The Purpose of Skate Soakers

Ice skates use a special type of blade designed to thinly cut through the ice and fix to the ground, allowing you to skate. These types of skates are used in figure skating, hockey and in public ice-skating rinks for recreational skating. The blades are thin and sharp, requiring attention to detail and care to ensure the blades last and perform well on the ice. One of the common enemies to the blades on ice skates is moisture, and this is where skate soakers can help.

  1. Importance of Protecting Your Ice Skates

    • Protecting the blades on you ice skates is important. Damaged blades will damage the ice, endangering yourself and others. Neglecting to take care of the blades will diminish the lifespan of your ice skates, and require you to replace your blades regularly. Weakened blades will not perform well on the ice, and if a blade breaks while you are skating, it could lead to a serious injury.

    Dry Your Ice Skates First

    • One of the biggest enemies to ice skates is water from snow and ice particles collecting on the blade. If you do not dry your skates completely before storing them, the blades can quickly rust. A rusted blade is very unstable on the ice and is certainly an accident waiting to happen. As soon as you leave the ice and remove your skates, immediately dry them off completely with a soft towel.

    Why Skate Soakers Help

    • A skate soaker is a terry cloth cover that fits neatly over the blade. Even after you dry your skates completely, there is still leftover moisture that appears on the blades as they warm up. It is no different than a cold can of soda. As the can of soda warms up, you will notice moisture on the outside of the can. This leftover moisture on the blades of ice skates can lead to rusting, just as excess water does. Putting skate soakers over the blades will absorb this leftover moisture, and go a long way in helping to prevent rust.

    Storing Your Ice Skates

    • Storing your ice skates with skate soakers on the blades also can help prevent nicks and scratches to the blades, which over time can make the blade unstable and cause damage to the ice while skating. Never place hard guards (used for walking on hard surfaces) on your blades directly after drying. If you need to pack your skates immediately, use the skate soakers. Using hard guards without soaking up the excess moisture created as the skates warm up, accelerates the rusting process. Only use hard guards once the skates warm up and you have soaked up the resulting moisture.