Hoverskates are used in much the same way as ice skates or rollerblades: the wearer moves forward by moving their feet from side to side. The main difference is that hoverskates are relatively insensitive to terrain and can be used to walk over grass, mud, or even water. In the case of water, more specialized hoverskates are needed to spread out the wearer's weight, as otherwise the levitation field will push the water down and cause the wearer to sink.
Hoverskates allow a person to move faster than they would on foot, and with much less energy. This is especially the case if one is wearing armor or a heavy pack, as is often the case with infantry soldiers; the side-to-side motion of the skates is much more efficient than the up-and-down motion of normal walking.
The main drawback of hoverskates is that they lose most of their advantages on uneven or thickly vegetated terrain. Skating up a hill is even more tiring than walking up it. Likewise, tall grass or underbrush will prevent one from gaining any real speed on hoverskates, as they only levitate a few inches off the ground. In these cases, the hoverskates can be turned off and used as normal boots.