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Figure Skates - A Buyers Guide

If you are looking to buy a pair of ice skates, you will know that there is a bewildering array of different models available to you from prices as low as £20 to a dizzy £500.  To the untrained eye, they all look pretty much the same.

So what makes one pair worth so much more than the other???

Broadly speaking, figure skates come in 3 distinct categories. Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced, with price tags that match the complexity of the boot. There is also a range of recreational skates available which are designed for casual skating.
It makes sense to choose from the category that best suits your skating skills.
Intermediate and advanced ice skates need more looking after than beginner skates, as they are predominately made from real leather. Leather must be cared for properly, that means letting them dry them out naturally, and keeping them properly waterproofed. Advanced ice skates often have leather soles as well, and this is another area which demands serious aftercare.

Riedell Ice Skates Sizing Guide

Riedell are a US company and all boots are marked in US sizes only. We have compiled a sizing guide to help you choose the correct size for you. Riedell Ice Skate Sizing Guide

 

Modern Ice Skate Construction

Reinforcements - Strong, board like material fitted in the boot on both sides to strengthen the ankle area. Sometimes double wrapped or even triple wrapped in the higher level boots. May be completely absent in cheap skates

Quarter Paddings - Once again, this may be absent on very cheap ice skates. Improves foot  comfort at the ankles and adds a further degree of rigidity to the boot.

Heel Counters - usually a feature of advanced and some intermediate level skates. Gives proper support for the heel in the boot, a critical area for the skilled skater

Intermediate and Advanced

Intermediate and Advanced models are provided by all the top manufacturers, ie. Risport, Riedell, Belati, with less well known manufacturers such as Klingbeil, Graf, Jackson, Roces also making great skate boots at this level.
All of these companies have invested a lot of time, money and effort to produce a skate boot which will perform well at the expected level. It is really a matter of personal preference which one you choose. Just remember that with skating, as with everything else in life, you get what you pay for.

Recreational skates

Recreational skates tend to have a simplified lacing pattern which makes them quicker and easier to fit and remove. They are designed primarily for fun skating and although they may take you a fair way towards becoming a proficient figure skater, you will probably find they hold you back when you come to learn the more complex moves. They are unlikely to be strong enough to stand up to jumps and spins.

Beginner

The beginner level is the area where you need to exercise the most caution, and there are a few key pointers for a newcomer to look out for in a figure skate.

Entry Level skates

Tend to have synthetic outers, with synthetic linings, a PVC sole and a basic blade which will be riveted to the boot. These skates are fine for occasional recreational skating, and the early levels of instructional skating, but they are unlikely to stand up well to jumps and spins.

Leather Outers- a word of caution.

Some beginner skates are advertised as being made from real leather, but you should be a little careful here. There are many different grades and thickness of leather available to the manufacturer, and if the boot seems very cheap, you can be pretty sure the leather in use is a low grade one. Many Chinese manufacturers have cottoned on to the fact that people read the words ’Real Leather’ and assume that means top quality. Be warned, it most certainly does not.

One quick check you can do is look at the lower lacing holes in the boot. Good quality leather is strong and thick enough to support the lace on its own, it does not require the fitting of metal eyelets. If the manufacturer has used eyelets on a leather boot, it is either because the boot is actually synthetic (it is not easy to tell the difference!), or it is very thin and low grade leather. Don’t be fooled. This test isn’t foolproof though. We have occasionally seen some very high quality boots from a manufacturer called Wifa which have eyelets in the lower holes.

Blades and Mountings.

Lower cost ice skates invariably have the blades riveted to the boot. This method of mounting the blade is far less labour intensive for the manufacturer as it can be carried out by machine, hence the lower cost. The downside is that is makes it almost impossible to change the blade as your skills improve. You’ll need to carefully grind out the rivets and then plug the holes before fitting a new blade. It also leaves no possibility to realign the blade to the boot if they have been incorrectly positioned, and they often are!

Almost all figure skate blades are made from Carbon Steel, with chrome or nickel plating on the sides to prevent rust. Very few are made from Stainless Steel as this a softer metal. You can check by putting a magnet on the side of the blade - if it sticks it is carbon steel.

Carbon steel can be hardened (tempered) in a furnace. The metal is heated to a very high temperature, and then cooled very quickly. The temperature and the rate of cooling determines the hardness of the metal. Too hard and the metal becomes brittle and may chip, too soft and the blade will not hold its edge as well and will need sharpening more often. 
Top blade manufacturers like John Wilson and Mitchell & King (MK) have invested a lot of time and money in perfecting the level of hardening required for an ice skate blade, so you can be sure that any blade which bears the name of these manufacturers will have been hardened to just the right degree.


Most of the cheap blades, which can generally be identified by the rivet mounting, will at best have been unevenly tempered, and at worst, not tempered at all.

Buying second hand

Second hand ice skates is not recommended. Over time, ice skates tend to mould themselves to the individual skaters feet through use. The chances of your foot being exactly the same size and shape as the first owners feet is very slim, so you will find it almost impossible to get a pair which fit you properly. You cannot skate well in skates that don’t fit right, it is a physical impossibility!
Perspiration consists of 98% moisture and 2% salts and acids and is a central element in boot corrosion. The foot produces and carries more bacteria than any other part of the body.  Bacteria eats protein, and since leather is 98% protein, it also eats skates! For this reason alone, regardless of how well the skates have been looked after, if they have been used, the deterioration process will have started.
If you really must buy second hand, give yourself a chance and choose a good make. Second hand Risports tend to be the best option as they are a very stiff boot in the first place and stand up to more stress for longer. They are known to be narrow fitting though, so you will probably need to choose a size bigger than your usual shoe size. This may mean that the boot doesn’t fit you properly at the heel, so do check first. If you are likely to need a wider boot, then Belati are a very good choice. Extremely hard wearing and a wide fit as standard.

Ankle Support.

The main stress point on any ice skate is the ankle area. Once the ankle support has gone, the ice skates are finished, and you’ll need to replace them. Nearly all second hand ice skates will show some degree of wear in this area. Look at the leather at the sides. Any creases or buckles here are a sign of wear. a slight buckle at the front of the boot is to be expected, particularly if there is no forward flex notch. However, if the creases go all the way round the boot, you can be sure the ankle support has broken down.

Don’t worry too much about scuffs and scratches, this is an inevitable and unavoidable factor in ice skating. Second hand skates which do not have a few scratches and scrapes may have been artificially coloured to try and hide a more serious problem.
Check the heel area to make sure it is still firmly attached to the boot, and carefully check the lace holes for any sign of tearing.
Have a look at the blade. The bottom part of the blade should have an exposed metal section of about 5mm deep below the chrome plating. This section will give you an idea how much the blade has been sharpened. If it is already all the way up the chrome plating, the blades will need to be changed. Are the blades riveted or screwed on? If they are riveted on and have been over sharpened, you have a problem! Check the edges of the blades for nicks. Small nicks can be ground out at the sharpening shop, but deep ones may mean the blade needs replacing.

What can go wrong?

Ice Skates fail in many different ways. Even good quality skates will wear out over time, the most common area of failure being at the ankle. Proper and timely maintenance will greatly prolong the life of the ice skate, but not indefinitely.

Torn Eyelets

Metal eyelets in thin leather are a cause for concern on cheap boots as they can pull out when the laces are being tightened, It is a particular risk over the instep where the skater needs the laces fastening quite tight. Once this has happened, it is all over for the skates.

Heel Separation

If the boots are left wet for too long, or poorly maintained, the heel can come away from the sole, and once again that is the end of the boots. Here, moisture has attacked the insole of the boot, causing it to soften. This has allowed the screws to pull through the insole material, so the sole is no longer secured to the boot. This is a common problem for high level skaters, who skate for several hours most days of the week. The skates never have time to dry out, and splitting at the toe or the heel is virtually inevitable over time, particularly considering the stresses a skilled skater will put the boot under!

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