New Equipment
Last summer, I bought a new pair of boots and a new pair of blades. I knew that my current equipment was nearing the end of its life, and my boot tech (who also happens to be my pairs partner) said that it would be able to last until the end of the adult skating season.
Well, the adult skating season has ended, since Adult Nationals concluded last weekend. I was on spring break, so my season technically ended after Adult Sectionals was over. I wanted to make the switch over to the new equipment after I returned from spring break, but there was a bit of an issue…
When I ordered my new equipment, I asked the vendor to keep the boots and the blades separate (in other words, do not mount the blades to the boots). It’s a common practice, since skaters generally have blades temporarily mounted to get a feel for them before they are permanently mounted. Well, you can probably guess what happened next.
The vendor (or possibly one of the manufacturers) permanently mounted the blades to the boots. This was definitely a problem. I have a “special” spine (read: very twisted and crooked, since I have scoliosis), so a “normal” placement for blades will not work for my body. I tried skating on the new equipment prior to spring break and honestly thought I was going to die. I could not skate at all.
Thankfully, my pairs partner took the time (possibly hours or even days) to remove the blades and mounted them in the same spot as my current set of equipment. He had to create some shims to provide extra tilt on one side of the blades for each boot. Then he had to patch the holes from the original mounting and then re-attach the blades with new screws. It was a lot of work.
When I tried on my new equipment after the adjustments, they felt so much better. I didn’t feel as scared, but the weight distribution and center of gravity was slightly different from my current pair of skates. It took a while to get used to everything, and despite the pain from stiff new boots, I was able to execute a few spins (see the almost centered tracing above). I even did a back spin without falling over!
This new set of equipment is going to take some time to get used to (and to break in), but I hope it will make things a bit easier for me. I’ve heard that this type of blade will enable turns to be more effortless, but I will be the judge of that.
In case you are wondering, I got Edea Ice Fly boots (which I’ve worn for many years now) and Gold Seal blades.