Ice Skates Buyers Guide

Ice Skating is a lot of fun and there is various forms of ice skating from figure skating through to ice hockey. For each type there is a certain type of ice skate designed for that purpose. This hub is your ice skate buyers guide and explains about the different types of ice skates.

The most popular of ice skating sports is figure skating. Skates for figure skating have a small heel and steel. The blades on them are hollow ground and will extend past the back of the boot by about an inch. To enable the skater to perform certain moves the boots have serrated curved fronts. A vinyl boot is worn by beginner skaters but the more serious and professional figure skaters go with a leather boot.

For the recreational ice skater you will want to go with recreational ice skates. Similar in looks to figure skates they are typically not as well made and do not have as much padding. If you are just a casual skater that does it occasionally for fun then this is the type of ice skates you want to get.

A type of ice skates that is completely different to the above ones is speed skates. This type of ice skate is designed for fast forward movement. To achieve this the blades on speed skates are much longer the boot itself. They are typically around 16 or 17 inches. To aid in forward skating the blades are also flat. Some also have what is known as a slap blade which while racing actually detaches from the heel. To allow the foot to move in a natural running position the boots are made of a lightweight material such as a lightweight leather.

Another variation of ice skates is hockey skates. They look more like an athletic shoe and the boot actually angles the foot forward. The blades are usually the same length as the boot or close to it. To allow the skate omni-directional movement the blades are curved at the front and the back.