Buying
This page is intended for beginners. You may have been to a skate party or two and found it fun. Perhaps you have started skating a few times a week in hired skates? You don't own any in-line skates but you want to get some, if only so you don't have to wear a smelly hired pair every week. You probably don't want to spend too much, but you're not sure what you should be looking for.
The advice offered here is only from my personal experience over the past few years. I do not claim to be an expert! I hope to highlight any mistakes that I have made so that you can avoid them. You should consider researching the subject further if you have time.
Type of Skate
If you don't already own a pair of in-line skates then you almost certainly want a pair of recreational skates. These are general purpose skates, much like the type you will have hired at skate parties. The other main types are "aggressive" and "speed".
Specification/Cost
These two go hand in hand but are the most important thing to consider. Don't get cheap skates! They are false economy and you will be disappointed with them. Consider the following.
Wheels
I think this is the primary difference between good skates and cheap skates. Cheap skates have hard plastic wheels; indoors they slip, outdoors they wear very quickly. Wheels must be polyurethane and replaceable. There are two main factors to be aware of here; diameter and hardness. The diameter is the size of the wheel. Smaller wheels don't ride over bumps as easily as larger wheels. Harder wheels last longer (especially when skating outdoors) but offer less grip.
- A typical entry level recreational skate might have 72mm/78A wheels. This describes the diameter (72mm) and hardness (78A). The higher the diameter the larger the wheel. The higher the hardness the harder the wheel.
- Children's skates might have smaller diameter wheels. Imogen's (my daughter) skates have 64mm/82A wheels. She skates indoors once a week, occasionally outdoors.
- Hardness ranges (roughly) from 74A up to 94A. Don't worry too much about this unless you are skating outdoors.
Fit
Well, duh! Your skates need to be comfortable. If you are buying on-line then you won't be able to try your skates for size. The general recommendation is to buy a half size or full size bigger than your normal show size. You may need to wear thicker socks when skating. If you have opportunity to visit a skate shop then do so. Examples:
- I take size seven shoes, all of my skates are marked as size eight. I wear thick socks with my Rollerblades and Hypnos but thin socks with my Salomons (they are close fitting though).
- Imogen's Stateside skates are marked as size four. She wears thick socks when skating and has had her skates since she was a shoe size three. She is now size five, the skates still fit.
Closure Method
Most good quality skates have a combination of laces and rachet/buckle closures. Usually the foot of the skate is laced, the ankle rachet/buckle. As a rule of thumb, cheap skates have only rachet/buckle fastenings. Some skates also have velcro closures. Examples:
- All of the skates that we own have lace closures for the foot of the skate. All except the the Hypnos have rachet/buckle ankle closures. The Hypnos have velco, but I rarely use them now.
- The first pair that I bought (absolute junk from JJB) had three rachet/buckle closures only.
Protection
You've probably skated indoors so far. The surface is very smooth, level and you're contained. If you're going outdoors then get some pads and a helmet!. If you are skating outside then you will fall over. You'll find that even the smoothest surface is more "grippy" than that lovely polished wooden floor. Parks are full of debris and yes, hitting a twig just wrong will stop your feet very quickly while you carry on going. You'll find that areas you thought were flat do actually slope or have a camber. And once you get going, if you don't know how to stop you may have a long way to go before you find something to grab hold of.
You should wear wrist, elbow and knee pads and a helmet. Pads are available in different sizes and in packs containing a full set of six. Skate helmets have a hard outer shell and extend further down the back of the head than cycling helmets. You will probably feel very self conscious all padded up, especially as you may be the only one. Try not to be put off by that. Accidents do happen, even to very good skaters. I found in Berlin, where skating is more popular, that most skaters wear protection.
Recommendations
For kids I wouldn't get anything less than Stateside Brooklyn or Manhattan skates (see Kate's Skates). Imogen's current pair have lasted well and she's well pleased with them. Note that these aren't suitable for skating on ramps and pipes at the local skate park! If your child (or you) wants to do that kind of thing then you need aggressive skates. If I was starting out again I think I'd consider the Rollerblade Geo III (Proline Skates) as they aren't too expensive, but they are a reputable brand.
Got a question? Mail me and I'll try to answer it.