1. Choose the Right Style – Aggressive, Speed, Freestyle, Hockey or Fitness
The skate you get will determine what you can do on that skate. Not every skate is created to do all types of skating.
‘Freestyle’ skates are the closest to this, and a very good all-rounder type, but they’re going to be slower than speed skates and less suitable for ramps than aggressive.
It depends on the skating you’re going to be doing.
If you’re simply after burning some calories in (one of) the most fun ways possible to do so, then recreational / fitness skates allow you to do that really comfortably, but will restrict you to just that. They won’t let you upgrade your skates to bigger wheels to go faster later on, but the wheels are fairly sizeable on them, so they’ll let you get up the speed you probably need.
If you’re already skilled, perhaps you do want to take the next step up to speed skates. But if you’re coming back to skating from a long hiatus, and you’ve never tried speed skating before, I wouldn’t recommend going in with these.
If you’re somewhere in between everything, go for freestyle skates. If you ever fancied slalom, these are the skates used for that.
If you love tricks and ramps, with ramps in particular, or you want to try your hand at grinding, aggressive skates are the way to go.
Hockey skates, well, it’s obvious if they’re hockey skates. It will say “hockey”.
2. Rent First, If You’ve Not Skated In A While
If you’re lucky enough to live in a big enough city where they have a shop that rents skates (not very common unfortunately!), then you can rent a pair if you haven’t skated for a while and don’t have a pair now.
It can help remind you the type of skating you want to be doing, and remind you about finding a good place to skate.
Helps you understand how you’re going to be using your new pair of skates when you do finally buy.
3. Research Where You Can Actually Skate Near You
Where you’ll be skating will obviously be overlapping with the type of skating you’ll be doing. So not only does it help you understand what type of skate is best for you, it helps to clarify exactly what you need from your pair of skates. You might be super prescient and have worked this out immediately, but if you’re like me and you didn’t, then understanding where you’re going to skate helps you know which features matter in a pair of skates.
Say, if you’re going to be skating in the wet (which unless you’ve been skating for years, don’t do), or if you’re going to be skating over dodgy ground (bigger wheels), or if you find out it’s the ramps after all that you love…
4. Understand When You’re Actually Going To Skate
Quite simply, you want something of a rough plan in place to ensure you’re going to get your money’s worth out of the skates – I’m not suggesting writing anything down (though if that floats your boat…). But buying a pair of skates has to be seen as a good purchase, worthy of both time and investment. But don’t worry, not too much time, and not too much investment.
This will help make the purchase of the skates not just a nostalgic impulse buy, and help you justify a bit more of an investment in a good pair. Getting a good pair is going to help make you want to skate more often as well.
5. Understand The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Types of Skates
This is absolutely crucial.
I can give you a quick run down about the different strengths and weaknesses, but know from the outset: the skate you buy will not be the best at everything. it will be made for a certain purpose. And recognising this helps you understand the features of a skate that matter, in short and for ease:
- Some prioritise comfort (recreational)
- Some forgo comfort to prioritise performance (speed and freestyle)
- Some allow you to change wheel size (speed and freestyle)
- Bigger wheels = less stability but more speed (but at 90mm you’re going to go fast)
- Three huge wheels = fastest over long distances, but less stability
Aside from the wheel size, it’s the type of boot that’s doing the job here. The specific design, the contours of the boot, the material used, the fasteners, and the liner inside.
Many recreational or fitness skates like the K2 V02 or the Rollerblade Macroblade come in a soft boot that just totally dominates on comfort. It’s a pleasure to ride in because it’s like having your feet in a sofa. But it means for fine-tuned turns, tricks and the like they aren’t ideal because the comfort means they’re not super hard and responsive to your movements; they have some give.
Also recreational skates often don’t allow you to upgrade to a bigger set of wheels. If you bought something like the Rollerblade Twister Edge it’s a freestyle skate, and these come with a hard boot (a great skate). You could do all the recreational skating you wanted with good stability on four wheels with this skate, but then you’d also be able to upgrade to having 3 huge wheels (125mm) that would take you to the next level on speed. The skate itself would also let you do little turns and manoeuvres, as used in slalom, giving you a greater degree of control than the recreational ones with the soft boot.
This doesn’t mean good recreational skates aren’t fast, both the K2 V02 and the Macroblade are, but perhaps not quite as extreme as the big wheeled beasts. They still have wheels around the 90mm mark which is large and fast.
Speed skates have smaller, tighter, less comfortable boots made for lightness, stiffness, performance, and they have the largest wheels. They won’t be easy to skate, but if you can, you’ll go the fastest in them.
Aggressive skates have the smallest wheels, with the flattest profile, and usually hard boots (but many are soft shell as well). These will be damn right slow in comparison to the recreational ones. You want be able to go very far at the speeds the fitness skates go. But… you wouldn’t really want to skate over ramps on fitness skates. I mean, you totally can, but they have their limits.
Freestyle skates sit somewhere between the aggressive and the speed, and are also optimised for performance in a way that recreational/fitness aren’t. They can have very well-made boots that give you great control over the skates, and are made to be customised with the wheel set up you want for things like street tricks and slalom.
6. Don’t Be Cheap
There’s a tendency lots of people have when it comes to skates to try to get the cheapest pair they can. Like, getting a good deal is the only thing that matters… Imagine if you’re getting a heart transplant and you were shopping around for the cheapest available heart. If you got the world’s cheapest bicycle it’s probably not going to be much fun to ride, it may fall apart after a few miles, and you’ll probably end up taking the bus instead. If you get an amazing bicycle it’s going to make you want to ride it. that’s key. Buy something that makes you want to use them not just because the activity is fun, but because the quality of the equipment makes the activity even better.
A cheap pair of skates is just going to hold you back. It’s going to hinder your progress. When you get good, you’ll be good on a pair of skates that just isn’t up to the challenge.
You should expect to pay upwards of $160 for a pair. Save up for a little longer if you have to, it will be worth it in the end.
7. Buy A Pair That Has The “X” Factor
In an important way, a pair of skates are more than the sum of their parts. It is not just it’s ABEC 9 bearings (and ABEC doesn’t actually mean “better / faster” in every case – there are other more important bearing features that make a bigger difference).
It’s not just it’s “carbon fibre frame” (although carbon fibre is awesome, and people love it and say you never go back once you have it).
It’s not just it’s huge soul grind plate (though that’s usually a good sign for doing soul grinds).
It’s the combination of features together that makes the skate good, and it’s the little things you might not spot until you skate on it for a while.
That’s why I have put together recommendations for skates depending on what you want – these are basically the skates that lots of people report back on having this X-factor.
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An Aside: Do You Need To Understand The Parts?
Well, no, not really.
For all these “understand the [insert skate component]” tips in this list, you can actually skip them if you want. If you’re in a desperate hurry to gobble down tips and move on to buy (and if you are – I give my recommendations here). These understand tips are not strictly necessary.
If you know what type of skate you want, try it on, aren’t being cheap, then the skate you buy will come with the features you need in 99% of cases.
However, if you want to be a tiny bit more informed then make sure you understand what you’re getting with the skate. It can help you choose between two similarly priced alternatives. In case you ever want to upgrade a part, or in case you want to be able to sense differences when you skate to know what to upgrade.
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8. Understand The Wheels You Need
You should probably get a pair of skates with 4 wheels unless you’re really used to skating and want to go seriously fast. Jumping straight in at 3 wheels is not recommended, these are bigger and are used by marathon speed skaters. They bring you quite high off the floor and you have much less stability than 4 wheels.
Recreational skates need around 86 – 90mm in size and a hardness of around 86 A because you’re skating across long distances so you need speed (size) and you need hardness (a high A number) so they don’t wear down too much, but which also provide a comfortable ride and don’t slide too much.
Aggressive skate wheels are around 60mm give or take a few mm, hardness around 90A because they’re going to be taking a hammering from the tricks.
Speed skates 100mm – 125 mm, with a hardness of around 85A or more (F0 = 88A, F1 = 85A)
Freestyle skates around 75mm up to 110mm (I have said the freestyle is the most flexible type of skate), depending again on what you want to do, with durometer (hardness) between 84A – 88A.
9. Understand The Boot You Need
Boots differ by the type of skates they are – speed, freestyle, aggressive, hockey, so know the type of skate and you’ll know the boot.
Recreational boots can be soft because they aren’t optimised for control, instead perhaps a little more for comfort (but saying that, a really good pair of freestyle skates can still be pretty comfortable).
Most boots that provide you the greatest level of control over your skating – which of course lets you exhibit your skating skills better – are hard shell or some hard material, basically because it doesn’t give too much when you skate and instead responds to your skating. This comes in handy when you get good.
However boots that are fabric or have some soft parts moulded into them are really going to pay dividends where comfort is concerned and will end up being a joy to skate because of it. you have to make a bit of a choice between comfort and performance. Though skates are getting better with giving you both. Freestyle skates used to be less comfortable than they are now.
There is also a slight question as to how much stability you want and if you’re on the heavy side a nice hard shell boot can give you more stability, especially around the ankle.
Boots made from carbon fibre are obviously focused on performance, and people love these.
Soft material integrated with a hard shell boot will often offer comfort for the part of the foot that has the soft part, while if still being mostly hard shell, should still provide you the control.
10. Recognise The Difference Between Liners
If you put a boot on and the liner is immediately comfortable, that’s a great start. I personally prefer thick liners because I’ve got pins in my right ankle from a broken ankle. One of the pins actually seems to stick out a bit from my right ankle, so when I put on some of the “better quality / better control” but thinner liners, it’s just too much pain against this pin in my ankle.
However, that being said, it’s okay for a liner and boot to initially feel a bit tight because as you wear them they’re going to loosen up over time. A good idea is to wear them initially for short sessions, perhaps 30 minutes to an hour, and do this a few times. This should help you break them in.
With freestyle skates you’ll be able to swap and change liners, which might not be possible with a lot of recreational skates.
11. Understand The Bearings You Need
Most people who have bought skates in the past have come across the ABEC system, where, or so we are led to believe, the higher the ABEC rating the better the bearings and, well, the faster the bearings. As it turns out, like so many widely held and tightly clung to beliefs that require some technical knowledge to properly analyse, it’s a load of crap. Or at least, mostly.
The higher the ABEC rating, well, technically the better quality the bearing is. But really it is just a measure of how precise that bearing is, its’ “tolerance” as defined by how well the sizes and dimensions keep to what they’re supposed to be, but you’re talking about minute differences here. It wasn’t until more recently that technology allowed the mass production of ABEC 9 bearings.
But critically, there’s not going to be much difference if any noticeable at all in speed or durability between say ABEC 5 and 9, because there are other factors within the design of the bearings, crucially not covered by the ABEC rating system, that matter more.
So ABEC 5 – 9 is fine.
This is basically to tell you not to get hung up on getting the best ABEC rating you can. But I know you’re probably still going to… Having a “bigger” number is very hard to resist… But just don’t sweat it if you’re not getting the higher number, it basically makes no difference because of how other bearing factors come into play.
12. Understand Your Foot Shape
Basically do you have a wide or narrow foot. Different brands like rollerblade and powerslide’s skates run pretty wide. This might affect the type of liner you want as well.
Nearly all brands now fit to your shoe size, so in most cases you shouldn’t have to change your size at all. If you’re on the bigger size of a half, or you feel on the upper end of a size in some way, you can go half a size of a size up, but you shouldn’t have to really. I’m a 10.5 / 11 in shoes – I get size 11 in skates and they fit perfectly.
I have wide feet and K2s, powerslide, and rollerblade all fit me well.
If you have a wider foot, getting a size up may help.
If you get a bigger pair you can always add a heel lift to the skate to alleviate pressure by the boot being a bit narrow, bringing your heel and whole foot up a bit. Worth trying.
The better quality the skate, the better wider and narrower feet will be taken care of by the more moldable and better designed interior elements.
13. Understand The Drawbacks Of The Skates You Choose
Recognise that whatever skate you choose, it won’t be ideal for something. It will provide a limit somewhere, and it’s good to know this because then you can push on happy in your knowledge that the skate you choose works for you.
It might not be the fastest skate, it might not be the most controlling skate, or it might not be the best skate for grinding in. By getting to this point you basically assure yourself that you’re pretty well informed. The basic features to consider are:
- Comfort – soft boots are extremely comfortable but permit slightly less control
- Upgradability – some skates allow you to change the frames and so the size of the wheels you get, also some are easier to swap around other components. Basically, freestyle skates are the most upgradable, this is what makes them a good choice for fitness skaters who may want to do more later on, or just get themselves going faster on a bigger set of wheels.
- Speed (bigger wheels the faster you go – and the better quality overall the bearings are)
- Wheel durability (softer the less durable)
- Specialism – fitness, freestyle (which is a combination of fitness, slalom and some street tricks), speed, or aggressive.
- Control – harder shells generally give you a little more control.
This does repeat a little of what was covered above, but it bears repeating because of how important it is.
14. Try On The Skate
If you have a local skate shop, buy your skates from that shop if you can.
Support the local scene.
Go to the store and try on the different types of skates and see how the size and the boot type feels on you. This can be extremely valuable.
Online of course you always have the option of sending the skates back but that can cost a bit in postage and it’s a hassle.
Trying on the skate is the only sure fire way to guarantee it’s a good, comfortable fit. If you don’t have a local shop, you can always try my recommended skate gear section.
15. Ask The People In The Store For Advice
They’ve probably had people like you looking for similar types of skates coming in for years. They’ve seen what they buy and hear feedback of how everything went. They are a mine for knowledge, so mine them.
If you try on a couple of pairs of skates and tell them what you’re looking for they should be able to point you in the right direction. Don’t always take what they say as gospel, do go in with a bit of knowledge yourself about the different types of skates and some of the features. Then they can do the wonderful job that experts always do of telling you how you only know part of it, and can share their insider knowledge to help you make a decision.
If you don’t have a shop near you, then mine InlineSkateWorld or others like it for advice.
16. Understand What The Best Possible Skate Is
It’s interesting just to look at the most expensive (not necessarily the best but a quick proxy for it) and look at all the features they have.
That way you can understand how your skate differs. In the case of performance skates, unless you’re a pro you’re probably not going to need all the features at the top end, but it helps give you a baseline from which to compare.
You’re going to be looking at:
- Quality of wheels
- Frame materials
- Boot construction and materials
- Fastener types
- Liner
- Bearings
Once you know what the best possible skates have (and of course, there will be multiple “best skates”) then you’re in a good position to understand what you’re buying.