Figure skates or hockey skates: which to buy for a first pair

The toe pick, which is the entire difference

Look at the front of a figure skate blade and you will see a row of jagged teeth. That is the toe pick, and it exists so a skater can dig into the ice to launch a jump or anchor a spin. It is a tool with a specific purpose.

For a beginner, it is mostly a thing to trip over. New skaters naturally lean forward for balance, which is exactly the movement that plants the toe pick into the ice and stops the skate dead while the body keeps going. That is the classic first-session faceplant, and it is not clumsiness - it is equipment doing what it was designed to do at a moment you did not intend.

A hockey blade has no toe pick. It is also curved more along its length, which makes it quicker to turn and easier to push off from, at the cost of being less stable in a straight glide.

The comparison

The three published options on this site

American Athletic Party Girl - adjustable figure

The figure-skate answer for a growing child: a published shell that adjusts across four shoe sizes, with three shells covering youth 10 through adult 8. If a child wants lessons, wants to spin, or simply wants figure skates because that is what skating looks like to them, this is the sensible way to buy them without paying for a stiff boot they outgrow in a season.

Honest con: it still has the toe pick, so the first hour involves learning where it is.

American Athletic Cougar - adjustable hockey

The same adjustable idea with a hockey blade, published as adjusting across four sizes from youth 6. As the ledger row puts it, the hockey blade has no toe pick, which is one fewer thing for a beginner to catch - and for a child who keeps tripping in figure skates, swapping to a hockey blade is often the change that turns skating into something they enjoy.

Honest con: less fore-and-aft stability when standing still, which some very young children find harder rather than easier.

Jackson Ultima Softec Vista - recreational

The adult answer for a few outings a winter. Published as factory sharpened, so it works on the first outing rather than after a trip to a shop, with a Nylex lining published for warmth - which matters more than people expect on an outdoor rink - and sizes covering women’s 4 to 11 and youth 8 to 3.

A soft-boot recreational skate is warmer and far more comfortable than a stiff figure or hockey boot, and it is the right buy for anyone whose ambition is a pleasant hour on the ice rather than a skill.

Honest con: the support that makes a stiff boot uncomfortable is also what lets you progress, so a soft boot becomes the limiting factor if you start skating regularly.

Buying for children: adjustable shells

Adjustable skates are the one place in winter sports where buying for growth is genuinely correct rather than a compromise - because the shell adjusts in length while keeping the heel located, which is not what happens when you buy a boot two sizes too big.

• Set them to the child’s current size, not to next year’s. A skate with room in it rolls the ankle, and a child skating on their ankles is a child who wants to leave.
• One thin pair of socks. Thick socks in a skate cause the same circulation problem they cause in a ski boot.
• Tight at the ankle, looser over the toes. The ankle is where support comes from; clamping the forefoot just hurts.
• Helmet on, always for children. A ski or multi-sport helmet is fine, and the outdoor ice safety page covers the rest.

The kids skate roundup compares the adjustable models properly, and the fit guide has the sizing method.

Outdoor rinks change the answer slightly

Outdoor ice is colder, rougher and more variable than a rink, which pushes the choice toward a warmer, softer recreational boot - a stiff competition boot is cold, and outdoor sessions are usually shorter and more casual anyway. Rough ice also blunts blades faster, so plan on sharpening more often than an indoor skater would. The outdoor ice safety page covers the rest, including what to check before going on anything that is not a maintained rink.

Fit: the two checks that decide comfort

A skate that fits badly is worse than the wrong type of skate, and both checks take seconds.

• Heel lock. Laced up, stand and bend your knees. Your heel should stay down. If it lifts, the skate is too big or laced wrong, and you will get blisters at the back and no control at the front. Lace tightest across the ankle, looser over the toes.
• Toe touch. Standing upright, toes should just brush the end. Bend your knees and they should pull back. Room at the end means the foot slides forward and the ankle rolls - the single most common reason a child says skating hurts.

Skate sizing generally runs smaller than shoe sizing, sometimes by a full size, which catches out parents buying online. The ice skate fit guide has the measuring method and the sizing caveats per type.

Renting first, which is the sensible order

Rink rentals are almost always hockey or recreational skates rather than figure skates, which is itself a useful signal about what a rink considers manageable for a first-timer. Two or three sessions on rentals tells you more than any comparison page can, including this one.

• Ask when the skates were last sharpened. Busy rinks fall behind, and a blunt rental is the most common reason a first session goes badly.
• Take your own thin socks. Rental skates plus thick socks is the same circulation mistake as ski boots.
• Note which type you were given on the session that went well, then buy that.

Buying makes sense once you are going regularly - a family of four skating a dozen times a winter passes the arithmetic quickly, and owned skates are sharpened to your preference and fitted to your feet.

One thing that matters more than the type

A blunt skate is the most common reason a beginner has a bad time, and it gets blamed on the skate type, on the ice, or on the skater. New skates are not always sharpened from the factory - the Jackson above publishes that it is, which is a genuine convenience - and rental skates at a busy rink are frequently overdue.

If a skate slides sideways when you try to stop, or feels like it will not hold an edge at all, it needs sharpening rather than replacing. The blade care page covers how often, how to dry blades so they do not rust, and why walking on a hard floor in skates undoes a sharpening in one trip.

The verdict

• Adult, a few outings a winter: recreational soft-boot. Warm, comfortable, sharpened, done.
• Child who wants lessons: adjustable figure skates, and accept the toe pick as part of the learning.
• Child who keeps tripping: adjustable hockey skates. Removing the toe pick removes the problem.
• Anyone renting first: a good plan. Rent twice, notice which blade you got on the better day, and buy that.