, but my first pair were still decent after almost 15 years of skating. I love my current pair, too, but I really miss wearing those ratty old ones. (They're too small, thanks to having three kids!)

Good luck!

__________________

Thanks everyone. Now for the update, I went to a different pro shop and found that I had been fitted incorrectly for my skates. I was told I needed a full size smaller and a narrower width. I ended up having to switch brands so I went for a skate a level below what I had just to try out the manufacturer (and they were having a great sale). Wish me luck!