Recommendation on Jackson skates for beginner?

[drjuice]

I'm looking for advice for skates for my daughter. She is entering high school. She's 12 but looks 16, super strong but also overweight. She wanted to try figure skating as an after-school activity, and while she's not got the feather-light touch to her, definitely not the slender waif type you usually see skating, but who am I to say no to physical activity.

She also has a tendency to sprain her ankles. It's possible she has joint hypermobility but she has not been tested for it yet.

Obviously I do not want her to break her foot and ankles, and given her ankles are already a bit weak and she carries more weight, I want to get something with good support for her.

She has skated once in her life. She's starting from zero.

We were looking at the jackson mystique or artiste (JS1491 or JS1791)

What do you recommend?

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I'm looking for advice for skates for my daughter. She is entering high school. She's 12 but looks 16, super strong but also overweight. She wanted to try figure skating as an after-school activity, and while she's not got the feather-light touch to her, definitely not the slender waif type you usually see skating, but who am I to say no to physical activity.

She also has a tendency to sprain her ankles. It's possible she has joint hypermobility but she has not been tested for it yet.

Obviously I do not want her to break her foot and ankles, and given her ankles are already a bit weak and she carries more weight, I want to get something with good support for her.

She has skated once in her life. She's starting from zero.

We were looking at the jackson mystique or artiste (JS1491 or JS1791)

What do you recommend?

Hello and welcome! The first thing I would suggest is that your daughter be seen by a specialist to check out this possible "hyper-mobility" and to make sure she is given the thumbs up before she even tries to get skates and sign up for lessons.

Then if she is given the thumbs up from the doctor, neither of those Jackson skates you listed are going to be stiff enough for her possible weight and also for the hyper-mobility(?) possibility. The skates you listed are for recreation kids skating.

Also, depending on her foot shape/size etc Jackson might not even be the brand to go with. There is so much that goes into it.

 

[drjuice]

Well, damnit. I caught this reply too late. My wife has already gone to the figure skating store for a fitting session with my daughter, and they chose one of those two that I wrote about, I am not sure which, but based on "the price they think" they paid, the only matching pair would be a JS1490 Mystique which is the senior-sized version of the 1491, which states level 15 support.

Unfortunately my wife and daughter needed a pair by monday and they were away at a festival out of town (about 2h drive, 4h total back and forth). So they've got what they've got in the trunk, and the store is closed tomorrow.

I asked our family doctor if it was OK and he said "yes".

Why do you say it's not enough support? What would happen in your mind? I really respect your opinion based on your profile.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Well, damnit. I caught this reply too late. My wife has already gone to the figure skating store for a fitting session with my daughter, and they chose one of those two that I wrote about, I am not sure which, but based on "the price they think" they paid, the only matching pair would be a JS1490 Mystique which is the senior-sized version of the 1491, which states level 15 support.

Unfortunately my wife and daughter needed a pair by monday and they were away at a festival out of town (about 2h drive, 4h total back and forth). So they've got what they've got in the trunk, and the store is closed tomorrow.

I asked our family doctor if it was OK and he said "yes".

Why do you say it's not enough support? What would happen in your mind? I really respect your opinion based on your profile.

I'm telling you that if she's overweight as you've stated (if you would be willing to say what her weight is that would certainly help more), and strong as well, 15 stiffness rating isn't going to cut it. Those boots are not for anyone that is of waif/healthy weight as an adult or teen/older tween who is going to be doing more than skating endlessly in circles at a public skate (I wouldn't even suggest them for that TBH). She could injure herself and won't be able to have enough support for learning the things she would like to learn and more even in LTS (Learn to Skate) lessons.

Not even knowing her actual number weight, I wouldn't put her in anything lower than a 40 stiffness rating. Especially if she has issues with her feet/ankles already. I will also say that she would definitely be a candidate who have to see a pro figure skate fitter for sure with her ankle issues. and to also make sure that no one but a specialized figure skate fitter/sharpener pro is sharpening her blades, b/c most hockey based sharpeners will ruin her blades.

 

[High Carbon]

I'm looking for advice for skates for my daughter. She is entering high school. She's 12 but looks 16, super strong but also overweight. She wanted to try figure skating as an after-school activity, and while she's not got the feather-light touch to her, definitely not the slender waif type you usually see skating, but who am I to say no to physical activity.

She also has a tendency to sprain her ankles. It's possible she has joint hypermobility but she has not been tested for it yet.

Obviously I do not want her to break her foot and ankles, and given her ankles are already a bit weak and she carries more weight, I want to get something with good support for her.

She has skated once in her life. She's starting from zero.

We were looking at the jackson mystique or artiste (JS1491 or JS1791)

What do you recommend?

Hello there! I do also generally put most new skaters in Jackson Mystique as well as it's cheap enough and generally supportive enough for most skaters while they're still growing. If a child is overweight I would definitely go with something with more support. I would have started the options at an Artiste at least to give her more support right off the bat. Now that being said, I think a brand new Mystique will serve your daughter just fine for a short time, especially if she's starting with the most basic skills, but my major concern would be that the boots begin to break down before she gets the chance to grow out of them, which could end up costing you more money in the long run. I would advise to keep an eye on her as she progresses. If she starts to show signs of instability in her boots then get a pair of Artistes or even Elles if you want more support. If she appears to be perfectly fine in her Mystiques until she grown out of them then great! The stiffness ratings are kind of arbitrary units. For example, an elite skater doing triple axels and/or 5 quadruple jumps in a program would skate on a boot with a 95 stiffness, if that gives you a sense of where 15, 25, or even 40 are. and of course, just as Ic3Rabbit said, make sure to find a figure skating specific technician to maintain your daughter's blades. Too many blades are ruined by either an untrained sharpener or a hockey sharpener that doesn't know how to do figure skates.

 

[Diana Delafield]

I'm looking for advice for skates for my daughter. She is entering high school. She's 12 but looks 16, super strong but also overweight. She wanted to try figure skating as an after-school activity, and while she's not got the feather-light touch to her, definitely not the slender waif type you usually see skating, but who am I to say no to physical activity.

She also has a tendency to sprain her ankles. It's possible she has joint hypermobility but she has not been tested for it yet.

Obviously I do not want her to break her foot and ankles, and given her ankles are already a bit weak and she carries more weight, I want to get something with good support for her.

She has skated once in her life. She's starting from zero.

We were looking at the jackson mystique or artiste (JS1491 or JS1791)

What do you recommend?

Regarding the joint hypermobility, I and many skaters, dancers, and gymnasts that I grew up with have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which gives hypermobile joints and freakish flexibility. There are many categories of EDS and it would be a wise idea to get her tested and "slotted". Those whom I knew, including myself, were always the skinny waif types and didn't get too many injuries from our EDS, but I would be willing to bet that being overweight would make any injuries from joints buckling under her more serious. I have always worn boots that are stiffer than needed, in theory, for my technical level and am used to working with that. When I was in my early thirties, X years ago, I simultaneously broke, sprained, and dislocated one ankle badly falling down some stairs and landing on it, bent, just while wearing new sandals with slippery soles. It took me two years to walk confidently without crutches, never knowing when the ankle was going to suddenly give way. But after the first year I was back on the ice, with my orthopedic surgeon's blessing, because my stiff boots held me together like one of the old plaster casts I'd worn for two months after the accident.

That ankle still serves as a weather prediction device more accurate than any published weather report, and I'm still skating on it, landing jumps and pairs throws. (OK, little ones at my age, but I do still take flight .) My concern is that your daughter could set herself up for an even more serious injury with long-lasting consequences if she's heavy and skates with wonky ankles in soft boots .

 

[MCsAngel2]

In all likelihood, nothing bad will happen with the Mystiques through LTS level 6 or so. Once they start learning waltz jumps (I can't remember, LTS 7-8/Prefreeskate?) she NEEDS more supportive boots. If she's not a fast learner and hasn't gotten to that point after 6 months and then 9 months, have someone look the skates over to see if they're broken down yet.