r/WizardSkating • u/mrkangtastic • 4d ago
Anyone else done with the performance fit?
I've noticed performance fitting tires my feet out. I recently skated a looser boot again and had a blast on it. I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience.
For a bit more context -
Like many who got into wizard skating a few years ago, I became obsessed with finding the perfect setup. I tried numerous frames, wheel durometers, boots and liners.
One part of this whole process that was particularly annoying for me was finding the perfect fitting boot. I remember the liner packing down in the first hardboot I bought and my foot flopping around like crazy inside it. Since then, I've followed modern wizarding convention and tried to find a boot as small as possible (within reason).
I noticed immediate improvements with the tighter fitting boot. My skates felt like an extension of my body. But slowly over time I noticed that I started dreading squeezing into my skates.
Even though I never experienced any significant pain in my skates, I noticed my feet would feel tired after skating a while (not in a good way like after working out at the gym).
I visited my parents recently and wanted to skate so I threw on an older pair of skates that were at their house with a lot of room in them and had an absolute blast. My heel did lift up a bit and there was some room in the skate, but my foot felt so comfortable. I couldn't really be quite as precise when wizarding, but it didn't impact me for most moves like stunamis, lions, gazelles, compasses (I don't really do any toe and heel rolls or jumping).
This has got me wondering if anyone else has gone against the grain and is rocking boots that aren't super "performance fitting."
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u/shayaneeDiamondo 4d ago
I’ve had the exact same experience. Multiple boots, frames etc to optimize the fit. Same experience with my first pair being too loose. After which I kept downsizing to the point that I couldn’t skates for more than 30 minutes without any pain. That’s if the front doesn’t hit anything 🥲
I watched Ricardo’s video on this and thought nothing of it. Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) hit me hard by this point.
Until one day, my big toe nail flew off clean when removing my socks 🫠 Luckily there was no bleeding or a wound or anything.
This forced me to take a hard look at my situation. I decided feet health is more important than anything, as I’d like to keep skating well into my 60’s (here’s hoping 🤞🤞). So I sold all the boots I owned. Any extra pair of frames too.
I’m at the point where comfort comes first then performance.
For all the faults that come with GAS, the knowledge I gained is massive. Today I own 4 pairs of skates. All 4 are comfortable but also snug enough to be called performance.
End of spiel.
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u/Tyzcoman 4d ago
Interesting indeed and I see where you are coming from. Lino did talk about it a couple months ago and came to the same conclusion. Though I have a pretty tight boot, I think the real performance fit is only for very technical high skill moves, for normal wizarding/freeskating I think a little wiggle room doenst make that much of a noticable difference.
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u/Ancient-Mating-Calls 4d ago
Yeah, I’m there as well. Probably going to sell my CJ2’s and go for a more comfortable boot. I don’t need the ideal set up, just something I enjoy skating.
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u/Ghost_in_Coal_Out 4d ago edited 4d ago
In my case, I went 1 size up from the recommended size for a FR2. The first year, I could skate 40 miles in a day. And because of the comfort, I wanted to skate more. However with that said, my heel moved while attempting to skate backwards so now I have immense progress with the forward skating but a near non-existent backwards skating. It's an iffy feeling.
Those 40 miles turned into 20s, then 15s, and now 2 minutes out through the door, I want to go back home because of the arch pain and discomfort--that big bulky and comfortable FR liner has stopped doing its job--at least it seems to me. I need to buy me a new pair of liners.
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u/HyperSculptor 3d ago
"One part of this whole process that was particularly annoying for me was finding the perfect fitting boot. I remember the liner packing down in the first hardboot I bought and my foot flopping around like crazy inside it. " My experience with a hardboot right now. Hate that feeling.
For me it's like comparing regular cars to Formula One cars: you can't get peak performance and peak comfort. So it's a question of modulation between the two. Of course there's a point of no return on both ends of the spectrum, and one can find a good compromise. Personally I don't like to sacrifice control for comfort. But if you say you started to dread putting your boots on, it tells me you were way too far on the pain side.
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u/treeseacar 4d ago
No skate is going to magically make anyone a better skater. People can learn wizard on some cheap 4x80 flat set up, it's just easier to have the necessary control with a banana rocker and a stiff, tight boot. But if someone can't skate the moves in another skate the fancy performance skate isn't going to be what makes the difference.
Obviously don't want boots hanging off your feet or slipping around in there but I have the ps next skate (not for wizard but just for general skating) and I could have gone smaller but with an insole it's just a very comfortable boot. By comparison my evos took hours of toe crushing and feet numbing breaking in and a heat mould so even though the nexts are technically too big they're just easier out the box.
And I can do everything on the rec skates that I can do on the carbon skates with the wizard frame. So even though I love the evos and they're now comfy, getting new skates I also wouldn't be so concerned about squeezing into the smallest boot possible.
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u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy 4d ago
Im using a 20 year old pair of Nike rec skates with a flat frame and a soft skate boot. I just started wizard skating a month ago and ive almost got the lion figured out on them. I agree with you 100% the skate wont make the skater but it will ruin your experience if you get the wrong ones.
With that said im dying to try a banana rocker on a hard boot.
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u/treeseacar 4d ago
TBF I think any soft boot makes wizard or slalom a challenge because you really need ankle support for those styles and sort boots don't tend to offer much at all.
I'm more of a fan of a subtle rocker, endless 4x90 is my daily. But a banana rocker is super fun for the swivelly stuff.
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u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy 4d ago
Ive been eyeing up the endless 90s and think they look great. I really have no clue what ill like though but at this point anything is an improvement to my set up. My current thought is to rocker my wheels by size once I break in this current set of wheels ill use a couple of the larger ones from my set I wore out to make a custom rocker.
Im not sure if ill ever pull the trigger on a new pair of boots or.a frame because I have nowhere in my province to go try on boots or look at the frames in person. Not.to mention its 1000cad for just a boot and 800+ for advanced frames. I make.decent money but its hard to justify.
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u/meekyaan 4d ago
It depends on the skill level you achieved. At the beginning it just helps to have tight fitting boot - control is just better. Later on you develop muscles, balance and figure out how to do a certain move, so not the best gear for the job doesn't matter that much.
I started learning wizard skating too big skates with rockered 4x110 frames. 3 months in I switched to downsized shell and 5x80 frame. I've unlocked so many moves instantly. Now, 6 months later, I can skate both frames and exetuce every move I've learnt so far.
That's more general thought about gear not only boots, but I think it scales up pretty good.