Hockey Skates vs Figure Skates: Find Here the Exact Difference

Many people get confused when it comes to distinguishing between figure skating and ice skating. As both of these activities are done on the ice rink, the confusion is quite usual. So for those who don’t know how exactly different they are, don’t worry, I will mention that first.  The people who like gliding, jumping, stroking on the ice use figure skates. Whereas hockey skating is a hockey game played on the ice rink. People who play hockey on the ice rink need to wear a particular type of skates known as hockey skates.

Hockey Skates vs Figure Skates

Figure skates are for the people who want to go skating on the ice rink that involves intense jumping and gliding on the ice. As both these activities differ, the requirements for the skates are also different.  Ice skates help to have quick movements on the ice without losing control, and figure skates are useful for spinning and gliding on the ice. Both of these skates are important for people who like figure skating or hockey skating. It is crucial to maintain these skates to have a good experience on the rink.

As the skates are meant for different purposes, there are also differences in their key features. To know how they differ from each other, read the article on hockey skates vs figure saktes below:

1. Blade Design of Skates

Figure skates have long and extended blades to help the skaters in maintaining their balance while gliding or spinning on the ice. They also have toe picks in their blade. This toe picks help the skaters to stop or to jump and turn with ease on the ice. The figure skates are also wider and broader than hockey skates.

The figure skates are also heavier comparatively. The blades of these skates have less rounded and more edges. The blades are replaceable and can be attached on the boots by mounting them. The people who go for figure skating regularly keep changing the blades of the skate.

Hockey skates have narrow and deep blades, as this design is helpful in quick movements. There are no toe-pics generally in these type of skates. The blades are rounded slightly at front and back. Unlike the figure skates, these skates are lighter in weight and are smaller in size. Another key feature of the hockey skates is that it has more rounded blades than having edges.

The last factor that distinguishes both the blades is that the hockey skates are irreplaceable. These blades are soldered and mounted on the boots.

2. Boots design of Skates 

The boots of the figure skates are made up of leather. These boots are quite heavy and do not have padding on the sole. The sole is often made up of wood, and the boots also have a little heel. These boots are not best when it comes to comfort. This feature helps in getting the precise movement easily on the ice. Sometimes there are layers of leather in designing these type of boots which make them more expensive than hockey skates.

On the other hand, hockey skates are made of leather and plastic. The boots are lightweight that helps that player for quick movements. The soles of the shoes are heavily padded to deal with hockey sticks and other players skates. These boots have a unique to provide comfort to the players while playing the game. It also provides support to the player. 

So these are the differences that you might notice between figure skates and hockey skates. To make the differences more confined, I will summarise it as:

• Figure skates and hockey skates both are for different purposes and hence, have different needs in the design.
• The primary difference between both the type of skates is the boot and design of blades.
• The blades of the figure skates are longer and extended while hockey skates have narrow and smaller blades.
• The boots in the figure skates are heavy, made up of leather, and have no padding in the sole. 
• The boots in hockey skates are lightweight and have a padded sole to make the players comfortable while playing.
• The blades in figure skates are replaceable while that is not the case for hockey skates.

These are the features that distinguish both types of boots. Figure skates are designed to enable the player to have smooth and precise movements while jumping and gliding on ice. The hockey skates are crafted in a way that the player can play the ice hockey with utmost comfort.