welcome to inline edge your guide to rollerblading and inline skating in the usa [Music] if you're watching this video you're likely looking to buy your first pair of inline skates or you're looking to get back into the lifestyle after taking a break for a couple of years if so then you're in the right place because i'm going to equip you with the knowledge you need to know to confidently go out there and purchase your first pair of inline skates first we're going to go over the anatomy of an inline skate and cover the names of the components second we'll look at the different types of inline skates so you can more accurately identify the pair to fit your needs finally we'll look at the retailers where you can purchase the skates and there are some definite do's and don'ts in this category first up the anatomy of an inline skate all inline skates have three major components the boot the frame and the wheels there are two main types of boots the soft boot and the hard shell the soft boot is more comfortable and flexible as it's designed to feel more like an athletic shoe if this is your first time buying inline skates i would personally recommend looking at soft boot as they are designed to fit a variety of foot types and feel more comfortable right out of the box the second type of boot is the hard shell or hard boot this boot usually has a hard plastic exterior with a softer boot that goes inside of the shell called a liner hard boots are great for giving you more control for intermediate and advanced skating moves i shy away from recommending hard boots to brand new skaters because they aren't as flexible and are less likely to feel good on your feet when you first try them on hard boots usually require a breaking in period of 5 to 10 skating sessions before they loosen up also the type of liner you have can make a big difference to ensure that your feet are comfortable and fit properly as i don't want to send you on a hunt to find third-party liners i recommend soft boots for new skaters the next major component is the frame which attaches securely to the boot with screws and houses the wheels through the axles one of the differences you'll see in inline frames is the material that it's made of typically the cheaper skates will have plastic frames and the more expensive skates will be made of metal while the metal frames are not vital their rigid nature ensures that your wheels will fit perfectly into the frame cheap plastic or even some composite frames can bend causing the potential for more friction for the wheels segue into the final component which are the wheels and there are a lot of nuances here the first thing to note about the wheels is their size which is measured in millimeters just look for the mm next to the number to identify the size typically smaller wheels around 60 millimeters are meant for stability and are better for doing tricks at places like skate parks larger wheels around 100 millimeters are meant for speed and are better for flat urban surfaces the happy medium is around 80 millimeters which tends to be the most common as they serve as a jack of all trades the next trait of inline skates you need to know is the firmness which is the number that is followed by the letter a the lower the number here the softer the wheel and thus the better grip you'll get on a given surface the higher the number the more firm the wheel which usually means it won't wear down as quickly but you do sacrifice grip meaning that they are more likely to slide depending on the surface anywhere from 80a to 88a is great for beginners most inline skate wheels have two bearings that are separated in the middle by a donut called the spacer when looking at the specs for bearings on inline skates you might see the words to describe bearings like abec or ilq followed by a number your basic skate will likely say it has a bec 5 bearings whereas more expensive skates are likely to have a beck seven or nine while the explanation of these terms is a bit more technical then i'll get into here basically the higher the number the better the quality of the bearing and usually the faster you'll go okay now i know that was a lot to take in but now that we know the basics you can spot the differences between the different type of inline skates that are out there just like how there are different types of bicycles like for bmx mountain and racing there are different types of inline skates depending on the different activities that you're interested in as a nova skater you'll likely be looking to buy fitness skates or sometimes called recreational skates they usually feature a soft boot which gives you more of a feel like a tennis shoe and thus is more comfortable than a heart boot the frames are usually made specifically for that style of boot and thus cannot be swapped out with different frames also note the heel break which is standard on fitness skates to help you slow down before you need to stop the wheels are usually medium sized around 80 millimeters and 85 a firmness making them good for a variety of surfaces try skates are aptly named because they have only three wheels instead of four they usually have soft boots for comfort but you can find them in hard boots as well the wheels are significantly larger at 100 millimeters or higher designed to go faster and ride smoother on rough surfaces like asphalt the 100 millimeter wheels are still okay for beginners but i would recommend not going any higher to the 110 or 120 millimeter wheels just yet you really need to master proper braking first to match the higher speeds that larger wheels can offer freestyle skates are essentially the more advanced version of fitness gates this is where you'll start to see more hard boots which are better for control but they likely will not be as comfortable on your feet out of the box the frames are usually made from a lightweight metal like aluminum and note that many versions do not come standard with a heel brake these skates are designed for tight maneuvers and great for activities like slalom okay now there are three additional types of inline skates that you're likely to see while you're out there shopping but honestly i'm not gonna be able to recommend them for novice skaters let's take a quick look at what they are that way you'll be able to know them when you spot them and why you'll probably want to come back to them later after you get more experience roller hockey skates are identifiable by the laces traveling the length of the boot and usually don't have straps which could become dislodged during a hockey game unless you're specifically looking to play roller hockey you don't need to look at them too closely right now aggressive skates have hard shell boots smaller wheels and a curved section in the middle of the frame called an h-block these are built for skate parks and for doing more complicated tricks which you may be interested in only after you've mastered the basics of inline skating and then we have speed skates with their signature low cuff boot and large wheels they're specifically designed to be light and fast but in that pursuit they sacrificed the comfort and support that novice skaters need to learn the basics again these are for advanced inline skaters there are even more styles out there such as off-road inline skates yeah these things do exist but we're getting a bit far off the beaten path so let's get back to basics now as i previously mentioned you're probably going to be looking for fitness skates if you're a novice skater but where should you shop what brands should you be looking out for and how much money should you be looking to spend first let's look at the list of places you don't want to go to in the united states and that's the major retailers like target and walmart most of their skates are for kids and are of poor quality usually made from flimsy plastic that are not supportive and can easily crack the next place you'll likely want to look is a sporting goods store like dick's sporting goods or big five their selection is noticeably better than the big retailers and they'll have more adult sizes it's a good place to try on some skates and see how they feel but a lot of their selection is still kind of in the budget category and not up to the quality standards i would normally recommend honestly the best place to buy a pair of inline skates is through an online store and yes i know you immediately thought of amazon but in my experience they just don't have a great selection instead i'd recommend visiting a store that specializes in selling inline skates some websites within the united states that are good places to start are inlineskates.com and inlinewarehouse.com if you can't find what you want there there are some great websites in europe like skatepro.com and bladeville.com personally i've made many purchases through skatepro and they have great customer service so they are easy for me to recommend if you still want more options there are some boutique shops to check out like locoskates.com where i bought my aggressive skates for the skatepark you can also check out good old ebay or facebook marketplace you may get lucky and find a great deal on a pair of u-skates in your size and save some money i'll be sure to leave links to some of these websites in the description of the video okay so now you know where you should be shopping for the skates what brands should you be on the lookout for when it comes to fitness skates there are two big players in the united states rollerblade and k2 each of these companies has their own website with info on their latest models and they do sell some of their own products there's also a european-based brand that makes some good fitness skates by the name of powerslide rollerblade is probably the brand you recognize the most and yes they do make a great product i even have a pair myself but as i like to recommend soft boot fitness skates for most beginners and yes rollerblade does make soft boots i gotta cast my vote for k2 they actually created the first soft boot inline skate and have been iterating on that original design ever since soft boots are specialty and you just can't go wrong here alright so next big question how much money should you be looking to spend on your first pair of inline skates now i'll absolutely give you my opinion but do keep in mind that every dollar you spend on a pair of skates means you're going to get that much better equality of product my recommendation is that you spend no less than 100 dollars retail on a brand new pair of skates for example the rollerblade zetrablade skates are 99 u.s and i would consider these to be the absolute most basic skate you should consider purchasing you might see some skates online that are like 80 bucks 60 or even less but trust me they will be of poor quality and you're not going to be excited to strap them on your feet now let's say you're super excited to jump in and you're willing to spend a bit more money to get an even better quality skate in that case what's the highest amount a new skater should spend now against my opinion but i don't think that you need to spend more than 200 retail on your first pair of inline skates now sure you can spend 300 400 500 or more if you want to but at those prices inline skaters know exactly what they want and are usually buying a skate for a very specific purpose for fitness skates 200 ensures a great product at a good price that your feet will be happy with so there you go that should be all the information you need to buy your first pair of inline skates be sure to post your questions in the comments below and i will try to respond to them as quickly as possible please hit that like button and be sure to subscribe because i'll have more videos about inline skating in the near future including how to keep you motivated remember the most important part of inline skating is to have fun