A Slip of the Tongue...

Probably not the type of tongue you're thinking of...I'm talking about when the tongue of your boot slips, which can be more than just annoying.  Over the past few years, I've had to deal with my weirdly shaped ankles causing the tongues of my boots to shift, creating callouses and blisters, and I have figured out a few tricks to keep these things from happening that I would like to share with you.  I'll be happy if I can help at least one skater prevent heel slippage or blisters.

But before we get to these nuggets of wisdom, I'd like to congratulate Emily Joy for winning our Nutcase helmet contest!  She gets an awesome new Nutcase helmet for submitting her helmet story in the comments of the "One Hit Wonder" blog post.  Our next give away will be announced soon, so stay tuned!

And now for the ankle issues and possible solutions...

Lacing Loop

If the tongue of your boots ends up sideways by the time you are done with practice, you may be able to prevent this from happening by lacing your skates a little differently.  First, check to see if the tongue of your boots has a little slit or loops like the boot pictured to the right.  If so, make sure both laces are running through the loop, which will help to keep the tongue in place.

If your tongue doesn't have the slit/loop or if lacing through it still doesn't help, you can try lacing from the outside in until you get to the last eyelet, then lace from the inside out to make tying your laces easier. 

Do you have issues with your heels slipping?  Try this little lacing trick.  When you get to the last 2 pairs of eyelets, skip the 2nd to last pair to lace the very top pair of eyelets first, then lace the skipped eyelets.  This should help your boot fit more snugly.  This can also help prevent blisters around your ankle and heel. (Sorry for the photo quality...tried my hand at taking pics with my phone.)



Finished Product



Lacing Skipped Pair



Skipping a Pair





Ezeefit Booties

Speaking of preventing blisters, have you tried Ezeefit Booties?  I was skeptical at first, but after getting a couple hot spots on my ankles from my new boots I was willing to try anything.  My feet tend to sweat quite a bit so I was curious as to how the neoprene booties would do...and was pleasantly surprised that they indeed preventing any more rubbing.  I didn't notice them during practice and even forgot I had the booties on by the end.  There is no reason for anyone to get blisters when breaking in new skates ever again!  These also helped my skates fit more snugly so they could be another option for those of you having heel slipping issues.

Have your own trick for preventing blisters/heel slippage?  Let us know in the comments...

Until we skate again,

Shocker