100% Natural Ice: Touring Skates and Equipment

Touring Skates & Equipment

In Sweden, where people skate 100 miles a day, most skaters still use telemark ski boots and removable long blades (photo right). The blades have long curved tips, so they glide smoothly over rough, bumpy ice that would stop you cold on hockey or figure skates. Bindings range from nylon straps and buckles to the convenience of automatic step-in. Blades in the photo have a manually operated quick-release heel binding. Telemark skates are made by Almgrens and Skyllermarks. Skaters carry inexpensive, easy-to-use safety equipment -- ice poles, ice claws and rescue ropes -- for safe skating on natural ice.

Traditional Swedish ice blades clamp onto telemark ski boots

Nordic Skates clip onto cross-country ski boots	Clip-on Nordic Skates have a long speed blade on the bottom, and a cross-country ski binding on top. You can put on your warm, comfortable cross-country ski boots at home, and when you get to the ice, step into the bindings in a few seconds. Blades are made by Almgrens in Sweden and by Zandstra in the Netherlands. Bindings are made by Salomon and Rottefella.
Almgrens blades are long, with plenty of clearance off the ice, and they curve up gradually at the tip, so they glide smoothly over bumps, air pockets, snow and slush.

Zandstra's wood platforms (right) also accept Rottefella (upper) and Salomon (lower) bindings. Low to the ice and blunt-tipped, Zandstras perform well on smooth ice, but they sometimes catch on bumps and dig into air pockets.	Zandstra clip-ons are a less expensive alternative
Because they clip on and off so easily, Almgrens and Zandstra blades are excellent for cross-country tours. You can explore a chain of lakes separated by short hikes, or skate out to an island and walk across it, or take a land detour around a patch of open water to get to more good ice. You can also unclip quickly for a lunch break or a pit stop.

Some skaters prefer the feeling of having their heels permanently attached to the blades. Roces conventional long-track speedskates (left photo) have stiff plastic boots with soft liners. They're extremely comfortable, they offer a lot of ankle support, and the liners pull right out of the boots for quick drying.

The Netherlands has a strong competitive tradition focusing on a sweep of the Winter Olympics -- 12 medals in Nagano in 1998. Many Dutch recreational skaters use top-of-the-line long-track racing speedskates. The best Dutch skates are made by Raps, Viking and Zandstra. Another world-class manufacturer is Bont in Australia. These skatemakers produce hinged "clapskate" mechanisms that can be removed from the boots in the summer and replaced with inline frames.