Yes the Ace and Comet are good up to at least double flip. We switched over to Pattern 99's once the double Lutz and double Axel were being worked on regularly

My daughter - 10 - could never break in, or down, the Jackson Freestyles. If your daughter isn't breaking down the Classiques rather quickly, the Freestlyes may be too stiff for her. My DD is in Klingbeils now but some other skaters that had the same issue with the freestyles are in the SP Teri gravity boot - forgot exactly what's it's called but it's super lite!!!!

BLADES.....it's such a detrimental piece of equipment for the skaters and very confusing! The last blade my DD was in was the gold seal - it was nice, but soft. Since she's young, we were always having to fix rolled edges and knicks. Last year, I switched her to the paramounts and we will never change again! She loves them! They are very pricey but well worth the $$, IMO! We have them for almost a year and we've sharpened them twice - the last time, only b/c one skate fell out of her zuca onto the driveway as we were loading into the car.

If they weren't so price prohibitive, I'd guess you'd see more skaters in them to begin with. They are similar to the pattern 99's which is an all around advanced level blade. B/C they keep their edges, you don't have skaters struggling with technique to compensate for dull or rolled edges so often!

Agreed, my dd (also 9) with axel, 2sal and 2toe (most of the time!) is on Pattern 99s and she is getting new skates next week and a stiffer boot as well.

In your place, I would trust the coach. If you trust the coach's judgment enough to teach your DD, you should trust her judgment on boots and blades, unless you have very good reason not to.

If your DD is taking private lessons, the lessons have cost you a good deal more than the boots and blades - so forget the idea that the coach is just looking for a kickback. If your coach thinks new ones are needed, they are a worthwhile investment that can help prevent injuries and give your daughter a significant boost in performance.

Yes, replacing shoes and boots that haven't broken down is wasteful. But would you rather the kid's feet grow wrong because they are jammed into shoes or boots that are too small? (However, if they are only slightly too small, remove the insoles and asking the fitter to stretch them to get a little extra space.)

On the other hand, if the boots haven't broken down, they probably fit very well, except for size, and are probably adequate to her needs. So I would keep the brand and model of boot, unless your coach says otherwise. But ask the coach before ordering the new ones.

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Mitch Grunes ModifyingBoots FallingGently HomePage

Absolutely. Thank you for summing up my own position on this so succintly. The coach has their own reasons, rationale and purpose in selecting blades: it may be something that no-one else can know, such as a specific "need" a skater has. Coaches do not make recommendations lightly, as they know that they are going to be working with the equipment that they are provided with with the skater. As stated before, what works for Skater "A" is not appropriate for Skater "B" - even if they are working on the same jumps, are the same age, the same weight, etc.

It is always okay to ask your coach, though, about what is "nice to have" and "what is necessary" and discussing budget realities is always important. The coach needs to know what you have to spend. It's also okay to ask when they think you might need to move "up" a blade or a boot, so you can plan and budget in advance.

Hi Rachelsk8er

I am on Gold Star blades. In fact I have been on it since I learnt freestyle. The jumps are okay, not too bad. Spin wise, once I found where the sweet spots are, the forward spins does improve quickly. This blade is not that bad with sit soins either.

Thanks. Dd was actually using a better blade prior to getting these skates in July(was using a Jubilee blade and Reidell Gold Medallion boot). Her coach actually wanted her to use another Jubilee blade or a higher blade, but when we ordered these boots, our rink could not order the skates w/ the blade. I originally planned on upgrading her blades, but we decided to stick with these for now. I have a pair of Jackson Competitors in my closet waiting for dd to outgrow her current skates. They have a mirage blade on them, but I was thinking of upgrading the blade(boots are used). Not sure tho! Hmmm.... when the time comes, I will talk to dd's coach. This does make me wonder tho if a different blade might help dd out.

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skating mom to 3 angels on earth and 1 in heaven

I would suggest you find a boot/blade combination that works and stick with it. Bouncing around between different boots and blades can slow progress down as your DD will have to adjust to the new combination. You should only change boots if you are finding that the make you're in now no longer can be properly fitted. Different manufacturers fit some feet better than others, it has to do with the shape of the last they use. Blades may be a bit less of an issue but once you have a brand and model you should stick with it until you need to upgrade or change for other reasons (dance/syncro blades for example).

My DS has only ever used Comets and Pattern 99's and has used Risport boots throughout his career. The Risports fit the shape of his feet well and he has hardly every had any issues with breaking them in. He used Comets up until he started doing 2A regularly then switched to the 99's.

True, my dd has always had Jacksons, and this is probably why her coach said stick with it- and she did well on the pattern 99s so she is sticking with those as well.

Jackson and Riedell have different heel heights and fit very differently. We switched to Riedell as Jackson are too wide for our kid, and had a period of transition with jumps, etc. Same when we went from Jackson to Klingbeil for our other kid, and (baby level) Jacksons to Riedells for my youngest.

Just FYI.

We're still in Comets with the 2A now being landed. Maybe it's a boy thing - but they work, why change it

The Comets are a much underrated blade. A lot of coaches don't like them because of the flat rocker but our coach felt it improved the accuracy of spins and benefitted speed as there is more blade contact with the ice. The recommendation to go to 99's came with the start of triples. Which were started about the time the 2A started to become consistent.

Agreed! I recommend Comets to many of my students once they start their axels, sometimes as soon as landing their flip and lutz.

I'm not sure this is necessarily true. I've found that many coaches only have experience with the brand they skated in, and often still wear as a coach. I've had coaches tell me "brand X is no good"- only to find out that brand X was no good for them.

Coaches aren't fitters, so unless your coach is a fitter, I'd trust the fitter over the coach, but consider what the coach has to say.

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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)

Agreed, boots need to be fitted properly and while I whole heartedly sympathize with other parents over cost, do NOT get the boot too big with the intent to "grow into them". This will on cause frustration and possibly agony for the skater.

As for size, a lot too big could be a problem, because the boots would get in the way of close footwork, and be too heavy. But for a growing child, and maybe even for an adult, a little too big overall, or in spots, is easily fixed with tape and Moleskin, whereas stretching leather, overall or in spots, is both harder and needs to be redone more often. If the parent has significant economic issues, buying big and playing with tape and Moleskin makes sense. In fact, it is almost impossible to buy boots fitted so well you can't make things better those ways. If the parent doesn't feel able to make such adjustments, the boot fitter or coach likely could.

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Mitch Grunes ModifyingBoots FallingGently HomePage

This is a good link on how to fit a skate http://www.inneredge.ca/skatefitting.html. My original post was referring to the practice of oversizing a skate so that it fits slopply. A skater should never have to wear more than a single pair of socks preferrably dress socks. I have frequently seen parents buy skates so large that 2-3 pairs of socks are required to "fit" the skate. The skaters frequent suffer blisters or can not control their skating and end up quitting in frustration. These are the same parents that don't think guards are important either no matter how many times you carefully explain to them that little Sally would progress faster if her skates had any edges.

Fitting a skate too small is also bad as it can lead to serious foot issues.

We're lucky in that our skate fitters will call the coach and discuss needs and make recommendations, and then send them on "approval" before finalizing the purchase. Yes, coaches do have preferences, some are logical, some not - but, they do know what they want in terms of weight, stiffness, and blade level.

I think the bit about tape etc is probably true whatever size you get. Most people have feet of slightly different sizes, my daughter is a whole half size (uk) bigger in her right foot. We had just this boot punched out to make room, but the left still isn't too tight. We're hoping that heat mouldable boots will lessen this.

Coach favours wifa's - any views/comments on them useful.

WIFAs are fine in the opinion of many coaches - they just don't fit my kid's feet. We started in Skatec D (now deluxe Skatec), but, switched out as kid's feet are narrow in the heel and broader in the forefoot, and the WIFAs didn't work.

Also, they weren't heat moldable, and the need to punch them/stretch them etc etc etc was a drawback - they never fit as well as ones that were moulded. Some people don't like heat molded skates, however, we do prefer it in non-custom boots (one kid is in customs).

They're rare in our area, but, then again, I can't remember the last time I saw a pair of SP-Teris on anyone's feet, nor Harlicks - and they are very common elsewhere! Regional preferences ... club preferences ... coach preferences ...

If there is a huge difference in foot size, it might be worth seeing if you could order the Left boot in one size and the Right in another. Depending on the manufacturer, shop, they might accomodate you.

If it cheers you up, we had a similar problem with a big difference in size, with age, the size difference has lessened and they're closer to being the same size!

ITA! Our first coach only wore custom Klingbeils and could give me no advice for younger DD beyond telling me that she needed a high end recreational or low end professional skate. Then she sent us to a shop that only sold Riedells. DD ended up with huge bumps on her heels because the Riedell heel cup is too deep for her feet. When she finally got custom boots (Klingbeil) they started to be resorbed.

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Hi

Please do not get the boots a size too big for your dd. My dad bought the first pair of skates for me, way too big, and it caused me lots of problems, especially in terms of backward crossovers (an extra step) and also spins (an extra step) which the coach tried ages to correct, but in vain.

In the end, my mom has to get me another pair of skating boots that fit my feet exactly.

londonicechamp

Essentially all boots are heat moldable to some degree:

http://mgrunes.com/boots/BootExpert.html

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Mitch Grunes ModifyingBoots FallingGently HomePage

My DD (just turned 11; very petite, only 62lbs) is in a riedell F21 book with upgraded Jubilee blade for almost 2 years. her foot has not grown, and probably wont wont grow too much more.(highly doubtful she will be more than a women's 5). She is just entering No Test A (had an injury that held her back for 3 months). I am concerned about eventual breakdown versus outgrowing the skates, so I am starting to look. The older Riedells seem to be on clearance in places (medalion, star, etc). What would be a good boot without being too "stiff" for her size? WE want to stick with Riedell. Also, to take her to Axel and probably pre preliminary, a blade? Can you put the blades recommended here on Riedells? Her coach is really not that great a coach in terms of recommending skates (but excellent in terms of patience and putting routines together).

Thanks!

You can put any blade on any boot that is sold without blades (I wont comment on replacing blades on boots that are sold with as I don't have much experience with them). The store you purchase from will select the proper length of blade for the size of skate purchased. They will also typically help with recommendations of model of boot appropriate for the skaters size, weight and skill level.