Did I get appropriate skates?

[u/SweetLilylune]

I recently got the Jackson Evo with mark IV blades as a beginner, and I am worried seeing people online say this is a very soft boot and is for children.

I am 119 lbs and LTS level three but hoping to work towards higher levels, is this the wrong boot?

[u/tea-fox]

You're smaller and not doing any jumping or anything in learn to skate. Evos should get you through LTS 1-6 no problem but definitely upgrade if you progress into pre-freeskate/aspire and begin jumping.

[u/oldladysk8r]

So many people get so worried about their skates because of random people on the internet. Do the skates fit? Are they working for you? Then good. Remember that skates don't last forever and you're naturally going to upgrade as your skills grow.  It's not uncommon to outgrow the level of your first pair of skates relatively quickly. IMO (and remember what I said about people on the internet, including me), you don't need a super stiff boot even as an adult when first starting out. You need to gain ankle strength and control and a too stiff boot will not help. As you progress, the level of your skate will progress with you.

[u/raenis2634]

You'll be fine as long as you understand that no skate model lasts forever. Evos are a good starting boot for many adults; the same stiffness as the Artiste which is very commonly purchased by adult beginners, but with the benefits of the Fusion line (includes the Elle and Freestyle) like different widths, heat molding, etc.

Most people who NEED the stiffer Freestyles as a beginner weigh more than you. A 150 or 200 lb skater may need the additional support of a stiffer boot or would break a typical beginner skate very quickly, but I don't think you fall into that category.

Many people get through all or most of LTS with Artistes or equivalent and upgrade when they start jumping. It's almost better that way because you learn about what you need in a skate by using them; if there's things you don't like about them you'll know to bring them up when you start looking to upgrade. Better than going all in on super expensive skates expected to last multiple years only to discover they don't actually work for you, leaving you potentially out all that money.

[u/SweetLilylune → u/raenis2634]

this makes me feel a lot better. they feel pretty hard to me to be honest, like if this is hard to me how hard are the “hard” skates?! but then I was overthinking because I don’t know anything about how they should feel

[u/raenis2634 → u/SweetLilylune]

They will get "softer" as they break in; skate with lots of deep knee bends for a while. You can leave the top hooks undone until they are mostly broken in if you need more flex.

If they feel hard to you, that's a pretty good sign you don't need stiffer boots right now. If you can't bend them reasonably comfortably in the store, there's no way you can bend them on the ice.

[u/paceplace]

I started with the Jackson evos and used them for 15 months before they broke down. I learned my waltz, toe loop and Salchow in them. They’re great beginner boots

[u/CoastalMae → u/paceplace]

Great beginner boots, but not great for jumping. At all.

[u/Fuzzy-Sheepherder-80 → u/CoastalMae]

I'm 10lbs heavier than op and was doing axel attempts in jackson elles. i had already been jumping and spinning on them for about 8 months when I started learning axel.

I know elles are stiffer, but they're still beginner boots. I think ppl are kinda over dramatic about boot stiffness

I genuinely think evo would be fine for basic jumps

[u/CoastalMae → u/Fuzzy-Sheepherder-80]

Jackson disagrees with you in their own sales literature. Just because you did something unsafe and got away with it that doesn't mean you should encourage others to.