Just looking for other people opinions. I have asked my daughter's coach but am curious as I am hearing different information. I am not sure her coach is that knowledgable about blades/boots in today's skating world.
My daughter is 9, skates competitive 5 days per week, has landed her doubles, working on double lutz. We have purchased new boots. What blade should she have? I am hearing coronation ace (which she currently has) and Pattern 99. Any other skaters her age/level, what does your child have?

I like the Coronation Aces for my skaters. The rocker radius is smaller (7') than a Pattern 99 (8') and they're less expensive as well. She won't lose as much time making a boot and blade adjustment if you stick with what she has, but one of our skating moms was saying that her daughter's jump coach recommended getting the parabolic version. They're lighter, but more expensive.

I just bought a $179 brand-new pair of regular Aces for my one of my twins. http://www.tidewaterice.com/blades.htm

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If she's landing doubles, I would move her up to Pattern 99's or Gold Seals. The larger rocker is more stable on landings. The only issue with the Pat 99's is that in addition to having a larger rocker, the stanchions are shorter, putting the foot closer to the ice and making spinning a bit more difficult. The Pat 99's would be a bigger adjustment for her than the Gold Seals.

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I usually recommend Pattern 99's for my younger skaters who are really doing double jumps - that means landing them 80 percent of the time. Once they have had a pair or two under their belt - I like to switch them up to Gold Seals. I've never had an issue with spins being slower with Pattern's, and find triple loops much easier for skaters using Pattern's than Gold Seals. Depends upon the biomechanics of the skater.

As for 9 year olds who are learning double jumps - that is landing one or two at a time or less than 80 percent - I love the Four Aces blade for its flow and stability. Slightly more expensive than Coronation Ace - I think it is worth the extra cost.

The high cost of MK and Wilson blades has lead me to recommend Jackson Ultima blades to all my skaters at all levels. Many of my skaters who started in Pattern's are now using the Ultima freestyle blade. There are a couple of Ultima blades at the higher end that my skaters seem to have no problem using - and at a much reduced cost.

I do have one skater who switched from the Ultima Freestyle to Gold Seals - and really improved. Not sure if it was just the blades - the boots were toast as well!

My motto is good blades - soft boots. You can really overboot these days unnecessarily but most skaters will adapt to the high end blade. It's just the replacement cost is so great - once you've started in a high end blade, you have to be willing to replace it with the same or higher quality blade.

I didn't suggest slower spins; rather more difficult because of the lower stanchions. This is probably more of an issue with adult skaters who generally have a harder time adjusting to blade changes anyway.

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Interesting. I have an intermediate level adult who started out on Four Aces then moved up to Pattern 99's. Upright spins were ok but forget backspins. Camel spins were more like elephant paw prints and very slow. She has now moved on to Jackson Ultima Freestyle - and granted it, she's had lots more ice time - but we now have a camel spin that looks like a camel spin print (within a loop size rotational print that is). I did put heel lifts and superfeet in her skates, which also seemed to help.

We have been EXTREMELY pleased with the improvement in edges and spins and turns with a switch to Ultima Blades for DD, and the model you mention comes highly recommended. The ones we have - the Lites - apparently have the same rocker as a Coronation Ace, and the crosscut picks have been effective.

The Ultima blades are excellent, and the pricepoint is wonderful. I will not commit to paying $700 CDN for a pair of Gold Seals for my jump-happy other kid when I am going to replace them every year, whereas I will pay $360 for a pair of Ultimas that are effectively the same blade in terms of rocker and that (Ultima is not stupid, they have cloned blades for a reason!). Plus, the Ultima blades hold a sharpening forever, which cuts down on that problem. IF the feet stop growing, and if my other kid ever really needs Gold Seals (which, as you'll find in other threads, is a hot topic of debate in terms of when to go to that level of blade) - I'll consider buying them, but, not until someone proves to me that the extra $400 buys something more than just a different brand name!

And in terms of your original question: for the kid at that level, Coro Comets, and that's with a double axel. I have more than one kid on the ice, you see, so, don't be confused by ^^^^ above.

My dd is a similar age and level. She is up to double flip- she has pattern 99.

Thank you for that link! Dd is starting to complain about her skates feeling tight, so it is about that time again! We have a pair of used boots waiting for her, but I don't know if they will fit or not. *sigh* Anyway, I want to buy new blades for these boots, so thanks for the link!

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skating mom to 3 angels on earth and 1 in heaven

I will admit that I was selfish in that I made sure the ones I ordered were already in the house before I posted the link. They don't have many items left in stock.

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Nothing wrong with that!

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skating mom to 3 angels on earth and 1 in heaven