Rental Skate Help

hanyuufan5 · Aug 1, 2018

Hi, does anyone have any advice about my skate situation? I won't be able to get good skates for a few more weeks and have been using rental skates.

The ones I use look just like regular good skates but in a different color. They actually have very good ankle support despite being quite old. I don't know if that's because they haven't been used much, because I weigh next to nothing, or both. They seem to have okay edges, but I'm not entirely sure how to tell. Maybe they need to be sharpened?

I read somewhere that rental skates have bad rockers and are terrible for spinning. I'm much worse at spinning than MiF and jumps. I also leave big scrape marks, not regular lines, when doing salchows. Is that because I just re-learned them or could the skates have something to do with that?

Is there anything I can do to compensate, or am I just stuck until I get the skates my coach recommended? Or is it possible that it doesn't matter and it's all just lack of practice?

bostonskaterguy86 · Aug 1, 2018

Without watching you skate it’d be hard to tell what’s attributable to technique vs equipment. But generally it is true that rentals typically have beginner blades which don’t always have the best spin rockers. If the skates you’re using have a significantly different rocker profile than what you learned your spins and jumps on, it could absolutely be affecting your ability to execute what you already know. There’s always an adjustment period with different equipment.

kelliusmaximus · Aug 2, 2018

Just hang in there until you get your new skates, a few weeks is nothing and chances are you will have to change your skating a fair bit to adapt to the new ones anyway.

Today I actually tried rental skates again for the first time since I started skating. They were completely blunt, the toepick was in a totally different place, they were so uncomfortable I could barely skate. It'd be pointless to try much beyond basic stroking, edges, crossovers etc on most rentals.

karne · Aug 2, 2018

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh you should not be jumping in rentals! That's a recipe for disaster and broken bones!

tstop4me · Aug 2, 2018

Yes, pay attention to Posts No. 3 and 4. Jumping or spinning in rentals places you at great risk for an injury that will setback your skating progress far more than waiting a few weeks for proper gear will.

Tavi... · Aug 2, 2018

Your coach should be able to tell you if the skates need to be sharpened, if you can’t tell yourself.

tstop4me · Aug 2, 2018

Tavi... said:
Your coach should be able to tell you if the skates need to be sharpened, if you can’t tell yourself.

The problem is, what if they do need sharpening? I believe we discussed this issue before: it's a rare rink that will sharpen a rental upon request, and, even if you ask to swap them for another pair, good luck in finding one that is sharpened.

Tavi... · Aug 3, 2018

tstop4me said:
The problem is, what if they do need sharpening? I believe we discussed this issue before: it's a rare rink that will sharpen a rental upon request, and, even if you ask to swap them for another pair, good luck in finding one that is sharpened.

True! And the same would be true if the edges are wonky, the spin rocker mangled, blade misaligned, etc. But the whole situation sounds a bit unusual. The OP mentioned doing MITF, spins and sal - most skaters with those skills would not be in rentals, and most skaters in rentals wouldn’t be in the same pair for an extended period. If they’re holding the same pair of boots for her as a courtesy, perhaps they’d also be willing to sharpen them if they need it. Or not.

hanyuufan5 · Aug 3, 2018

Tavi... said:
True! And the same would be true if the edges are wonky, the spin rocker mangled, blade misaligned, etc. But the whole situation sounds a bit unusual. The OP mentioned doing MITF, spins and sal - most skaters with those skills would not be in rentals, and most skaters in rentals wouldn’t be in the same pair for an extended period. If they’re holding the same pair of boots for her as a courtesy, perhaps they’d also be willing to sharpen them if they need it. Or not.

Unusual is putting it mildly. If I ever wrote an autobiography, I'd have to market it as surrealist fiction to have a fraction of a chance of it not being criticised as too unrealistic. I wouldn't wish the bizarre circumstances that led to me doing sals in rentals on my worst enemy, but it is what it is, and it's rentals or nothing for another few weeks. It's not like I know what good skates feel like anyway. No one told me as a kid that there are different skates for different levels.

Anyway, I'm finally at a good rink, and they do have unusually good rental skates (which they do hold for me and are going to sharpen).

Tavi... · Aug 3, 2018

hanyuufan5 said:
Unusual is putting it mildly. If I ever wrote an autobiography, I'd have to market it as surrealist fiction to have a fraction of a chance of it not being criticised as too unrealistic. I wouldn't wish the bizarre circumstances that led to me doing sals in rentals on my worst enemy, but it is what it is, and it's rentals or nothing for another few weeks. It's not like I know what good skates feel like anyway. No one told me as a kid that there are different skates for different levels.

Anyway, I'm finally at a good rink, and they do have unusually good rental skates (which they do hold for me and are going to sharpen).

Good luck!

hanyuufan5 · Aug 3, 2018

Tavi... said:
Good luck!

Thank you!

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