Author Topic: New boots and blades for someone returning to skating after 25 years!  (Read 1674 times)

VinatgeSkating

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Hello I'm vintage skater, the one who didn't check the spelling when registering using her mobile!

I'm deciding on new wifa boots and blades.
I'm going to get back into skating after a 25 year break.  I used to do doubles and combinations but am not really expecting to be pulling out many doubles at this stage.  I'm 43, tall 5ft 7.7 inches the converter tells me and weigh more than i did in my teens and pre kids!

Originally my aspiration was to take my young kids for skating and teach them a few things.  Now i am considering taking up adult skating for fun and fitness.  So i might join the adult network for competitions mainly to meet more of my own kind.  I feel like i would be happy to do singles as i was always quite jumpy.

I'm deciding between wifa deluxe skatec or champions.  I tried some on locally and my feet loved them.  My thoughts are skatec are lighter and would really do the job while i build up my flexibility, fitness and see if i really commit to skating.  On the other hand if i take to it i may potentially break them down quickly due to my age/ weight.  Meaning forking out again for boots.  Anyone been in a similar position?

I'm also having to decide on new blades.  When i stopped i was needed to upgrade to more advances gear and was on MK professionals.  Now i don't expect to skate at the same level so think they would suit me fine.  So now choosing between profs, coronation ace to save a few pounds and potentially ultimas as i hear they hold their sharpening well.

Any helpful thoughts on skates blades or inspiration and hellos from other vintage skaters :-) 
 :D ::) O0
« Last Edit: September 22, 2017, 03:17:03 am by VinatgeSkating »

transmissionoftheflame

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Re: New boots and blades for someone returning to skating after 25 years!
« Reply #1 on: September 22, 2017, 07:46:49 am »
I wish I could be more helpful on boots and blades but it is such a personal thing.  Anyway you are already pretty knowledgeable so I am sure whatever choice you make will turn out ok.  Personally I have skated on a number of different blade profiles and price levels and I really couldn't say it made much difference once I got used to it.  Any decent blade I think is fine.  Regarding boots have you considered the WIFA Champion Light?  A friend of mine has them and they seem like well made boots with the added bonus that they are a fair bit lighter than traditional WIFA models, and actually very close to being as light as Edeas.
Inspirationally speaking well I took up skating at 40+ not having skated at all when young and have had lots of fun with it, and have improved loads (though am rarely satisfied as I can't rid myself of the silly notion that unless you can skate like John Curry it's not really skating).  I predict if you put in a few months of hard work and get some 1-1 coaching you'll feel pretty good on the ice again and almost everyone that sees you skate will think "wow".
It might be worth doing some off-ice conditioning like yoga or pilates or some work in the gym that includes core strengthening and stretching.  To skate well, which I fully expect you will soon remember how to do, requires a good level of preparedness which one has naturally as a child but in middle age you can't get away with it.   If you're in good shape then you'll find you can do more and enjoy it more.
I still skate with my daughters, who started with me and are obviously much better than me now.  It's a lovely thing to do as a family.
Have fun!

WednesdayMarch

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Re: New boots and blades for someone returning to skating after 25 years!
« Reply #2 on: September 22, 2017, 02:11:02 pm »
I'm just returning to skating after a hiatus of nearly 20 years (caused by an accident and a leg rebuild).  It's all changed!!!  I remember Wifa boots as being high quality, but only have experience (not good, either) of the made to measure ones.  I'm using the Super Teri Deluxe boots and MK Dance blades I used all those years ago.  My ankles are very bruised and the shortness of the MK Dance blades is terrifying at the back because I'm so out of practice.  No doubt my boots will soften a bit, my ankles will get over the shock and I'll remember where to put my weight so I don't land on my head too often...

The only advice I can really offer about boots and blades is that in my recent experience, although I thought I may well want a less sturdy boot and to lace them up higher because there was no way I'd be bending as much or as tough on them as I used to be, it took less than 10 minutes for me to realise that I need exactly the same support and lacing as I always did.  Don't be too quick to compromise.  If you skated to a high standard before, you're not going to be happy and comfortable in equipment designed for lesser standards, if you know what I mean!   

My blade of choice for a non-dancer would be the Phantom.  It was very late into my career that I was persuaded onto MK Dance from my beloved Phantom Specials and I really wish I'd never sold those blades as they were just so good, although that's possibly the reason I find my MK Dance so short now.  You certainly wouldn't regret that purchase.  With a somewhat unstable right leg, it's probably best I stick with my dance blades as otherwise I'll be tempted to have a go at jumping again and that would almost certainly be disastrous.

I hope you enjoy getting back to skating.  I'm finding it hugely frustrating as my poor right leg had to relearn walking 14 years ago and now has to relearn skating and its muscle memory just isn't there.  Even so, I'm told I skate round with a grin like a Cheshire Cat and I know I drive home feeling amazing so I think perseverance is key.  :)
Returned to the ice in Sept 2017 after a major leg injury in 1999. Skating in Jackson Elite Pro & MK Vision Syncro. Still scary after all these years.

Florence

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Re: New boots and blades for someone returning to skating after 25 years!
« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2017, 03:11:47 pm »
Hello  :) 


When I bought skates early this year, I was told Wifa were in administration? Are they back in usual business now?


I'm not good at boot advice, but my daughter has had MK Prof. for a while now since before she passed Nisa 1 so am sure they would still be ok at your returning level. I have coronation ace and I'm only beginner sk8 uk levels, I haven't found them much different to my Graf bog standard blade that came on the boots tbh, don't know if that is because my skating is not a good enough level for me to be able to feel the difference yet though.


Good luck getting back into it. It's hard pushing past the ache of old injury but I found the more I skate the less it aches! x

VinatgeSkating

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Re: New boots and blades for someone returning to skating after 25 years!
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2017, 02:52:31 pm »
Thanks for your replies.

Indeed i was thinking some off ice work would be valuable and half the reason I'm thinking of going back.  I need some motivation to exercise more.  I won't be getting much ice time so will need to supplement it.  I was thinking mainly flexibility and core with yoga and then some cardio.  I do yoga once a week and might have to think about some more stretching at home. 

WednesdayMarch wow sounds like quite an operation.  Good on you for getting back into it.  I had considered dance or synchro.  Maybe dance down the track but synchro just isn't what I'm used to. 

As far as quality of equipment.  I had skated on mk professional blades so don't know any different.  I reached a point where i had to advamce or leave.  I chose to focus on my last two years of high school and a casual job at the movies.  I wish i could give these new boots and blades to my younger self and tell her to keep going cause skating really made me happy.  I didnt realise it for another 10 years but i think it was what was missing for me for a while after i left.  I'm hoping to have more fun with the artisitic side this time. 

Florence I'm thinking of coronation aces too.  I think I'd love some phantoms or up a level but find it so hard to justify.  Perhaps if i get out and use them by getting back into the sport.  But first i feel the need to see if I'm going to go often.  The rink os 30 mins away and i have a ny kids are 2.5 and 5.5 years so still dependent.  I am keen to give it a red hot go as per Mr 5's school motto 😄

Oh i hope they haven't gone into administration.  The website doesn't indicate anything.  They are expensive but not a lot of choice as I'm in Australia.  Here in Melbourne skating isn't big so not much to chose from.  There were more rinks in Sydney where i grew up.  They really were very different to other skates i tried on.  My feet felt so happy in the Wfia's! 

I have been wondering whether there is any difference in support between skatecs and champion lights in terms of support.  The champion derby or reinforced are heavier and have a thicker sole and harder but the light had the same sole as the skatec.  So i wonder whether they have more support in the sides.  Something might be different otherwise why would they need a boot between the two.  I've been tossing up between the two but i think the skatec might be ok.  Yes the champions would last longer but i would have a stiffer boot starting out and i want to see that I'm using them and they do have extra weight.  I'll go ask the people I'm buying through if they are still selling them and ask about the champion lights too. 

Loving hearing others who have got back into it and the big smiles!


VinatgeSkating

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Re: New boots and blades for someone returning to skating after 25 years!
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2017, 03:52:46 pm »
It appears they are still in business.  The wifa facebook page has had lots of updates in September 😊

WifaWobble

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Re: New boots and blades for someone returning to skating after 25 years!
« Reply #6 on: September 25, 2017, 11:42:30 am »
Wifa 'deluxe' lining is all yummy and soft and snug and gives the illusion of a perfect fit (assuming the UK principal dealer hasn't just bunged you in to just anything thinking he knows your feet better than you do) and then ....

After a few weeks or months that lining tears wears and crumbles and you find they rub your feet and feel loose.  My first pair of Wifas bought c.1994 lasted about 15 years.  The second 'deluxe' pair last about 15 months.

I went SP Teri next time ... lining appears more robust, in the sense they don't really have any lining as such at all ... but the random pot luck nature of buying things that you can never try on before they're made -  and sadly manufacturers don't produce even the most basic of mock up just for sizing - meant I paid about £600 for something that doesn't fit.

Good luck, and if pressing on with Wifa be sure to study all their own sizing info and stand up to any aggression or short-temper from the retailer, and think about opting out of the deluxe thing.

WednesdayMarch

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Re: New boots and blades for someone returning to skating after 25 years!
« Reply #7 on: September 25, 2017, 02:09:23 pm »
Ooh, that's really interesting about the linings.  I was chatting with the pro at the rink and she said that boots have really changed since I bought my pair.  I've seen things about moldable inners and linings made of all manner of high tech things but to my mind - and I think you just confirmed it, WifaWobble - you just can't beat leather.  I bought my SP Teris from Les Westaway nearly 20 years ago and was able to try them first.  He had the SP Teri Deluxe in both white and beige in my size and I found the beige pair more comfortable, so that's what I bought.  (I was no longer competing, just training and teaching, so not bothered that they weren't white.  Now I'm more than a little embarrassed by my current ineptitude and feel like a wounded zebra on the plains of the Serengeti!)

The SP Teri website says that there is a dealer in Australia, in NSW but whether they are still going, I don't know as Googling didn't help much.

I've had several pairs of SP Teris, starting with the Super Teri and then going with the Super Teri Deluxe, which I have loved since day one.  They are leather, leather and more leather.  In the (hopefully unlikely or at least far off) event of having to replace them, I hope to either buy more of the same or at least something similar that eschews weird new innovative materials and gives me quality leather than I know will be hardwearing and last!
« Last Edit: September 26, 2017, 01:41:05 pm by WednesdayMarch »
Returned to the ice in Sept 2017 after a major leg injury in 1999. Skating in Jackson Elite Pro & MK Vision Syncro. Still scary after all these years.

VinatgeSkating

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Re: New boots and blades for someone returning to skating after 25 years!
« Reply #8 on: September 25, 2017, 02:49:40 pm »
Wifawobble I am afraid I'm  not sure what you mean by aggression of the retailer?

Also do skatec do a none deluxe version of the skatec without the lining that you think will last longer? 

As for Teri i probably won't go to Sydney to try them on.  The store did also sell grafs but i didn't try them on.  They didn't have much availability of sizes.  The Risports felt awlful and the only other option they had was jacksons.  My last pair were jacksons, i want to stay away from them as they are too big.

WifaWobble

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Re: New boots and blades for someone returning to skating after 25 years!
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2017, 07:18:05 am »
You'll know if you experience it.  Just don't think you're alone if you do.  If you don't then don't worry either.

Skatec is surely just a model type of Wifa, not a brand of its own?

Not sure where this Australia reference has crept in from.

Incidentally, are PuckStop still around?  Used to run a shop at Sheffield rink, until the premises turned into something else I gather.  But, though I never bought from there, I was impressed with the helpful can-do-ness of the manageress.

VinatgeSkating

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Re: New boots and blades for someone returning to skating after 25 years!
« Reply #10 on: September 26, 2017, 08:53:23 am »
Wobble...  if typos keep you so amused stick around.   For there will be much amusement for you in my posts. 

It seems champion light are stronger and have a more durable lining.  While skatecs skatec, couldn't help myself on that one might not be strong enough.  So its one of the champions for me.  Now i need only decide between lights with better lining and lighter boots or heavier champ boots with a derby cut better for a high instep.

I'm leaning toward lights with mk prof blades.

I have discovered my local rink has offers theatre on ice, group coaching and a coffee.  Also an adult synchro group, however synchro isn't 'speaking' to me.

Looking forward to the skating ahead.



 

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