How can I make my roller skates more comfortable? is a question that you are bearing in your head, right? May this problem discourage you from pursuing your passion – roller skating? We all know how uncomfortable you are when wearing roller skates for the first time, but with our helpful tricks, your problem will soon be solved. Let’s check out now!
Why Do You Sometimes Feel Uncomfortable When Wearing Skates?
Before learning how to make your skates more comfortable, we should find out the reason why this phenomenon happens. If you are a beginner, you may find your skates stiff and uncomfortable sometimes.
The reason for this phenomenon could lie in your skates. Take a look back, your skates don’t well fit your foot, do they? In other words, it means that you haven’t experienced the break-in period (the time it takes for the skate to mold to the shape of your foot).
If that is your case, don’t jump to the conclusion that this sport is not suitable for you. We know how to fix it. Now let’s move on some tips for you to avoid this phenomenon.
How Can I Make My Roller Skates More Comfortable – Tips
Use a Leather Conditioner
If the boots are too stiff for you to skate in, we advise you to buy a leather conditioner to soften your boots. The price of a leather conditioner ranges from only 20-40 dollars, not too expensive for such a good tool, right? So it’s a cheap and easy way to soften your boots. This process includes two steps:
- Step 1: Remove all the laces from your roller skates. Removing all the laces would make the boots easier to scrub and condition
- Step 2: Use a pliable cloth and then scour the conditioner into the tight and inflexible parts of your boots.
You can repeat this process at least twice so that you can fully unstiffen the leather. You should also curve your boots from side to side to make them less hard to skate in.
Wear Your Roller Skates Frequently
There is no doubt that the more frequently you wear your skates, the better they will fit your foot. Even if when you lace them up, they are still inflexible, try to start skating for a short time first.
After that, you should gradually increase the time you slide in them, or you can wear your figure skates and leave them on while watching television, along with loosening and re-lacing the skates at least twice. At first, you may find this quite uncomfortable, but after only 20 minutes, this method will help make your skates as comfortable as a used normal boot.
Heat Molding
This trick is that you use heat to make your roller skates mold to the shape of your foot. Every pro skate shop has heat molding ovens for shaping new pairs of skates, and you should go there. In case you cannot go to the shops, you can easily do this at home in the two following ways.
The first method is to take a hairdryer and heat the skates back and forth to make sure that the skate is all warm over. Keep this note in mind that you have to be careful not to overheat the leather because it would quickly get cracked.
After heating the skate, wear socks, and after that, you put your feet in the skate for 10 to 15 minutes (it would even be better if you could skate around the house for 5-10 minutes).
The second method is to put your figure skates in the oven. This method includes five steps:
- Step 1: Preheat the oven, and after that, you turn it off.
The ideal temperature is 79 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is too high, it can destroy your skates. You must turn it off to prepare for the next steps. - Step 2: Place the boots in the oven for 15-20 minutes
- Step 3: Remove the skates from the oven and let them cool a little and then test the temperature of the boots by putting your hand in it.
Note: You shouldn’t put your feet in the skates right after you take them out of the oven because it can burn your feet. - Step 4: Lace the hooks up and allow them to cool.
- Step 5: Let them sit for 24 hours to fully cool and then try putting these skates on.
The effect of these mentioned methods will satisfy you. There is no more pain or blisters when wearing skates.
Note:
- If the boots take 20 minutes to mold at 79 degrees Celsius, you cannot put them in the oven for 10 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius. That will damage your boots beyond repair
- You should bake your roller skates no more than three times to minimize the chances of your skates getting damaged.
Punch Out Your Skates
Punching out is a method that removes the areas of the inside skates that might be bothering you. You can ask the shops where you bought the skates to punch out these tight and uncomfortable areas by a specialized machine.
This method will help you feel more comfortable, and the skates will fit your foot better. And don’t forget to ask how much they charge for punching out a pair of new roller skates or you may end up paying through your nose for it!
Note:
- Punching out a pair of nearly perfect skates would be a terrible idea as it could do damage to your skates. In other words, your skates might not be as fit as they used to be if you choose to punch them out.
- Do not take on the punching all by yourself. We advise you to take them to the local pro shop because they have more specific knowledge about skates. Another reason is that you don’t even have a specialized machine to punch it out.
Practice Flexible Movements that Require You to Curve Your Knees and Ankles
Deep curving motions will surely not only help you feel more relaxed when wearing skates but also break in a new pair of roller skates. For example, movements like keeping balance on skate or rolling forward, which would bend your knees and ankles as much as possible.
Lacing Tricks
You should follow these two steps:
- Step 1: Lace your skates up, skipping the two top hooks, and loosely tie the laces. Skate for 4-6 hours.
- Step 2: At the next skating session, skip only the top hook and skate for 4-6 hours. That would help you eliminate friction blisters.
Another lacing tip is that when you wear your skates, don’t lace up the top hooks. This can help make the figure skates more comfortable when skating.
Some Important Notes
- Choose Suitable Roller Skates: Bear in mind that you have to choose your skates which are suitable for the size and shape of your foot. These two factors contribute a lot to your feeling when wearing skates. That would help you minimize blister and reduce pain and pressure when putting them on.
- Always Wear Protective Gear: It’s very necessary that you wear protective equipment such as helmets, anti-injury kits, including knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards. You know why? Well, it would prevent you from being injured and protect yourself when skating.
- Warm-up Before Skating: You need to warm up before skating to avoid cramp and minimize the chances of getting injured. You can skate slowly for 5 minutes or more to break in your skates and feel more comfortable when skating.
What Will You Get After Trying These Helpful Tricks?
After trying these mentioned tips, we assure you that it would minimize the chances of friction blisters or pinched toes when you wear a pair of roller skates. Moreover, these tips will make you more acquainted with skating as well.
Conclusion
Roller skating is a challenging but exciting sport. After reading our post on ‘How can I make my roller skates more comfortable’, we hope that these tricks can motivate your passion for skating and reduce pain and as much as possible. Remember to stick to our guidelines. Lastly, enjoy the fun of skating!