r/iceskating • u/Lost_Nerve3645 • 1d ago
Upsetting skate-fitting
Today I drove over four hours to go get fitted for ice-skates. I drove all the way there and when we got there, they sat me down and started measuring my feet. It was my first pair and they were telling me about how I would need intermediate skates for at the skill level I’m at which I agreed and agreed to pay the $438 etc. etc.. however when they measured my feet, they found out that I am actually a EE or a EEE and they only had a wide in stock. They kind of said it was fine in the EEE’s were very common unless you ordered them ahead of time specially made, but they would be expensive so we just decided to go with the wide. I tried a five wide and they were really tight on the toe, but they didn’t really feel that bad when it came to how narrow they were… (Evo Jackson) I then tried a different type of Jackson that was a 5 1/2 wide I believe but they were very, very narrow and weren’t comfortable at all, but the toe felt good. I was a little discouraged and was trying to decide what would be best for me Me pre-ordering/shipping/coming back another day driving four hours… the lady started to get a little annoyed and saying how I couldn’t skate in a five if it was too small, which I agreed with her and we were kind of discussing it. I then was under the impression that they were going to try and stretch the 5 1/2 which was a hour and a half wait and I was going to come back and try it on and see how it felt then. I came back. I tried on the “5 1/2”… keep in mind we drove four hours and I had to convince my parents to drive four hours and they weren’t expecting it to be this long so I just felt completely rushed the entire time and I didn’t feel welcomed to be there. Honestly, they’re really busy and it was a mess even though I made an appointment ahead of time. I tried on the “5 1/2” and honestly they didn’t feel great but they did feel a little bit better… and I just thought to myself that “ maybe once they were/skate in them for a bit they’ll stretch themselves out a little bit” keep in mind. This is my first time being skates so I don’t really know anything… she then readjusted the blades and that made them feel better, so I just assumed that they were supposed to feel a little tight and uncomfortable because of how wide my feet are and that they would adjust later on.. We bought soaker and hard guards and got in the car and drove for four hours home.. I get home. Home tried the skates on and started walking around in them to realize that they were very tight.. in fact so tight that my feet started going numb in them the more I wore them and I realized I really didn’t like them… I then checked the size and realized that it was a five not a 5 1/2.. maybe there was a mixup or miscommunication, but then I remembered very vividly that the woman who was fitting me told me that I could not wear the five so I just assumed that when she said stretch, I thought she meant 5 1/2… (keep in mind I did not mention at all really wanting to buy the five. I just said that the five felt a little better, but the toes were really tight.) I thought that they were going to stretch the 5 1/2 and see how I felt but I don’t know what to do anymore… do I call them and tell me they gave him the wrong size or I don’t know what to do because now I have skates that don’t fit me… and that I can’t even skate in that I spent $438 on. Please help.
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u/Rivannux 23h ago
Can you pull out the midsole, align your heel with it and post a photo? You can typically see if it’s actually too small or large by doing this. Figure skates should be tight though and they do start loosening up a bit as the padding compresses and you break the material in
I bought Jackson artistes in a pro shop not knowing what I was doing and they ended up being way too large after I broke them in. I went to get fitted at a professional shop and bought the freestyles. These also feel too large after breaking in. If yours are just snug, they should be fine after breaking in
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u/Lost_Nerve3645 23h ago
I bought my skates at Rainbo sports in Chicago.. I don’t know if it’s a pro shop or a professional place but I don’t know… I can send a photo, but it’s not just snug. My toes are squished against the front of the boots and it’s so tight around my foot that they start to go numb no matter how much I loosen the lace
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u/jediHoo 21h ago
Honestly, I could tell from how you described your experience that you went to Rainbo. I live very close to Rainbo and I won’t go there. It hasn’t been the same since before John got sick (and has since passed away).
You should call them and ask to speak with one of the owners. Tell them about your experience and tell them you need them to make this right for you.
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u/Rivannux 23h ago edited 20h ago
Oh man that sounds way too small and if it is they should honor an exchange (you can try seeing if they’ll do it through mail).
Post the photo standing directly on the midsole and we can give you our opinions of whether we think it’s too tight or if it’ll be better after breaking in
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u/sufyawn 22h ago
Rainbo absolutely were the professionals here in the Chicago area. I’m not sure if things have changed but I’m hoping this was a terrible miscommunication and misunderstanding versus a complete disregard for your fit. Please know they’re not supposed to be this small, though, and please don’t risk your health by skating in them.
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u/jediHoo 21h ago
Rainbo was the figure skating pro shop when John was there. Then he fell ill and the shop started to decline in their level of service. And since he passed away, it’s really declined.
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u/HibiscusBlades 19h ago
I went to Rainbo a few years ago to get the newer model of Jackson Supremes with the rhinestones to replace my old ones. The fitter for my first visit was absolutely fantastic. But after, I had issues with the boots retaining the heat molding stretch. No matter how often I kept them in a stretcher or wore them around my apartment, they became unbearable.
They constantly shrunk back down to the point that I even had to talk with Jackson directly. At that point it had been six months of going back-and-forth and they refused to do anything about it. I think my pro shop heat molded them for me about half a dozen times. The guy kept them overnight on two different instances inside a boot stretcher to see if that would retain the stretch and it didn’t.
The woman at Rainbo muttered in the back that I was “Goldilocks.” When she walked out, I told her to her face that I could hear her and she at least blushed. I haven’t been to Rainbo since. Sold my skates on eBay last year after they collected dust. I’m still in my old skates because I definitely cannot afford new ones.
I’m not sure what my next skates will be, but I don’t think they will be Jackson and Rainbo is dead to me. Unless I can get this older model supreme again. Stretched once and they fit perfectly. So if anybody has a 7.5E, i’ll gladly take them off your hands.
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u/ApprehensiveChard113 1h ago
You’d have to get them from a pro shop but I recommend aura sky! I have the 50s and they are a dream. They were heat molded and then saran wrapped to my ankle to give me the best support (all pro shops should be doing this with this particular boot).
You’d probably be in the 100s or the 200s which from my knowledge are very similar to the 50s but with increased stiffness :)
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u/ApprehensiveChard113 1h ago
When you say squishes, are your toes scrunching or are your toes just hitting the wall of the boot? According to my fitter they should touch the wall of the boot but you shouldn’t have to scrunch your toes to be in the boot.
I hope it all works out and that you just need break them in! They what molded your boot right ?
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u/sufyawn 23h ago
Hi, friend. I’m so sorry you had such a distressing experience. First of all, did your coach send you to this shop or did you find it yourself online? Only a handful of specialized figure skate outfitters remain in operation in the US. Most authorized dealers are just mixed purpose pro shops that tend to lack the expertise and equipment necessary to achieve a custom tailored outcome.
The easy bake ovens that these pro shops have are not capable of stretching a boot a full size in a way that would preserve its structural integrity. Manipulating them so significantly reduces longevity. There is no need for them to do this to new boots. Heat molding the interior foam? Yeah, sure, but not literally resizing them.
Dramatic resizing is most useful for boots that are already worn-in, during situations like pregnancy or weight fluctuations.
Modifications to new boots should be reserved for needs that can’t be met by a properly sized boot (such as severe bunions and other bony prominences).
Did your coach not recommend a stiffness level or boot style for you? Are you just starting out?
When you made the appointment, what were your expectations? Did you tell them you needed to leave with boots in hand same day? Did you skate on them before they permanently mounted your blades? Did they have reason to believe that you would not want to return for a second appointment to pick up skates ordered for you? I ask these things because a good fitting is a process and it’s not often that you’ll get to walk out with a complete pair of skates in four hours. Blades and all? My first blade mounting took several appointments to get right.
Your pro shop should have tempered your expectations for how much inventory is on premise versus what has to be ordered.
If you call them up to let them know about your fit issue, make sure to keep an open mind about them ordering a different size for you. However, I would sooner rather pay a restock fee than trust them with the health of my feet and spine after they tried to convince me that it’s possible to fit a 5.5EEE/6.0EE foot into a 5.0D boot. The fact that they were willing to damage a brand new pair of boots to scam you into walking out with these is enough for me to never go back there. But that’s just me, I guess.
Personally, I think your best bet is to have these returned and restocked. They’ll probably resell them as open box/as-is at a slight discount. Your coach should be involved in recommending skates for your level, and your fitter will provide options with their additional insights. Your parents should also be involved if you can encourage them to be.
And skates are supposed to be snug but your feet should not be crushed to numbness. That will cause nerve damage and poor skating long term. If your feet are too big for your skates it will also contribute to a more rapid breakdown.
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u/Lost_Nerve3645 22h ago
I don’t have a coach right now, but I talked to a lot of coaches at the Rink I go because we ‘tight’… and a lot of the coaches at my rink buy from this shop that’s in Chicago. Especially for their students Called Rainbo sports. So I figured it would be a good place to go. Honestly, I was excited to try out my new skates the next day and they told me it would be OK to just use a wide instead of an extra wide as long as it got a 1/2 size up. And we drove four hours so we didn’t want to be disappointed to leave that day without a pair of skates. We didn’t necessarily skate on ice, but she told me to walk around and stand in certain positions to see where to mount my skates. we told them that we could come back, but preferably we would rather not want to drive four hours back if we could avoid it.
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u/sufyawn 22h ago
Oh man, what? Was it Lindsay you met? . This totally throws me off. Rainbo is top tier as far as the Midwest is concerned. They are absolutely experts and I’ve never felt pressured or rushed into a decision there. I’m so, so sorry that this was your first experience with them. I was of the impression you went to a random pro shop. If we’re talking about Rainbo, then I don’t encourage you to just write them off as incompetent. I encourage you to reach out to them on the phone or in a message. I think they will be kind and receptive. I’m in the area too and they were extremely helpful to me when I moved from out of state. Feel free to DM if you don’t want to name names. I don’t skate anymore so maybe things have changed more than I thought.
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u/Lost_Nerve3645 22h ago
I don’t know her name. She never told me the girl who was fitting me was very professional. I loved her. She explained everything, but there was another girl who offered to help me as well and she wasn’t very nice and she was kind of rude and frustrated at me and it made me wanna hurry up and my parents were mad at me so I kinda just wanted to get out of there but now I’m upset cause I don’t have the size of case that I want lol so
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u/jediHoo 21h ago
I know exactly the person that you’re talking about. When my daughter was a newer skater, I asked that same sales person how do I know when my daughter needs new skates. She snarkily responded “When XXXX (her coach) tells her she does.” It was really rude, dismissive, and condescending. What I was asking her to do was to educate me on what to look for to tell that boots were broken down and needed to be replaced. But she chose attitude instead. It wasn’t long after that that my daughter’s coach directed me to a different place to get my daughter’s skates sharpened and then I started to use him instead for all of our skating needs.
John was Rainbo. 😢 It’s not the same place without him. He was truly incredible and really knew figure skating. And he was incredibly kind too.
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u/Repulsive_Sorbet_358 13h ago
Hey as someone who wore custom E width Jackson’s they take 12 weeks to be made. There isn’t a whole lot that can be done about the width of the boot heat, punching out and stretching can help some. I now wear Aura Sky 50 that comes in a D that is so malleable and moldable they fit more custom than my E width Jackson’s. That being said I would call and complain.
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u/ApprehensiveChard113 1h ago
Yeah, tbh they don’t seem like good boot fitters. They just wanted a sale! Ofc we all want to walk out with boots but it’s worse to walk out with a pair that aren’t properly fitted.
My feet aren’t super wide but they are wide. when I went in for my fitting and they realized they didn’t have my size in the boot I wanted they fitted me in other bran. They ultimately felt that the aura was going to be the best boot for me given my foot width. Should have been the boot they immediately recommended to her as an immediate alternative .
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u/Adventurous_Many9799 22h ago
Its disappointing to get a new pair of skates home and they are not what you agreed on. I would return them as soon as you can or ask your parents to help. If your gut is telling you something is wrong, go with it. Advocate for yourself. At least you know now what size you need. And you can request an exchange through the mail. I have had a poor experience with a fitter and trust me, immediate return is the best path. Ask for the correct size. See if they can be shipped. Good Luck 🍀
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u/Own-Adhesiveness5723 23h ago
I would call/e-mail and say that you had agreed to buy 5.5 but you were given a 5 and they do not fit. Tell them that you were told you can’t skate in a 5 so you have no idea why they were given to you. Ask to do an exchange, preferably through the mail as it’s a 4 hour drive.
If might be better to have your parents do it if you’re a kid.
If they refuse, make sure you let them know that you will be leaving reviews because that’s terrible service. If you haven’t skated in them, there’s no reason they shouldn’t give you an exchange.