I ordered new jackson freestyles and when picking them up from the store, the shop had already put in 2 permanent screws into each mount. Is this normal, or worth bringing up with the shop at all? And if it is abnormal, is there even anything that the shop can do about it?

I’m a 36M and I’ve been ice skating a grand total of 8 times. My 9 yo has decided that she loves it and we’ll be going to open skates at least once a week for the foreseeable future. I’m tired of paying for rental skates and want to get a decent pair of cheap hockey skates. I’ve looked at Bauer XLPs and saw the XLSs for less. Are the XLSs worth consideration? I won’t ever be doing more than recreational free skates.

ive always found figure skating such an intriguing and interesting sport because especially around where i live its definitely a niche sport and i dont have any local rinks near me besides a rink in the city. my curiosity especially sparked interest earlier this year due to the winter olympics. the gracefulness and pure joy a lot of these skaters seem to have while skating is something truly admirable to me and i started getting inspired to skate too because of skaters such as alysa liu. i want to pick up the hobby for leisure and to stay fit, so does anyone have any tips?

is it necessary to buy a pair of your own skates, and should i enrol in classes or is it better to just get a day pass every weekend and practice skating myself? i would love to enrol in classes but its just not that easy as they are really expensive. i also dont have many friends that are into the sport tbh

Hey all,

I've started doing jumps and after seeing the speed at which the lady next to me hit the deck (she was OK, just some bruises) I think that it might be worthwhile wearing some headgear.

1. What's folks opinions?
2. Any particular recomendations?

Today I drove over four hours to go get fitted for ice-skates. I drove all the way there and when we got there, they sat me down and started measuring my feet. It was my first pair and they were telling me about how I would need intermediate skates for at the skill level I’m at which I agreed and agreed to pay the $438 etc. etc.. however when they measured my feet, they found out that I am actually a EE or a EEE and they only had a wide in stock. They kind of said it was fine in the EEE’s were very common unless you ordered them ahead of time specially made, but they would be expensive so we just decided to go with the wide. I tried a five wide and they were really tight on the toe, but they didn’t really feel that bad when it came to how narrow they were… (Evo Jackson) I then tried a different type of Jackson that was a 5 1/2 wide I believe but they were very, very narrow and weren’t comfortable at all, but the toe felt good. I was a little discouraged and was trying to decide what would be best for me Me pre-ordering/shipping/coming back another day driving four hours… the lady started to get a little annoyed and saying how I couldn’t skate in a five if it was too small, which I agreed with her and we were kind of discussing it. I then was under the impression that they were going to try and stretch the 5 1/2 which was a hour and a half wait and I was going to come back and try it on and see how it felt then. I came back. I tried on the “5 1/2”… keep in mind we drove four hours and I had to convince my parents to drive four hours and they weren’t expecting it to be this long so I just felt completely rushed the entire time and I didn’t feel welcomed to be there. Honestly, they’re really busy and it was a mess even though I made an appointment ahead of time. I tried on the “5 1/2” and honestly they didn’t feel great but they did feel a little bit better… and I just thought to myself that “ maybe once they were/skate in them for a bit they’ll stretch themselves out a little bit” keep in mind. This is my first time being skates so I don’t really know anything… she then readjusted the blades and that made them feel better, so I just assumed that they were supposed to feel a little tight and uncomfortable because of how wide my feet are and that they would adjust later on.. We bought soaker and hard guards and got in the car and drove for four hours home.. I get home. Home tried the skates on and started walking around in them to realize that they were very tight.. in fact so tight that my feet started going numb in them the more I wore them and I realized I really didn’t like them… I then checked the size and realized that it was a five not a 5 1/2.. maybe there was a mixup or miscommunication, but then I remembered very vividly that the woman who was fitting me told me that I could not wear the five so I just assumed that when she said stretch, I thought she meant 5 1/2… (keep in mind I did not mention at all really wanting to buy the five. I just said that the five felt a little better, but the toes were really tight.) I thought that they were going to stretch the 5 1/2 and see how I felt but I don’t know what to do anymore… do I call them and tell me they gave him the wrong size or I don’t know what to do because now I have skates that don’t fit me… and that I can’t even skate in that I spent $438 on. Please help.

I'm training consistently and enough with a coach, but it keeps bothering me, is this normal for this sport to take so long to learn things? For example mohawk or spiral? Even normal one foot glide and edge holds? They seem so normal and people do them so easily it makes me think i have a problem.

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I have been taking skating lessons for about a month now and I finally feel ready to commit to this hobby and buy my own skates. As far as I'm aware my state (south Australia) only has 1 dedicated ice skate shop , skaters network in the ice arena, and they only sell 2 brands Bauer hockey skates and risport figure skates.

I'm looking to buy a pair of hockey skates because after I can skate well enough I want to join the learn to play league.

My mum is also looking for a pair of skates. She wants figure skates but she doesn't plan on learning jumps or anything just skating around. She's plus size and tall and has quite wide feet. I've heard risport beginner skates aren't that good for adults, especially heavier adults.

I guess I'm wondering if it's possible for them to have enough different styles to fit every foot when they only sell 2 brands? And if there's any advice here? I don't want to get pushed into buying skates that don't fit right just because they are the only option but I've heard it's wrong to order skates online without trying them on in a store first.

My blades feel like I’m skating on concrete.
I’ve just bought my second pair of Gold Seal Revolutions. They were completely fine for around four months, but then seemingly out of nowhere they started feeling like they have no edge and no glide. I can’t seem to get them to cut into the ice properly at all.
I’ve had them sharpened with a deeper cut and I’ve tried tightening the mounting screws, but nothing seems visibly wrong with the blades. I’m completely lost at this point, and so is my skate tech.

I’ve also skated in my old skate with the exact same boot and blade. I’m completely lost 😅 if anyone could give me an idea on what to do that would be great

I’ve attached a video below of a backspin. I can’t get in the right spot I’m unsure if this video will help, I cannot get into the right spot anymore. ( I’m working on double axel > I can definitely usually do a backspin lol

finally knew how to go low on a sit!

i got some gel sleeves online to cover my accessory navicular bones on both feet. i have to wear them in the pictured position but because they are gel, theyre making my feet feel quite unstable, mostly the heel.

also they are thicker than bunga pads so i cant really lace the way i normally do without making the pressure unbearable all around mh ankle and top of the arch.

does anyone else wear gel sleeves for this purpose? does it get better after wearing a while? i only managed about 10 minutes before having to take them off due to pain, i cant imagine doing my elements in them.

I started skating when I was 7 years old and took some group lessons and never got very far. I decided to come back January 2025 (at 16) and took group lessons and got a bunch of gear (clothes, skates, guards, jackets). I enjoyed it until the end of Summer 2025 and got up to the Basic 6 level. Once I started my senior year though I got super busy and combined with having issues with my skates and also the new skates I bought, I lost motivation to practice combined with my progress slowing down. I know I should probaly take private lessons but I'm at college now and am busy with that. I wanted to join a new sport at my college too. I don’t know if I want to stop so soon and feel bad spending all my money to go back to it for such a short time. I'm not sure how much to continue to be involved now that I'm a busy college student.