Hinged Boots

[mtnskater]

I'm an adult skater at the adult silver level. I've been skating freestyle in Graf dance boots for several years and really like them overall because I get a crease and can really bend my knees and point my toes. Most boots are too stiff...as an adult I don't jump like the kids to really crease them...my observation of other adult skaters is the same. With my dance boots however, due to low cut and little ankle support, jumping is a little harder from the loop on up. I am ready to get new boots and was going to get the Pro-flex by Jackson hinged boot because it sounded like the best of both worlds....ankle flexion but lateral support. Now I find they are discontinued .

Does anyone know of someone with stock still left or have any suggestions for a boot that would fit my needs???

[tangerine_dream]

Well, I don't know if you've tried them on or anything, but a lower-level Graf boot such as the Richmond might be a decent option.

To be honest the hinged boot didn't really seem to work well with the very few people who tried them...even Alyssa Cizny who tried to make them work really seemed to have a hard time with them.

Being that you are an adult and therefore probably heavier than most of the kids doing triples, I don't think you would necessarily have that hard of a time creasing a regular boot...whereas a 100lbs kid doing triples can crease a top-end boot, maybe you could crease a mid-level boots even with smaller jumps.

If you like Graf I would definitely suggest you give the Richmond a try, or even the Galaxy, which is made from a lightweight "artificial leather", which I've personally tried on (and didn't like) and found to be very light (hence why I didn't like them, I like stiff boots). The Richmond should definitely be soft enough to let you crease them relatively quickly without doing too many jumps, IMHO.

[antmanb]

I don't know if the advice I've received is necessarily right, but the received wisdom I've had is that once you get a crease in the boot then it has broken down, or is breaking down to the point of needing replacement.

[ioana]

That all depends on how deep the crease is and how much of the boot it covers. I think tanagerine was referring to the very thin line you start to see at the ankle bend once the boots are broken in, but not breaking down. How much jumping you do and how much support you need also plays a factor in this. I ended up using a pair of boots for 5 years, but I only did single jumps and the occasional double in them...

[overedge]

To be honest the hinged boot didn't really seem to work well with the very few people who tried them...even Alyssa Cizny who tried to make them work really seemed to have a hard time with them.

Plus they're ugly and clumpy-looking.

[southernskater]

What about a synchro boot? Like the Jackson one? Or the Riedell LS line?

I don't know anyone in the Jackson Synchro boot, but I also don't know many people in synchro. I have heard very very good and some bad things about the Riedell LS skates.

http://www.shop.kinziescloset.com/Ja...?productId=374

http://www.shop.kinziescloset.com/Ri...dell1310LS.htm