I think rotting at that rate has to be the exception and not the rule. I've never seen shoes go bad that fast. I keep my bag zipped at home (it's a backpack, no mesh)- I skate barefoot, and sweat quite a bit. My skates are often still wet if I skate a session a few hours later in the day. I don't take any precautions to care for my boots other than to keep them out of the car to prevent the heat molding from being undone, or from turning into frozen bricks in the winter. I'm much more worried about my blades. They are 6 months old now, and I'm the 4th owner (and judging by when I took my blades off the previous owner didn't even waterproof the soles, which i've since done), making the boots about 3-4 years old, and they certainly aren't breaking down or rotting.

I'm suprised you aren't getting rust on your blades if you aren't wiping them down before putting them on soakers- is the humidty high where you live? My old blades showed rust even when I was wiping them off well, our humidty is very high, and I figured that was part of the problem.

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-Jessi
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Interesting - I like putting the boots in the car on a warm day because it means I can have them remolded when I put them on! But they only go into the car when I'm about to skate, but that does mean they sometimes sit there all day when I've got to go to work first and they're pretty miserable to wear when it does get cold in winter.

Well I usually chat for 15-30 minutes when I get to the rink before I put the skates on, so I worry they will have heated up in the car enough that it messed up the molding but aren't warm enough that they are remoldable.

On very cold winter days I do put heated bean bags into my skates, but they aren't hot enough to affect the molding. Since I skate barefoot- cold skates are just a sure sign I'll lose feeling in my feet within the first 10 minutes.

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

Nevertheless, you should dry them before you put the soakers on, or you do risk rust spots on your blade. I find they happen all too easily if one is not absolutely rigorous.

They must have been pretty poor quality, then. Some figure skaters' boots don't last more than a year, but that is usually either because they are growing or they have broken them down through constant practice and jumping. Free skaters' boots don't last as long as dancers' boots because of all the jumping.

Obviously I polish my boots regularly, as I do all leather shoes. Doesn't everybody?

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Polish? what's polish?

Uhm... isn't that a type of frankfurter? Usually served with mustard and a large pickle?

>[Mrs Redboots]Nevertheless, you should dry them
>before you put the soakers on, or you do risk
>rust spots on your blade. I find they happen all
>too easily if one is not absolutely rigorous.

Could that be because you store them in a bag?

I guess getting rid of the moisture on the blade would help preserve the leather too, given that they are stored in a bag.

>>[Me] I've heard stories from reliable sources of inline
>>and old (leather) hockey skates rotting in a
>>month or so, and of ice figure skates rotting
>>in 6 - 24 months.

>[Mrs Redboots] They must have been pretty
>poor quality, then.

The opposite, in most cases.

The hockey boots were worn by pros who were given top end boots for free. But pros use skates hard, and broke them in by wearing them into a hot tub.

The stuff about inlines was told me by a very knowledgeable speed skating coach who ran a skate shop. Some of the stuff about hockey and figure skate boot life was said to me by him too, as well as other boot shop managers.

The 2 year old rotted figure skates were upper level boots used by a coach who said her feet sweated a lot, plus she kept the skates in a bag, which she left in the trunk of her car.

I don't know why people see such different results with boots, or how it is possible for them to come to such different conclusions. There must be many factors.

And, of course, coaches are wearing their boots for 6-8 hours a day, quite often, and taking them on and off to give their feet a break.

Masses. Guy at our rink has had his boots for ten years and is only now replacing them because the insides are perishing - from the outside, they still look fine.

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Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

As with me also, although towards the end I painted them with gloss paint for the last 3 years (I wouldnt recommend it though) but people would ask if I had got new boots.