How to tell when polymer shanks "die"?

[Meetmeatthebarre]

Hello, 'tis I, the shank killer, back for yet more advice!

 

My feet are so weird that after a multi-shoe journey for fit, and then a multi-shank journey to make them last more than 4-5 hours, I've finally settled on one shoe that works: the Grishko Dreampointe.

 

I've noticed in the last couple of classes that they no longer feel so supportive in the demi-area (which is where I tend to break shoes) - by which I mean, they are currently perfect, but feel at the stage where, with a traditional shoe, I'd be putting in a new order immediately - especially as I'm now a special order with a several week lead time. The only reasons I'm hesitant is that (a) my feet are like octopii so change fairly frequently, especially since I've been building up the pointework; and (b) I wear a different width on each foot so it's 2 pairs to commit to at a time!

 

I didn't think that plastic shanks were meant to soften? I've only really heard of the shank snapping, or the rest of the shoe dying first. It is true that the studio has been much warmer than usual (overcompensating for the cold) and I'm wondering whether this is just the effect of the warmth on the "thermoplastic" shanks? Does anyone with more experience of the Dreampointe, Gaynors or similar shoes have any insights? 

 

Many thanks!

[Peony]

I think dreampointes are a bit different to gaynors in the box which is more traditional so potentially if that’s softened it may affect you? Plastics will eventually weaken, just much slower than traditional shoes

[Pups_mum]

I don't know anything about the dreampointes sorry but my DD wore Gaynors for many years and I can confirm that her experience was as you expect - it was the rest of the shoe that gave way first, she never had any problem with the shanks. She did find that as they were wearing out the shoes would stretch generally and so weren't supportive enough, even though the shanks were still fine. 

I'm no materials scientist but I'd be very surprised if a warm room could cause the shanks to soften, or you'd think it might happen on stage wouldn't you - I bet it gets pretty hot under the lights?? I wonder if it's another part of the shoe that's softening? 

[Meetmeatthebarre]

Thank you both! The rest of the shoe is definitely fine; I'm extremely light on the boxes, but heavy on shanks. If these soften gradually then I think I should be able to get a lot more wear out of them; it's just that in traditional shoes, I have maybe an hour from the first sign of weakening after breaking in, to them being completely dead. Perhaps the most sensible thing would be to order a pair as backup anyway. I've just realised that if I'm a special order anyway, I might be able to get a pair in different widths from the start...