How many of you are addicted to bunga pads? I can't skate without them.

I wish I could, but I suffer from lace bite without them and sore ankles. They do feel as if they put a slight barrier up between skate and contact with my foot.

Forgot to add, I wear the full sleeve on both feet.

Addicted too! I also like the full sleeves on each foot...can't live without 'em.

I'm breaking in new skates now and they're my lifesaver, especially since i am also addicted to nylon laces. I know, I know...everyone else seems to hate nylon, but for some reasons, they seem to stay tighter for me longer than the cotton. I think I'm the only person who still likes nylon laces, but I'm also okay with the cotton-nylon blend.

Nope, count me in your club too. I LOVE the nylon laces, hate the way the all-cotton ones and combination ones feel when I tie my skates. There must be a few more of us, after all, it's never that hard to find nylon laces, so SOMEONE must be buying them!

I LOVE NYLON LACES TOO!!! But only the ones from Harlick! The ones they sell in the pro shops aren't as good

I like my Achilles Bunga Pads for my heel bumps. Sometimes, I feel like the pads make my feet go numb, especially in cold weather. The alternative is more painful, so I just deal with it.

Love Bunga pads too. Also can't skate without them. I had wicked lace bite before wearing them.

I was to cheap to get Bunga's but I can't skate without the Silipos I have.
My skates cut gashes into my ankles without them. I still have blood stains on the boots and scars on my legs from when they first started to do that (when I switched to barefoot, which is so much better for me!).

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-Jessi
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This is true! I look like I was shackled at the ankles from 13 years of lace bite...people are always like, "What's wrong with your feet?" Oh well, I guess that's the price you pay for doing something you love!

I use Bunga pads for breaking in a new pair of skates, but normally skate without them.

When the tongue padding of my skate started to break down after three years of use, I got a serious case of lace bite and resorted to the Bunga pads until I got the skates rebuilt.

I recently noticed some lace bite returning, but the skates are now 5 years old and will be replaced soon.

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Bill Schneider

I must have my bunga pads to skate. I wear 1/2 sleeve on each ankle/heel area. I wear SP teris and while I love the skates I hate the ankle design. Mucho pain without the added protection.

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I think I must be wearing the 1/2 sleeve also. It covers my ankle and then goes up a little higher to prevent lace bite.

I can't skate without my Bunga ankle sleeves now. I tried once and my skates felt loose and weird without them. I'm not sure how I survived without them when I was a kid.

I wear the discs under my tights to protect the sides of the area above my ankles from being cut by the tops of my boots, and over my tights I wear the lace-bite sleeve on my left foot and the boot bumper on my right foot. I am quite padded!

You'll be happy to know that the new SP Teris (KT-2) are redesigned and SOOOOO much more comfortable in the ankle area than the old Super Teri or Super Teri Deluxe! In my old Super Teri Deluxe boots I used to get horizontal bruises where the tops of my boots would dig into the areas above my ankles on outside spread eagles. I still wear my Bunga or Silipos ankle sleeves, though, just because it's more comfortable and why invite the lacebite?

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

That's good to know (the SP-teri redesign). I'm skating in a pair of Super Teri Deluxes and one day I forgot to put on the gel sleeves. I literally made it halfway around one quarter around the rink before my ankles starting throbbing. And here I just thought I had bony ankles.

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Happily defying the laws of physics when I skate...and not in a good way

If I could meet ole Axel Paulsen, I would kick him in the teeth

President and Founding member of the I hate Toe-Loops Club

Still a member, but trying to get out of the Pre-bronze peanut gallery.

Visit my skating journal

I have Silipos ankle sleeves. I love them and wear them every time I skate! Before I had a lot of swelling and bruising on the outside of my leg where the top of the boot hits. Now I still have bumps, and one side is numb, but no more swelling and very little pain.

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Just passed: Pre-Bronze MIF & Freeskate. Next goal: Bronze tests in July.

Same here. I might have quit a long time ago without them (or at the very least switched boot brands)

The only time I used bunga sleeves was when I was breaking in my boots. After I had my boots heat molded the second time, I was good to go. I wear Jackson Elite Plus. (3100) There is some sort of "memory foam" or gel padding on the inside of the boots. It greatly relieved the tension on the bones of my ankle. Now all they need to do is stop putting that canada tag on the inside of the skate at the heel. That tag rubbed my heel raw one day and it was a pain to get the tag out. I couldn't jump for a week because it would rub every time I landed. I still believe that Jackson makes the most comfortable boot for people with wider feet. Not too heavy either.


BlackManSKating

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I had never heard of bunga pads before but as I am now suffering from a very painful ankle (achilles tendonitis) would you suggest I get some? I have seen a few US websites where I can get them.

Is your pain from rubbing or pressure? If it's rubbing then bunga pads are just the thing. If it's pressure then you need to get your ankles punched out.

Hi, my name is Terry and I've been an addict for 3 1/2 years.....

Breaking free, baby! thursday night I skated WITHOUT GEL SLEEVES!!!! I was a little pink but not too bad. Of course, I did not lace all the way up and was somewhat loose....I wear Jackson Elites. Every time I put them on, the little girls say, "Are they new????"

My coach wants the addiction broken (and my skates completely broken in) by September

It felt weird. I hate callouses and thick skin. And I've been treating a corn on my pinkie toe....yuk!!!

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

I got tired of doctors and others staring at my grotesque feet - especially the pronounced calluses where the laces do up, sort of little ladders up the front of my ankle. Everyone thought I had some skin disease, so I started wearing the gel socks daily. It took about a year, and lots of pumice & lotion - but I now have soft, lace-bump free feet that I don't feel embarassed with when I wear sandals.

I skate in barefeet - so the area where my tongue is laced probably was worse than most....Plus - my custom boots don't have the huge soft padding in the ankles.
Plus the gel socks seem to keep my feet warmer! Don't give them up. In fact, no coach should insist that you give up anything that helps prevent injuries!!! Boot bite is nasty and gel socks prevent it hands down!!!

My skates have tons of padding in the tongue area-my time of "lace bite" has passed, I have just become a weenie and just got used to wearing them. Complacent. With the gel sleeves I cannot bend as well. They inhibit me. That's all. But, if I still had issues with rubbing and stuff, I would NOT be ditching them, no matter what my coach wanted!!!!

When I skated 20+ years ago, my skates had no (zero) padding. One layer of nice leather. One layer of fabric (plaid flannel) on the inside. That was it. I could bend a lot. I did have some owies in them but sucked it up. I skated outside so didnt complain about the cold....20-30 degrees was sort of cold (not like Minnesota, Maine, or Canada though).

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