How to get the best Hire Skates

If this is your first time ice skating you will want to hire ice skates rather than buy them. This hiring ice skates section is designed to help you get the most out of your first few sessions, and that relies on you getting a half decent ice skate Young ice skaterfrom the hire shop in the first place.
The ice skate must fit properly, be fastened to the correct tightness, and most importantly, the blade should not be blunt. Blunt blades are the reason many people give up the sport after the first session, having been unable to let go of the side the entire time. Once you have skated on a sharp blade you can never go back to a blunt one. A sharp blade will hold its line as soon as it meets the ice. It will not slip sideways when you try and push from one foot to the other to gain speed, and accurate turns are a breeze.

Skate blade sharpening

Blades are sharpened on a special grinding machine in different ways depending on what the skater wants to do on the ice. For recreational skates, ie all hire skates, the blade should have a noticeable concave indent in the base of the blade, effectively giving you 2 distinct edges to make contact with the ice. Run your finger along the length of the blade and check that both edges feel reasonably smooth. Bear in mind that this is a hire skate and it gets a lot of use, so it won’t be perfect! If the base of the blade is virtually flat, or the edges are rounded in any way, forget it, you won’t enjoy the skating experience. Take the skates back and ask for a sharper blade. If more people did this the Ice rink management would soon get the picture and stop dishing out rubbish in the first place! If you are persistent enough, they may give you a lesson boot, which WILL have a properly sharpened blade. Don’t give up, you are wasting your time skating if the blade is blunt.

Size matters

It is vital that the ice skates should fit your foot properly, and since the human foot comes in such a bewildering array of sizes and shapes, this may prove difficult.

Unless you have an exceptionally wide foot, you should first try a boot which matches you shoe size.

Push your foot into the boot and it should slip in without too much effort. If you have to force it, the boot is too small. Take it back and ask for a larger size. Once your foot is in, with the boot still unfastened check that your foot has no, or very little, side to side movement but you can still wiggle your toes. If your toes are being pushed together, the boot is too small and you will end up with sore feet in a very short time.

If you know you need a wide fitting shoe, it is probably worth you asking for a skate one size bigger than your usual shoe size. It is better that the skate fits properly at the sides than lengthways.

Try taking an extra pair of socks with you. This will mean you can wear a pair of skates which would otherwise be slightly too big.

Tighten the laces or buckles

Most beginners fasten the boot too tight in the belief that this is essential for proper ankle support. The problem is that a tight boot will restrict the blood flow to the foot, and it will end up being painful very quickly.

The laces or buckles should be set so that you still have a degree of free movement at you foot, and be just tight enough at the ankles to fit snugly around your leg. Stand up in the skates and check that if you tilt the boot from side to side your ankle bends only very slightly. You should still be able to push a finger into the top of the skate when it is done up properly

Get your own

There is no doubt that owning your own pair of ice skates will improve your skating. firstly they should fit properly, and once broken in will be the correct shape for your own foot. The blades will be sharp (as long as you look after them) and you will soon get used to the feel of your own boots. So if you find you are enjoying ice skating, and intend to skate regularly, then you really should consider buying your own ice skates.

 That’s it, Have fun on the Rink

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