Bauer Whistler Jr Ice Skates

Bauer Whistler are ice skates made for recreation, built very differently than company’s hockey skates. They are made for skating outdoors and thus, have been equipped with insulating padding to allow skating even in low temperatures. If outdoor rinks and frozen lakes are your favourite spots to skate on, Whistler are made for you. They are an upgraded version of Expedition model.

The skates come with thick and soft liner similar to ones used in inline skates. It is super comfortable right out of the box and makes skates warm. The additional collar of fur on top adds to the looks and helps in keeping warmth. A thick tongue helps keeping your heel locked in place – when you lace them tight, they are very responsive.

Liner resides inside a rigid, moulded shell which provides a great ankle support. It doesn’t have any ventilation openings and is pretty enclosed, which helps in keeping your foot warm. Ice skates connoisseurs (and inline skates enthusiasts) will quickly notice that this boot comes with relatively high heel rise. Not as much as in figurine ice skates or rollerskates, but still higher than in ice hockey skates or most of inline skates. This helps in maintaining correct skating stance and minimizes the risk of falling backwards. Boots have lacing hooks on top, which makes it easy and quick to put them on and off.

The blade is placed in lightweight holder and shaped to be flatter than ones found in hockey skates, for added stability. It is pre-sharpened, so skates are ready to take them out to a local rink right out of the box. Still, if you are more experienced skater, you may want to take them for sharpening, as blade grind is pretty shallow to be more forgiving for newcomers.

Bauer Whistler skates were not made to be a professional grade sports equipment, they are designed to deliver fun and comfortable gear. When viewed with that in mind, they are great pick for their asking price.