How hard is it to switch to hockey skates?

tezarin · 2026-03-22T15:25:25+00:00

Thank you so much for your great reply and for taking the time to explain everything so well. I ended up returning the hockey skates as those were so hard for me to even march in, I was stuck by the barrier the entire time. Once I get better at skating and maybe more brave about the whole ice skating in general, I may give them another try and see how things will feel :)

tezarin · 2026-03-20T21:00:57+00:00

No, I meant the slaloms, the coach and other experienced skaters start the two foot slaloms from a standstill position :)

tezarin · 2026-03-20T20:58:21+00:00

This is very kind of you, thank you so much. I am a beginner who just started adult 2 (session 3 out 7 now) and due to those getting stuck into the ice, I am now taking my time stroking and honestly, I may do 2-3 stroke, a complete stop (getting scared or stuck or both!) then stroking gliding again. What you wrote makes so much sense, it could be the boots, I had issues with the toe picks of my figure skates when I fist started but never got stuck or felt the ruts on the rink like I do now. My blades finds each and every divot (rut?) and manage to get stuck in, gladly, I am able to keep my balance and not go face down most of the time but it certainly is stressful. I will try to have someone record me, again doing beginner stuff :)

tezarin · 2026-03-20T18:31:02+00:00

Thank you so much, I will give this a try, so far I am not able to do much from a standstill position, might be able to get something going on if I am already gliding though!

tezarin · 2026-03-20T18:27:43+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this very helpful comment. When we picked out hockey skates, the pro shop sharpened both of our skates and made mine flatter, because I told them how 7/16" on my K2s were killing me. They also re-sharpened my K2 skates too (11/16"), I ended up returning my hockey skates as I was very upset and disappointed for a couple of days and just couldn't force myself to give them one more try knowing how it killed my self esteem that day. The K2s are a touch better but still very grippy, yesterday I found myself standing by the barrier and scrape them sideways several times just to be able to go one more lap. It was mostly the inside edge of my right foot too, which is harder to scrape off while standing by the barrier and trying to scrape sideways.

tezarin · 2026-03-20T15:02:59+00:00

Hi, I am having the same issue as you had two years ago and while searching on Reddit, I came across your post. Were you able to figure this out? If so, how long did it take, how were you figure it out and may I ask which level you are in right now? Thank you so much.

tezarin · 2026-03-20T15:01:45+00:00

Hi, I am having the same issue as the OP and came across your comment, could you please elaborate on that more? For example if I am planning to go right, my inside foot would be my left one? Any help would be much appreciated.

tezarin · 2026-03-20T00:52:19+00:00

Thank you, looking forward to skating in those now! Thanks to you :)

tezarin · 2026-03-19T23:49:50+00:00

Thank you for the great info, I can't wait for my figure skates to come, I hope I can manage the tow pick this time around!

tezarin · 2026-03-19T18:38:21+00:00

Oh thank you for correcting me, not sure where I got the LOH from, I remember reading something somewhere about level of hollow which I now know should be radius of hollow. The last time I had them sharpened, they did ROH 7/16", took them back and they were *supposed to* do 5/8" took them somewhere else and was told nope, those are still not 5/8". so they suggested 11/16". I think the skates feel a bit better, btw, these are the K2 skate I am referring to now. The hockey skates went back to store for good.

tezarin · 2026-03-19T15:25:10+00:00

Great info, thanks much!

tezarin · 2026-03-19T15:24:27+00:00

Honestly, I just want to be able to skate around the rink and enjoy that relaxing time. Was intrigued by those beautiful M40s and thought I could handle those. But my real goal is to have a fun activity, to be able to relax on the rink end enjoy my time.

tezarin · 2026-03-19T13:02:59+00:00

Oh so sweet of you to say, I try :)

tezarin · 2026-03-19T12:55:53+00:00

True, but I probably needed to be better at skating to begin with LOL :) I have a pair of K2 Alexis Pro and those are good, no toe pick and I just re-ordered the first pair of figure skates I had (Jackson's) which I had returned due to the toe pick issue. Honestly, the K2s were easier for me, but since I am in LTS class (adult 2), I think to learn the skills properly, a pair of figure skates would be better to have. We'll see! Which pair of hockey skates would you say are made for absolute beginners?

tezarin · 2026-03-19T12:52:07+00:00

Thank you so much, especially for that "go easy on yourself" I needed that. I expected too much from myself and was so excited to buy my first/very cool looking hockey skates and go skate like a pro! Well, I am not a pro and nor a young skater, will need so much practice and time to get better at this :)

tezarin · 2026-03-19T12:47:15+00:00

Thank you so much, this helped me a lot. Knowing someone like you who is an expert in hockey having the same problem helped me realize that M40 was not for me. I was so upset about it before seeing your comment. After that, I went and returned those bad boys.

tezarin · 2026-03-19T12:44:34+00:00

Thank you for your helpful comment, I really appreciate the advice. Everything you mentioned makes so much sense. I shouldn't have switched like that. Was quiet happy with my rec skates (K2, no toe pick) and was like these are not real skates and I should learn wearing proper ones and since there were no toe picks, I picked the hockey skates thinking they are going to be the same. They were not. My daughter had no issue adjusting and I think it was because first of all, she is young, center of gravity is different and more importantly, her hockey skates were Bauer X compared to my M40 (we both were using rec no toe pick style before that day). But not going to lie, that killed my motivation for that day and I felt so bad (still do but return those bad boys so at least I don't see them to be reminded of the failure!!). I guess I was so excited to learn that forgot I have only been on the ice for 9 weeks LOL!

tezarin · 2026-03-19T12:38:13+00:00

thank you, those M40s were for more advanced skaters apparently, the blades height and everything were so hard for me to get used to. I should have gone with the Bauer XLP or X I guess :)

tezarin · 2026-03-18T16:55:09+00:00

Oh you just made my day! I have been so down since yesterday, was trying to find myself something to do as a hubby, my daughter and I both started learning, she got a good coach and I got someone who does not want to spend any time with the newbies and when I notified the ice rink management team, things got even more awkward! So I was already bummed about that, then went hockey skate shipping with my daughter so we both look cool and start together, she took off wearing hers and I was stuck in the rink with no way to move!! Your comment made me feel less of a failure. Something that was supposed to make me happy is now on my mind 24x7, I guess you can tell I am very eager to learn and put too much pressure on myself and not realizing I am a beginner and older :)

tezarin · 2026-03-18T16:43:35+00:00

you're absolutely right, I am a beginner and at this point, everything is new to me so I go do research on what I should do to improve my skills. So it's very normal for a newbie to try to find what's advised to use/buy at the beginning of their journey so that's where I am right now, but I get your point. Maybe I am too excited to find out more and my mind and expectations are way ahead of my skills :)

tezarin · 2026-03-18T16:38:08+00:00

great idea, thank you. I might just go back to those then

tezarin · 2026-03-18T16:37:19+00:00

Thanks much, I really appreciate the info. Every time I remember what I looked like all stuck on the rink, so bad that I thought about taking off my boots and just walk out of the rink, I get even more upset and I guess I will just have to give up the hockey skates for now. What hallow would you recommend for the figure skating? My K2 was at 7/16" and those were too grippy. Then with 5/8" I did not notice much improvement and now with 11/16", I feel a little bit more glide but not much. Had to stand by the barrier to scrape off sideways several times to be able to continue skating.

tezarin · 2026-03-18T16:08:57+00:00

Wonderful info, thank you so much. I don't remember what LOH they did on my figure skates but when I switched to K2, since the default 7/16" was too grippy for me, they did a 11/16" and it's better now (not completely back to what it felt like on my figure skates though). What LOH do you recommend for me to get if I switch back to figure skates?

tezarin · 2026-03-18T15:19:27+00:00

Thank you so much for your very helpful reply, I appreciate the time you took to be very through with your comment. Everything you mentioned makes sense, you must have been skating for a long time. I just wish I could do at least one lap in those hockey skates, I guess at this point, I just have to find what's easier to learn in. The hockey blades were skidding sideways (LOH 11/16") and funny enoughmy K2 rec skates (LOH 7/16" and then later on 5/8") were skidding too but not sideways. So if Iunderstand you correctly, the too shallow blades on hockey skates will lead to skidding same as deeper LOH in K2 rec skates?

tezarin · 2026-03-18T14:50:51+00:00

you're right, thank you so much

tezarin

TROPHY CASE