The heat moldable system

[Diane Mars]

No problem, in a CONVECTION oven, max T° : 60°Celsius* ! (that's the info I was given by my "fitter")
*a higher temperature will damage the boot ! It's like for our skin : at 60°C, it's really hot, but your skin won't burn. At higher temperatures, it will dry, burn, etc. ...

You'd be really careful to lace them properly and NOT walk in them without the guards... BUT don't put the guards too early, because of the T°.

Making it short, you can heat-mold them with the blades attached, but, when possible, it's better without.

[Artifice]

Thanks for the advice. The guy at the skateshop told me that it is better to skate a few times with the skates not heated, then bring them to the shop and have them put in the oven. Therefore the skates can't have anything else than the blades on them.

Finally I think I won't have my skates heat molded. I wear them at home and they get progressively fitted to my feet. I don't feel tough pain.

By the way I now have another issue : the guy at the store mounted the blades and didn't want to sharpen them right away. He said that the industrial sharpening is just fine and even said that it's better because it is the orginal shape of the blade.
I don't really know what to think about it since I've always been told that it is better to have the blades sharpened when they are brand new. The guy told me the exact contrary...

[FigureSpins]

I've never heard of "wearing skates a few times" before heat-molding. For one thing, it's unsanitary - I don't think the oven gets hot enough to kill bacteria. (Imagine owning the next pair to go into the oven?) For another, it defeats the purpose of molding the skates to your feet properly and eliminating some of the pain that comes from breaking them in, old-school style.

The factory sharpening often has dips and uneven edges. It doesn't matter if they're recreational or high-end figure blades. The only reason they put an edge on the blades is to let the skater test the alignment. Plus, if you use a ROH that's different from the one purported to be on the new blades, it's really uncomfortable to skate on.

I think that if the skates are designed to be heat-molded, you should use the feature. It really does make the skates fit better, faster. Why waste expensive ice time breaking in skates when you can spend 30 mins heat-molding them?

Walking gently in the skates is okay, especially up and down stairs, but it's not going to mold the skates as well as skating in them or using the heat-molding feature. (Too much off-ice in skates can loosen the blade or pull the heel off the boot.)

[Diane Mars]

I totally agree with FigureSpins.

(And I really don't trust your "fitter" !)

[mag]

I totally agree with FigureSpins.

(And I really don't trust your "fitter" !)

I second this. If the skates have been designed for heat molding, you should have them molded at the shop before they mount the blades.

[FigureSpins]

I don't think the blades on/off matters that much, to be honest. Many of the "skate sets" (boot-and-blade combos) from Riedell and Jackson are heat-moldable.

The plastic waterproof coating on soles of the Jackson skates get a little toasty, but it doesn't affect the leather. In fact, it might actually seal the sole better.

One tip I read suggested putting a cushion over any areas that need to be "punched" before heat molding. For example, if you know you need the ankle area punched out, put a round makeup sponge inside your sock/stocking before putting on the heated boots. That molds the ankle area a little wider, so when you wear the skates later without the cushion, you have more room.

I don't think any PVC-bottomed skates are heat-moldable, correct? I can't think of any from the catalogs.

[Doubletoe]

I agree with FigureSpins, too. You need a GOOD sharpener to sharpen your blades. And based on my experience, I say just heat mold the boots! Now that I've had two pairs of heat-molded boots, I can't believe I suffered without heat-molding them before (and the heat-molded boots hold up just as well). I also had mine heat-molded with the blade already on. Just be careful not to let your blades come into contact with anything that could melt onto the blades as you wait for them to cool down. Keep something like a 100% cotton towel under the blades while you wear your skates after they come out of the oven.

[Artifice]

Thanks for sharing you experience.
I ended up not having the heating system done on my skates, I don't feel unconfortable in them nor do I feel pain. Since I actually feel ok, without pain (except the one created by the pressure on the tong because the boot is very stiff), I think I won't go through the heating process.
I wore the boots twice at home before skating. At first (at home) it did hurt, but once I had skated about an hour with them, the pain almost disapeared and now it's ok, I can skate without any problem.

[mag]

I agree with FigureSpins, too. You need a GOOD sharpener to sharpen your blades. ....

This is so important. When my dd first started skating, I didn't know any better so I took her skates to the hockey guy at the rink. One day her CanSkate instructor called me over to rink and suggested I take her skates to the figure skate shop for sharpening. The hockey guy didn't have have the tools to get close enough to the pick so there was a large bump before the pick where the blade hadn't been sharpened. She noticed when she was trying to teach waltz jumps ... made the rolling up onto the pick a bit difficult

[Jozet]

Quick note...my daughter has been wearing her Edeas for two weeks now, and she can finally land all her jumps again. but the first week was painful. She said the skates feel feather-light, "like slippers" compared to her other skates, but they are very stiff and she had quite a few very achy days. This is much different than the heat-moldable skates where it was more "get up and go".

She's only doing doubles, so we'll see how they hold up.