Roces M12 Team - Malva - Boot Only Inline Skates

Inline skates have long ceased to be only a gear that you get out of the box and use as is. For people with a knack for tinkering, a there is a whole world of possibilities for tuning and modding their skates. If they’ll pick up a models which allows it, of course! The parts can be bought separately and there is a huge variety of them available – it is pretty common sight now to see a skater with a gear put together from several different brands products. This is why, apart from full skates, a boot only options are available and you can even buy custom setups made by skateshops. There is also an ongoing tradition of releasing pro-skates for top skaters out there. Such models are configured according to the rider preferences and given a unique look.

Shell of the skates is most often a hard, rigid outer boot made out of plastic composite materials, but can also mean a base of skates with integrated padding. Such part can be made out of composite material, too, but also from glass and/or carbon fibre. To put it simply, shell is the most important part of the skate from structural point of view. All other parts of the skate are directly or indirectly attached to it. It is worth to mention that skates for kids often come with adjustable size shells and that carbon fibre based model can often be heat-moulded.

There are several types of boots in inline skates. The most common one is undoubtedly a softboot – where soft, sneaker-like upper is attached to rigid, composite base. The second most popular boot type is a hardboot – a rigid, injection molded shell with separate liner inside. Skating boots with base made out of glass and/or laminated carbon fibre weave also exist. There are even snowboard binding style skeletons which can be used with your sneakers. The boot type determines what is possible on given pair of skates. For example, low-cut, carbon fibre boots aren’t really suitable for anything else than speedskating.

Cuffs are mounted using three solutions: rivets, screws or screws with adjustable washers. The most common and simple solution are, of course, rivets. Generally speaking, rivets are a very solid form of cuff attachment and are reliable enough to be used even in aggressive inline skating or freeskating. The downside is that you won’t be able to swap cuffs (i.e. if you want to put a custom kit on) without drilling out the rivets and replacing them with screws, which is not that easy task to do. But – with rivets, there’s no need to worry about about losing a screw, right? When you have screws as a cuff attachment solution, you need to tighten them regularly, as they will get loose from vibrations during skating. Last but not least, cuff adjustment systems – these use washers with offset hole placement, allowing for changing cuff position (most frequently, up and down).

Boot lacing plays a crucial role in how skate fits overall. Next to traditional lacing, skates sometimes incorporate speed lacing systems made out of steel cable and tightening rings, which make the boot wrap around the foot.

Boot closure does what lacing alone cannot. It allows to lock the heel in place and also stabilises the ankle. In addition, buckles and straps increase boot rigidity, making the skate more responsive to our movements.

Shell width is as important as length when it comes to choosing a right boot for you. Why? A pretty obvious case in which a shell too narrow causes you a lot of pain, but having a shell too loose is equally bad. This is tricky, as during trying the skates on, their boots feel comfy – but over time, when liner breaks-in, you are going to feel inferior control and energy transfer. Unfortunately, it is extremely rare for skate manufacturers to provide information about fit type, which makes choosing a right pair of skates harder. This is why we, using our knowledge, experience and feedback from our customer, make an assessment of skates sold in our shop and give each shell a marking of width type on a scale of three. Thanks to it, you are informed which skates are considered narrow, regular and wide. This makes it easier for you to find a good fitting pair when ordering online. Please bear in mind that shell width can be subjective – a person with large ankle bones but regular foot width may find standard width shells too narrow, but this won’t be true for majority of users. This is why we encourage you to contact us at [email protected] if you have any doubts about choosing skates.