Convert ice skates to Marsblades or wait for Alkali RPEs

[Brob 1]

So I started a thread on the HFBoards, and I after a lot of debating and trial and error, I thought I'd get second opinions from ModSquad.

 

I wear a pair of Supreme 160s 7.5EE on the ice. Spring is here and I am just dying to get outside and play some inline. The problem is, I can't seem to find any inline skates  wide enough for me under $300, and it seems like these skate brands are in a conspiracy to milk money from wide footed people, because only their higher models have EE width (But seriously what the hell is up with that...?) . I wouldn't mind spending that on ice skates, but inline.... I don't know. I really just want a pair of skates to train my off ice skills. I've played street hockey my whole life, but I never got into ice hockey until about a year ago. Right now my main weaknesses that I need to work on are skating, stick handling while moving on skates, and deking. I plan to play for an ACHA Division 2 or 3 school in the Fall of 2017, so I really want to be ready. I'm in college right now, and money is pretty tight. I really only wanted to spend about $300 for everything (Skates, wheels, bearings, pucks, etc)

 

So, here are the two options I've found, but I want some feedback on it.

1) Buy a pair of Supreme 170s (On sale for $230) and use them as my new ice skates. Buy Marsblades ($200) and a set of Labeda Asphalt wheels ($36), then convert my Supreme 160s for (~$30). I'm looking at $500 here, plus another ~$40 for pucks and another ~$30 for the wrap around once it comes back in stock. The question is, if I am going to spend all that money, will it really be worth it? I am willing to put out this money if it will truly help me. The question is, are Marsblades really that effective? Can I hone my tight turns, crossovers, and backwards skating skills on these and translate them to ice with ease?

 

2) Wait for the good ol' Alkali RPE Rivals. The only problem with this though, I'm not 100% sure they will even fit. I know they are designed to be wide, but what if they are too wide? What if they are too deep? I really won't be able to tell unless I want to wait almost a month. Then if they don't fit probably, I'll have to do one of the other options anyways, so effectively I would have just wasted a month. Also, these are only inline skates. If the Marsblades truly are effective, than spending $270 on roller blades may not be worth it. The price is just a bit for than I'm really willing to spend for regular blades. Overall this would run me a total of about $310. Cheaper than the first option, but I don't get to upgrade my ice skates and the training may not be effective.

 

I am really leaning towards option 1. Mainly because I planned on buying another pair of Supremes once they went on sale anyways. I also live buy the motto of "Buy it nice or buy it twice," so if I chose Option 2 then ended up buying the Supremes in like ~6 months from now, it would have cost me more money without the benefit of the Marsblades training (again, assuming it really is that effect.)

 

Now one last thing. When I'm on the ice with my Supremes, I think they may be a tad bit tight. Typically I go out and skate for 15-20 minutes, then come on the bench for like 5 minutes to catch my breath, get a drink, and check my phone. Then I usually go back out for another 15 minutes, and go back to the bench. This time I actually take off my skates, because my feet start getting score, mainly upfront. The main cause of this soreness is when I do a lot of stopping and quick turning. Is this just natural because I'm using the muscles in my feet, or is this a sign a skates that are too tight? I'm not in tons of pain, and I can go an entire 60-90 minutes without taking them off, but it'll just be annoying and affect my performance. When I have the skates on before I go on the ice, they feel pretty good. They are a half size too lengthy I think, but the width feels perfect. I feel no pressure on the sides, but I am touching them. If this soreness is natural and I'll eventually get used to it, then I'll stick with my Supremes. if not, I may have to try on the Nexus skates. If I choose to convert, I will still convert and use my Supremes for the roller, and deal with the soreness every now then and use the Nexus skates on ice. Also, I am currently 270 pounds. I'm one week into a competitive diet with my Stepdad, and I plan to be down to 220 in 3 months or so. (I used to weight 330. I am confident that I will loose this weight and stay focused.) The reason I mention this is, if I drop 40-50 pounds, will I stop getting sore? I mean, there has to be some fat in feet right? If I loose weight it seems logical to me that my Supremes will fit better and I can ditch the Nexus idea.

 

Thanks to anyone that read this novel and to anyone who gives me some insightful feedback!