Okay so this is a controversial topic and not since the Skate Wars of 1995 has anyone wanted to broach this subject (I may have made up those wars). On a site with “inline” in its name, you might think this is going to be “Rollerblade For The Win!”, but no…. This topic is going to be treated fairly. It’s going to help you work out which to choose. Because (spoiler alert!), it’s about personal tastes and circumstance…
Which should you choose between rollerblades and roller skates? Rollerblades are better for longer distances because you go faster. You can go long distances too on roller skates, of course, but you may struggle to keep up. Roller skates might be easier for very young children, and feel more stable initially, but counter-intuitively blades can be easier to learn how to skate well. Roller skates are good indoor skates and used in roller derby, rollerblades are used for hockey. You can actually do artistic skating on both (but using those little cones is done with inline because they’re more maneuverable). Tricks are usually done with inline skates, but you can get quads for ramps too.
Well, that’s a very basic rundown but doesn’t give you much meat to make your choice. Below I’ve asked (and sort of half answered) a bunch of questions you should ask when choosing either roller skates or rollerblades. Your answers to these questions should help you choose which to go with.
Should I Roller Skate Or Rollerblade?
Lucky you, we’re going to be talking about YOU from this point on. What do you like to do in life? What can have the most fun doing? This is where we understand where you’re coming from and which skate suits. Of course, if you’re choosing for someone else, maybe ask them? Failing that, you can guess…
How old are you?
If this is for a very young child, actually either works. Often very young children might be suitable for roller skates because they offer more stability, many young children find them easy, they don’t go that fast. Fisher Price skates for children used to come in roller skates for example. Basically like little shoes you have to push along. But actually inline skates can work for young children as well, their initial balance might be a bit harder to get over but once they do, they can find it easy to whizz along fine.
The difference with inline skates is that you can bend the skate so it turns left and right easier, so your independent legs work out how to do that by trial and error, whereas with roller skates you just lean on the truck and this can be a bit difficult to perfect, so it’s not obviously the roller skates that are always easier. When you start to get older children and teenagers, skating outside can be easier from blades because of how much faster they go.
For young kids, it particularly matters what their friends are doing, so just bloody find out and get them those types of skates. The specific brand and style of skate matters as well, so don’t just guess, do some research. If you’re an adult buying for kids you’ll need to not impose your tastes on them (bad idea).
But for you or anyone else you’re buying for, what matters is what you want to get out of the skates:
I’m Into Personal Fitness
With enough persistence and a good enough habit, either one can help you get a bit fitter than you are now. Though arguably the speed rollerblades permit with relative ease outdoors makes them a slightly better choice for “getting fit” because you can skate long distances over outdoor terrain a bit more practically. Marathon skaters all wear inlines.
I’m Into Simply Having Fun
Well, that’s good then. Either works. If you’re lucky enough to live in one of the cities that has an evening or weekend skate (like London, Copenhagen, New York), then definitely try to join one of these if you’re even a little bit interested in recreational skating. They’re amazingly fun and can include hundreds of other skaters, pumping music, and everyone really enjoying doing something that most people don’t do. There’s even a sense of camaraderie. Turn up without skates to see what everyone’s wearing and see if that affects your decision. Again, some of these can whizz along, and inline skates let you do that a bit easier being as they are, faster.
I’m Into Team Sports
If you’re into team sports then both could suit you – take up roller hockey if there’s a team near you (which uses blades), or roller derby (very popular with women, but there are men’s leagues as well). So it depends what sport you think speaks to you the most. To be honest, once you get stuck in you’re going to love whichever sport you go for.
I Like To Go Fast And Race
Well, in this case the only game in town is really inline skates. Only because it’s so fast and helps over long distances due to the relative efficiency of the stride versus roller skating, so this is where all the action takes place.
You can speed skate, skates have much larger, slightly harder wheels. But if you’re reading this and you’re a beginner don’t jump buying speed skates. I mean, sure, go ahead and jump in, but be prepared for a lot of mountains to climb. I mean, I like the idea of jumping in at the deep end, you’re just more likely to end up damaged in some way – i.e. smashed face via floor doing something your brain hasn’t built up the movement-related neural pathways to cope with yet. Try going into the gym and lifting the heaviest weight, you just won’t be able to do it straight away and/or you’ll tear your muscles trying. Buy freestyle or recreational skates first if you’re a beginner.
I’m Into Individualistic Art And Creative Flair
Well, this is a bit more balanced between the two as it happens. Roller skates are used for artistic and synchronised skating, so if that’s your bag go with those.
You can actually slalom in both (round those little cones, as often seen in parks around the world, like London’s Hyde Park), but slalom is more effective on inline skates because of the individual skate’s manoeuvrability.
I Want To Do Tricks
You can do tricks on both. Though inline skaters typically rule the ramps (though roller skates can do them as well) due to their manoeuvrability, and inline skates have a wider range of “aggressive skates” designed specifically for that purpose. When the X-Games still had skating these were all inline skates.
Inline skating is also a popular choice of freestyle skating which involves a series of artistic manoeuvres and creative flair that people really get into and love.
But you can also perform great manoeuvres with roller skates as well.
I Want To Look Cool
Now, now then. I’m not really sure what’s cool. Isn’t cool standing around smoking a cigarette? Or was that cool in the 50s? Is it wearing fur? No, that’s definitely not cool anymore is it?
I’m afraid you might have to go somewhere else to find what’s cool.
I mean, aggressive skating probably looks cool to young kids who’ve never seen it before. Giant tricks, flying through the air and landing soul grinds looks damn impressive to an eight-year-old. And maybe when skates appeared in the 70s everyone rushed to be part of that new trend, signalling an abandonment of capitalistic oppression? But I’m not convinced anyone sees a newbie skater and thinks, wow, that’s really cool. Maybe they do with some of the skaters who know what they’re doing? When their talent overlaps with art…
But if you want to look cool, pay very close attention to what cool people do, only do that, don’t do anything else, never say anything that can’t be understood as cool, act cool all the time, and then maybe people will say, “wow, she’s cool”. You could probably do that AND skate, so there’s options, but skating isn’t to be done to be super cool, it’s to do it because you love it. If you happen to be one of the cool people, you’ll probably find a way to make it cool, but it’s not going to take an uncool person and make them cool until they get really good.
I Want To Be Popular
See above. But be friendly and nice and care about other people and ask them how they are, as well.
What’s Easier – Roller Skating or Rollerblading?
If you did either when you were young, that’s going to be the easier one to pick up on. Categorically it’s easier to go faster on rollerblades. The design and size of the wheels means they’re the ones for speedskaters, for downhill, and that almost everyone chooses when they take up skating outdoors. Presumably to continue skating you’re going to want to get up to a good level, and inline skating lets you go faster with ease. Doesn’t mean you can’t approach similar speeds (but not quite as fast) and get a good pace from roller skates however and they might just ‘jive’ more with your style.
If you’re a true beginner and you’re worried about falling over, you can fall over on both almost as easily. There’s arguments both ways: it’s potentially easier to fall backwards on roller skates because the wheel doesn’t extend behind the boot very much if at all to prevent this. And it’s difficult to balance initially on rollerblades because the thin wheel base provides less ankle support (somewhat provided by modern high boots though).
Which Will Get You Fitter – Rollerblading Or Roller Skating?
Because you can more easily skate with some speed on inlines, you do see a lot more active recreational rollerbladers skating for fitness. It’s easier to do marathons or skate for several hours. It’s not impossible to do this on roller skates and many people do, but by the point they’re skating that far they’re pretty damn good on roller skates to keep it going that long. You can get to the point where it’s okay to skate for 3 hours on a pair of rollerblades quicker.
In terms of which is really better for you fitness wise? Well… I mean, they’re pretty similar. You could make an argument that actually roller skating as it’s slightly harder to go fast could give you the better workout. But then again it being harder is probably just going to reduce how long you’re likely to do it. Unless of course you absolutely fall in love with it.
Both burn more calories than a brisk walk and some other exercises, but minute per minute burn less than running or cycling.
But all this is predicated on the idea you’re going for long skates. If you want to dance or do the other things, and asking what makes you fitter between roller derby and roller hockey? Well, you could argue that roller hockey is a more constant sport with longer sustained sprints and more overall distance traveled in a game going back and fourth. Roller derby is a lot of physical exertion to be sure though, involving blocking and body to body contact, remaining upright against the pushing force of the other team players.
If you want to ask what’s better? Well you can make both work for you. But to lose weight and gain fitness though roller derby is good, skating for three hours at a fast pace doing intervals is probably better.
Why Would You Inline Skate?
The main reason: you want the flexibility to go really fast as well as trying out tricks – buy freestyle skates for these instead of recreational, they allow you to upgrade the wheels more easily (check your pair does though) so you can start on one pair and as you get more confident change the wheels and your style of skating.
Why Would You Roller Skate Instead?
You love the style and look of roller skates or you want to join in on roller derby or another roller skating specific sport. Or, you’re a 5 year old kid and you want to feel safe when you stand upright.
In either case, you can always transition from one to the other.
What’s The Difference Between Roller Skates And Rollerblades – And Why It Matters To You
What differences you can expect in the feel of skating with them, based on the differences between the boots and the wheels, and the overall construction of the skates?
Here’s an awesome guy who knows a lot more than I do, Ricardo Lino, explaining the difference… watch the full video here
Follow him on YouTube as he’s always bringing out amazing videos.
Roller skates:
Your ankle, though it might not be supported by a longer, sturdier boot in most roller skates like inlines have, is likely still to feel more stable because of the wide wheel base. They support you on the left-right direction whereas rollerblades don’t, so your ankle can wobble from side to side more easily. You can stand upright on roller skates with greater ease, not feeling so unsteady.
The toe stop on roller skates is a good way for beginners to learn: you can just use that to walk along on actually a little bit, and you can use it to push off from when you first skate. So getting used to the early skating motion may be easier.
There are different types of boots within roller skating (as there are also many different types in rollerblades). But specifically, in roller skates you have one which has a raised heel, and one with is flat, sneaker style. So with the raised heel your feet are pointing down which subtlety changes the position of your body. It means you are leaning forward just a little bit, and this could help you from the feeling of falling backwards and might make slipping over on your bum a little less likely. It also means it’s easier to squat low. Try squatting on your feet and you can feel how your feet may naturally tend to raise their heel a tiny bit, especially if your muscles are a bit tight. The way you turn in roller skates is to lean on the trucks, rather than to lean your feet in as you do on rollerblades.
Other quick points: Lifestyle skates are a bit less supportive in the boot than roller derby.
Inline skates:
These typically have higher boots which entails more support for your ankle. The soft boots (versus hard shells) available are normally more comfortable, so recreational skates often come with soft boots and some can be as comfortable as the most comfortable shoes you wear, it’s a dream to skate in them. The more “serious” the skate, in general, the less comfortable it is. As the skate designer starts to care less about how you feel and more about how you perform. Of course, people who feel good in skates also perform well but at the high-end people take some pain just to shave a few “seconds/milligrams/whatever” off of whatever they’re trying to win at. But, say, recreational skates can feel so much more comfortable than a similarly priced pair of freestyle skates. That can make a difference to your enjoyment and if you’re confident you’re sticking with recreational for now, then that’s a fact to consider.
Inline skates come in both three wheeled and four wheeled variety. If you’re a beginner, get the four wheeled ones. Three wheeled ones can get up to faster speeds with good maneuverability and that’s why they exist, but they’re raised higher off the floor and might be a bit more challenging for a beginner. Not impossible, but four wheels are recommended instead. If you’re looking to go this inline skating route anyway, and you care more about freestyle options than simply recreational skating, you can always get a pair which allows you to swap to three wheels later.
For someone’s who more comfortable skating, it’s worth to note that the bigger wheels do allow the middle one to be a pivot point, and allow you to go over more rough surfaces, and are great at fast speeds and acceleration.
Inline skate wheels are thinner and more rounded than roller skate wheels meaning you can use their edges to twist the skate inwards and outwards for greater maneuverability.
Are there costs differences?
You get what you pay for.
But both types of skates are comparable in price and the tiny difference in dollars/pounds/euros shouldn’t really be your deciding factor. This is an investment in your enjoyment and lifestyle after all…
You can get skates that will totally work for you around the $60 mark (€70, £70 – it all seems to be similar nowadays), and below in some places, but you want to be looking around at least $100. It will be less for kids though. And when you’re looking at the upper end you can be spending a few hundred dollars. You’ll get a great pair of skates form the $200 mark upwards.
Are There Differences In Foot Shape And Which Boot Will Fit Better?
Now, this comes down to experiment. I’ve not got enough data to run through foot shape by skate… yet… Hopefully one day I can build this up and make the ultimate guide. But the overview is this: different skate brands tend to have slightly different shape boot, in inline skates if you fit a K2 and like it, likelihood is that brand is going to be better for you than other alternatives (but there are complexities of course like the range of skates they do, K2 do recreational but not freestyle inline skates). But basically, you can do into a shop and test them out…