bigwavedave Posted November 17, 2019 Report Share Posted November 17, 2019 I just acquired some old TD1's to upgrade my old ski boot skates so I could use them with my super comfy Raichle SB323's rather than a much older pair of very uncomfortable ski boots. Made these skates 30 years ago by riveting 18" industrial hacksaw blade stock to 4" aluminum angle. Waiting for the river to refreeze. Here's a video of the skates in action on a patch of mirror smooth ice on Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, circa1990. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobble Posted November 18, 2019 Report Share Posted November 18, 2019 13 hours ago, bigwavedave said: I just acquired some old TD1's to upgrade my old ski boot skates so I could use them with my super comfy Raichle SB323's rather than a much older pair of very uncomfortable ski boots. Made these skates 30 years ago by riveting 18" industrial hacksaw blade stock to 4" aluminum angle. Waiting for the river to refreeze. what angles do you have set on your bindings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted November 18, 2019 Report Share Posted November 18, 2019 Why do you use that rather than hockey skates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobble Posted November 18, 2019 Report Share Posted November 18, 2019 46 minutes ago, Neil Gendzwill said: Why do you use that rather than hockey skates? its difficult to skate over rough ice with hockey skates especially with a kite. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted November 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2019 10 hours ago, Neil Gendzwill said: Why do you use that rather than hockey skates? You could use hockey skates, but speed skates would be better. The short rockered blades on hockey skates feel pretty wobbly when you start screaming across the ice at 2½ times the speed of the wind. And, like Bob said they don't provide stability for going over variable ice with cracks and other things that can trip you up. Also, those tall blades allow for a greater angle of heel (leaning into the sail) without booting out. The extra height makes it easier to go through a bit of snow. Plus the boots are so much warmer and provide much needed ankle stability at high speeds compared to any normal skates. It's kind of like the difference between a freestyle softboot setup and a long race board with hardboots. Which would you prefer once you're going 30, 40, 50 mph? ...on the other hand, imagine how intimidating it would be to show up at a hockey game wearing Frankenstein skates. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softbootsurfer Posted November 20, 2019 Report Share Posted November 20, 2019 This is a Really Cool set up, Dave !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordmetroland Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 On 11/18/2019 at 6:09 AM, Neil Gendzwill said: Why do you use that rather than hockey skates? The better question is why aren’t all the purportedly hardass hockey players not using these?! The Hanson Bros would... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 10 hours ago, lordmetroland said: The better question is why aren’t all the purportedly hardass hockey players not using these?! The Hanson Bros would... I can see it now, Mad Max , the Canadian version Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARCrider Posted December 1, 2019 Report Share Posted December 1, 2019 I bought nordic skates for ice kiting. 55cm blades for lake ice. Use my Salomon XC skate-ski bindings and boots. Have ozone frenzy kites. I'll use my 3 or 5m with skates. Never tried my bigger kites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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