Blisters? New skates? Help!

[Mrtim1119 0]

Hey guys so I'm a rookie to inline skating. I used to skate all the time as a teen and you get. I'm 22 picking up inline hockey. So I bought a pair of toes the 550 series. I've skated with these for 4 league games. Two pick up games. And a few times just skating in my basement. The past two times I skated with them

I've gotten blisters on my heals. I did skate for 3 hours both times. But it doesn't feel like there is any padding in the skate on the heel, it's hard. Any tips? I don't wanna get new skates just yet. Any easy fix's?

[Justin 1933 134]

Blisters are usually caused by skates that are to big or do not fit you properly. The 550 skate is a very low end skate, but it doesn't mean it is the cause of your blisters. Are you wearing a thick sock? Does your heal feel like it is moving around when skating? A properly fitting skate should fit well and have little to no movement in the foot.

[aeriches10 3]

For me, I get blisters wearing regular cotton socks. I wear the easton dri fit socks and it helps a lot. Might be worth a shot.

[Mrtim1119 0]

I have been wearing long baseball socks ive have that are cotton. I think there isn't to much movement but I'll have to doubt check and skate on them again tomorrow. But I feel like there should be some sort of cushion by the heal. I'll invest in different socks. Do they make anything for cushioning?

[mc88 160]

Try compression socks...

My personal favorite is:

http://www.icewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=DLMRS1

Or, if you'd like something that is super thin:

http://www.icewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=BPPSS

Also, make sure you have the correct sizing. Your ankle should be locked in place and not be allowed much movement. Next time, try to kick your heel back and then tighten up your laces... see if that helps.

[jonesy9020 77]

Most skates really don't have cushioning in the heel. It's an area that needs to be locked firmly in place, so a hard heel cup is important. Your heel should not move, and there's no reason you should get blisters if it does not move. Baseball socks are kind of thick and bunchy sometimes and they might be causing the friction which is resulting in blisters. Are your skates used? Is there a hole in the lining around the heel? That'd be a reason for blisters as well. If that's the case, new skates are probably in your future.

Also, MC88 has good advice on the socks. If you don't want to spend on high-tech sports socks, just try to go with very thin socks (I stick with cheap dress socks). It's a little counterintuitive because as you said, you'd think you want more cushion and what you actually want is a better fit with less slippage.

[aeriches10 3]

Dress socks work okay too. But the actual skate socks (Easton, Bauer, under armour) are way more durable and last longer.

[Vet88 674]

The boots may just not fit you properly. You may have narrow feet and Tour (plus rbk and CCM) are designed for a wider fitting foot. Wrong boot shape, either width or length or a combination of both, means your foot slips and rolls around in the boot producing blisters. Been there and done that.

[Mrtim1119 0]

I actually have a wider foot!

[jonesy9020 77]

If it's not width, it could still be length (or depth). Where do your toes end up after you've laced up?

Another trick that some have had success with -- try outside-in lacing on the eyelets where the boot bends (usually the 3rd and 4th down from the top of the boot). This will allow you to crank down really hard on the laces that can keep your heel in place without having quite as many lacebite issues compared to normal lacing. What this does is basically an attempt to make a boot that's too deep wrap your foot/ankle a little better. Also, if you haven't yet, try waxed laces out.

[aeriches10 3]

Wax laces are every hockey players friend.