How much ankle wobble should there be in boots? I mean side to side movement. When my skates are tightly laced, I more range of movement sideways than I think I should get. I wear bunga gel sleeves to protect the side of my leg because otherwise I get a patch of skin rubbed off.

Although I'm big, and have huge bunions on my feet, I am not fat around my ankles. It seems the area between the ankle bone and calf is quite narrow, I remember years ago (before I got big) I used to wear those towelling wrist sweat bands which filled out the area better.

Is this a common problem, or is a fair range of movement acceptable there?
I'm thinking of making myself some form of padding to fill out the area more.

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Karen

I skate - therefore I am

Preferably no ankle wobble would be good. You might need to get refitted or something. I don't think it is uncommon though. Maybe skate boot specialists or expert shoe repair shops can help you reshape the boot a bit. Otherwise you probably need to go to a really good skate shop and get a boot that will fit you better....or adjusted to fit you better.

How old are your boots? If they are more than a couple of years old, they might be breaking down.

Are they snug in the heel or loose? If loose in the heel, you probably need a combination width boot with a narrower heel.

I'd get 'extra' ankle wobble with brand-new skates--the leather was still so stiff that I wasn't able to mold it around my ankles properly for a while, even though the laces were as tight as I could get them. As they broke in, it got better.

If you're getting a lot of wobble on skates that are already broken in, I'd ask someone with knowledge whether they're getting broken down and need replacing, or whether you just really need a stronger boot, period.

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Karen, have you thought about sticking those Dr Scholls Party feet down on the inside (or outside) of your bunga pads? Do you use the sleeve stuff or just pads? If you are using just the pads, maybe try the sleeve, with the bunga on the inside of the sleeve to hold it there (if that makes sense!)

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AW1
mum to Miss Lil (6yrs old)
mum to be to #2 due in March 08

I've had these boots, Graf Galaxy for about 8 months now. I would say they are worn in now, but not breaking down. I feel there is good ankle support in them.

I don't live in a place where I can go to a fitter or expert on boots. Can't say they are loose in the heel, they are a good fit now.

The bunga gel sleeves are what I am using at the moment, like an elastic bandage tobe with a thin gel lining. Otherwise I rub skin off the outside of the leg where it rubs when I do certain moves, like a toe-loop. I suspect the ankle movement issue is part of the problem there. If the whole boot were moving with me when I did an edge, there oughtn't be any rubbing in that spot.

I had this wobble in the Jackson Mystiques I had before these, they had a large amount of sideways movement.

Maybe I will have to go ahead and improvise some sort of padding.

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Karen

I skate - therefore I am

Karen, for the sake of about $9 I would get a pair of the Dr Scholls Party Feet and stick them on the inside of your bunga pad sleeves to see if that fills up some of the gap any. They are just like the jelly stuff on the sleeves you're using.

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AW1
mum to Miss Lil (6yrs old)
mum to be to #2 due in March 08

What type of skates do you have now?
I know that the Jackson skates can be heat molded to your foot. You can go onto the Jackson website and they have a lot of info about it there.
I might be a little pricey though.