Choosing the Right Skates
Hello again and welcome back! In my last article we talked about skates and skating skills. I talked about where to find inexpensive skates and now I would like to add a few more things about skates in this article
Whether you have or have not purchased skates yet, there are some things to look for and to do when purchasing your new skates. When choosing your skates, make sure they fit right. If the heel of your foot comes up in the boot of the skate when the skates are laced tightly, you have a problem. This causes you to lose speed and power, so look at this when you’re choosing a pair.
After you’ve purchased your skates, one simple thing to do is to get a pair of blade socks and skate guards. They are very inexpensive, but important equipment to protect your skate blades from wear. The blade socks soak up the moisture on the blades but you should still always wipe down your blades after every skate to prevent unnecessary wear.
In the old days we would let our skates soak in water to loosen up the leather. Today we have what is called baking or cooking. This cannot be done by an online retailer, if this is where you purchased your skates, and you’ll need to go to a store to get this done. They put the skate in a oven for ten minutes, then you lace them up and keep them on for ten minutes. Now your skate is broken in and the skate will feel great. Use the same thickness of sock that you would wear while skating when you do this to get the best fit. It’s a forty dollar deal that is well worth it. Also, many places do it for free if you buy the skates from them.
Last bit of advice is to always carry a extra pair of laces.
