Where to buy nordic skates and gear?

[Chris Cooper]

Hi all.
My spouse (recently retired) has requested touring skates for Christmas.
And I think my hockey skates are about worn out.
It looks as if it’s time for us to gear up.

Can you offer suggestions on where to shop?

Chris Cooper
Colchester VT

[Jamie Hess]

Nordic Skater in Newbury, New Hampshire (nordicskater.com) is the only
shop in the USA that specializes in nordic ice skates and ice safety
gear. So they will have the best selection. In the Burlington area you
could try Outdoor Gear Exchange and Ski Rack; if they don't have what
you need, they may be able to order it from Nordic Skater or another
supplier. I'm sure others will chime in with additional suggestions.
Happy skating,
Jamie

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[Cindi Wight]

We found our gear at OGE a few years ago. Good excuse to shop Church St!

We are now in Maine and will need to find the scouting community here, to vicariously enjoy the early trips. I like reading about the early exploits and wait until there is a solid layer out there!

Cindi

On Sun, Nov 23, 2025 at 7:58 AM 'Chris Cooper' via VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

[Judith King]

I have a pair of brand new Mens 9.5 Rossignol cross country ski boots and Isvidda blades that I am trying to find a home for 

If you or anyone else is interested just contact me.

Judy King

On Sun, Nov 23, 2025 at 8:29 AM Chihunt Wong <chihu...@gmail.com> wrote:

I've made a table for local places to go. 

Chi Wong, Ph.D. (she/her)

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/vtnordicskating/CAHua1dGqdoK-VEewq4Hh1RYBQuu5w_guJgSuSvFz_WTBvKeP%2Bw%40mail.gmail.com.

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[David Huck]

https://ermineskate.com/ While not exactly local is made in the USA and was the only shop selling skylermarks poles last winter. I forget the brand but I had a blade become loose on a pair of the cheapest skates. It served me well for 4 years but I realized I wanted something different 

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From: vtnordi...@googlegroups.com <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Judith King <jud...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2025 6:10:37 AM
To: Chihunt Wong <chihu...@gmail.com>
Cc: Cindi Wight <cbw...@gmail.com>; Chris Cooper <home...@yahoo.com>; vtnordi...@googlegroups.com <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [vtnordicskating] Where to buy nordic skates and gear?

 

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[Samson Shepherd]

Arctic Manufacturing Services (also based out of Alaska) offers skates for sale as well

[David Huck]

In fact, just found out Arctic Mfg. Services was the original manufacturer and has developed their own IP and improved design after Ermin stopped having them manufactured at AMS. 

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From: vtnordi...@googlegroups.com <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Samson Shepherd <ssheph...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2025 10:49:02 AM
To: VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>

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[Paxson Woelber]

Hi David. AMS provided manufacturing services to Ermine Skate for several years. We no longer contract with that company and now work with new manufacturing partners who are a better fit for us. We've worked with a handful of in-state and out-of-state manufacturers over the years on different aspects of skate production (as well as doing a lot of production work in-house), and have changed things up as our needs have evolved. Earlier this year we released the Ak1, a revamped Nordic skate that is an across-the-board improvement compared with our prior/discontinued offerings. The Ak1 has harder blade steel with improved edge retention, a more streamlined and functional design, better tolerances, five US-made coiled spring pins holding the blades in place, new and improved sizing (42cm, 45cm, and 48cm), and a dramatically upgraded system (called Salmonshark) for mounting bindings. Our older skates were solid but the Ak1 is just a flat-out better product -- and it's virtually the same price as the skates it replaced, which is as big an accomplishment as any these days. Still Made in AK, as always.

While we're not local to New England, we've been shipping skates there since Day 1 and will have 1-2 brick-and--mortar retail presences in the area as of this season. We've also mailed literally hundreds of ice poles and picks to New England. Offering free shipping on ice poles to New England can be a bit rough, but we're happy to support the wild ice community on your side of the continent, too.

If anyone has questions feel free to direct them to pax...@ermineskate.com. As a few folks in this group already know, I'm always happy to to talk wild ice and Ermine.

-Paxson

[Jamie Hess]

I have a supply of Swedish-made Skyllermarks ice poles and ice claws in my garage. They're the same ones I sold at Nordic Skater for 20 years. Nordic Skater doesn't sell them anymore, but I do. 

When I first imported them from Sweden in 1999, I priced ice poles at $99/pair and ice claws at $15. Today poles are $100/pair and ice claws are $20. For the same model. So much for inflation.

That's about to change, all thanks to Tariffs. When the next shipment arrives, the price will have to go up. So grab some now at 20th-century prices. If interested, send me a private email (don't 'reply all').

Happy skating,

Jamie

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