Skate sizing: how your skate fits and the difference between brands
Monday, August 9th, 2010Several years back my college skating club tried its best to spread its skating knowledge on the internet, only to be halted by our server dying. The webmasters had no backups of our site, and everything was lost. I’ll try to get that info back up onto this site, possibly with more experience! That’s what happens as years go by, right? Let’s start with ordering your skate size.
A lot of local stores have an extremely limited selection of skates when you don’t live in a big city. The internet has a variety of reputable skate stores to choose from, and even Amazon and Ebay has a shit-ton of skates to offer. Brands of skates, just as in shoes, pants, and other clothing, tend to have different fits. Today will provide some insight in particular brands.
I’m sticking to recreational skates as I have had the most experience with them. These are the skates that people tend to generically think of when the words “rollerblades” and “inline” pop up in conversation. These skates are made for casual skating, street travel, and exercising. “Fitness” is another named associated with them, and some versions focus on the drag of lower level bearings to get more of a workout. I will not be delving into fitness skates for that use per se, but they are a part of the culture.
Before getting into each brand, you should know the parts of the skate that your feet will contact.
Parts of the skate
Most recreational skates today are made with an inner, cushioned boot and a hard shell that connects to the frames. Parts of the cushion are attached to the shell while others are free to give as you move. Beginners’ and cheaper skates tend to have the hard shell all over the skate to provide a more stable environment for untrained ankles and feet. The stiffness the plastic provides teaches the skater’s muscles how to stay in position while moving, strengthening the necessary parts, eventually leading to safer ankles. Without the support, those who are less sport-inclined are more liable to end up with a sprained or broken ankle.
The frames are the track the wheels and brakes are connected to on the bottom of the boot. They range in length based upon how big of a wheel will be used. Bigger wheels = longer frames.
The clasp on the ankle can be at different levels depending on the specific designated use of the skate as well as what is in style. The Velcro strap over the instep of the foot helps tighten the skate after being laced up by zipcord or shoelace.
How a skate fits
A skate needs to fit similar to a running shoe. The soft boot needs to be small enough to keep your foot secure during strides but leaves enough space to not create weird pressure points on your arch, toes, heels, or instep. The clasps on the ankle part need to be snug. How snug depends upon the location of the clasp in relation to your ankle as well as how thick the cushioning of the inner boot is. The higher up the clasps are on the leg, the less snug they should be. If your clasps are clicked too tightly, you will get excruciating shin splints and your feet may start hurting along with your shins while skating. The shin splints take a few days to recover from. I suggest avoiding them because they hurt like hell.
Da Brands
Today we’re going over the three big brands for recreational skates: K2, Salomon, and Rollerblade. Sizing in relation to shoes will be based on running shoes like Adidas and Asics.
K2
This brand gets first dibs as it was my first pair of legit skates. K2s are true to shoe sizing. I have wider feet than the average female, and their mens skates fit my feet well. I tend to gravitate towards mens athletic shoes to avoid the width issue, and it serves me well with this brand. I have been told by those with womens skates that they also fit true to size. The softboot is thick and fits like a hiking boot. The ankle clasps usually require a tighter click at their lower height. Their skates are built well, but parts like the velcro strap and the laces break down with heavy use. My laces and straps broke after a year or two of constant use. The laces are easily replaceable… the strap is a bit harder.
Salomon
This Danish brand pretty much stopped its production in the United States in 2005-2007, and according to their website, they no longer make skates 
I’ll look into it. If you have the option of trying them, I suggest you do. The skate is fairly light overall, very breathable, and built with care. The Salomons I own are a womens sizing, and I find the skate half a size larger than true shoe size. I wear a 9.5 US Womens, so I ordered its Mondopoint conversion (26.5 cm), and the boot is a little loose all over. The boot is wider than average, too wide for my own foot, and I have a bit of space at the toe, leading me to rate this brand at a half size larger than printed. So, for you, buy a half size smaller than your actual shoe size and you should be fine.
Rollerblade
Having not owned a pair of my own, I’ve gone by what my Rollerblade-owning friends have told me. Their skates tend to be much larger than standard shoe sizes, up to one and half sizes larger. I’m not sure how wider feet fair in their boots. I’ve never heard complaints about how their skates fit. Order at least one size smaller than your shoe size.
Anyone have anything else to add? Any other brands you fancy or have experience wearing?
