Adding the right insole to your figure skates can significantly enhance your time on the ice. Insoles can make your skates more comfortable, reduce pain, and prevent fatigue during extended skating sessions. Furthermore, a good insole can actually improve your skating performance.
Can You Put Insoles in Your Figure Skates?
Yes! You can definitely put insoles into your figure skates, as long as you have the right insole. This means something that’s thin enough not to take up too much space within the skate’s boot. The best figure skate insoles will add comfort and prevent pain in your boots without changing the way the skates fit. This probably means using a thin insole, with a supportive structure, like the SOLE Active Thin footbed.
Types of Ice Skate Insoles and Their Benefits
Arch Support Insoles
The best insoles for ice skates will feature good supportive arch. Most skates come with a flat and flimsy factory insole that does nothing to help your feet feel comfortable and supported while you skate. Adding an insole with arch support to your skates will reduce strain in your feet and help prevent fatigue. Less fatigue means less chance of injury, and also means you can enjoy skating more, for longer.
SOLE footbeds all boast our Signature Supportive Shape, with an arch that’s clinically proven to reduce strain in your feet by an average of 34%.
Insoles for Enhanced Comfort
The best insoles for your figure skates should add comfort by supporting the foot where it needs it most. A bit of cushioning is great if you need it, but the most important thing is to give your foot structural support in all the right places.
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The SOLE Signature Supportive Shape combines arch support with a deep heel cup that cradles your heel and supports it from all sides. When you add this support to your skates, they take on a totally different feel. Your skates feel like they fit you better and are more connected to your feet.
Custom Moldable Insoles
One option for getting custom comfort in your skates is to get a prescription made orthotic that can cost $400 - $600. SOLE footbeds offer a similar level of custom orthopedic support for a fraction of the price, by molding to your feet as you wear them.
Over a few wears, the footbed gets more and more comfortable as the arch support adjusts to your unique arch, and the base molds to your foot shape. You can also speed up the molding process by heat molding the footbeds in your oven at home, no special equipment required! When your footbeds are customized to your feet, the insoles cradle your feet even more evenly and consistently. This helps you feel even more connected to the inside of your boot and the ice below.
Insoles for Overpronation
Proper alignment of your body is crucial in figure skating. Having your hips, knees, and ankles aligned is important for staying well balanced, absorbing shock on landings, and preventing injuries. One of the most common alignment issues for figure skaters is overpronation, where the ankle rolls inward within the boot. This results in the knee bending inward, or the hip thrusting outward to maintain balance.
The combination of arch support and a deep heel cup in a SOLE footbed help to maintain the foot in a nice neutral position within your skate’s boot. The insole also prevents rotational forces within the skate from pushing you out of alignment. Better alignment makes for more efficient, safer skating, with less risk of injury. It also has the added benefit of preventing excessive wear on the skate’s boot.
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Insoles with a Metatarsal Pad
If you suffer from tingling or numbness in your toes, or pain in the ball of your foot while skating, you should consider an insole with a built-in metatarsal pad. The metatarsal pad is a small bump in the middle of the insole that supports your foot’s bones in their natural spread.
By supporting your metatarsals you also support the foot’s transverse arch - the arch that runs across the foot from side to side. This helps to increase a sense of space in your skates. A metatarsal pad also helps promote circulation and comfort in the forefoot.
Metatarsal pad insoles are especially effective at providing relief from Morton’s neuroma or metatarsalgia.
Custom Orthotics for Hockey Skates
If you play hockey, you’re probably familiar with how far some players will go to get their skates performing at their best. Many players wear their skates one or two sizes too small or don’t wear socks to get a better connection to their foot and ankle. Anytime you are in your skates, your entire weight is held on the insoles.
The best way to get a perfect fit between the skate and the bottom of your foot is with custom orthotics. Custom orthotics are moulded to the shape of the foot, so they eliminate any gap from the foot to the skate. Hockey skate orthotics work differently than orthotics for most other uses. Most orthotics are made to guide your foot through a step from heel-strike to toe-off.
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When you’re skating, though, your feet are not moving through steps the way they do when you walk or run. Without a custom orthotic in your skate, your arch drops and your foot rolls down and inwards when you push off until it hits the inside of the skate. A custom orthotic blocks that movement of the arch. When you push off, your arch is already in contact with the orthotic. It doesn’t drop and your foot does not roll down and inwards.
The pushing energy from your legs is immediately transferred through the orthotic into the skate and then to the ice. What this feels like is a faster, more responsive skate. You move, and the skate moves with you immediately. You get sharper turn-in, more immediate power when you push off, and quicker stopping. Playing with orthotics in your skates is like driving a car with high-performance tires.
Orthotics may help if your feet or lower leg muscles get sore. High-pressure points can cause pain and the tight clamping force of a tight-laced skate can cut off circulation. By distributing pressure across the bottom of your foot, the pressure points are reduced and blood can flow better. This stabilizes your foot position can lessen the load on the stabilizing muscles.
With more serious injuries, using orthotics both on- and off-ice can make a big difference. When a pedorthist assesses you for orthotics, they may even have some recommendations for skate adjustments.
If you want to make a difference in your skating performance, or if you just want to be more comfortable, consider custom foot orthotics in your skates.
Hockey players face unique challenges when it comes to foot support. The sport's demanding nature, with its powerful strides, sudden direction changes, and precise movements, puts immense strain on the feet. The continuous impact and vibrations from the ice also contribute to foot fatigue and discomfort.
One common issue is their tendency to experience foot supination, leading to imbalanced weight distribution, increased risk of injuries like sprained ankles, and reduced stability. Fortunately, specialized hockey insoles for skates address these challenges head-on, empowering players to stay comfortable, agile, and in control on the ice.
Skating demands exert considerable stress on your feet, making the arch an essential shock absorber. Inadequate support can lead to overpronation or foot supination, disrupting natural alignment and inviting pain and instability.
These insoles promote a neutral foot stance, ensuring forces are distributed more evenly across the foot. This enhances biomechanical efficiency and minimizes the risk of overpronation. With the proper arch support, maintaining balance and control on the ice becomes second nature.
Players with proper arch support gain a competitive edge. By enhancing agility and minimizing injury risks, you gain a more controlled skating experience. While various insoles offer benefits, selecting the right ones is crucial.
Upstep sports custom orthotics are engineered specifically for your feet and the unique demands of hockey skating. Foot orthotics, or simply “orthotics,” are specialized foot inserts worn in footwear that provide support to the foot and re-distribute ground forces as they impact the body. They greatly assist in aligning the foot inside the skate, which can reduce or eliminate painful areas and increase boot comfort. Correct foot placement promotes proper knee and hip alignment as well.
With the knees and hips positioned over the skating foot, the skater’s balance, edge quality, and even power can be improved.
Skaters with no or low arches, or those who over pronate tend to roll inwardly in their boots and could experience pressure or pain, especially at the navicular bone, inside ankle bone protrusion, and the pinky toe. Balancing on their blades can be difficult and as a result, both speed and power are compromised. The knees tend to turn inward, forcing the hip muscles to rotate in as well, which causes the lower body to be out of alignment. Knee and hip problems could also arise over time due to this imbalance.
Those with high, inflexible arches tend roll outward in their skates. Lack of contact between their own arch and the arch of the boot is a common complaint. Boot discomfort can occur on the outside of the foot and skaters often request to have their blade to moved outward on their boot to feel better balanced.
Skaters who have a flexible medium arch height and have a well-balanced body alignment could still possibly benefit from orthotics.
It is important to point out that although foot orthotics can be of great benefit to many skaters for all the reasons mentioned, hip stabilization, core strengthening, and stretching exercises must be paired with the use of foot orthotics to completely maximize the skater’s balance and strength.
One of the forms in which foot orthotics are offered is as a pre-fabricated appliance that has a pre-determined arch contour which is normally not adjustable. These orthotics are made in shoe or skate sizes and are simply trimmed to fit into either the skate or shoe as needed.
For beginner athletes, we use a soft training orthotic in their skates to help stabilize them in the new boots. They are very inexpensive and fit very well into the skate. For those a bit more advanced, we use a variety of prefabricated affordable orthotics that fit well into their skates.
Our special customized sports orthotics are essential for those who do not fit into the pre-fabricated orthotics, who over pronate or supinate, and are a higher level competitive figure skater. We use the highest quality anti-microbial top cover with a special energy returning material that helps skaters feel their edges and offers propulsion while jumping. We also add a shock absorbing layer which reduces the shock attenuation upon landing impact.
Choosing the Right SOLE Footbed
The perfect SOLE footbed for your skate boots will depend on how the skates fit. We would normally recommend a Thin footbed though, as skate boots tend to fit quite snugly.
There are numerous choices in Thin footbeds, but all of them will do a good job. If you tend to get cold feet while skating, you might want to try our Performance Thin. This footbed’s natural cork base is an excellent insulator against the cold. As discussed above, you also have the option of a footbed with a built-in metatarsal pad, for added comfort or addressing forefoot issues.
If you prefer to skate in thin socks, and your boots don’t fit too snug, you could also go with a Medium thickness footbed. These footbeds will offer a layer of foam cushioning in addition to the supportive shape of the moldable base.
Whichever footbed you choose, if you buy from yoursole.com you're backed by our 90 Day Guarantee.
Dominate the Ice
Imagine gliding across the ice with effortless power, your every move a testament to peak performance. It's not just about hours on the ice or the latest stick technology. Most players unknowingly sabotage their speed, agility, and power with a common mistake. Wondering what it is? It's poor balance. But there's a product in hockey that the elite players use to achieve it. They have specialized insoles tucked away in their skates, and they're about to separate you from the benders you play with every day.
By Janik Sundstrom Edited by Nerissa K. Naidoo Updated November 20, 2025
SuperFeet Hockey Insole Insight (Carbon Pro & Yellow)
Benefits of Hockey Skate Insoles
Here's a summary of the benefits you can expect from using hockey skate insoles:
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Improved Balance | Specialized insoles help align the foot, improving balance and stability on the ice. |
| Enhanced Agility | Proper arch support and alignment lead to more efficient movements and better agility. |
| Reduced Risk of Injury | Insoles promote a neutral foot stance, distributing forces evenly and minimizing the risk of overpronation or supination. |
| Increased Comfort | Custom orthotics and supportive insoles reduce pressure points and improve blood flow, enhancing overall comfort. |
| Better Performance | By optimizing foot alignment and stability, insoles can improve edge quality, power, and overall skating performance. |