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Toe protectors / spacers


Noobag06

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Hello!

 

I'm after some more toe protectors for my DD, the sort you wear in pointe shoes. I don't mean the ouch pouch type of thing, I mean the gel toe things that are worn on the big toe like a soft thimble.

 

I can't remember what they're called, (which has made for some interesting searches so far...).

 

Can anybody help?

 

Thank you ????.

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Yes, I dd has Tendu gel toe caps in XL you can buy online, but our local dance shop stocks them. Great for her she can't dance without them apparently, I know as she recently lost one and I painstakingly had to cut the one she had left in 2 and sew it at the top, which didn't work btw, until we could locate new ones, so it's wise to stock up as they are easily misplaced ????

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Price loading of specialist items is nothing new... if you can find something with an industrial application , a leisure application and an 'alternative' applcation the price loading ca be three to 5 times each shift in market.

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Personally, I found a difference between the specialist 'ballet' gel toe sleeves and the ones from chemists. I did try with the chemist-bought ones to save money but always went back to the Bloch brand ones. The Bloch ones have gel inside only on one side, and just the stretchy fabric outer layer at the back, whereas all the chemist-bought ones I tried had the gel all the way round. If that makes sense!

This was advantageous as the ballet ones were less sweaty as the have less rubbery gel. Also it means they're less bulky so they take up less space in your shoe. I had trouble feeling the floor with the regular chemist ones.

This was the open-ended version not the closed ones for big toes...

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Personally, I found a difference between the specialist 'ballet' gel toe sleeves and the ones from chemists. I did try with the chemist-bought ones to save money but always went back to the Bloch brand ones. The Bloch ones have gel inside only on one side, and just the stretchy fabric outer layer at the back, whereas all the chemist-bought ones I tried had the gel all the way round. If that makes sense!

This was advantageous as the ballet ones were less sweaty as the have less rubbery gel. Also it means they're less bulky so they take up less space in your shoe. I had trouble feeling the floor with the regular chemist ones.

This was the open-ended version not the closed ones for big toes...

the key takeaway message  message, i think, from reading  your reply is not that you buy the Bloch ones because they come in a pretty packet with Bloch on, but because they suit you, your feet and how you  dance ... 

 

vs the  exact same widget  that costs 69 p  from an old school ironmongery , 3 quid in a  yacht chandlers / Tack shop and  10 gbp in  in a 'specialist' 'alternative'  retailers ...

 

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While reading through this thread, it makes me realise how much I appreciate our local dance shop. Yes, I know that items can often be purchased cheaper from other non-dance shops, or even very large dance shops online.

 

However, I really feel strongly that I should continue to support our local shop, as it's existence is increasingly threatened by online shopping amongst other things. I have always sought guidance from the shop owner, right from the early days in 'Help! How do I make a bun?' through to questions about our DD's vocational training, many miles away. My knowledge of ballet has only increased slightly over the years, so I know our local shop will always have my support. It is also nice to keep the owner updated with what our DD is doing in her training. After all, they have watched her progress over 13 years and do take a real interest in what she is doing.

 

While items may be more expensive bought locally, I look upon it as an added opportunity to post them to our DD along with a few other 'goodies' so she has a parcel to look forward to. And, as it happens, my last parcel to her did contain toe pads too!

Edited by Hull
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While reading through this thread, it makes me realise how much I appreciate our local dance shop. Yes, I know that items can often be purchased cheaper from other non-dance shops, or even very large dance shops online.

 

However, I really feel strongly that I should continue to support our local shop, as it's existence is increasingly threatened by online shopping amongst other things. I have always sought guidance from the shop owner, right from the early days in 'Help! How do I make a bun?' through to questions about our DD's vocational training, many miles away. My knowledge of ballet has only increased slightly over the years, so I know our local shop will always have my support. It is also nice to keep the owner updated with what our DD is doing in her training. After all, they have watched her progress over 13 years and do take a real interest in what she is doing.

 

While items may be more expensive bought locally, I look upon it as an added opportunity to post them to our DD along with a few other 'goodies' so she has a parcel to look forward to. And, as it happens, my last parcel to her did contain toe pads too!

So true. Our local dance shop closed last summer (online shoppers ????) and I miss it so much. Always used them, the owner fitted my daughter's shoes since she was 3 and knew her feet - I was absolutely gutted that they closed the term she needed pointe shoe fitting ????. The next nearest dance shop is 65 miles away! I really dislike this move to online shopping (who does that for ballet shoes??!!) as there will soon be no such thing as specialist advice.

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My nearest shop is an hours drive away, obviously not going to drive all that way just for small items! I do also mail order from them as their customer service is good (unlike some of the big retailers who I refuse to use now). The main advantage to online is the huge range of choice. The problem with some of the smaller retailers is that the haven't moved with the times and don't always provide what people want

Edited by Moomin
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My nearest shop is an hours drive away, obviously not going to drive all that way just for small items! I do also mail order from them as their customer service is good (unlike some of the big retailers who I refuse to use now). The main advantage to online is the huge range of choice. The problem with some of the smaller retailers is that the haven't moved with the times and don't always provide what people want

Same ... except this shop is not always helpful! We went to try on split sole ballet shoes ... i asked how much different makes were and was told 'they are all the same price' I asked how much the canvas shoes were .. '£4 less' ... but was very reluctant to actually tell me how much they were!

I need a decent shop!

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Ah Pixiewoo, take a day trip to Wisbech and come and see our huge new shop!

Unfortunately we are closing our Southend store on 25th Feb, as we have decided to consolidate Just Ballet into one location, from where we will run the website, make tutus and other costumes, plus of course, our pointe shoe fittings and general dancewear x

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Ah Pixiewoo, take a day trip to Wisbech and come and see our huge new shop!

Unfortunately we are closing our Southend store on 25th Feb, as we have decided to consolidate Just Ballet into one location, from where we will run the website, make tutus and other costumes, plus of course, our pointe shoe fittings and general dancewear x

 

wish I could .... but I'm about 4hrs drive away!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Does anyone have any good pharmacy or homemade options for a spacer to go between the big toe and the second toe when en pointe? The fitter I went to 'doesn't believe in them' and while I've been doing okay without them, I'm starting to do more and more pointe and it's getting harder...

 

I am dancing right on the outside corner of my big toe and no other part of my foot is in contact with the floor. Then last class the corner of that toenail broke off and stuck into my toe mid-exercise hahaha, not the nicest feeling in the world! 

 

I'm not going to be able to make it to a dance store for a while so if anyone has any workarounds that they or their dds have used, I'd really appreciate the help :)

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I have also seen the Boots ones, Viv and I think DD's friend uses them and likes them.

 

I have to say that I would be quite put out if a shoe fitter told me they 'didn't believe' in something DD required to make pointe work less difficult. I suspect I would go elsewhere in future - or just arrive with the required toe spacers and insist that the shoes were fitted with them in place ;)

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Oh have no fear Legseleven, I am not going back there! Waiting for these shoes to die so I can justify being fitted by someone I trust :) 

 

As for 'Boots', I'm guessing that's just the name of a pharmacy right? Haha silly question but we don't have them where I live :)

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Hi Viv, some of the pharmacies (particularly the larger discount stores) will stock them in the podiatry section. I think Scholls make one that looks a little like a knuckle bone and is made of silicone. I haven't bought any for quite a while but I think they were around $12 each. My DD keeps hers in a small plastic container with a small amount of foot powder. The small amount of powder on the spacers absorbs perspiration and prevents the silicone getting sticky. The spacers can be washed with a little soap and water and then air dried. They last quite a long time if well cared for.

She finds they are essential to keep her long toes aligned in her shoes and to distribute her weight evenly in her pointe shoes.

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Thanks for the tip about the foot powder Lucinda! I've found somewhere that stocks basically every Scholls product ever produced so I'm hoping to pick some up today and I'll try foot powder to keep them lasting longer :)

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