School me on Nordic ice skates

[bodywhomper]

OT-ish: somebody want to learn me on sizing and fitting for “hockey” skates? Wife and I are very causally looking (used skates of course). Intend is for cruising on pond ice and at the free rink up the hill. Would love it for the kids, too, but their feet are growing too fast and we currently go too infrequently to consider purchasing.

[alive]

Never enjoyed hockey skates, but I'm sure its just a matter of trying some on. Same as ski boots. Whatever fits best. If you have XC ski boots, the blades may make more sense.

[Tjaardbreeuwer]

I got to thinking about exercises to strengthen my medial glutes. I hate the gym - any activity is preferred (even in crap weather). It dawned on me that skating is perfect for this.

... so I started to check out pricing on nordic skate boots. Yeow! Why am I not surprised? I should rent first to see if this works for me. Maybe roller blades are what I'm after in terms of being able to go right out the door and exercise here in the balmy Front Range.

Still ... this has my attention.

Check this guy out. He drilled for pin bindings (hmmm ... the light boot that's been missing in my quiver): https://thingstolucat.com/nordic-skate-equipment-guide/

... Thom

Just did 100km last Sunday, medial glutes were worked!

Front range, do you get any ice? That’s the question. Ice blades are great, but you need large frozen stretches to use them. Here in Minnesota, most years we get a few days on small lakes, doing laps, and every once in a generation(this year) we get bigger lakes freezing up, opening unlimited miles (1000s) of wilderness touring in the Boundary Waters or on Lake Superior.

[Tjaardbreeuwer]

Dammit guys now there’s another piece of gear I want. This looks amazing.

As a more eloquent friend put it:
skating black ice is the closest you can come to flying

[alive]

Nice work. 100km is a big day.
Kind of a rough year for ice up here. Pretty mild and and when things did freeze, snow came right after. Managed one nice night skate and hoping a good freeze will set up the big lower lakes around here

[alive]

Little cold spell was enough freeze some of the high lakes here last weekend. Start of a new season!

[My Pet Powder Goat]

Sick!

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[XXX-er]

a buddy used to say if the skiing is good the ice climbing will suck but if the ice climbing is good the skiing will suck

which is kind of like lake skating, If the skating sucks it probably mean the skiing is good

[XXX-er]

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/black_crab

a post apocalyptic war thriller where the covert ops are traveling on nordic blades ( camo of course ) swedish sub-titles

[riff]

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[riff]

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[John_B]

Nice Riff! I've missed out on some skating at WA Pass and still kick myself for that. And I'm a complete hack on skates, but it sure is cool when I do it.

[ex-powderbroker]

i’m in. this guy is mounting his with dynafits. want.

[riff]

Dynafit toes are the way to go- I don’t have any recent pics but I’ve got ATK trofeo toes on mine.


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[alive]

Have tried NNN BC and skate bindings and still prefer the skate. What would the advantages of the tech toes be? Stiffness?

Not the best season up here. A few great outings, and incorporated the wing foil which was fun.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoIeG...d=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[XXX-er]

Tech toes would be huge overkill & mo money

maybe not having to buy skate boots if you already own something else ?

[BFD]

I scanned the video. He says the dynafits are not the best way to go. Talks about putting bungy to hold the heel down.i think he uses them as he has his boot set up for expeditions and can switch from ski to skate. Also knows how the ski boot performs in cold and wet.

[riff]

For me mostly about not owning more boots; I’ve tried the bungy and it’s not that useful. I daydream about traverses including ice but so far it’s just fall outings before snow flies.


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[Shorty_J]

Bumping this old thread with a question or two...

Are there design aspects I might not be aware of between different brands or models? Or are they all basically just flat blades with an upturned tip?

Seems like the cheapest place I can find them is ourdoorxl but I don't know what I'm looking at and the differences are not really highlighted.

Any sizing tips other than the generic sizing guides i can find online?

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[riff]

I can’t say much about different brands/models; but I think the steel is notably better and will stay sharp longer on the more spendy ones.
I’d say thesize tradeoffs are much like skis, essentially maneuverability vs stabilty and speed. I originally had 50cm, passed them on to my brother and got 55cm. They are faster but not as easy/fun to turn.



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[WhetherMan]

I think riff is right about steel, keep in mind harder steel stays sharp longer but can be more challenging to sharpen.

I'm no expert, but in the handful I've seen the amount of rocker also varies. I imagine more rocker is better for shittier ice.

I inherited a pair of lundhags and on good black ice they fucking haul. Fun times. You need a lot more space than hockey skates though.

[Tjaardbreeuwer]

So-
No real reason I can't use any compatible boot/binding, even if they are a bit burlier?
I have what I think XC folks call BC boots, and am guessing I will be happy for the support, and not mind the weight, for now.

There are some decent looking skates on sale, but 55 cm. 5'11", 180. Is this a bad idea?
Also- I have tools that make things shorter. Is that a possibility?

I use both my SNS -BC boots and skate ski boots. Both work well. The skate ski boots are lighter and flex easier, so better for high speed skating, where you get down lower. The BC boots have a similar plastic exo skeleton on the ankle, but are much beefier. Heavier, but comfier, warmer and much better to hike in. Better for long tours with bigger hikes, and more casual speeds where you are more upright.

The 55 will be fine.

[Tjaardbreeuwer]

Dynafit toes are the way to go- I don’t have any recent pics but I’ve got ATK trofeo toes on mine.


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Do you use a little bungee on the back to keep the tails up? I know people sometimes do that anyway, even with skateski bindings

[riff]

I tried a bungee and found the tips were too long, if the tails pop up you have to work harder to keep from snagging the tips.


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[Shorty_J]

Do you use a little bungee on the back to keep the tails up? I know people sometimes do that anyway, even with skateski bindings

You can buy stiffer flexors for the bindings, which I assume are designed to keep your heel closer to the tail of the skate, if not totally in contact?

https://ermineskate.com/product/rott...rm-red-flexor/

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