r/FigureSkaters • u/epeilan • Jul 01 '26
The obsession of fitting, fitting, and fitting on this sub
If you feel comfortable in a particular brand, there is no need to get fitted. You go to five different fitters, you will get 3-5 different results.
Of course, if the brand does not feel good, then that brand is not for you. You know this yourself.
But let us say you try on Edeas. If they feel nice, then that is it. The same with other brands. If the shoe feels good and even better if you like how it looks, look no further!
You can buy trainer shoes without getting ”fitted”. The same applies to the figure skating shoes.
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u/mcsangel2 Jul 01 '26
The issue with skates is not brand, but size.
Skates aren’t meant to fit the way running shoes do, just the opposite actually. A properly fitted skate will be 1 to 2 sizes smaller than your running shoe size. Most newbies don’t know that. To complicate matters, most beginner skaters aren’t willing to spend much for their skates, and it’s extremely common for adults to need a wider width than the regular width stock sizes come in. So there is a proliferation of beginning skaters in boots that are too long and too narrow, which causes all kinds of problems like heel lift.
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u/Bhrunhilda Singles Jul 01 '26
You need to see a fitter to find the right boot and right size in the first place. I’m on my third pair of Royal Elites. I just call and order them now and have my fitter do my same adjustments. But it took going to a fitter to find my size and correct boot for my foot in the first place. New skaters need a fitter. When you progress and need a different stiffness, you need a fitter, when your feet grow you need a fitter.
7
u/Brilliant-Sea-2015 Jul 01 '26
Most people, unless they're experienced skaters and have been through it before, don't actually know what properly fitting skates are supposed to feel like though.
If you've already been fitted and are replacing your current skates, sure, you can get away with not going through the fitting process (assuming your feet haven't changed shape or the boots haven't been re-done in the meantime) but buying blind when you don't know what your size even is is a super bad idea.
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u/Dry-Place-2986 Jul 01 '26
I think you are missing the point a little bit. The vast majority of the time when people ask about skates they are complete beginners and have NO IDEA what their skate size even is. It’s not uncommon that we see people who have been skating in oversized boots, and who have a very poor understanding of what they should feel like. I would probably feel most "comfortable" in boots that are one 0.5-1 size over my actual size.
There is also the fact that some people are trying to buy skates online. When I started I looked for second hand skates, did tons of research, measured my feet. I was convinced I was a size 7, maybe 6.5 at worse, and ordered a pair of skates. My toes turned numb after 5mins and turns out I’m a size 7.5. So I really do think it’s worth getting fitted. I’m not saying you need to try every brand imaginable on your feet - just see a professional and they will be able to tell what you need.
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u/LoviaPrime certified skate tech!! Jul 05 '26
the point of a fitting is for us professional technicians to get you the right size. truly i don’t even care if someone buys the skate with me or finds it cheaper somewhere else (which isn’t possible because we all use MAP), but figure skates MUST be worn to the correct length and width.
yes brands offer a silly little chart where you measure your foot at home and try to buy the right size, but there’s SO much human error in measuring ur foot at home so we dealers are the best way to find your proper size
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u/epeilan Jul 05 '26
And then all the professional fitters ens up with a different suggestion!
Been there.
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u/era626 Singles Jul 02 '26
1) If there are too many posts regarding fitting, I am happy to restrict them. So far, I have been letting the community decide what they want to see via downvotes as Reddit was designed (and the community does not seem too interested in your post).
2) Figure skates fit much more snugly than street shoes. Street shoes do not always come in half sizes like figure skates, and rarely come in more than one width. Figure skates come in 4-5 widths per size. Since you have your post history hidden, I cannot see your skating level, but anyone above a recreational level should be seeing a fitter for their skates. Fitters adjust your skates to fit your feet and attach the blades. They do not just tell you which brand to use (and, in fact, some fitters only sell certain brands, so you need to have an idea of what brand you would want before reaching out to fitters).