Ice skates

[BFD]

it's starting off cold and clear. we have some excellent skating right now. Need a comfortable skate. Recreational skate that you can go out and do 20+ miles a day in without blisters. A touring skate if they exist.

[old goat]

I'm jealous--no decent skating since I moved to CA in the 70's. Left my Bauers with my mom and she put them in a storage locker and forgot about the locker. Nice leather hockey skate--they don't make those anymore I think. Back in MI I used to love skating for miles on frozen lakes and playing hockey the way it was meant to be played--on a pond.

[NmbrdDays]

Yeah leather skates are a thing of the past. I haven't played in a few years and the technology as come so far. Skates these days are light and really durable. They are just $$$$. My Bauer supreme 4000 were like 200 and change ten years ago, now a days 300 and up isn't uncommon. Make sure you get a pair with stiff ankles. They will suck at first but will last quite a long time. I was always privy to Bauer. They are a lil on the narrow side, they fit me great though. CCM was always a lil wider but I was never a fan on their pro lite frame. Tuuk which is on Bauer has a nice rocker are what i side with. Go and try some on, Graf skates are quality but expensive and they don't fit everyone's foot as well as some others.

[DeathVan]

Consider a softboot design.
-they are not "high performance", more comfortable than hockey blades by far

Nike has a couple, so does Graf.

Starting to freeze up down here too

[XXX-er]

http://www.nordicskater.com/blades.html

if you already own xc skate skis and skate boots these are the shit ^^ very fast

I use my skate boots and an sns binding I bought at the ski swap mounted on kids skis ...the shop told me the binding is unimportant so kids bindings were fine

the blade is long, no rocker, half as wide as a hockey skate and it is not hollow ground, the boot is your xc skate boot, you wana go skating on the lake you walk down on to the ice in yer skate boots and step in

[Beyond]

^^^ If you can't find/afford touring/exercise skates, suggest figure rather than hockey skates. Former have longer blades without rear rocker, are more stable, better for prolonged. Think BMW X6. If you're worried about picks on end, file off the lowest one. Hockey skates are all about quick maneuvers, sudden acceleration. But not so happy on irregular outside surfaces or long straight lines. Think Porsche 911.

[jfost]

http://www.nordicskater.com/blades.html

if you already own xc skate skis and skate boots these are the shit ^^ very fast

I use my skate boots and an sns binding I bought at the ski swap mounted on kids skis ...the shop told me the binding is unimportant so kids bindings were fine

the blade is long, no rocker, half as wide as a hockey skate and it is not hollow ground, the boot is your xc skate boot, you wana go skating on the lake you walk down on to the ice in yer skate boots and step in

man, I'm gonna have to file those in with rollerblades, and skiboards as things that are likely WAY more fun they they look to an outside observer.

[XXX-er]

they work really well for distance, with the xc binding you get kind of a bastard clap skate, my real speed skater buddies tell me to just buy the real clap skates

http://www.nordicskater.com/blades.html

you can get real clapskates for a lot more $

I got a buddy with the clapps he skates bent at the waist, you hear a clap clap behind you then he passes you going about a million MPH, buddy does those 100 and 200km races

[Harry]

http://www.nordicskater.com/blades.html

if you already own xc skate skis and skate boots these are the shit ^^

WOW, I had no idea they made anything like this...

[steved]

Might wanna think about $$$ saved to just grab some snowshoes..
Jeez, the miles of knee-deep up mini-drops just to reach the little ponds in upstate NY to pass a damn puck around = sick(literally) idiots. Imho..save the $$$ for skiing.

[XXX-er]

WOW, I had no idea they made anything like this...

That looks like the blades I use with a xc binding but with a binding that will take hiking boots

The vid shows them using poles but i never have just skate like you would with hockey or figure skates


I don't think i used them last year cuz the snow was so dam good that it fell early & fucked up the ice pretty fast so it wasn't worth clearing by quad & blade, but they are an alternative to skiing when the snow isn't falling so much

a rule of thumb, when the snow is good the skating sucks when the skating is good likey the skiing will suck

[skinnyskier]

A lot of folks were using them during the epic Tahoe winter drought of 11-12. Make sure you have a plan for when the ice fails under your skates, though.

[jfost]

can you ride the lifts with them back east?

[BFD]

The nordic blades may be the way to go. My friend thinks you need some experience on speed skates to use them. Say's I'll be hitting the ice. May try and locate some used skate ski boots and buy some blades.
The other popular skates here are the LL Bean comfort and a K2 both have a buckle. You would think there would be some thermofit options out there.

[NmbrdDays]

Good luck with those things. They look like a death trap on your feet. Yeah hockey skates may be for quick turns and starts. I've played pond hockey a lot growing up and just to go out and skate on frozen lakes. They work just fine. I trust my bauer's I wouldn't put those things on my feet.

[XXX-er]

The nordic blades may be the way to go. My friend thinks you need some experience on speed skates to use them. Say's I'll be hitting the ice. May try and locate some used skate ski boots and buy some blades.
The other popular skates here are the LL Bean comfort and a K2 both have a buckle. You would think there would be some thermofit options out there.

most people who buy them already have skate boots if you can skate ski which isn't all that hard they feel pretty much the same IMO

Skate boots are pretty warm and you can buy insulated boot covers that zip on/off OR some people just use a really thick work sock and put a hole in the toe for the binding which also works

As mentioned you can use any XC binding that fits your XC boot so I bought kids skis for 30$ at the swap & used those bindings, its nice to just walk on the ice and step in ... no more sitting in a snow bank putting on skates

those strap-ons in the pic don't pivot at the toe ...they just strap on