Recently purchased 090/RB Activa 90 Skates [Archive]

BladeGal

05-04-2006, 07:11 PM

IW,

I just recently purchased 090/RB Activa 90 Skate Womens Size 9 from IW for 199.99. (and paid for express shipping because I was eager to get them) I started blading with K2's, went to Solomon's (love them) and wanted to try the Roller Blade brand since I see many bladers using RB brand.

I have bladed 3 times since receiving them and now have a large blister on my right foot in the arch. The boot seems to be rubbing my foot wrong and I have never had this happen before with my K2's or Solomon's. Have you heard of any issues with RB boots? Is there a way I can adjust the boot to loosen in that area? They fit good, but in my arch area on my right foot is very uncomfortable and I am not enjoying them at this point. My left foot is fine. I blade approximately 48 miles a week, and was hoping these blades would be good enough to fit my exercise schedule.

Please advise as to what my options are, either adjusting the boot, or can I exchange them for another pair? HELP!

Thanks,
BladeGal with a BIG blister in FL.

chaosdsm

05-05-2006, 02:08 PM

There are a couple of possible scenario’s that pop into my mind.

First, Rollerblade brand skates in general are slightly narrower than their K2 & Salomon counterparts. This could lead to blisters if the area affected is narrower than your used to & rubbing more than with the K2 or Salomon skates. There may be a couple of ways around this, one is to take the skates to a shoe repair shop & have them stretched if possible. A good shop should be able tell you if they can stretch them or not beforehand. Another way is to try thinner socks, neoprene ‘booties’, or blister pads.

Second is that there could be a seam that is rubbing against your foot. If this is the case, then you might want to try thicker socks (if your skates aren’t too tight to begin with), or neoprene ‘booties’, to help pad your foot to protect it from the rubbing.

Those first two would primarily be responsible for blisters on the top or sides of the foot. However, if your blister is on the bottom of the foot, then I would suspect that the Rollerblade footbed insert is considerably different from what you’re accustomed to. You can try swapping the inserts with the ones from your K2 or Salomon skates, or you could try some 3rd party inserts like SuperFeet (http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/descpage.html?pcode=SSFF) (designed for inline skates unlike most others), or Dr Scholl’s. I’d be inclined to suggest the Dr Scholl’s Memory Foam inserts as they are cheaper than a lot of others (& you can get a $2 off coupon from drscholls.com), will conform to the shape of your foot, & provide extra cushioning, a big plus if you skate on rough asphalt surfaces. I like the SuperFeet inserts for races & memory foam inserts for training. SuperFeet are quite a bit more expensive than other inserts but IMO, they are worth every penny!

These ‘booties’ I’ve been talking about are made by ezeefit sports, (http://www.ezeefitsports.com/booties.htm) they are not cheap at $15/pair + shipping, but like the SuperFeet inserts (again… in my option) they’re worth every penny. For your situation, & if the blisters are on the side of the arch, I’d suggest the booties, 1mm(thinnest) if your skates are snug fitting, 2mm if they are a tad loose. Some pro’s use the 1mm booties instead of socks for races & after recently purchasing my first pair of speed skates, I can understand why! To better protect the arch area with the booties, I suggest putting them on backwards, I can post a photo later to show you what I mean...

Hope something here helps, cause it's no fun skating with blisters :(