I've just gotten my new Jackson Competitors (they have Club 2000 blades, btw). I tried them out today, but instead of improving, I got a little bit ... worse. They are incredibly stiff, are really heavy, and make me feel as if I were skating with bricks molded to my feet. After going around the rink only two times, I tripped... twice. I know I have to break them in, but is this supposed to happen? Plus, I can barely do a simple snow plow stop. ...I rarely ever sharpened my other blades before ( ), and the Club 2000 came from the factory pretty sharp. Could this be the problem?

Get them sharpened and that should help.

New skates are sometimes tough to break in. Takes several times skating in them for them to feel better. Try walking around at home in them..it will help the break in time

It's probably a combination but it will get better. I liked my blades sharp (death grind my coach used to call it) so I never had that problem (I never found the factory grind to be sharp enough ). Once you've broken your boots in a bit they'll be fine.

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The best whisper is a click

No, I'm pretty sure it's not the grind of the blade... They're just been presharpened by the factory, and sharper than I usually have them.

I'm gonna try walking in them at home though.

SP-Teri discourages walking around the house in new boots to break them. It states:

When you try to break-in boots by walking in them or wearing them while watching television, you do not get the crease in the right place. Walking in skates results in a walking gait, a heel strike and then transferring weight to the ball and then pushing off the first toe. This is not the same action as stroking. Walking gait will cause the creasing to develop forward of the instep.

Here is the link.

If you're going to walk around in them it's better that you put the blades on and walk around in blade guards. I know that a lot of people walk around in new boots at home and it works for them. You walk around in boots at the rink after all so as long as the balance is the same there shouldn't be a major problem.

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The best whisper is a click

IMO, it's very common to get "worse" as you adjust to new equipment, whether it's boots or blades, or both (especially if it's both). It generally takes me 2-3 weeks before I feel "at home" with new skates.

I got new boots this past February. They were the exact same brand, one upgrade in model. I kept my old blades and put them on my new boots.

Here's a general idea of my progression in them:
Day 1: Could barely stroke or do crossovers. Did the "click of death" on back crossovers twice, and had trouble stopping. Felt extremely awkward and scary.
Day 2: Got most of my stroking back. Got my mohawks and 3-turns back.
Day 3: Got my single jumps through lutz back and forward spins back.
Day 4: Able to practice moves comfortably. (1-week point)
Day 5: Got back spins back.
Day 6: Able to run a program in new skates.
Day 7: Got axels back.
Day 8: Competed in the new skates. By this time, it was about 2 weeks since I got them, and they felt like "my skates," although they were still stiff. By week 3, they were feeling like slippers, and my old skates felt awful.

In general, I'd say that you will not "magically improve" with new skates at the beginner level. However, if you upgrade your equipment, you should find that over time, you will be able to do things that your old equipment was not able to handle. There are, of course, some skaters who do improve instantly in new skates, but that may be due to the fact that their old skates were severely ill-fitting, to the point that they were taking skills away.

I had to break them boots in with my new skates (Risport super) - I was a complete beginner then and my coach told me it needs around 36-40 hours of skating to feel comfortable in it.

If nobody warned you, how would you know that you shouldn't have expected to be able to do much more than plain vanilla stroking, if that, for several days!

Take your time - your skills are still there, and you will soon adjust to the new boots and in a few days you'll find you can do everything in them that you could before. Try to skate a little more often for the next couple of weeks, the more you skate, the sooner your boots will feel familiar and your skills return.

Having said that, we all hate the lad at our rink who managed a double axel on the very first session in his new boots! But he is the exception that proves the rule, I'm afraid.... most people spend hours just working on their edges and turns to get their boots comfortable.

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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!

I have the same skates-did you get yours heat-molded?

That will help with the comfort at least (not much could be done with the weight except strenghtening your legs)...

It will take about 10-15 hours of skating to get really used to them once you have them heat molded, if they bother you after that, then something is wrong and you should go back to your fitter.

Take your time on skills-I worked from the bottom up and basically re-trained. I also did not do any jumps until about 10 hours of skating (although I did sneak in some spins, although you should wait until your blades are permanently set to do either spins or jumps).

Also, when you stroke around the rink, every so many strokes, squat down like your are getting ready to shoot-the-duck, just to bend your skates. You could also stand at the boards and bend a few times each session.

Check your blades-make sure they are mounted correctly-are your one foot glides straight? check by putting your free foot in front, to the side, and to the back (near the skating foot). It should not throw you off, you should still go straight. If you curve, and your body is square, then your blade is skewed or not mounted correctly. Have it checked....it can lead to problems if you let it go.

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

Nope, my boots aren't heat-molded . But I will try your other hints.

Have them heat molded-you won't believe the difference even that makes! Just remember-don't leave them in your car on a hot day or it will undo the molding!!!

I think it even helps to soften up the leather a bit so they feel broken-in a bit more-but maybe because they conform more it's just my imagination...

Let us know how it goes

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

Do you know where I can get this done? Or can I do it myself?

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If you got yours at a pro-shop, they should do it for you at not cost. If you got yours mail order, then you should find a pro-shop and get it done there for a nominal fee. This is something that you should not really do at home because you could cook your skates and ruin them very easily!!!

They put them in a special oven and heat them up, then slap them on your feet. You sit there for about 15-20 minutes doing nothing (make sure you go to the bathroom before having this done....)

That's it!

PS-I know some people don't like Jacksons, but I really like mine they are friendly to my feet (bunions and all) and don't seem overly heavy (unlike the rentals I was first using).

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

I have the same skates. I hated them at first because the top edge of the boot used to dig into the back of my leg. I would wear them, take them off after 20 minutes, scream, put them back on and go for another 20. It took a while to get the tongue molded the way that I like, that felt very stiff. I'd never had new skates in my life so that was a culture shock, I had always worn second hand ones that had been broken in by someone else.

I had to have one of the blades moved after a while, it was not put on entirely straight.