Which Skates Are Best For You?

Use this buyers guide to see what we recommend (and what most people buy) for each skating discipline...

Best affordable inline skates for general use:

You can usually whittle it down to 4 models here. We've picked these based on the best performance > price ratio. Listed in no particular order, each one has it's strong points...

FR Skates FRX 80 - £160 / $195 / €185 at the time of writing

The FRX80 skates offer great spec for the price. Their main selling point tends to be their good looks, solid build and very thick and comfortable liner. The skates benefit from Aluminium frames (the part that holds the wheels) which have the ability to rocker the wheels (shift them a couple of mm up/down) allowing you to experiment with different rockering-positions later down the line. If you are willing to spend a bit more for an improved spec then have a look at the FR1, FR2, FR3 and FR1 Deluxe models. The FRX80 is the sweet spot though. Fits half a size small, so but 0.5-1 size bigger than you usually take.

Powerslide Zoom 80 - £130 / $145 / €150 at the time of writing

The main selling point of the Zoom is the way the frames (the part that holds the wheels) are attached to the boot. Because the frames are riveted at 12 points it means there is no protruding 'mount point' on the underside of the boot like almost all other skates. This means the skate rides lower to the ground, giving you lower centre of gravity and improved control. The disadvantage of this is that the frames are not replaceable... but most people don't ever want to switch frames anyway so it's a non-issue for 90% of skaters. The Powerslide Zoom boot is also consistently reported as being comfortable amongst a wide range of users and the boot is lightweight and responsive with a great compact, no thrills feel. Also available in a 3 wheel version and higher-spec 'pro' versions, but the standard Zoom 80 is the best skate for beginners if you are just starting out.

Rollerblade Cruiser - £169.95 / $205 / €195 at the time of writing

A great Jack-of-all-trades. Minimal, lightweight (for it's category) and fits well consistently across varying foot-shapes. The RB Cruiser is available right up to size UK13/US14 so it's probably the best skate in this category for people with for big feet. If you want to use a brake then it comes with one in the box so no faff, plus will save you £10-£20 vs skates that require you to fit an aftermarket brake. The Rollerblade cruiser skate comes in a few versions. The standard one has 4x 80mm wheels per boot and there is usually a unisex version and a version with splashes of more traditionally feminine colours. There's usually a version available with 3x 110mm wheels for more distance-focused skating, but this is usually released under the name 'RB 110' (rather than taking the 'Cruiser' moniker)

Flying Eagle X7F Reaver Skates - £179.95 / $215 / €205 at the time of writing

Flying Eagle are very good at producing extremely good value skates. The build quality-to-price ratio is unmatched by any other brand, particularly applicable to the X7 range which have a discernible 'thud' quality only really matched by the FR FRX skates in this price category. As always, the 80mm wheeled version of the skate is the cheapest and it comes in two colours (at the time of writing), with one aimed at men and one aimed at women (although, it's just colours so skate what you like best!). There's also a 90mm wheel which is only slightly more expensive and definitely worth a look at if you want to hold your speed a bit better... and then there's a 3x110 wheel version for long distance / straight-line disciplines. 

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Premium General-Use Inline Skates...

Same as above, but the more premium, higher priced versions. We've categorised these as 'General-Use', so the sort of thing you can use to get from A to B, city-skating, parks, seafronts, freestyle etc...

FR Skates FR1 Deluxe -  £379.95 / $455 / €435 at the time of writing

The FR hardboot is always going to be an easy, solid choice, but this particular version brings the skate to a new level with the addition of the Intuition liner. Not just because the liner is almost universally regarded as best-in-class, but most notably because the density of the foam allows the liner to be thinner, creating more room in the skate. This allows FR to make use a smaller, lighter, more compact shell relative to your foot size.

Rollerblade Twister XT - £299.95 / $360 / €345 at the time of writing

The build quality on this skate is unmatched, you can feel the solidity just by holding them in your hands. They are a great shock absorbing skate for bumpy roads due to the quality of materials and gorilla-like construction. Often fitted with their very on Hydrogen wheels which is a real showpeice for rollerblade due to their reputation as some of the most premium wheels available (and wheels REALLY matter). Depending ion the year there can be various versions of the skate mainly with 4x80mm wheels and 3x 110mm wheels and with a couple of colour variants.

Powerslide Next Skates - £220 / $265 / €250 at the time of writing

The Powerslide Next range of skates is a solid supportive hardboot with a fantastic unique selling point: Trinity Mount. The Trinity Mount system allows the skate to ride lower to the ground, improving control. They achieved this by using three bolts to fix the frame to the boot instead of the traditional two, allowing the 2nd wheel to be more efficiently placed and thus lowering the entire ride-height of the skate. There's usually many versions of the Powerslide Next skate on sale at any one time, but the popular sweet-spot seems to be the Next Core 80 for it's reasonable price point and wide availability.

Flying Eagle X5 Spectre - £199.95 / $240 / €230 at the time of writing

It's got the look of a modern skate with it's solid blocked-out Aluminium frame (the blocky-ness also helps to absorb some shock). The translucent shell makes this boot look cool as hell and it's as comfortable as it is quality. The real selling point is the price though. At £200 this spec simply isn't available from any other brand. Comes in a more conspicuous pink variant too :-)

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Best affordable Aggressive Inline Skates...

Aggressive skates are skates made for skateparks, ramps and streets and grinds-tricks. While aggressive skates are very much a matter of preference to each individual skater, we've identified a few models that stand out as being the best value for your money:


USD Aeon Basic Skates - £209.95 / $255 / €240 at the time of writing

The Aeon basic is a firm favourite with skaters who aren't sure where to start. It covers so many bases and at a truly affordable price (by aggressive skate standards). The unibody shell/frame is the perfect out-the-box solution for skaters who want to skate all 4 wheels flat to the ground while retaining a forgiving grinding space between the middle wheels.

USD Sway Team Skates - From £179.95 / $220 / €205 at the time of writing

Another offering from USD, the Sway skate differs from the Aeon in that it has replaceable frames. Good for if you wear them out, of course, but will also allow you to experiment with different aftermarket frame choices and afford you more options for wheel set-ups. The USD Sway is pleasing to the eye and amicable to the wallet. They are available in a number of versions at any one point in time but you can find versions for as low as £180 / $220 at the time this was written, which, for this sort of quality and performance is worth your consideration.


Roces M12 UFS - From £130 / $160 / €150 at the time of writing

This is our best selling aggressive skate of all time. This low priced version, the 'M12 UFS Black' is particularly popular due to the fact that it's a ludicrously cheap skate, but preserves the same basic form and functionality of some of it's more expensive sisters in the Roces range. Speaking of which, if you do want something with a bit more Zhuzh for a bit more dosh, then Roces seems to be constantly releasing higher-end models in alternative hues.  However, this all-black slam-dunk of a model does absolutely everything you need it to. Heads-up, it fits about one size too small and not always suited to skaters with wide feet.

 
Razors Cult Skates - £174.95 / $210 / €200 at the time of writing



Razors' Skates oldest offering and still their most popular. The Cult silhouette is a classic one. It's slebder features (for an aggressive skate!) give it a close, controlled feeling. It manages to be nible while also being one of the most solid feeling aggressive skates on the market, listen out for the reassuring thud when landing.

....Thanks for your patience, we are currently working on this content... 22/02/2024

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Category 4: Quad Roller Skates...

Thanks for your patience, we are currently working on this content... 22/02/2024