u/InnaNina

Hi everyone, beginner skater here looking for some advice.

I’m currently in LTS 1 and usually do laps around the rink, forward/backward swizzles, backward wiggles

and currently leaning one foot glides.

I recently got my first pair of skates and had them sharpened for the very first time at 3/4 (as recommended by the pro shop for beginners).

Since then, I’ve noticed a few things that feel very different compared to rentals:

- during backwards wiggles my left skate scrapes the ice (but it doesn’t feel like I’m hitting a toe pick if that makes sense). I’ve attached a picture with an arrow pointing to the area I’m wondering about — could that part of the blade be causing the scraping?

- my backward swizzles suddenly feel MUCH easier and faster than they did on rentals. BUT when skating forward or doing forward swizzles, I feel slower and like I have to put in way more effort to move smoothly compared to rentals.

I’m trying to figure out whether:

- this is just normal adjustment to properly sharpened skates,

- possibly a sharpening issue,

or maybe a technique/body alignment issue on my left side.

Has anyone experienced something similar when switching from rentals to their first sharpened skates?

Thanks!

Hi everyone, l'd love some input from more experienced skaters on skate fit.

I wear a 7-7.5 in regular shoes, and I just received Riedell Crystal 6.5 D. Here's what I'm noticing:

- my heel feels pretty secure (no lifting when walking or bending my knees)

- my toes don't quite touch the front of the boot when standing and have a lot od wiggle space

- when I tried a size 6, the toe box pressed down on my toenails and felt uncomfortable pretty quickly

A fitter I spoke with actually thought 6.5 would be the better choice because of that toenail pressure-but they didn't have that size in stock at the time (and on back order until end of June). We actually tried Jacksons Artiste at first but those were too loose in multiple areas and didn’t seemed like a good fit foe my feet.

I was able to find the 6.5 D online, but the store only allows returns/exchanges if the skates are unused, so l can't try them on the ice to really test them.

So I feel like I'm stuck in between:

• 6 = too tight / too much pressure on toes

• 6.5 D = comfortable, but maybe a little roomy in the toe area?

I'm wondering:

• Should my toes always touch the front in figure skates, or is "close but not touching" okay if the heel is locked in?

For context, I’m a beginner skater and mostly working on basic skills (taking LTS currently).

Would really appreciate hearing what worked for you or how you decided between sizes!