Recommendations for Intermediate Skates?

bohdanpurtell · Jul 20, 2018

Hey peoples,

I'm an intermediate skater that just reached ISI Freestyle 2, which is quite low however I am not a beginner. I have a budget of $250.00 and am wondering what boot/blade combo or just combined skate I should get next? I'm a dude so finding any skates in black has been exceptionally hard unless it was one of the $500.00 Riedell pairs.

Thanks,

An Aspiring Skater

acapenci · Jul 20, 2018

This should go on the lutz corner

Sibelius · Jul 20, 2018

You're in a tough spot price wise. The best advice is to go to a good pro shop and get fit, but at that budget it will be difficult. Most will generally say avoid ordering on-line, but that being said this is a great skate at a great price. Long a standard for those at your level and above. Look for a good shop in your area first and ask what they can do for you. Fit is the most important aspect of buying a skate. Worth the extra money to get it right. If what you're currently in can hold on a little longer you'd be better off saving a little more for what a good shop can offer.

https://www.shop.kinziescloset.com/Jackson-DJ2192-Freestyle-Mens-Figure-Skates-Clearance-DJ2192M.htm

At the bottom of the linked page is a link to measurement charts and how to measure. Again, use only as a last option, you may lose more money if it doesn't fit. Best of luck.

bostonskaterguy86 · Jul 21, 2018

Sibelius said:
You're in a tough spot price wise. The best advice is to go to a good pro shop and get fit, but at that budget it will be difficult. Most will generally say avoid ordering on-line, but that being said this is a great skate at a great price. Long a standard for those at your level and above. Look for a good shop in your area first and ask what they can do for you. Fit is the most important aspect of buying a skate. Worth the extra money to get it right. If what you're currently in can hold on a little longer you'd be better off saving a little more for what a good shop can offer.

https://www.shop.kinziescloset.com/Jackson-DJ2192-Freestyle-Mens-Figure-Skates-Clearance-DJ2192M.htm

At the bottom of the linked page is a link to measurement charts and how to measure. Again, use only as a last option, you may lose more money if it doesn't fit. Best of luck.

One option you might try is calling a couple local skate shops and seeing if they have a similar deal on this or another similar skate. Jackson discontinued a bunch of models recently to replace them with their newer soles so you might find that a local shop is looking to get rid of these.

Another option, if you can’t find a deal this good locally, is to ask if you could pay a small fee to a local fitter to get sized, even if you’re not planning on buying your skates from them. You could at least get a pro’s opinion on what size works best for you in Jacksons, and then you wouldn’t be ordering completely blind (although with differences in between individual models, it’s best to try on the exact skate you are looking at before you buy).

tstop4me · Jul 21, 2018

bohdanpurtell said:
Hey peoples,

I'm an intermediate skater that just reached ISI Freestyle 2, which is quite low however I am not a beginner. I have a budget of $250.00 and am wondering what boot/blade combo or just combined skate I should get next? I'm a dude so finding any skates in black has been exceptionally hard unless it was one of the $500.00 Riedell pairs.

Thanks,

An Aspiring Skater

You haven't mentioned what boot & blade you're skating on now.

Tavi... · Jul 22, 2018

Given your price range, you might ask your pro shop if they have any used skates that would fit you properly.

Arwen17 · Jul 22, 2018

Black skates are easy to find online. A lot of the pictures may show white skates, but you can buy them in black version.
http://www.jacksonultima.com/en/Index.aspx?category=7YlE13ayhuTPjN/sMIYMxg1A2B3C4D5E1A2B3C4D5E
https://ice.edeaskates.com/en/collections/shoes/
https://ice.riedellskates.com/products/figure-skating-boots

Freestyle 2 is not "intermediate". It's beginner freestyle. You're not intermediate freestyle until you're in FS 5-6 and working on double jumps.
Advanced freestyle would be level 9-10 OR working on triple jumps.
"Intermediate" implies you are halfway thru the known ISI levels 1-10. So level 5-6 would be the "middle".
USFSA even calls their middle level "intermediate". --> pre-prelim, prelim, pre-juve, juve, intermediate, novice, junior, senior.

A $500 skate is most likely an "intermediate" skate boot rated for double jumps, which you don't need yet. You need a boot rated for single jumps, which means it will probably be about $300.

Jackson Debut or Freestyle would be good for you. Both are $319, but Debut would be more expensive since it doesn't come with a pre-attached blade. You would have to buy your own blade. So if you want to save money, get the Freestyle.

Edea Overture is also a good choice at $298. But once again you would have to buy your own seperate blade, which makes it more expensive. Reasonable blades at your level are $150-$200.

Riedell Edge or Stride can come with blade pre-attached which makes them around $300. If you see them for prices closer to $250, that means the blade isn't included. So be careful about that. Make sure you know you're buying something with the blade included.

Used skates are also a possibility if you're desperate to save cash. But the skates won't last as long nor fit as well as brand-new skates. Other skaters in the local club, local facebook resell groups, and ebay are where used skates sometimes appear.

Tavi... · Jul 23, 2018

Arwen17 said:
Black skates are easy to find online. A lot of the pictures may show white skates, but you can buy them in black version.
http://www.jacksonultima.com/en/Index.aspx?category=7YlE13ayhuTPjN/sMIYMxg1A2B3C4D5E1A2B3C4D5E
https://ice.edeaskates.com/en/collections/shoes/
https://ice.riedellskates.com/products/figure-skating-boots

Freestyle 2 is not "intermediate". It's beginner freestyle. You're not intermediate freestyle until you're in FS 5-6 and working on double jumps.
Advanced freestyle would be level 9-10 OR working on triple jumps.
"Intermediate" implies you are halfway thru the known ISI levels 1-10. So level 5-6 would be the "middle".
USFSA even calls their middle level "intermediate". --> pre-prelim, prelim, pre-juve, juve, intermediate, novice, junior, senior.

A $500 skate is most likely an "intermediate" skate boot rated for double jumps, which you don't need yet. You need a boot rated for single jumps, which means it will probably be about $300.

Jackson Debut or Freestyle would be good for you. Both are $319, but Debut would be more expensive since it doesn't come with a pre-attached blade. You would have to buy your own blade. So if you want to save money, get the Freestyle.

Edea Overture is also a good choice at $298. But once again you would have to buy your own seperate blade, which makes it more expensive. Reasonable blades at your level are $150-$200.

Riedell Edge or Stride can come with blade pre-attached which makes them around $300. If you see them for prices closer to $250, that means the blade isn't included. So be careful about that. Make sure you know you're buying something with the blade included.

Used skates are also a possibility if you're desperate to save cash. But the skates won't last as long nor fit as well as brand-new skates. Other skaters in the local club, local facebook resell groups, and ebay are where used skates sometimes appear.

You gave some good suggestions, but most of them are outside of the OP’s stated $250 total budget. Whether that’s realistic is another question. By the way, the OP’s description of himself as an “intermediate skater” seems perfectly fine to me to describe a recreational skater who’s mastered most basic skills and is just starting to jump.

bostonskaterguy86 · Jul 23, 2018

I skate in these and while I don’t love the blade, the boot is just fine and is rated for singles through beginning axel. They’re a discontinued model so they’re quite cheap online. See if a local fitter will help you figure out what size to order for a reasonable fee.

https://skaterslanding.com/products/gam-mens-concept-g5047-closeout-special

Arwen17 · Jul 23, 2018

Tavi... said:
You gave some good suggestions, but most of them are outside of the OP’s stated $250 total budget. Whether that’s realistic is another question. By the way, the OP’s description of himself as an “intermediate skater” seems perfectly fine to me to describe a recreational skater who’s mastered most basic skills and is just starting to jump.

Unless he finds used skates or some super discount, I cannot recommend skates that are $250 or cheaper if he is working on jumps in FS level 2. When I was a kid, I wore cheap recreational skates when I was in those same FS levels since I skated in them when I was still in LTS levels. I ended up having the heel suddenly rip away from the boot during a simple toe loop jump. (My coach warned me a million times that I was risking my boots snapping underneath me. But I ignored the warnings because of money.) I was lucky I wasn't injured.
He cannot expect skates that are not rated for single jumps to withstand jumping. All skates rated for singles are around $300. Unless he wants to risk injury and destruction of his boots, he needs to find a way to raise his budget to $300.
There's a reason these boots are rated for LTS skills, singles, doubles, triples, etc. It's not just because skate manufacturers want to make more money. It's literally a safety hazard to not have a boot that can withstand what you're doing in it.

When I started working on axel and doubles, I had to upgrade my boots again because they were only rated for singles and were starting to break down underneath me. I learned my lesson long ago from that toe loop jump. Don't skate with crappy skates below your level.

Recommendations for Intermediate Skates?

bohdanpurtell

acapenci

Sibelius

bostonskaterguy86

tstop4me

Tavi...

Arwen17

Tavi...

bostonskaterguy86

Arwen17

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