Roadskater Resources
Buying Skates
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Buying Your First Pair of Skates

The most important thing when buying skates is that they fit. They should be snug but comfortable, like a good pair of sneakers.

Expect to spend around $150 for good skatesl. Large retailers tend to have cheaper name brands and reasonable off-brand skates. These stores don't have boot fitting expertise, service, spare parts, or support available in a specialty shop. Also very cheap skates like the $39.99 special may look like a good deal but they are not likely to have the constrution and support to help you stand upright and actually enjoy skating.

Your First Pair of Good Skates
For a good fit go to a skate/ski specialty shop. They tend to have a wide selection of medium and higher-end skates. The sales staff are more knowledgeable than at a retailer and can provide boot fitting services. The store will also have high-end services and spare parts for customizing/repairing your skates.
Pro Fit Ski and Skate (Leesburg)
This store has skilled sales staff who specialize in high end setups. They guarantee the fit of your skates and will work with you as you iron out hot spot issues. It is worth the trip.
http://www.ski-skate.com/
Alpine Ski Shop (Sterling & Oakton)
A good pick for suburban Virgina residents. Nice selection and quality service.
http://www.alpineskishop.com/
Hockey Stop (Rockville)
This store specializes in hockey merchandise and has a full compliment of inline equipment. If you want skates that will spin circles around your friends, this is your store.
5544 Nicholson La., Rockville; 301-770-4500.
Online Skate shops
Skate fitting is an art so buying skates online is not always a great idea. If you are replacing skates you already know work for you, then buying online may provide better selection and price. Some specialty items may only be available through online sources. For online purchases make sure that you can return them if they do not meet your needs.

For parts/accessories see the Equipment Page

Skates.com
Sells inline skates, racing skates, aggressive skates, heelys shoes, women's, men's and youth skates, wheels, skate parts and bearings, inline skate videos. They also carry skate bags and packs to carry your skates in.
http://Skates.com/

North Texas Skate Sales North Texas Skate Sales
They offer great customer service and reasonable prices for high end set-ups. Recommended by WAR members.
http://www.ntsk8.com/
Online Skate House

Online Skate House
They offer a wide variety of recreational, hockey and fitness skates and claim to have the lowest prices.
http://www.onlineskatehouse.com/
Adams Inline Adams Inline
I have put togther what I beleive is the best combinations of speed skates known. have tested every combination below and feel these are the best combination of speed skates the market has to offer. Mixing brand names provides the skater with the best fit-for-speed. Free custom fitting included with all orders, as well as free skater assesment gives you the best skate match. Feel free to call and ask which combination best fits you.
http://www.adamsinline.com/speedskates.html
Inline Warehouse Inline Warehouse
While primarily a hockey skate site they do have a standard selection of fitness and recreation skates. They also claim to have the lowest prices.
http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/fitness.html

Skate Brands

Following are some of the more common inline skate brands:

The original makers of Rollerblades (now called inline skates), this company defined the sport and has a solid lineup of skates for any skater.
http://www.rollerblade.com/
A company that started making skis, but heavily invested in making skates in the off-season. They specialize in more comfortable skates and offer a variety of refined products.
http://www.k2skates.com/


Salomon has been the favorite recreation skate of may WAR members. Recently they stopped marketing skates in the US but as of 2006 many online vendors have begun carrying them again..
http://www.salomoninline.com/us/home.asp


Hypno brand skates are made in Italy and offer a blend between skates and shoes. Skates have boots with a detachable frame. http://www.hypnoskates.com/
The following sites specialize in racing skates and custom racing boots. We suggest talking with other like-minded WAR skaters before buying racing skates and frames.
Simmons Racing

We are "simply the best" from our castings to the construction down to our customer service. Each skate is handmade in the USA with precision and excellence from 10 layers of the highest quality carbon fiber, 7075  aircraft aluminum mounting blocks, highest quality epoxy, neoprene liners(for durability) and a variety of color choices(additional cost may apply). Since 1991 we have built the strongest and lightest skates on the market.
http://www.simmons-racing.com/
Wolf Racing Many will try to imitate but no one will come close to the innovation of Wolf racing products.
http://www.wolfracingboots.com/
Material selection and testing is an ongoing effort at SEB skates. Because the foot is not a static object inside the boot, we offer you the best control with our own design of high-end racing and speed boots.
http://www.sebskates.com/


At Verducci, innovation starts on the track. Each new design is tested by the Verducci Racing Team composed of the best skaters in the world, in a variety of different environments. Very high end racing skates.
http://www.verducciracing.com/


Our boots are all hand made using the latest space age materials. A lot of time and effort is spent hand crafting each individual pair of boots and every pair goes through a rigorous 16 stage quality check during production.
http://www.bont.com/

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Last Update: 12/28/2006