After so belatedly sharing about my visit to Harlick for boot fitting, I’m going to be up to date in showing you my new boots. Here they are, not even heat-molded!
There are fun special options you can get on the skates if you order them at the factory. You can add stickers to the boots from their large collection, or various colors and amounts of glitter to the soles along with the varnish. At first I felt these options were childish and wouldn’t be for me, but Phil and Ginger were quite firm in convincing me otherwise. I love birds, and I picked out an owl with a matching flower for each boot. I like how they turned out!
I asked Phil if anything could be done to help my Achilles tendonitis which crops up from time to time. He suggested I try the ‘Bebe back’ which he created to help Bebe Liang. After being off the ice due to foot and ankle problems, new boots with a modified back helped her go on to a successful competitive season. Though I’m always a bit scared to try something new on my skates, I took Phil’s advice and ordered the Bebe back.
When I got the boots heat-molded on Friday the back felt very comfortable, so I’m really hopeful for my Achilles. Rick, the skate tech who was helping me, said that everyone he knows who has gotten the Bebe back has been happy with it.
I’m also trying the carbon-fiber soles, a newer option, for the first time. The boots are incredibly light. The carbon fiber makes the boots strong enough to forego the traditional steel shank. That ought to make them more comfortable too.
I got my new blades in the mail Friday, now I just need for Paul, another local skate tech and coach who helps me out, to grind and mount the blades. Then it’s on to break-in. I hope I can get the blades mounted in the next couple of days so I can use them on my next skating adventure. Will fill you in on that soon!
Related Posts:
A Visit to Harlick A visit to the Harlick & Co factory in San Carlos, Ca., to be fitted for new skating boots.
Skate Crisis | Tendonitis, Worn-Out Skates, and New Harlicks on the Way Injured feet and the travails of choosing new figure skating boots and blades.
New Harlick Skates Break-in They're finally here! Picked up my new skates on Wednesday and tried them out for fifteen minutes. Within five minutes I flew over the toe-picks: not sure whether I caught a pick in the laces or just wasn't used to the new blades. Luckily that hasn't happened since and each day I've been able to do a little more. Harlick…
New Blades with a New Grind Getting used to my new blades and the shallower 1/2" grind that my skate tech put on them.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Shoe newz! How exciting! Breaking in new boots and getting used to new blades is, at least for me, a love/hate kinda thing. I love the notion that the new gear may help my skating but I hate the sore feet and multiple trips back to the skate tech for the inevitable boot punch out and blade geometry tweaking part of the program. In the end though, I’ve never gone back to the old stuff!
I’d say the same about never going back to old equipment except that recently I have. I’ve been skating in the boots that I had for 6 years and had replaced, but then the newer boots were stolen. Luckily I’d had the old boots relined and the blades tweaked and a few other things by a really good skate tech, and I’d been using them as spares for travel. Only time I’d ever had spares, and it came in really handy. I also used them to try out Skate Science blades. You are right about the love/hate, looking at them right out of the box is the love part!
They are beautiful! I love the owl and flower sticker, and the fluffy lambswool tongue. Good luck breaking them in! Didn’t you just get new blades? Or did you have to get different ones for these boots? Hope the lower back will help. Nust have felt like Christmas morning when you got your box. Happy New Boot Day!
Thanks Melissa! I love the way they turned out too. I like the half lambswool tongue. I did just get new blades. With these new boots I got the carbon fiber sole, and you can’t change the shape of the sole once the carbon fiber is on it. So you have to choose the manufacturer of blade you want, for good, before having the skate made. I’d been advised to switch to the Skate Science synchro blade but I was afraid to put them on my new skates without trying them out first. So I bought a pair for my old skates. It is kind of extravagant I suppose, but I wanted to be sure I liked them before committing to having them on a new pair of skates. And now I will have a good spare pair for travel with a similar blade, just as I had before.
What a fantastic experience! The boots look beautiful. Enjoy!
Thanks Michelle! Nice to hear from you!
Those are gorgeous. I love the owl! It looks like the back is padded and lower–am I right? You will definitely have to report back on the carbon fiber and Bebe back developments. And tell us if the owl helps skating too–undoubtedly will make you happy!
Jo recently posted..My free leg is my friend
Thanks! The back is a regular freestyle height with the padded collar above it, so it’s actually higher if you count the padding. It just protects the back of your ankle from the top of the boot. I will let you know how I do with the back and the carbon fiber. Though I can say now that the boot is pretty darned comfy for a new boot, and incredibly light. Maybe the owl will help me ‘fly’ silently?