Tips for Buying Ice Skates

Trying your hand at ice skating and need to buy some ice skates? This article gives some tips for buying ice skates. A good pair of ice skates can last five years, but they are not cheap even on the low end. If you are considering having them made for you, then be prepared to pay even more money. Below is a brief guide to buying a pair of ice skates.

Price

On the low end, a pair of ice skates cost between $150.00 to $400.00 dollars. Mid priced ice skates cost between $550.00 to $800.00 dollars. On the high end, ice skates cost between $825.00 to $2,000 dollars. Where to find ice skates? They can’t be found at shoe stores, you are going to have to look for them in sporting good stores, hobbyist stores, call sporting manufacturers or check online.

Blades

The blades of the ice skates should be 1/2 inch thick and shining. The metal should be between steel and melted tin if the ice skates are for a child. If the ice skates are for an adult, the blades should be made of steel and light tin so they want get as worn down with the weight of an adult.

Shoestrings

You want to make sure the shoestrings can pull in without breaking as you lace up your ice skates. Be prepared to wash the shoestrings of ice skates three times a week but you don’t want your shoestrings to weaken. If they unknot while you are skating you can be hurt. In addition, the shoestrings should not graze the bottom of the ice skates but stop at the middle of the ice skates.

Leather Ice Skates

When buying ice skates you want to make sure you are buying leather and not imitation leather. Leather does not crack in cold weather and also the shaving from the ice rink can be sharp and leather ice skates can protect your feet. Two ways to make sure that the ice skates you are buying are leather: ask the salesperson, bend them back and forth at the top to see if there is an indent that appears, if it does, it is not leather and you should not buy them.

Storage

After buying your ice skates you are going to need to store them properly. They should not be stored in a box at room temperature. Keep your ice skates in a crate in the coldest part of your house: in the attic, back porch or in the front hallway. If necessary, keep your ice skates in the deep freezer to make sure they last as long as they can.

Socks

When buying ice skates you want to make sure to buy a few pairs of socks to go with the ice skates. Buy ankle socks that are thick and have patches around their toes. You want to buy dozens of pairs of thick socks, they actually will get worn more quickly than your ice skates. On average, every week. The moisture created inside of your ice skates causes your socks to get loosely threaded at a faster rate.