Equipment: Inline Skate advice

[Jmp123]

Long time reader but first post.

Play inline and ice and use Bauer's for both.

Last night the inside of one of my Rx25s finally wore through and now the base is far from solid at the toe. Will try and fix it up temoporarily.

Does anyone have any advice on durable skates as the floors I play on are quite tough on the skates? I've gone through two pairs of inline skates before I've needed to replace my ice skates.

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[DarrenBanks56]

i posted this on another thread, but i just got a pair of alkali rollers for $198.
They are amazing. I think they were on clearance. Down from $450

 

[Ozz]

I've had RBK 5Ks and 8Ks. Love 'em both but the chassis that came on them at the time, with the hole cut for weight reduction, caused pucks to damage them. The newer RBKs and some of the older ones have a more solid chassis and that wouldn't be a problem though.

Currently I skate on a pair of converted ice X50s with a Hum'er chassis, and they're phenomenal. A few of my teammates have the Bauer XR series inline skates, ranging from the XR40 to the XR80. Also Mission Axiom series, even as "low" as the T5, as a hit with some of these guys.

Many at my rinks love the Alkali skates as well. I tried the CA5 but hated the tongue so much I got rid of them and built my X50 conversion. The CA9 and CA9RPD are better, but at the time before clearance I wasn't interested in spending that much (FWIW my X50 conversion was done at a major steal of a price, so that's why that might sound odd to those keeping score money-wise).

You can get those high-end Alkalis for under $300 on the major websites right now though, and with the 20% off codes that were going around you'd be in the mid $200s if they are still functioning. Or if you're an Ice/InlineWarehouse member you get it automatically anyway


Long story short, most anything mid-range will last a decent amount of time and the higher end ones usually are higher-end for a reason. My RBK 8Ks lasted me years and while they looked used and worn, they were still in great condition. I was close to putting the Hum'er chassis onto them but I couldn't pass up those damn X50 Bauers. I did keep the RBKs "just in case" though

 

[Jmp123]

I will post a picture of where my current skates have worn down when I get in from work. Is two years life for Rollers pretty common when used weekly?

I've been eyeing up the Bauer XR60's but need to get to my LHS to check what the material is like to see if it will hold up.

I would love to convert a pair of ice skates but it will be too costly in the UK. My choices will be limited by being in the UK and I will pay far more than you guys do

 

[Ozz]

I used my RBKs for between 1-4x per week, sometimes more, for over 2 years. If not for the chassis getting bent and ultimately broken from being hit, I wouldn't have thought to replace them. The boot construction itself is still perfect! I'm 5'10" and 205-210lbs. so I'm definitely putting some weight into them, too. Everyone is different but I would say you should expect AT LEAST 2 years out of skates. A teammate of mine is 6'6" and about the same weight, and he uses the same 8Ks as I had. His are worn cosmetically about the same amount, and the construction is still perfect. His chassis are also undamaged so far

 

[DarrenBanks56]

I will post a picture of where my current skates have worn down when I get in from work. Is two years life for Rollers pretty common when used weekly?

I've been eyeing up the Bauer XR60's but need to get to my LHS to check what the material is like to see if it will hold up.

I would love to convert a pair of ice skates but it will be too costly in the UK. My choices will be limited by being in the UK and I will pay far more than you guys do

2 years sounds about right.
i play every sunday nite, and my last pair lasted 2 years.
they were cheap though. They were tours. not much support.

the chassis was dented in so many areas from pucks. I had to get plyers to pull them off the wheels.

finally tossed them in the trash after the front wheel hole on the chassis broke apart. if it wasnt the front wheel and one of the middle wheels id probably still be using them.

 

[Jmp123]

Thanks guys. Sounds like they lasted around the right time.

Will check out some skates over holiday season and patch mine up for the time being.

Realised I took a pretty hard slap shot to the point where the boot has broken the day before so pretty much explains it.

Think my skat is falling onto the inside of the chassis when i stop and push which is causing it to wear down. Will try and stop that happening so aggressively in the future.