I have a narrow ankle but the rest of my foot is fairly wide.
I skated on custom Harlicks for a long time but they never really fit properly. They were always too narrow and my feet just went numb after a while. They have since broken down some time ago, and my feet seem to have changed a bit since I got them so many years ago. One option was to repair them and get them widened out, but I decided to try something different as I didn't love the overall fit, aside from the heel possibly. Enter the Jackson Synergy boots.
I have been skating on the Synergy boots for a couple weeks now, almost every day, closing in on around 15 hours now. While breaking them in and not lacing the top hook, I noticed that the tongue kept "popping out" forward as soon as I would bend my knee, and the tongue would then just stay popped out, offering little support on subsequent flexing forward in the boot.
After a few sessions I tried lacing the top hook, not so tight at first, then gradually tighter. Initially I thought the boots were way too stiff all around as I couldn't bend at all (felt like a ski boot), but at this point I am able to flex them better, however the tongue still pops out and gets stuck in this forward position as before. I can't prevent the tongue from moving any more at this point unless I use the extra lace to go all around the back of the boot and then back around the tongue, at which point we are back to the ski boot feeling.. and I'm pretty sure this isn't right
So there's a lot of room at the top front area of the tongue, which I can manage to some extent, but which certainly isn't helping. What I can't manage at all is a ton of space on the sides of my ankles at the top of the boot. I have no support here until I'm practically leaning into the top side edges of the boot.
The edge of the lower portion of the tongue digs into my ankle bones as well, but this problem was solved with gel pads.
Maybe I'm just used to my old boots that hugged my ankle at the top more. Is this huge amount of space the new thing (judging from what I have read about Edea boots...maybe Synergy tried something similar??), or is this simply not the right boot for me?
Is it that my ankles just need to get stronger and maybe I'll get used to having this much space around the ankles as some skaters have suggested?
The rest of the fit isn't as bad but might be getting worse. The first several sessions, I felt like my ankle was really locked in, but now I feel like I can't lock it in as much and I am feeling a small amount of lift, even after tightening multiple times throughout the session.
What's more concerning to me is that I'm noticing my foot moving sideways in the boot some now as well. I'm not sure if this is a separate problem or related to the tongue issue, but it is not inspiring a lot of confidence. Additionally this sideways movement is causing some pain on the sides of my heels as they are being pressed up against the corners of the boots.
Perhaps I wasn't stressing the boot enough and didn't notice these other things initially.
Spacing on the back of the ankle against the collar seems ok, and my feet aren't going numb anymore in this size 7.5W, so it has something going for it..
How much time do I give these to see if they conform better, or if I might adjust to them?
Is there another boot I should try for my foot profile? I'm willing to try anything to find something that works! I've read a few posts on here that suggest a Risport might be worth checking out. I have a relatively high arch if that narrows it down. Let me know what else I can tell you that helps.
Thanks!
I skated on custom Harlicks for a long time but they never really fit properly. They were always too narrow and my feet just went numb after a while. They have since broken down some time ago, and my feet seem to have changed a bit since I got them so many years ago. One option was to repair them and get them widened out, but I decided to try something different as I didn't love the overall fit, aside from the heel possibly. Enter the Jackson Synergy boots.
I have been skating on the Synergy boots for a couple weeks now, almost every day, closing in on around 15 hours now. While breaking them in and not lacing the top hook, I noticed that the tongue kept "popping out" forward as soon as I would bend my knee, and the tongue would then just stay popped out, offering little support on subsequent flexing forward in the boot.
After a few sessions I tried lacing the top hook, not so tight at first, then gradually tighter. Initially I thought the boots were way too stiff all around as I couldn't bend at all (felt like a ski boot), but at this point I am able to flex them better, however the tongue still pops out and gets stuck in this forward position as before. I can't prevent the tongue from moving any more at this point unless I use the extra lace to go all around the back of the boot and then back around the tongue, at which point we are back to the ski boot feeling.. and I'm pretty sure this isn't right
So there's a lot of room at the top front area of the tongue, which I can manage to some extent, but which certainly isn't helping. What I can't manage at all is a ton of space on the sides of my ankles at the top of the boot. I have no support here until I'm practically leaning into the top side edges of the boot.
The edge of the lower portion of the tongue digs into my ankle bones as well, but this problem was solved with gel pads.
Maybe I'm just used to my old boots that hugged my ankle at the top more. Is this huge amount of space the new thing (judging from what I have read about Edea boots...maybe Synergy tried something similar??), or is this simply not the right boot for me?
Is it that my ankles just need to get stronger and maybe I'll get used to having this much space around the ankles as some skaters have suggested?
The rest of the fit isn't as bad but might be getting worse. The first several sessions, I felt like my ankle was really locked in, but now I feel like I can't lock it in as much and I am feeling a small amount of lift, even after tightening multiple times throughout the session.
What's more concerning to me is that I'm noticing my foot moving sideways in the boot some now as well. I'm not sure if this is a separate problem or related to the tongue issue, but it is not inspiring a lot of confidence. Additionally this sideways movement is causing some pain on the sides of my heels as they are being pressed up against the corners of the boots.
Perhaps I wasn't stressing the boot enough and didn't notice these other things initially.
Spacing on the back of the ankle against the collar seems ok, and my feet aren't going numb anymore in this size 7.5W, so it has something going for it..
How much time do I give these to see if they conform better, or if I might adjust to them?
Is there another boot I should try for my foot profile? I'm willing to try anything to find something that works! I've read a few posts on here that suggest a Risport might be worth checking out. I have a relatively high arch if that narrows it down. Let me know what else I can tell you that helps.
Thanks!