How to break into RF4 skates?

Question

I really enjoy ice skating and i bought a pair of RF4 skates 2 days ago, beacuse I want to start taking lesson. The skates fit perfectly however they hurt from the pressure provided from the top rim of the skates. How long will it take me to break them in? I am wearing them around the house alot and planning to skate in them very soon. Is there anyway to speed up the progress?

Answer 1

Hey I have RF4s too.

Well, initially I was afraid to walk with them in the house. But after some pains on the ice, I put on the hard guard [silicon/plastic] onto the blades and started walking in them. They help. Take them off when you feel that your feet hurts.

However, I have a feeling that you're lacing them too tight. that is my mistake too. When you lace the, leave the first few relatively loose, like you can stick a finger of two under the lace. As you get to your ankle area, pull them tight. When I lace up to the hooks, I do them Tight, less tight, less tight, less tight. If you have additional lace length, go back down. I lace all the way up and down three hooks.

While RF4 is perceived to be a beginner skate set... I have to say they are pretty darn hard. When you get onto the ice, do a lot of bending. Like cross overs, backwards crossovers, shoot the ducks, and simply just squatting down.

Also, don't force yourself to keep skating in them when they hurt too much. Go rest, and unlace all the way and drink water, then lace them again. You will find a method of lacing that you're comfortable in.

Have fun skating! Breaking in is a sure pain!

Answer 2

It normally takes a few sessions (4-6) to break skates in and RF4's are generally quite stiff as well.  

You can speed it up by wearing them around the house with your hard guards on (I will be upgrading my skates in February, and have told my boss that I WILL be wearing them under my desk at work!).  

You said specifically that they hurt around the top rim of the skates.  As skates are so stiff when you first wear them, you don't actually need to lace them all the way to the top and can just lace the bottom 3 (out of 4) hooks until they feel more comfortable.  This will help you be able to maintain proper knee bend without them digging in so much, and therefore speed up how quickly they break in.  

There are other ways that skaters break in skates, one way being to wear damp socks inside the skates.  However, this isn't particularly good for the leather, so I wouldn't recommend it particularly.  Just persevere with wearing them around the house and just lace up the bottom three hooks until they feel more comfortable and you can use all the hooks.  

If you are getting blisters from your skates, or pain from the pressure, you can invest in something called Bunga Pads (I have put a link to wear you can buy them at the bottom - cheaper from America) which provide padding and protection in your boot and are highly recommended by many skaters.  They are basically a tubigrip kind of bandage, with gel inserts that make life somewhat more comfortable!

Good luck - it will get better soon, I promise!

Answer 3

so long as your wearing blades guards on the blades when your wearing them around the house thats ok but it wont really speed up the process that much.  breaking in new skates takes about 5-10 days if your skating a lot and longer if you only skate say once a week.  your skates will start to break in when you skate because of the movement of your feet and ankles.  to begin with you will get blisters and stuff and they will be painful especially if you have never skated properly before which im assuming you havnt.

when the skates have broken in they will feel much comfier and they will be easier to lace up, you wont be getting any blisters and you might notice slight creasing around the ankles.  this allows for flexibilty but still gives you maximum supprt.  the only way to break in new skates is to skate in them as much as possible.

good luck x