Thank you for sharing! It’s interesting to know that it’s – to some extent at least – a reversible or at least repeatable process.

I don’t think it hurts the leather particularly from what I’ve read; it’s just a bit of work to do it (or money to pay somebody to do it). I’m lazy so for me it would be cheaper and simpler to just get boot covers in a variety of colors, even though it isn’t as cool as actually having skates that are a particular color. But reading around I do see some people using that as a way to get black skates when they bought white, so you have shared a good tip!

That said, even with black boots my son used boot covers for the protection they offer, and my youngest enjoys mixing the colors up based on her mood 🙂

Thanks John,

That’s sound advice and it’s refreshing to hear that we are there to skate. So considering the cost is better, the fit is fine, and it’s a beginner class – I think white is the way to go. Plus it’s important these days to not plug kids (and adults) into gender roles such as skate colour when the point is to get out there and have fun and learn a new sport. I used to play goalie but my knees have suffered so I’m heading in a new direction so I can get back out on the ice.

Thanks again 🙂

Sean, you ask a really good question. My son did not experience any issues at all with the women’s skates, other than needing to get a slightly larger size in order to fit his foot width. It’s also of note that the sizes in women’s and men’s skates are not the same. That is, Men’s size 10 is not the same length as a Women’s size 10. Thankfully it sounds like you’ve been able to try the skates on and know that they fit, so that’s not really an issue.

I’m also told that Jacksons tend to have a wider fit than similarly priced Riedell models, so that’s also in your favor. Basically, if the boot fits, I don’t see any issue whatsoever in wearing it. My youngest daughter loves wearing black skates; my son had no issue wearing white skates. The only issue I had at one point was that when searching for an upgrade for my son’s skates, I wanted to get a D-width boot, and discovered that quite often the women’s models simply did not offer a D-width option and that to get that I had to open my wallet that bit wider and investigate the men’s equivalent black boot, where amazingly a D-width boot was suddenly available.

Especially if you’re beginning skating, my personal feeling is to say go for it. If you enjoy the class and keep developing your skating then at some point your coaches may recommend that you consider a different boot for various reasons (usually related to being an adult with height and weight that require a bit more ankle support than a kid), but then again, adults don’t usually start doing lots of jumps either, so the stress on the skates is much less than those crazy young ‘uns!

Good luck to you and I really hope you get some enjoyment from being on the ice. It’s so great to see adults taking up figure skating!

I was hoping you could expand on your thoughts about boys wearing white skates. Sadly for me I’m much older than your son but I’m taking a beginner figure skating class. I do not want to spend good money on a new pair of black skates if I don’t enjoy the class. Used men’s skates are much harder to find than used women’s skates – which seem to be plentiful. Fortunately my feet are small enough to fit into a women’s size 10 Jackson skate. As you suggested, I can get a pair of black covers, or, honestly, the white doesn’t bother me. I’m there to learn how to skate so the colour is a non-issue.

Has your son had any issues with stability or fit or any other drawbacks while wearing ladies’ skates? I can get a nice pair of white Jacksons (Classique I believe) for less than half the price of a pair of men’s skates.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for your time

I haven’t had this happen to me, but I’ve seen some similar reviews,. It’s hard to know under what conditions this happened. but there are some things I do to minimize the risk, like:

1) Before using the covers, wash them. Some vendors actually provide this advice with the product, but I suspect many people ignore it. I just shove them in on a short, cold wash in my machine. If I’m feeling brave I might throw in a “Color Catcher” sheet as well to sock up any dye floating around.

2) I never store the (almost certainly damp after use) boot covers in physical contact with the boots; keep them separated! Throwing them in a bag together after practice sounds like begging for an issue.

I’ve had some do that – including starting to break through around the lace hooks – and others which have lasted remarkably well. I’ll try and look to see if there’s a a particular brand I’ve had more luck with. Please report back if you find a good one, too!