This boots are the Riedell Motion. They feet stiffer then the previous boots, Riedell Flair, even if their declared stiffness is the same, 70. They also have less padding, so they feel less comfortable.
They were heat molded after my foot at the skate shop. My Yellow superfeet insoles were added in the boot immediately after they were warmed, so they got molded too. This store didn't allow me to stand and flex, they just had me sitting. The skates laces weren't tied very tightly so I didn't feel they were successfully molded, the sides were still kind of straight, not taking after my feet.
When I went to pick them up with the blades installed, I asked for another heat molding. But I had mentioned before that I'll go skating immediately, and the technician said I couldn't skate for 4 hours after the boots are heated. I've got to skate a little on the rink that's on the same building with the skate shop, but it was for blade alignment purpose, a little, I didn't want to abuse the time of the rink and fitter. Firstly the blades were pretty well align, I was surprised, because with the previous fitter I worked, it wasn't so straight forward... I'll see more about the blade alignment after I break in the boots a little. Now, the fit... while I felt some tight spots, I wasn't sure if I should I have them "punched out" or they'll relax on their on. I also felt the tongue on the left foot hitting on of the ankle bone.
First skating session: I tied them leaving the last two hooks unlaced and I immediately had to tie them again after I stepped on ice, both to tighten the lower part and to tie one more of the upper hooks. I skated for 10 minutes, swizzles, slaloms and chasses forward and backward, the exercises that I felt helped the most on the previous boots. That all went well. But, I had quite bad pain from the tongue in my ankle bone, overall pain at the ankle, an overall sleepiness of the feet, and... of course some pain in the arch of the right foot. I unlaced and added bunga pads that I bought especially for the occasion of breaking in the boots. I haven't needed them on the previous boots with their thick padding. It helped, but I felt some pressure on the lower edge of the bunga pads... I skated some more and I have to say that I was able to do things that with the other boots I did just on the third session. The other boots, the Flairs, needed to have that foam compressed before I felt some control. As I kept skating the arch pain started and got worse and worse. It was at the inside edge of the arch.
As I tried the different boots in the store and they've all hurt my right foot, the lady that fitted me looked at the superfeet insole on my foot outside the boot and said that she thinks my arch overhangs over the insole wall and she should grind it a little. That didn't fix it. But, after the insole was added on warmed from the heating oven and they molded with the boot, so that initial pain disappeared. But I felt now as I was skating, that the thin but hard wall of the insole biting me under the whole length of my arch. I think that is due do the grinding it was done :( This is a different pain than the pocking into the arch I had with the previous boots I returned. I survived the skating session and as I unlaced I saw red marks on all the spots were I was hurting, including a red line where the insole bit into my arch. I should have taken a picture!
Anyway, I put the boots on at home the next day, and it seems that I need the boots punched where the toes insert into the metatarsals and near the ankle bones. I've also took out the superfeet insoles and the pain on the very inside of the arch disappeared... I will need some arch support to help with my pronation, so I'm looking to buy other insoles. I walked around the house with the boots, flexed at the ankle with the top two hooks unlaced, so I'll soften the tongue. For now, I feel some progress in softening, but that's about it...
Second day on ice. Without the superfeet insole and because I pronate, I couldn't get on an outside edge. Other than that I had the pain that I expected, near the pinkie toe and the tongue biting into my ankle. The worse point of this tongue pressure is a point where there is a seam on the tongue. Not only it hurts, but this seam is at the point where the tongue should crease, and it doesn't really. So I feel I cannot flex as much as on the other foot. I actually realized that one tongue is longer than the other... and that's why those seams are hitting my foot at different points. The one new thing that jumped at me was that I feel that space in that raised toe box (a new feature on Riedell boots). I'm wondering if I'll get used to it. All in all, this second day on ice felt a progress in softening and creating the crease on the tongue at the ankle.
I went back to the skate shop and I had the boot punched near the little toes and at the ankle just on the inside. That felt way better. The technician wasn't worried about the tongue seam not softening. He said it will... meanwhile he showed me a different way to lace the boot, skipping the first hook and coming back at it after I hooked the rest of them. That felt better too. While lacing I showed him the tongue length difference, I cannot use that metal guide on one of the tongues as it hits between where the laces should go. He said he thinks the tongue just sits lower, if it wouldn't straighten as I break in the boots he can model it with a golf ball. Also he offered the Riedell k-fit insoles that have all kind of interchangeable parts to adjust as needed the height of the arch and of the heal, including something special for pronation, but most importantly they don't have the hard edge that was bothering me with the superfeet.
The third day on ice was mostly wasted... I'm skating now at my home rink where we are not allowed to bring in the skating bag, or any bag. The previous days I would have wanted to change some things but I didn't have with me what I needed. Now I prepared, I stuffed in my coat, extra insoles, extra gel pads, even a screwdriver... After just few minutes on ice I've decided to take out the bunga sleeves. The back of my ankles were hurting from them, the sleeves are new and I'm feeling the edge. They helped with the tongue cutting into my ankle bone but now that was punched. So I had to take the skates off... I added a small gel circle on the ankle where I hurt the most and I'm very happy to report it felt fine. But now, I felt I had space around my ankle... so I decided to forget about the new lacing technique that skipped the first hook and do the regular lacing, still just on the first 3 hooks. I still felt unsecured, so I laced up to the top. Ok... better... but of course harder to bend into the ankle. I felt pain where the boot meets my leg for even the next day... but that's part of breaking the skates in... The one thing that's off, is that one of the tongues is shorter than the other... I hope I'm gonna get used with it, for now, I feel it hitting my foot differently. Next, I'm happy to report that the new insoles work, well, after I took the little heel wedge that is supposed to help with pronation. That is a really bad idea, it creates a bump in the heel, that's same spot where I was hurting in the boots that I've returned... After I took that out, I felt better, but I feel the arch is lower than my previous insoles, and I also need to add some kind of lift under my toes, to fill in that space for the higher toe box that Riedell had now on all their boots. I was advised to add something just under the toes, but I don't know what, so until I go again to the skate shop, I decided to add the insoles that came with the boots under the new insoles with arch support. The next adjustment was the blade... It is almost fine. I felt from the beginning that the left blade goes under me as I stroke, not much, but it was confirmed when I tried the forward spin, I enter the spin and center it, then my ankle falls in... I asked the skating shop to do it but they didn't... so I took the screwdriver with me, a skinny one. Only I couldn't unscrew the screws on the heel... So I'll try home with a stronger screwdriver. As you see, I've spent a lot of time off ice, adjusting something. And it may have been a little bit because my ankles hurt when I skate, so I wanted to rest...
I think, while I'll keep making these adjustments, I'll slowly soften the ankles too, they still feel very stiff. I have hope, but I have no idea how long is gonna take.
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