I can't figure out why skate insoles are made of largely incompressible materials, like leather. Tennis shoes are designed for jumping too - and they have nice squishy insoles that help absorb the shock. And our arches are meant to collapse a little, to absorb some of the shock there.

I understand why the outsole (on the outside of the boot) is rigid and largely incompressible. Human feet obviously aren't designed to take all your weight at one point, so you need to spread the pressure.

I understand why the sides of skates are more rigid than tennis shoes. The most common athletic injuries are ankle sprains and strains, and balancing on a single point along a blade makes it a lot easier to accidentally twist your foot farther than with normal shoes. And figure skaters are judged partly by how well they maintain their edges, so they are willing to apply a lot of muscle to keep a position than most people, which again makes ankle sprains and strains much more likely to happen.

But would the tiny bit of ankle twist from letting the weighted side of a squishy sole collapse make much difference? Many skates already have plush squishy interiors, which seems like the same idea.

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Mitch Grunes ModifyingBoots FallingGently HomePage

The insoles of my skates are made of some sort of styrofoamy/plasticky feeling material- not leather. They are jacksons- a pretty common maker.

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-Jessi
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Don Klingbeil customized my leather insoles to put padding on the bottoms since I had heel spurs in both feet.

My kids' Jacksons all have foam insoles that compress.

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Oh! My boots and info are out of date.

I should drop by a few pro shops and look at newer boots.

Is there any reason not to switch to squishy? Easy enough to try. though I don't jump high enough to need it.

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Mitch Grunes ModifyingBoots FallingGently HomePage

Try replacing your insole with one of a type that you already use; whether it's from Good Feet store or a spenco sports brand or even Dr. Scholl, you might find at least, your foot is more supported and aches less after skating.

The newer insole from Jacksons is slightly squishy, form-molded for feet with a super arch support. It's very comfortable although I haven't noticed any "help" in my jumps. That comes from speed and knee bend.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!