The blade's ice clearance

Ice clearance is the distance between the bottom of the blade and where it connects to the base of the skate. 

Since steel weighs around three times as much as aluminum, it is common to see manufacturers save weight by reducing the distance between the blade´s mounting and its contact area, bringing the base of the skate closer to the ice. Thus reducing the skate´s ice clearance and increasing the chance of your skate getting stuck in the ice. 

On natural ice you can discover areas of softer ice, where the blades sink deeper into the surface. This will only slow you down while it is only the blade sinking into the ice, if the rest of the skate comes in contact it results in a sudden stop and a fall forwards. Skates with low ice clearance are therefore not suited for changeable ice. Especially in archipelagos where ice conditions often vary greatly. On machine-groomed skating trails, cracks are a regular occurrence and another place where a skate with good ice clearance like ours is favored.