Is it okay to use hockey ice skates to learn skating if we can’t find figure skates?

af: Is it okay to use hockey ice skates to learn skating if we can’t find figure skates?
My 7 yr old is learning to ice skate just so he can use it recreationally. I am having a hard time finding figure skates for him. Is it okay to learn on hockey skates? We don’t plan on playing hockey. I’ve heard that once you use hockey skates it’s hard to go back to figure skates. Any tips or advise will be appreciated.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Mia
Hi There,
Figure skate blades are a different shape and they have a toe pick, I think learning from hockey skates can be done but if your planning to get him to wear figure skates in the future it’s going to be a very different skating experience and won’t be that easy to do, I’ve been skating for a while with Figure skates and whenever I try to skate with Hockey skates i find it really difficult to do because of the structure of the boot and blade, But if it’s just skating for fun then it won’t really make much difference as he will then just be skating around like everyone else, but if you would like him to compete then I would keep trying to find figure skates for him. As he is only 7 i would recommend not spending too much money on the figure skates as he will grow very quickly and usually skates are a lot of money. Good Luck, and i hope this helps and everything works out! 🙂 xx

Answer by Angie
I wouldn’t suggest getting him hockey skates. Hockey skates have a different blade and structure. They don’t have a toe pick so when he does get figure skates it will be hard for him to get used to them, he’d probably be tripping over the toe pick a lot. I also think the blades are thinner. My little brother would always use figure skates to go ice skating and then one time he had to use hockey skates and he said it was a lot harder to balance because the blade was thinner. Hockey skates are made for hockey so i wouldn’t suggest using them for figure skating. If your trying to find them at your pro shop it’s going to be hard because they don’t sell a lot there. I went there one time looking for figure skates and all they had was some cheap ones and hockey skates. Get his feet measured and look online for figure skates.

Here’s a website:
https://www.figureskatingdeals.com

I’d suggest the Reidell 21 or the Jackson artiste for beginners

Answer by RYGUY
why are you making a boy do figure skating, thats gay, its a womens sport, put him in hockey, more friends, look at most professional male figure skaters, there homosexual, do you want that for your son. As for the skates, hockey will be fine, he needs to adjust on being the ice at that age so it wont make a difference.