The primary cause of early boot breakdown is poor fit, or loose lacing.
If there are parts of the boot that do not have full contact with the skin,
a crease can form there.
The primary cause of early boot breakdown is poor fit, or loose lacing.
If there are parts of the boot that do not have full contact with the skin,
a crease can form there.
I knew an ice dancer who competed and toured at the highest levels. 10 or 15 years later, he was still using the very thin but tightly fit boots he must have used at that time. By comparison, most high level freestyle and dance skaters wear out their boots in a few months, even though they use much stiffer boots. That is because they use boots that are imperfectly fit, or which are deliberately fit loose on top.
The outsole of the boot should be waterproofed, by melting a wax, such as Sno-Seal, onto it.
Blades will last several times longer if they are hand sharpened using a tool such as the Pro-filer. Ordinary machine sharpening shapes by grinding steel away. Slower hand sharpening reshapes the steel to form an "lip" or "burr" or "feather" (a very thin sheet of metal), which can be straightened into a burr. Hand sharpening can also be used to create sharper edges. However, hand sharpening takes practice.
Boot laces are cheap, but are sometimes hard to find. If the tip of your shoe lace is damaged, and you are using nylon laces (recommended because they let you get tighter), you can create a new one by barely melting it with a match or burner, then rolling it between your fingers. Be careful not to burn yourself, and do it near a sink, so you can put it out if the lace burns.