Things To Know When Selecting Your Gear

Below are some videos from fellow Roller Derbiers telling you what things to consider when selecting your skate.  When I was first starting out in roller derby, I made the dreaded mistake alot of new competitive skaters do...buy my skate too big.  If you are a fan of wearing your shoes a little big, I totally get it...that was what I did.  But since you will be skating, you do not want to apply your selection in big shoe terms. If you have doubts, visit a shoe store or use the method in the video below to measure your foot.  You don't want your boots too small, but you also do not want them too big either because of blisters.  And blisters are a big pain when you are needing your fast feet.  Most skate brands offer a sizing chart to refer to once you select your skate.  And if you are REALLY doubting your judgement, visit a sporting goods store like Academy to size your foot using some of their skates. Last I visited that store, they were offering a couple of different brands.  Then take your sizing info to the Skate Shop of your choice, or I also offer skates here being sold by some top brands. I wanted to have everything available to you here, in the case you are in a town where you might not have these types of specialty skate shops available. The skates at most of the sporting goods shops focus on the recreational skater, or the "once in a while" or the "I'm not sure I really want to skate" type skaters.  While you could always give the skate new bearings and wheels, you will still be lacking in the rest of the skate. I find that the cheaper skates are glued, as opposed to sewn. So it's only a matter of time before your boot starts to fall apart.  Another personal mistake I did.  

Check the list of skates my affiliates have available.  If you are looking for something a little less derby and more boardwalk rec style skating, I'll post an affiliate link that will take you to their store.

I wanted to put a website / blog up to cater to the new roller derby players as well as the seasoned or the curious.  If you see this and want to partner, or have questions send me an email with the subject "SKATES".

Below are some pictures of the types of floors you may skate on.  Notice the different textures.  I always kept a set of wheels for each type of surface.  It makes life alot easier, not to mention, safer too!  If you are going too slow with soft wheels when you need to go faster, you could over work yourself unnecessarily.  On the other hand, if you skate with harder wheels on a paved surface, you will have problems gripping. Not to mention, waste your money on ruining a nice set of indoor wheels. I also utilized an extra set of skates for when I skate outside, keeping the outdoor wheels set up all of the time, again, there is no need to ruin your skates by scuffing your nice speed skates up on the pavement.  Once you are skating a while, it will all begin to make sense.