I finally got my new custom Klingbeils today after waiting for almost two months. I was excited at first, but I'm afraid they may be too big. Also, I felt like a complete moron trying to skate in them. I couldn't spin, could barely do three turns and nearly killed myself on a mohawk or two. I didn't even try to jump. I felt so uncordinated and out of control I wanted to switch back to my old, warped boots.

I haven't broken in a pair of boots in three and a half years (yes, my much maligned silver stars lasted that long!) and am wondering if it's normal to feel like you have two left feet on new skates and, if so, how long it lasts.

Also, how can you tell if skates are too big? They feel so alien at this point being stiff that I'm not sure I'm in a great position to decide.

Congratulations! Klingbeils have a large toe box, so if that's what you are feeling, it's OK. OTOH, your heels should be snug. If you changed blades, that can also be a factor in your feeling out of control.

Because the edges are not pulled in tightly by the laces, the boots can feel a bit loose. Don Klingbeil told me to help break them in by lacing them up very tightly after skating, so as to pull in the edges against the tongue. I think I only did it for a week. Also, I didn't lace the outer hook for several months. I know other skaters don't lace the top hooks at all until they are broken in more.

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My SP-teri's felt too big at first, but they turned out to be fine. My foot just had to settle in, and the boot mold to my feet and ankles. My toebox is quite large, but I prefer that.

As for getting back your turns, spins, etc.....I'd give it several sessions. You should adjust just fine. It took me about two weeks to be able to get comfy doing everything when I changed blades. On day one, I could barely do crossovers or turns. Spins were out of the question until my turns felt right. Good luck!

I think the reason that I'm worried is that I kept my old blades. Only the boots are new. I didn't expect this level of, well, crappiness, from new boots alone. Has anyone else faced that when they have new boots but have kept their old blades??

icsk8er31: Are you sure the blades are the right size? I'm still waiting for my Klingbeil's and I've had to order new blades because the size went down 1/2 inch (I'm also switching from Coronation Comets to Aces). Albeit, the boot size is also smaller, but even my friends who kept the same size boot often went to a smaller blade with Klingbeil's because of their custom fit and the fact that they aren't as long as some stock boots. Did Klingbeil check your blade size, and did they mount them?

Beth

My daughter had her old blades mounted to new boots last time.....I know she struggled for the first session or two. Spins were way off and she was very frustrated. Things started to get better around the 3rd session or so (as I recall.....)

I did ask them if my current blades would work on my boots and they said unequivocally yes. They didn't mount them, however, since I'm way down here in Tennessee and didn't want to take a skating vacation to ship my blades up and wait for them to be shipped back down. The blades seem to fit...they go toe to almost heel. Probably about 1/8 inch left at the heel, which is just slightly less than I had before.

When I bought my current pair of Klingbeils, I was originally planning to use my old pair of dance blades. So we specified on my order form that the boots had to fit a 9" blade. And they did.

But then, my previous pair of boots were also Klingbeils, so we felt pretty comfortable requesting a specified length to fit the blades I had.

And then it turned out that my old blades were deader than I thought and I bought new blades.

I bought Klingbeils and kept my old Pattern 99 blades and things worked out fine. If they said you could use your old blades they're sure of it. Three and a half years is a long time to not have to go through the torture of breaking in new boots. Maybe that's part of it?

Good Luck!
Debbie

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