HP #21 - No wiser than before, my quest for new skates (part 2)

Usual disclaimer applies: this is an old event I'm recounting. See my first HP post for the full notes on these.

Background: Part 2 of my ongoing quest to find new skates.

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I once wrote a post, not so long ago in fact, about my first mission to buy new skates. Past Me resolved at that moment in time that the issue of properly researching how to buy skates would be tackled by Future Me. After all, Past Me assumed that Future Me would know much more about this sport and would just be generally better at everything in life ever. Unfortunately, Future Me was now Present Me, a mere six months ahead of Past Me, and Present Me was absolutely no better off than before.

I took to the internet to begin my search and started with all the classic internet search terms "buying new ice skates, buying advice, how to choose ice skates, what brand should I use" and was soon swamped with a mash up of articles, forum posts and informational sites that all had two main problems: the advice was either very general or too technical for me to understand. I gathered that you could "overboot" by getting something too advanced (though some places said this was less of an issue for adults), but you also needed to consider things like boot brand because different brands catered to different foot shapes. This prompted me to wonder: "what shape ARE my feet, exactly?" I looked at them. They looked pretty normal... Maybe "normal" is "extra wide" in figure skating boots? I had no idea.

In despair, I turned to the manufacturers' websites themselves and AT LAST I was provided some relief. Many of the manufacturers split their boots into ability levels, typically divided by the discipline you're doing and level of jumps you're at, which was a huge help! Some sites even had a mini questionnaire you could fill out and it would point you at the boots you needed. I concluded that I wasn't really any more informed than the last time I bought skates, but I would have to make compromises now to avoid paralysing my mind into inaction. So, for now, this seemed to be the most competent research I could rely on and I hoped I could get more specific advice from a skate store.

After looking at my options, I reached four conclusions:

• The Edea Overture was pricier but looked better built
• The Risport RF3 might also be suitable and a bit cheaper
• Boot issues aside, I would have to decide on a blade to get in case I was given the option to choose a blade. Again, there's lot of info available online, but, for simplicity, I saw that the Coronation Ace received broadly positive reviews across the board as a typical intermediate figure skating learning blade, and I knew the Tammasaurus would approve, so I decided to look no further and just worry more about the boot
• I still only had a vague idea what I was doing

Fantastic! Progress! Somewhat! Now to try some boots on. I wanted to find a full on skate shop and see if I could get a third party opinion on what I should do.

So, skating shops, these must surely be easy to find... Turns out: no. See, the UK population aren't really big supporters of the ice sports, we'd rather be throwing ourselves in the grass with football and rugby, and, as a result of this, it's somewhat tricky to find skating shops. I later found out that a fairly common way UK skaters handle their skate buying is through private skate fitters that work from home or small shops by appointment. To see these elusive individuals then you need to know someone who knows someone who can you introduce you to someone that might be able to get you an appointment with someone else who has definitely HEARD of someone that knows someone who can poTENtially get you a booking with the reclusive hermit skate fitter in a hut in the middle of a forest that you then have to follow a series of intricate clues to reach - each more devious than the last - before speaking the password-of-the-day through a speakeasy hatch and subjecting yourself to a retinal scan. At that point - after performing the traditional ritual dance, of course - you are finally given a consultation by the vaunted private skate fitter.

Given that I knew none of the above and was instead charting my own course in this Tolkien-esque quest for new skates, I thought about going up north to some of the UK's biggest rinks (Nottingham and Sheffield) to see if their stores could help. However, a friend of mine lives in London so I decided to make a trip to a shop there (where better than the capital after all?) and I could catch up with him at the same time as trying on some skates.

2.5 hours, one coach and an underground trip later and I was at a skating store in London. The girl that initially helped me was very friendly but soon got her colleague involved - a quieter guy that ran the shop - as I explained my skating level and asked if they had the Edea Overture or the Risport RF3 available to try. Unfortunately they didn't - I suppose shouldn't have been surprised, I don't imagine male adult sizes are a common purchase for an unloved sport in the UK. Despairing that my journey might be for nothing, I asked for any suggestions and they offered the Belati A or the Risport RF4 so I tried both these on. Much like with my first pair of skates, I had no idea what I was meant to be experiencing when I put these on. Would I receive some kind of divine contact? Should it be like when Harry Potter picks up his wand in Ollivanders? Is this Harry Potter reference better than the one I used in my post about my previous skate buying moment? Will I be able to come up with any more Harry Potter references for boot trying in the future? Overall, the boots felt perfectly fine but I didn't really know what to make of the whole thing.

Unsure and disappointed that I hadn't had a chance to try on the skates I'd wanted to, I said I'd have to think about it and went to Hyde Park to eat a sandwich and think. I texted the Tammasaurus to see if she had any thoughts on the boots I'd tried, but she was busy so I didn't get a reply before I had to take the coach back home. The trip wasn't that expensive (I even got to visit one of the London rinks while I was there), but I didn't want to have to make it more than a few times. I checked back with the Tammasaurus in my next lesson and she didn't seem that familiar with the London store's suggestions (which I took as a bad sign - I did more research later and discovered they were a bit below my level), so I was back to square one.

So, first outing, no success. I resigned myself to another trip, this time up north, to Nottingham's ice rink.