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Sunday 8 March 2020

Insoles for skates

I did a late night skate, a month ago. I was skating for about 4 hours and my feet were a wreck afterwards!

For some time, I've thought I could do with trying some other insoles in my skates to make them a better fit. It was the long session that made me get round to it.

Don't get me wrong. The insoles that came with my K2 skates, are pretty good, I've skated on them for years but my feet are getting older and now need a little extra help.

* Sorbothane Double Strike - No good for my skating

In all my shoes I fit Sorbothane Double Strike insoles. They are great in my shoes adding the extra bounce underfoot that I need. I tried those in my skates, for one evening, and it was clear that the very soft arch support was not sufficient for the sideways motion from skating.


I bought a couple of choices of sports insoles, with moulded arch support. One gel and one of a soft plastic, more like the Sorbothane. Both available at a reasonable price from Amazon.

* CosyInSofa Orthotic Sport Gel Insoles - Good for my skating
CosyInSofa


* FootActive Orthotic Sports Insoles - have not tried yet

FootActive


Both have a harder moulded plastic heel and arch section that supports the foot with a covering of something soft. At their thinnest, near the toes, they are both about a millimetre thinner than the original.

One is gel and one is a more foam like plastic both with a woven fabric style upper surface.
The only significant difference is that the gel insoles do not have quite as rigid arch support. I would describe them both as having a firm arch support but one is marginally less firm than the other.

I cut them all to size, using the original insoles as a pattern and fitted the gel insoles for the evening.

I skated for about 3 hours and I was very happy with the result. They were comfy and held my foot well for skating. Being slightly thinner, there was a little bit more room for my toes, which, for my big feet, makes them more comfortable.

I thought, being thinner, that I might feel the rivets inside but, so far, no sign of that being an issue.

I liked them enough that I have not tried the other pair yet.

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