Breaking in skates

[ngcskate]

Any hints? I have new skates and am basically at a learn to skate level. Skating once a week lessons and one a week public sessions

 

[purple skates]

What kind of skates do you have? Different brands break in differently.

 

[ngcskate]

Jackson Elle

 

[purple skates]

Have you had them heat molded?

 

[ngcskate]

Yes I did, and some punchouts at the toes

 

[purple skates]

Ok.

Are you experiencing pain or is it something else that is causing you problems.

 

[ngcskate]

No pain, just feel like I can't bend ankles!

 

[purple skates]

I’m coming from the “I don’t like tight skates around the ankles” crowd. I am definitely in the minority, if comments on how I tie my skates are to believed.

You could try leaving the top hooks undone. Or this is what I do. Snug (but not tight) across the instep. Right before the hooks start, pull tight (pulling the laces across left and right - see the Edea lacing video for an example). Then I go just “finger tight” at the hooks.

But as I said, my preferences are not common in the sport. Plus I’ve never skated in a Jacksons. I’m currently in Edeas. I laced pretty much the same way when I was in Klingbeils, except for the left/right stuff you need to do with Edeas.

This was probably all unhelpful and rambling. You could talk to your boot fitter as well. Good luck!

 

[Bunny Hop]

I agree with everything purple skates said. Definitely leave the top hooks undone - that will help the ankle bend. You can start doing them up later once you feel the need for greater support, but if you are just learning to skate you don't need them done up all the way at the moment (FWIW I'm well past learn to skate and have never done up the top hooks on my last two pairs of boots but I'm dance only, no jumping).

 

[overedge]

@ngcskate Also look at how tight your laces are further down on the boot. If the laces are pulled really tightly over your ankle joint and just above or below it, it's going to be hard for your ankle to bend. Try loosening the laces on that part of the boot and see if that makes a difference.

New boots are stiff anyway no matter what brand they are, and sometimes you just have to skate like that and wait until they start to soften up a bit.

 

[personwhoishere]

Wearing them around the house actually helped me break mine in (with hard rubber guards on the blades of course). 30-60 min a day should help, especially if you have stairs.

 

[canadianskater]

Wearing them around the house actually helped me break mine in (with hard rubber guards on the blades of course). 30-60 min a day should help, especially if you have stairs.

I do that and it works like a charm. I especially like wearing them when I'm standing for long periods of time for instance when I'm cooking or doing dishes.

 

[Aceon6]

Ditto on wearing around the house. I did a set of wall squats anytime I remembered. It took about 2 weeks before I had enough flex to be able to push properly.