Casey S
jenlyon60
-Sno Seal it is then.


jenlyon60
-I don't think my rink offers the early morning sessions and the evening sessions are definitely more crowded than afternoons. I think the evening crowds are mostly kids, especially during the school year.



Mrs Redboots
-Yeah, I just need to find a black shoe polish that is a close match to the boot.



flippet
-Yes, I'm finally practicing. However, I can only skate for about 2 hours a session because the boots are too painful to skate in after that. I'm shooting for 2-3 times a week. Hopefully, they'll loosen up soon. I'm getting better at bending and pulled off "Shoot-The-Duck" before nearly killing myself. I think I'll go with Casey S's advice and break them in the ol' fashioned way. That baseball method is awfully tempting though...

I also skate before work--twice a week in the summer. I love it. During the rest of the year, I go after work.

Also, I take my skates into work with me. I think I look pretty silly walking into the hospital, and through patient care areas carrying them, but I think I am protecting them from baking and breaking down in my car....sitting in the sun....also in the high temps--with the humidity competing with heat for the high.

Re: my skates... I don't CURRENTLY have a pic, but I will take one one of these days And when I do, I will be sure to post it!

Hello, doubletoe. The shoe selection was fairly limited for my size. They only had Reidell and SP-Teri at the time. I guess I should ask them to order Risports, Harlicks, and Gam. My hypothesis is that they don't carry all those names because they don't have enough skaters doing business with their store. I'll be hard pressed to get them to bring in more boots, because I just purchased a pair. Perhaps if I had asked earlier, they might have gone the extra mile. doubletoe, how do you know if a fitter is a real pro? What kind of credentials should they have? I know my fitter has been doing this for quite a while. I assumed that was enough. Beyond that, I don't know what to look for.[/QUOTE]

As you learn more about skating and what you want to do with your skating, you will probably upgrade your boots and blades anyway. At this point, the boot fitter you are gong to is probably doing a pretty good job, and the rest will be a gradual learning experience. I wear SP Teris and I can tell you they are the most durable boot around. On the other hand, they are also harder and stiffer and take longer to break in. So make sure you get them "punched out" at the ankle bones or anywhere else they press against the bones of your feet and bother you. And get some ankle sleeves (gel sleeves) to wear under the boots. Oh, and you will learn to thank your lucky stars for toepicks as soon as you start skating backwards!

I skate at the rink where George Spiteri's wife coaches.. and see him from time to time. He says "spuh-TERI" is his how his last name is pronounced.. and the company name is pronounced "S-P-Teri".

[QUOTE=diagetus] -Yeah, I just need to find a black shoe polish that is a close match to the boot.



Check with your pro-shop or Rainbo Sports.. most bootmakers have their own lines of boot polish that is the same as what they put on their skates. (Although it is easier to find a standard black shoe polish that matches exactly than it is to find a white shoe polish that's an exact match.)

Hello Thin Ice. Thanks for those helpful posts.

Thin Ice
-Welp, that settles that.


I will have to check on this. I can see how the white would be harder to match than the black.


doubletoe
-Yeah, these SP Teri boots are rock hard. I don't know the leather weight for a Pro SP Teri, but I push just about anywhere on the outside of the boot and it barely budges. It's hard to believe that there are even harder boots out there. The main sore areas after a skate session are on the points of my inside and outside ankle bones and the outside blades of my foot. I know my ankles are pressing hard because I can see the brown leather stains on my socks. Sometimes I have pain just underneath the blade of the foot. My toes, heels, and the soles of my feet are doing just fine. It's really really tempting at this point to have the ankles punched, but I'm afraid they'll punch out the wrong part of the boot. How do I ensure that they are going to target the area?

-I'll do a google search on the ankle sleeves. I figured out that the picks are good for stopping while going backwards.

-Yeah, these SP Teri boots are rock hard. I don't know the leather weight for a Pro SP Teri, but I push just about anywhere on the outside of the boot and it barely budges. It's hard to believe that there are even harder boots out there. The main sore areas after a skate session are on the points of my inside and outside ankle bones and the outside blades of my foot. I know my ankles are pressing hard because I can see the brown leather stains on my socks. Sometimes I have pain just underneath the blade of the foot. My toes, heels, and the soles of my feet are doing just fine. It's really really tempting at this point to have the ankles punched, but I'm afraid they'll punch out the wrong part of the boot. How do I ensure that they are going to target the area?

I'll do a google search on the ankle sleeves. I figured out that the picks are good for stopping while going backwards.[/QUOTE]

Yes, you should definitely get the ankles punched out. Now that you have skated in them for at least several hours, there should be some definite indentations inside the boot when you take your skates off. Take a felt pen and mark the inside of each boot, right where the indents are on either side of the ankle area. Then mark the outside of the boots in the same 4 places with a pencil. This will tell your boot pro exactly where to punch out the ankles. Trust me, it is SO worth it!

As for the gel ankle sleeves, most skate pro shops sell them. Two popular brands are Bunga and Silo. You should not cut the Bunga sleeves in half because you'll find that they'll be too short to protect your ankle at the top of the boot. But some of the Silo sleeves are made very long, where they will be just right if you cut one sleeve in half and use it for both ankles.

I have SPTeris, and I agree, they are ROCK hard, and YES, you should get them punched out. I'm the kind of person to try to break in my skates by only skating in them....but after a couple of weeks of skating in these, and the ankles hadn't started to mold to my ankles even a little bit, I relented and had them punched out. Ahh.....they were MUCH better after that.


A good pro knows where to punch them out, so you don't need to worry about that. If you still do though, I'd use little pieces of masking tape to mark the right spot, rather than a pen or pencil. Also...punching out doesn't 'damage' the boots...I know I was freaked out by the terminology right at first. All it does is compress the padding in the exact spot you need it, so that there's room for your ankle bones, and it helps with the molding process.

What, may I ask, is your skating level? I'm guessing you're a straight-up beginner, judging by the nature of all your questions? Reason I ask this it...the Teris you have seem to be a little bit 'too much' skate for you if you're just learning forward stroking. It's not that you'll never break them in, but you'll have a much harder time doing it, because you won't be 'using' your skates enough to break them in thoroughly for a while, until you learn and are practicing a few more skills. I would have started in a boot about one level down from those. By the time you acquire the skills to do justice to the higher level boots, the lower-level boots would maybe be on their last legs anyway--but maybe not, and you'd still get more life out of them. The 'problem' with a too-strong boot is not only the looooong time it takes to break them in, but they make learning skills properly harder than it needs to be, especially for a straight-up beginner.


As for the 'blade-of-foot' pain...do you mean under your arches, or along the outside edge of your foot? My Teris also give me some slight problems along the outside edge of my foot--I've figured out that they're just a hair too narrow there, and I should have gotten a split width boot. Next time, I will. You can also get that spot punched out, but depending on how far down the boot it is, it's pretty difficult to fit the stretchers down there. About all I can do about mine is to soak the boots silly, then wear them, which I'm not willing to do, and there's no guarantee it would do exactly what I'd need, anyway.

If it's your arches, you could be tying them too tight over the arch area. Try loosening just that area up and see if that helps. But during the break-in process, it's not unusual to have some discomfort there. If it doesn't go away as you break them in, perhaps you've got funny feet, and could use an orthotic or something.

__________________
"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!

doubletoe
Thanks, for that helpful post doubletoe.


flippet


After my third skating session I was really considering getting the boots punched. However, by the fourth session, the boots had miraculously loosened up. I only had a little bit of pain in the ankles and blade of the foot. I'm guessing my body also toughened up after the bruises healed. If I encounter less pain Saturday, I'll probably hold off and assume that the boots are conforming on schedule.

Unfortunately, the boot leather wasn't the only thing that loosened up. My blades were loose as well. I borrowed a screw driver from the skate rink shop and tightened them back myself. That's when I remembered reading about keeping an eye on the blades loosening during the first few sessions, but upon purchasing the skates, I had completely forgotten about it. Hopefully, I tightened the blades back the right way. I skated pretty well during the session, so I'm assuming they're roughly where they should be. Right now, there's only four screws for each blade. Perhaps there should be more. When I get time, I'll trace an outline around the blade so that if they do loosen up again I'll know where to place the blade.




Yes, you're right I'm just a beginner at this. The fitter knew I was just a beginner, but she felt that I should have a higher level boot because of the practice time I would be putting in. I told her 2-3 sessions per week, but for now I'll probably do 3-4 until I get comfortable in the boots and can do some preliminary level moves well. I haven't tested, but here are some skills that I can do comfortably (if not with proper form).

-Backwards skate both legs (duck walk style)
-Backwards skate right leg (power stroke style)
-T-Stop both legs
-Snow Plow
-Hockey Stop both legs
-Backwards Toe Pick Stop - (don't know the proper name)
-Backwards T-Stop both legs
-Shoot the Duck (well, still having trouble getting back up on one leg)
-Quarter of a circle on all eight edges. (circle is one my body length)
-Back Inside Pivot
I have a slight bit of weakness on my left inside edge, but it's nothing that practice can't fix.

I'm working on change of edge and edge turns right now. After that, two legged spins. Is this about the right order of learning the fundamentals?


I mean the outside edge of the foot.


Interesting, never heard of a split width. Is that like a "combination boot" that I hear skaters talking about?


No, my arches are doing well. It's just my ankle points and the outside edge of my foot. I know I keep complaining about the soreness from boots, but I have so much fun while skating that the pain isn't really noticeable until I stop. Overall, I do like these boots.

Four screws is called a temporary mounting. When they first attach the blade to the boot they only put in a few screws just in case they have to move the blade for some reason (sometimes the blade needs to be moved slightly if it doesn't flow straight, pulls to one side, scrapes, etc.) You should bring the boots back to the person who mounted the blades and have them do a "permanent mounting". They will put in a couple more screws and sometimes they will put a silacone gel over the screws and into the gaps between the boot and blade to make things more secure.

__________________
Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

Yep. Also, you don't really want all the holes filled with screws. If you want or need to later change the mounting slightly, or if a screw hole gets stripped and won't hold the screw anymore, you have a few spots left to use.

Yes, a split width boot is a combination size boot. This is when you have, let's say, an A width heel, and a B width ball, or some such.

That's because this isn't a proper move. Once you know proper ways to stop, and can do them well, this one should drop off your 'repertoire'. I hope you're getting coaching, even just in group lessons. A coach will help you learn things in the proper order (where skills build on each other), and help you with form, and hopefully keep you from developing bad habits.

As far as boot strength being related to how often you skate.....well, it really means less than what level you're skating at. There's not a whole lot of difference in 2 hours a week of forward swizzles, and 5 hours a week of forward swizzles. Now, if you were doing double jumps, then yes, there's a bit of difference between 2 hours and 5 hours. If I were fitting boots, I'd look at a person's level first and foremost, and only use hours of ice time as a last factor. The only exception I'd make is if you're either a rather tall, heavy person, or if your shoes tend to look like they've been attacked by a steamroller after only a few weeks--then I might recommend a stronger boot than might otherwise be called for.

Well, it's not that you'll never break these in--but you will want to be diligent about it, that's for sure!

__________________
"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!

and

flippet
Well, geez-luiz. I wish someone from the rink had told be about it. No one told me when I picked up the boots and my fitter didn't say a word. I did ask if anything more needed to be done. So I guess I need to bring the boots back in. I did read about there being a temporary mounting, but I could have sworn the text said three screws (to make the temp setup obvious) instead of four. Hopefully, the permanent mounting shouldn't take long. As far as one blade pulling to the outside or inside....I just don't know. I'm assuming the blades are ok because I can go forward just fine. Edge change is possible on both legs. This sounds like something where I should get a coach to watch me before I get the permanent mounting.


flippet
LOL, I see. I guess that isn't a move I should brag about.

As far as coaching, even though there are many coaches, I've only had time to watch one. I'm not sure if he does group lessons or not. Through the grapevine, I heard this guy is pretty good. He was a dancer in the ice-capades or something. The group lessons for the rink were listed at $48.00 (Snowplow-Basic 2) for a four week session, then it shoots up to $120.00 for an 8 week session for Basic 3 - Freestyle 6. The lesson costs don't seem too bad. Have you guys seen anything lower?


Interesting. I can see what you're saying. Heavy moves will do more damage than light moves. I can do light moves all day long and the boot will never wear in. As far as my height and weight. Well....let's just put it this way; a lot of people mistake me for Fabio. - Just kidding. My weight is under 150 and my height is about 5'10". The double jumps are far from me at this point in time. I believe singles are within reach for some of the jumps (next 4-5 months). The fitter may have given me the tougher boot because I think I made a big fuss about not wanting to buy another pair of boots for a long time. The hard leather sole will allow blade upgrades, while many of the plastic sole boots don't have that capability.

Oh, I'm sure that's why you got the stiffer boot. Some fitters don't care all that much whether you really know what you want/need or not--if you say you want a stiffer (and more expensive) boot, hey, they're happy to sell it to you. It's the rare beginner who understands exactly why they need the boot they need---parents keep trying to buy their kids boots two sizes too big, so they can 'grow into them', or wear two thick pairs of socks for 'warmth', and adults get sticker shock, so there's quite a lot of people not getting quite what they need, and as a result, thinking that either they 'can't skate', or that skating just isn't the sport for them--when if they had the proper equipment for their specific needs, things might go a lot better.

Just about every one of us here will tell you that discovering the 'perfect' boot/blade for you is all about trial and error....sometimes a lot of trial and error.

As far as the sole allowing blade upgrades--well, yes, any quality boot will have a leather sole and will allow this. (Although, skaters tend to upgrade/replace boots much more often than they upgrade/replace blades. Blades tend to last longer in general.) It's really just the 'recreational' level skate that will have a plastic sole and riveted blade, and that's definitely not what you want. It's' just that you jumped from 'recreational' to 'extra-serious', skipping over the levels in between. Now, don't get me wrong--it's not that I don't think you can work with these boots. You seem serious enough to give it the ol' college try, and it's not that they're completely beyond your level--but they are at the upper edges of it. Understand that if you're having difficulty with a move or two, it may be harder because of your stiff boots, and you'll just have to try harder than you might otherwise. If you're a fast learner though, it may be less of a problem for you than it might be for someone else.

I do highly recommend group lessons, however. Those prices sound very reasonable. If you really expect to learn to know what you're doing, you'll need lessons....teaching yourself really won't get you very far.

__________________
"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!

Interesting that you say that, because my experience is the exact opposite! Although, I suppose it does depend what you are using the skates for. I know more synchro skaters than free-skaters. Since synchro skaters aren't beating our skates up with big jumps, we usually wear out the blade first.

__________________
~No thinking, breathing, or hesitation!~

Really. Hrm. Cuz, a lot of times synchro boots get mighty scuffed from all those teammates! though i guess that's just the outside, so it's no big deal. I think I'll be going through more boots than blades, myself... not because I do spectacular jumps, but I think I'm hard on my boots.

Which is saying something for a girl who's 5'5" and weighs around 105

flippet
-Yeah, it's a possibility that the fitter didn't want to argue about the boot type, but she never suggested anything softer. I just assumed we were in agreement. I'll keep in mind the extra practice needed to manuever in a stiffer boot. I'm pretty set on doing lessons, now that I've read your post and read the input of others. This seems like an activity that requires coaching to reach anything beyond a beginner level.

Interesting difference in opinion on what part of the skate wears down first. Based on the two posts by Luna_skater and IceDance1419, it looks like the blades or the boots could wear out first depending on how you skate. A light skater might wear out the blade first, while a heavy skater would need new boots. I've been watching skaters at my rink for a couple months now and I think I'm starting to see which skaters are heavy and which ones are light. IMHO There isn't always a direct correlation between body weight and heavy skating, but it does seem to play a part.

My coach was worried when i was getting SP Teris that I'd be too skinny/light for them... but I've only had them a month and the tongues are seriously creasing, and they get too loose after a bit and I have to retie them... I'd *like* to think it's because I'm bending my knees, but...

It ain't the jumps, I'll tell ya taht I'm still working on a salchow

Yep, exactly. Those are just flesh wounds!

I would also suspect that a skater who likes VERY sharp blades would wear out blades faster than boots, from getting them sharpened frequently.

__________________
~No thinking, breathing, or hesitation!~

Just had to share a cute little story about getting boots punched out.....

I have an 8 year old student who just got her first pair of really good boots. They were hurting her ankles, so in her lesson I told her to get them punched out, & explained that they take a big tool to push out the area around her ankles. She got a very troubled look on her face and said in a very small voice, "will it hurt a lot?" She was immensely relieved to find out it was the BOOTS that got punched out, not her ankles!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAAAHAAAAAA thank you sooooo much for sharing that! That's by far the most amusing thing I've heard in a month, at least!!! Oh man, I'm just dying with laughter... ROFLMAO that's great.

__________________
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

LOL. Now that's some funny stuff. I can just see her Bambi eyes looking up at the coach. You really could have capitalized on this situation and scared the coodies out of her, but you took the nice route. I respect that. I probably shouldn't laugh, considering some of my statements on this forum are probably comical to the experienced skater.

Awwww that is SO cute!!! And so funny! awww!