133 Diamond

As an adult skater, coming back into skating after so many years off the ice, I wanted something at the beginning of competitive level but not just basic boots. These did the trick! These are perfect for me relearning basics. Boots have held up well a year later.

I’ve had these for 5 years, and have used these since I started lessons. These are really great for learning the basics, but once when you get to learn spins and jumps, the blades do not cut it. My teachers have told me I need more of a rocker on my blade and a larger toe pick would help with my toe jumps. The boot itself has held up really good. I agree that this boot does squeeze the toes, and I end up not tightening them as much by the toes. The nice thing about Riedell boots is that they do make Wide fit.

These were my first pair of skates, and they worked pretty well as I progressed through the learn to skate program. I did have an issue with them squishing my toes and making my feet go numb but other than that they worked great for the level I was at. However, I did have to upgrade to stiffer boots once I started doing one foot spins and waltz jumps because I had some problems. They weren’t stiff enough for me (5’5”, 140lbs) and my ankles were wobbly when I tried doing more advanced stuff. The one thing I hated about these skates was the tongue, it was so stiff and never molded to my ankle, and I had to tie my skates super tight to get the tongue where I liked it. Overall I think they’re a good entry level skate, but probs not suitable for jumps and spins.

I wore Riedell Diamonds for around 6 months. (I’m 125lbs and 5’6″ for reference) They held up well in stiffness but I was barely jumping during the time I had them. I switched out of them because they rubbed the back of my Achilles to the point of pain and I had calluses build up where it was rubbing. The blade is also really flat so learning how to spin on them was difficult.

I might recommend them for anyone looking for a boot and blade combo to get through the basics but once you start jumping and spinning I highly recommend upgrading equipment.