Artistic skate - Opinions Mistral vs Variant C
How about starting this section off with a good old skate recommendation discussion.
I'm (trying!) to learn artistic skating, currently at the level of simple jumps and attempted spins. I currently skate a Riedell 120 boot on a Falcon F-16 plus plate, with Bones Super Elite 101a 57mm wheels.
Most other artistic skaters at my rink are on some form of Edea boot with roll line wheels. At the moment I'm not looking to change my boot (although I will look to move to Edea in the next 12-18 months).
I'm looking at either the Mistral plate or the Variant C plate. I believe they are similar, with the Mistral being higher quality (but will cost me £80 more) with Roll Line Professional Free Skating wheels - probably 99a - I weight over 90kg.
Any thoughts on this plate/wheel combo for artistic skating? My budget goes up to £300 for plates and wheels together so if any other recommendations please bear this in mind.
Comments
Get the Mistral if you're planning to continue freestyle, I think it would be worth it. A skater at our rink upgraded from a Variant to a Mistral and was happy with it. I am upgrading from an Energy (lighter version if the Mistral) to an EVO in a week or so. When you do move to an Edea boot, make sure you don't get them too big, and prepare to get used to the taller heel.
I would recommend the freestyle giotto 57mm wheels rather than the roll line professional wheels. I recently switched from a mixture of the professional wheels to a mix of the giotto/devil/fluido wheels and prefer the thermoplastic compound. I feel like it is easier to spin once the spin is spotted. If I were to use the professional wheels again, it would be to use them half as grip wheels (Fox 92a), and half of the giottos for spin wheels. I also feel like they are more suited to turns in footwork and step sequences, but it could be personal preference. The hardness you need will really depend a lot on your floor, and I wouldn't worry too much about your weight unless you are noticeably slowing down. If you are concerned though, assuming you you go with the professionals anyway I wouldn't go under 95a, and would probably do a combo of 97a grip wheels and 99a spin wheels. If you take my advice and go for the giottos, I would recommend a combination of HD49 grip and HD53 spin wheels. But this heavily depends on your floor, more so than weight. I would highly recommend asking other artistic skaters that do freestyle, and asking a coach who would hopefully be knowledgeable.
Just for perspective, in freestyle I compete in youth freeskate and pairs, am about 70kg, have all my doubles, and perform sit/camel position spins. Currently I'm using Edea Roller Fly boots, Energy Steel plates, Devil HD39-42 grip wheels (horrible slippery floor), and Giotto HD47s on my ROB and LOF spin wheels.
I bought my wife the updated Varient C's, she is very happy with those plates.
Awesome! Glad she's happy with them!