Mission Roller Hockey Skates Senior
What is a good roller hockey skate for under $125?
I like NikeBauer or Mission. And i dont really know what is and what isnt good for bearings and the other stuff so please help me out with tht. Oh and i need senior skates.
This may not be the answer that you want, but I’ll give it a go anyway. My short answer is that skates at that price and lower are going to break/fall apart on you quickly. If you up your price range to around $200, you will find skates that are much more durable and a little lighter weight.
Ok, so now the long answer.
You’re not going to find a quality skate for that amount of money. There are several reasons for this. As with everything, you get what you pay for, and hockey follows that philosophy 100% (unless you’re buying a product that has had the next version of it released). When you’re looking in that price range, you’re looking at low-end products. I know that $125 may seem like a large amount of money, but top-of-the-line skates can cost $500-600! You’re looking at buying something that is roughly 1/5th the price of the high end skate. You’ll find a similar ratio in terms of quality. Let me explain where you will find some of the differences.
Durability is one of the biggest concern. Any low-end skate is made of material that is cheap. Cheaper material will be heavier, break down faster, and generally fall apart…
One of the most common breaking points for skates in the price range that you’re looking at are the rivets that hold the chassis to the boot. The rivets will commonly pull out of the boot, sometimes tearing a chunk out of the boot in the process.
To provide an example of the durability problems, Tour’s low-end skate has an issue where the boot collapses above the second wheel, which lets the wheel dig into the bottom of the boot. This will stop you in your tracks, and possibily will send you down on your face. I’ve personally seen 5 Tour skates with this issue. In addition, I’ve done more rivet replacements on CCM’s low end skate (Vector 2.0) than any other. Some of them couldn’t be repaired. These problems are NOT because of the skater and are DEFINITELY because of the way they’re built.
Another area where you will have an issue is the stiffness of the skates. Hockey skates, whether they are roller or ice, need to move with your foot – not allow your foot to move separately, not stop you from moving the way that you want to. Skates prices $125 and lower will be so flexible that, upon cornering, your foot will move into the turn before your boot does! You won’t notice it at first, but the longer you have them, the more the boot will wear down and the more you will feel it. This can lead to injury – knee twists or falls. Not fun.
If you decide to go for something in this price range anyway, look into some of Mission’s skates. They’re a good company that has been doing it for a while. Bauer skates use a “One-Up” chassis, which involves a 78mm wheel. Wheels of this size are uncommon, and inline wheels can be tough enough to find anyway.
If you listen to my pleas and look as something higher end, you’ll be much happier because you’ll be getting a product that will last you longer and perform better. The question is this – would you rather pay $125 for something that will fall apart quickly, forcing you to spend that money again? Or would you rather pay $200 for something that will last for years?
Finally, go get fit from a hockey retailer, don’t buy from the internet. Skate and shoe size are two different things (Mission is the closest, though not exact by any means) and you want to make sure that what you get fits PROPERLY since you’re spending your hard-earned cash!
OK – - Bearings…
Bearings carry an ABEC rating. Skates that you’ll be looking at will have a rating of 5 or higher. People are OBSESSED with having high-abec rated wheels. It is a myth. ABEC rating is used primarily to grade bearings that are used in industrial machinery. The higher the number, the more smoothly the machinery is supposed to operate with the bearing.
ABEC 1 bearings – the lowest rating – will allow for up to 38,000 revolutions per minute. You NEVER achieve this on inline skates. Ever. The rating has to do with how smoothly the bearings will allow rotation. To actually get the intended effect, you must skate on a perfectly smooth surface and never propel yourself with your feet. Thats not much fun, is it?
Basically, whatever comes with your skates will be just fine.