How tight should my skates be?

padme21 said:

I just ordered a pair of new ice skates online. I ordered a size 9 but they're a bit tight. They hurt when I walk in them. I'm thinking about returning them and ordering a 9.5.
My mom wanted me to ask you guys for advice before I make any decisions. My skates are 119 Riedell Emeralds.
Please help I'd be most grateful.

Click to expand...

Arwen17 said:

What size do you wear for normal shoes? I feel like skates are often a half-size smaller than your regular shoe size. I wear 9.5 in normal shoes, but 9 in skates. I also have normal/medium width feet. Some people are wide-width or narrow-width.

Ask some coaches for advice too.

When you say that they "hurt", it's hard for us to determine if your feet are actually squished or if you're just not used to skates. My toes and heel are not squished, but at the same time they don't have much wiggle room. You want them to be as tight as possible without being painful. But it will also take time to break them in and let them mold to the shape of your foot. Would going up a half-size give you too much room and make the skate too loose? Or would it provide much needed room because you're too squished right now? Is it the length or the width that is causing you to be squished? Would a wide-width be better than an increase in size?

Click to expand...

loopy said:

Has your coach looked at them?

Did you use Reidell's size chart?

Click to expand...

Arwen17 said:

Just out of curiosity, what's your normal shoe size? Was my prediction correct? Skate size is often half-size smaller than shoe size?

Click to expand...

Arwen17 said:

Just out of curiosity, what's your normal shoe size? Was my prediction correct? Skate size is often half-size smaller than shoe size?

Click to expand...

Pink Ice said:

So, I don't know about you, but I can give you my experience with purchasing Riedell skates online and breaking them in. I found a pair on ebay that caught my eye. I was concerned they would be too narrow (they were a 9.5A and I knew Riedell tends to run narrow). I wear a size 10 shoe. I measured my feet, not using the Riedell cut out thing, but using the directions on Kenzie's Closet and using the chart for Riedell sizing they had. Based on my foot measurements it certainly appeared that I was within a safe range to order the boots. They were the first upper level boots I had ever tried on, I was not sure what to expect. I had some really cheap skates before that were size 10 that I had to wear 2 pairs of socks with and still felt a bit loose so I knew that was not right.

When the skates arrived, I made the mistake of trying them on with regular socks and could barely get my foot in. Then I tried a nylon knee high and my foot went in. I remember they felt tight on the sides but I could still wiggle my big toe. I could walk in them but it was not plesant, they felt really tight, though it was not pain, hard to describe. Anyway, these were higher level skates (silver stars) and I had only paid $100 for them with blades, never worn, so I did not have the option of sending them back and not much to lose trying them. If you talked to me the very first time I put my skates on I would have told you that they either needed to be stretched or I needed a wider size. But I decided to persist with the break in process, these were older model leather skates, I also read as much as I could about breaking in skates.

So, I sat around the house the first day or two with them on forced myself to make it thirty minutes a day. I then started skating with them. I made it ten minutes the first time before I had to sit. I rested, did another ten and called it a day. That was how my first couple of skates went, I wore trouser socks instead of knee highs, more durable but still thin. So, for the first five skates I was fairly convinced I need them stretched, but I wanted to wait until I had really given them a chance before I had them messed with. By about the sixth skate, I knew I did not want them stretched. I was able to skate thirty minutes without stopping and my at-home wear time had increased to an hour. I got to where I forgot I even had them on at home. By ten skates I was up to an hour on the ice, my feet would be reddened all around the bottom from the pressure when I removed the skate, but it was an even pressure, no signs of specific pressure points, and no real pain, just tired and a little achey when I finished.

I have now had them a year, I can wear them as long as I need to, the comfort of my skates way outlasts my skating endurance, I take very good care of them, never leave them out in the car, I always made sure the leather was about at room temperature as much as I could. The real break in process took me about ten skates and about twice as many days off ice, so about a month. It is really hard for me to advise people about skates when they first put them on because mine felt so awful and now they feel so good. The only thing I can say is that length wise you should be able to wiggle your big toe but not have slipping in the heel, they should be quite snug but it should be an even snugness, check the pressure pattern after you take them off to see if there are points of increased redness at first. When I skate now there is no redness at all BTW, but that also took a few months. They should not be painful per say but they will be tight. I know everyone is different too, sometimes it helps to do forum searches on other folk's experiences breaking in skates. Also, if they are lower level skates they are not leather, which gives and molds to your foot over time, they will be synthetic and less predictable in that aspect, I should think they would feel a little better than the leather ones from the beginning.

Click to expand...

Pink Ice said:

So, I don't know about you, but I can give you my experience with purchasing Riedell skates online and breaking them in. I found a pair on ebay that caught my eye. I was concerned they would be too narrow (they were a 9.5A and I knew Riedell tends to run narrow). I wear a size 10 shoe. I measured my feet, not using the Riedell cut out thing, but using the directions on Kenzie's Closet and using the chart for Riedell sizing they had. Based on my foot measurements it certainly appeared that I was within a safe range to order the boots. They were the first upper level boots I had ever tried on, I was not sure what to expect. I had some really cheap skates before that were size 10 that I had to wear 2 pairs of socks with and still felt a bit loose so I knew that was not right.

When the skates arrived, I made the mistake of trying them on with regular socks and could barely get my foot in. Then I tried a nylon knee high and my foot went in. I remember they felt tight on the sides but I could still wiggle my big toe. I could walk in them but it was not plesant, they felt really tight, though it was not pain, hard to describe. Anyway, these were higher level skates (silver stars) and I had only paid $100 for them with blades, never worn, so I did not have the option of sending them back and not much to lose trying them. If you talked to me the very first time I put my skates on I would have told you that they either needed to be stretched or I needed a wider size. But I decided to persist with the break in process, these were older model leather skates, I also read as much as I could about breaking in skates.

So, I sat around the house the first day or two with them on forced myself to make it thirty minutes a day. I then started skating with them. I made it ten minutes the first time before I had to sit. I rested, did another ten and called it a day. That was how my first couple of skates went, I wore trouser socks instead of knee highs, more durable but still thin. So, for the first five skates I was fairly convinced I need them stretched, but I wanted to wait until I had really given them a chance before I had them messed with. By about the sixth skate, I knew I did not want them stretched. I was able to skate thirty minutes without stopping and my at-home wear time had increased to an hour. I got to where I forgot I even had them on at home. By ten skates I was up to an hour on the ice, my feet would be reddened all around the bottom from the pressure when I removed the skate, but it was an even pressure, no signs of specific pressure points, and no real pain, just tired and a little achey when I finished.

I have now had them a year, I can wear them as long as I need to, the comfort of my skates way outlasts my skating endurance, I take very good care of them, never leave them out in the car, I always made sure the leather was about at room temperature as much as I could. The real break in process took me about ten skates and about twice as many days off ice, so about a month. It is really hard for me to advise people about skates when they first put them on because mine felt so awful and now they feel so good. The only thing I can say is that length wise you should be able to wiggle your big toe but not have slipping in the heel, they should be quite snug but it should be an even snugness, check the pressure pattern after you take them off to see if there are points of increased redness at first. When I skate now there is no redness at all BTW, but that also took a few months. They should not be painful per say but they will be tight. I know everyone is different too, sometimes it helps to do forum searches on other folk's experiences breaking in skates. Also, if they are lower level skates they are not leather, which gives and molds to your foot over time, they will be synthetic and less predictable in that aspect, I should think they would feel a little better than the leather ones from the beginning.

Click to expand...

cl2 said:

My shoe size is 6 1/2 and my current Riedell boots are size 5, fitted by an authorized Riedell dealer; yet, upon breaking in my boots, I feel I could have been a size 4 1/2 boots.

Shoe size is not a good measure for boot size, because each maker has different sizing charts and caters to different foot shapes. Apart from the toe-to-heel length, other factors include narrow/wide, how high the instep is, how tapered the toe box is, etc. Any of these factors could cause you pain, if not fit correctly to your foot's shape. A good skate fitter will be able to let you try several models and recommend to you the correct fit.

Re: your thread title, how tight should your skates be.. (disclaimer, I'm not a profession skate fitter, but can only speak from my experience)... it should be tight enough that your entire foot can lay completely flat, without being squished, but with zero addition space in the boot.

Click to expand...

padme21 said:

That was my problem. My toes were being squished.

Click to expand...

cl2 said:

You may well be right in your assessment of shoe size, but I'll reiterate my point again: getting the right fit is not just about going up half a size. Maybe you need a wider model. Maybe you need a different maker that makes the toe box more boxy (Riedells tend to have narrower toes... It's like boxy clogs vs pointy-toed shoes.) Maybe a skate technician can help you punch out the toe box to give it more room (as I had to do for my pair of skates).

You said your toes were squished... Were they pressed to the front of the boot, or were they squished from the top or sides? You mentioned your toes but didn't mention the rest of the foot. How was the fit at your heel? If your heel fit well previously, going up a half size could give you more toe space but end up with a loose heel... That's still a bad fit.

Click to expand...