LondonSkaters Speed Team - Speed Skating & Rollerblading Club in London

diego · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 412 Location: W2

Hi there.

My first pair of speedskates [Bont Jets] are breaking down (some of the eyelets are coming out and ripping the leather that holds them).

Is it due to the falling? or to tightening the laces too much? not sure about the reason but looks like a good excuse to buy a new toy (my latest performances would not justify them Embarassed

).

I have been suffering with my Jets: soreness towards my -wide- toes, feet moving around in the skates when switching from the outside to the inside edge or numbness when tightening the laces to fix the problem just mentioned.

Obviously, part of the blame is on me and my skating technique, nevertheless I was looking to a pair of customs as one possible way of improving my "skating experience" Shocked

Having been talking about this with Adrian and Fred, Adrian suggested a post to gather everybody's experience with customs in order to identify what the best options appear to be (well, customs ain't cheap, so I'd hate to waste money on something I wouldn't be happy with).

I already know that skates, including customs, are somehow a hit and miss depending on one's feet

So the question is not "what are the best custom skates", but:
"what custom skates have you tried so far, how was/is your experience with them and -last but not least- did your customs require a second mould or any other additional fixing or fiddling to make them perfect for your feet?"

As you can imagine, I heard many comments so far and haven't got a clue on what I should go for.

For example, I quite like the Bont 3-point mount, but then I have never skated on anything else and many people told me about issues with custom Bonts...

Could you please give me some hints?
Who's happy with what?
Who's found the "perfect" pair of custom skates?

Thanks in advance!
Diego

sol · Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:25 am Subject:

I love my custom Vaypors.
I think the most important thing is to have them moulded well by someone that knows what they are doing. then they shoukdn't hurt.

ed!

Mikey-two-Names · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 4107

I love my bont customs, and wouldn't buy anything else. I did go to quite a lot of trouble over the foot moulding, researching beforehand and thinking through the process in detail in my mind so I was very prepared on the day itself. Still have the notes somewhere, if you're interested.

Vinny was mentioned by Alex as doing some pretty decent quality moulds, which convinced me to go with him. Before I heard that, I was prepared to fly to the US to meet up with Glenn Koshi as he is also widely acknowledged as a careful and quality moulder. Vinny gave me some really excellent quality customer service as well as those great moulds, I'm extremely impressed and happy with him.

Still, custom boots are more of an art form than a science, IMO, so I'm prepared for things to go wrong next time.

roger · Joined: 26 Feb 2004 Posts: 531

I have been pretty happy with my Bont ZX5 customs, as moulded by Vinny, and Kay has been happy enough with hers.

I am considering getting another pair, as I have had issues with the frame slipping and I am guessing that a 3 point mounting would remove that problem, but I also am not sure what the current (cheapish) options for custom are, now that the ZX5 is discontinued.

The problem I have with non-custom boots is that they are generally too narrow in the front. Do any of the current generation of heat-mouldable boots (eg. Jets) have sufficient mouldability in that area?

ed! · Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:46 am Subject:

Barrie · Joined: 21 May 2006 Posts: 1380 Location: Putney

Apaches are the cheapest Bonts that they'll do custom's on I think.
But they do "semi customs" on all I believe, which I think can be a bit wider.

peterc · Joined: 10 Mar 2004 Posts: 1284 Location: M3 somewhere

I thought long and hard about skates before going for Bonts, only as a result of the 3 points, as I think it's the only practical way to do a 195mm spacing that doesn't flex. (I'm sure my musings are available on here or in other locations)

Luckily my 3 mounts fit well, but not used them as much as others have and for nothing longer than a marathon.

Vinnie did my molding.

diego · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 412 Location: W2

Thanks for your help, guys!

Apparently the combination Bont+Vinnie molding them works for most of you...

I will think about it a bit more (it ain't cheap and my results currently do not justify that kind of expense) and will eventually make up my mind.

Thanks to all those who expressed an opinion! Smile

ed! · Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 9:34 pm Subject:

I've just ordered some Bont Cheetahs (next model down from the Jets) as my current ones have seen the tarmac far too many times. There seems to be little significant (for my purposes) differences between them, except in price.

So I've opted for some semi custom (wider at the front) and narrower at the ankles. They should serve me well until I decide if I want to go down the custom route, and as you say, whether I can justify the outlay.

hulyom · Joined: 13 Aug 2007 Posts: 214 Location: sunny Ecuador