Roller skating can be quite a fun activity, especially if you have everything that is needed to make skating an awesome experience. If you are new or a beginner, you might have to deal with a lot of things – one of those things is choosing the right size of skate.
Should roller skates be tight or loose? As a beginner, you might have some reservations on whether you want your skates to be tight or not. Even people who aren’t novice might still be in limbo if wearing a tight or loose skate is right. This is what we shall be answering in this post.
Sizing Is Key In Roller Skating
Getting the right size or fit is one sure way of maximizing your skating experience and performance. Just like buying shoes, sizing is a vital part of the buying process as you will feel more comfortable and have the right leg support. An improper-sized skate will result in poor performance, cause you some pains around your feet, and make your skating experience bad, so much that you may decide not to ever skate again.
As regards the fitting, most, if not all roller skates are of the same sizes as the shoes you wear. Meaning that if your shoe size is 9, your roller skate should also be 9. Roller skate brands ensure that the sizes are not different from that of normal shoe sizes so that it won’t be difficult for the buyer.
One thing you ought to know is our feet are individually shaped, so you can’t expect two people who wear a size 9 to have the same perfect fit, and as we have pointed, if your boots don’t fit, it can be a real pain to your feet.
And here is another thing about roller skates, size 9 in one may be different from the size 9 in another. In essence, the type of roller skate that you intend to buy determines how snug fit or loose the skate would be on your toe. The widths and the lengths may slightly differ. There are certain models that come in narrow width, while others may come in medium or wider width. So if you want to buy a roller skate, you need to pay attention to the dimensions of the roller skate that you want to buy.
For example, most quad skates are made of leather, and can stretch with use. Inline skates are made of stiff plastic, and may not stretch as much as leather do. So if you want to buy a quad skate boot, you may decide to get a size 8, instead of your normal 9. Reason being that 8 will stretch with use, but with an inline skate that’s plastic, getting a size below your regular size is unlikely and may feel too tight.
How to Properly Size a Roller Skate
When wearing skate boots for the first time, it’s not impossible to have some blisters, foot swells, or sores. This is because the boots are still trying to get accustomed to your feet. Expect them to be tight for a couple of days. However, skates or skate boots, once broken in will become a custom fit.
When you put on your roller skate, check how comfortable your toes are. Are they barely touching the front of the skate or crunched the skate? If they are barely touching the front of the skate, it means that you are good to go, but if crunched, it means that they are too small. You will need to get a bigger size.
Another way to size your roller skate is by assuming a bending position. This will determine how the skate would be once it loosens up. Put your boots on and bend at the knees, like you are about to skate. If you feel your toes are coming off the front of the skate too much, it’s an indication that it will be so tight on your feet once broken in.
If the skate is not so perfect on your feet, you can switch from thin socks to a thicker one and tie the laces tightly, but not so tightly. These will keep your feet snug.
Never make the mistake of putting on a thick sock when trying skates on. You may get confused about the actual size of the boot.
What If My Feet Still Hurts Despite Choosing the Right Fit?
Like we stated earlier, you can expect some blisters, pains, and sores in your feet if you are wearing the skates for the first time or if you are skating for the first time. You can expect to have some muscle cramps too. You have never exercised your muscles up to that extent, so your muscles would feel it’s a little getting stretched beyond its comfort zone.
What you have to do is give the muscles around your toes and feet a good massage or rub before skating. You can give it a good rub in between the skating sessions, let’s say after every 10-20 minutes. In a short while, the pain will lessen and your muscles will get used to your daily exercise.
And if you are mentally and physically stressed out, avoid skating. Your muscles could be affected, even if you are wearing the perfect size. Get some rest and breathe before skating.
Bad skating techniques could also contribute to your pain. Skating badly will put your muscles and joints in your whole body into an uncompromising position. While skating, make sure you avoid bending and maintain a straight posture. Your posture and balance is crucial to skating and practicing how to maintain a good posture while skating will greatly improve your muscle coordination.
If it’s your first time skating, ensure that you do some warm-ups before skating. Skating requires a whole lot from your body, including stamina and muscles. It’s unlike other activities like jogging where you can literally wake up in the morning, put on your jogging wears and boots and take off. Skating is different and requires much more than that from you. Do some workouts to get your muscles ready before putting on your boots.
Should Roller Skates Be Tight or Loose?
No, your roller skate should not be tight, neither should it be loose. It has to be in between and of the perfect fit. Sizing is key and choosing a roller skate that is tight will create an unbearable pain on your toes and around your Achilles tendon. A loose one will not cause you pains around your feet, but you don’t want your feet to be moving about inside either. You will find it difficult controlling your movement and will likely result to a fall. Overall, it will hinder your performance.
Conclusion
Roller skates should be comfortable on you and not the other way round. A perfectly-sized boot will not hinder your skating performance in any way, while also improving your health. That’s why you need to make sure that you try several skate brands and use the sizing tricks that we discussed in this post to get your perfect size. This way, you will have neither a tight boot or loose boot for your skating activity.
