Inline hockey vs. fitness skates

[redwingsdude]

First let me say that I've been looking at these boards forever, but never really got in discussions, this is my first post, but I plan on being active here.

Anyway, I moved from the city to the country about 5 years ago, and we live on a dirt road. When I lived in the city, I played street hockey just about every day and got to be a pretty good skater. Anyway, since moving, I basically gave up skating, but I want to get back into it, because hockey is just to fun to not be a part of anymore.

The thing is, that I have essentially forgotten how to skate (apparently it's not like riding a bike), so I don't need high end skates. Also, I will be doing most, if not all, of my skating outside on concrete and asphalt. So I'm not quite sure if I want hockey skates. What I do want is a pair of skates that I can use to get back into skating form, but that I can use in low level of roller hockey. Some kind of general use skate.

I'm on a budget as I need $600 for new brakes, and I'm going into college this fall, so if I can find a pair for around $100, that would be great.

So, any ideas? Missions, K2, Salomon, Bauer?

Thanks guys, I look forward to adding to the discussions here.

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[Gallagbi]

If you'll use them for hockey at all, go with in-line hockey type of skates. Look for close-outs in your price-range. Generally the best bang for your buck. Stick to brands you like.

 

[thenextone]

Stay far away from fitness skates

Even go with used hockey skates if you have to

 

[Catamo]

Mine are Bauer. Got them "cheap" for 160. Maybe a little more expensive because i wear a 13.5

I saw other ones there around 100 though. They werent as good or as comfy as the ones i got. But like the clerk said "You get what you pay for". Your best option is to get used. Or pay the extra bit. Dont get any "all purpose" Rollerblade. Hockey style is a must.

As for getting back to your formor glory when skating i guess the best advice is to keep trying.. Lame huh.. Then how about being more confident when you do it. Just go for it. Youll get it.

 

[bladoww]

Well if you know what you're looking for and you dont need to experiment with sizing then you could look at ebay. I found me a brand new pair of 652 Tacks (ice) from '03 for less than 100 bucks. Hockeygiant, Hockeymonkey and 1800faceoff.com always have previous models for less.

If you want someplace local check out sports authority. Down here in VA the hockey section blows. But I've seen CCM PF2s and some Bauer inlines from $100-$120.

But no fitness/rec skates definately.

 

[redwingsdude]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help.

I'm planning on trying out some skates at the local store to see how they fit and the different sizings, and then finding them at better prices online. It looks like hockeygiant.com has some good prices for what I'm looking at. The only reason that I was interested in fitness skates was because I didn't want to get nice hockey skates only to scuff them up when trying to re-learn skating. Also, I wasn't sure if I would be able to stop without brakes on the faster wheels, but I'm not too worried about that.

Anyway, any ideas about outdoor wheels? Seems that most if not all hockey skates have very soft wheels.

Thanks.

 

[Catamo]

Look for a specialised hockey shop to get harder gel wheels.

Soft ones shoud last you a couple months or so by rotating.