Different from regular roller rink skates, inline skates have wheels that form a straight line instead of the standard two wheels in the front and two wheels in the back.
Inline skates have remained popular for many years, even more than typical roller skates have, because of their performance and durability on streets and sidewalks.
They are also great to use for street hockey, as part of an exercise routine, and as a means of transportation if you don’t have to go very far.
Here are a few tips on what to look for in the best inline skates and a few reviews to help you start shopping.
Best Inline Skates of 2021
| Product | Type | Wheel Size, mm | Wheel Hardness | Bearings | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rollerblade Twister 80 (Editor's Choice) |  | Urban | 80 | 85A ***** | SG7 **** | Check Price |
| Bauer X500R |  | Hockey | 80 | 74A ** | ABEC7 **** | Check Price |
| Rollerblade Zetrablade |  | Adult Fitness | 80 | 82A **** | SG5 *** | Check Price |
| K2 Skate Raider |  | Kids Fitness | 70 | 80A *** | ABEC3 *** | Check Price |
| Rollerblade Swindler |  | Aggressive | 60 | 90A ***** | SG5 *** | Check Price |
1. Rollerblade Twister 80 – Best Urban Skates For Streets
Constructed to be fast and maneuverable, the Rollerblade Twister 80 Urban Inline Skates allow you to move easily in between obstacles in a park or on the street.
These are ideal skates for those living in a concrete jungle with their comfortable fit and Vented Shell design that helps keep your feet cool, plus they have a removable lateral slider for additional comfort.
The Specialized 5 Star Fit Liner conforms to your feet and acts as a shock absorber with a specialized footbed that gives you the performance capability to slide in between pedestrians on the sidewalk.
The Twister 80 is the reason why an urban skate category was created. The Hot Rod Alu Frame perfectly transfers energy into each of your strides, allowing you to maximize your mobility and speed.
This is a tough, fast, and comfortable pair of inline skates that features cuff locking buckles and also comes with extra laces.
- Have a lot of adjustabilities
- Really smooth to use, can use them in the street
- You won’t have an issue with bump or cracks in the pavement
- Too narrow for some users
- Can’t adjust them to make the toe area wider
2. Bauer X500R – Best Inline Hockey Skates For Men
With high-end features, the Bauer X500R Skate is an affordable choice that is constructed with the typical TechNylon material.
Featuring updated X-Ribs, the X500R uses a one-piece Hi-Lo frame made of aluminum and Abec 7 bearings. This setup is a popular option for hockey players due to its agility and quickness while also providing the user with an aggressive stance.
The X500R’s updated X-Ribs are inspired by Bauer’s previous OD1N project. Players are given more power with each stride from the Vapor-specific technology that gives you better stability and support.
It also features a white felt tongue that comes in two 40 ounces pieces that shows off its high-density metatarsal guard to better protect a player from an impact on top of their foot and lace bites.
- Great quality and value
- Good fit, won’t hurt your feet
- Fit like a glove
- None
3. Rollerblade Zetrablade – Best Women’s Inline Skates For Fitness
Long the market benchmark for beginner skates, the Zetrablade W features unparalleled comfort and support in its price range. The Zetrablade W takes out the confusion and intimidation when buying your first pair of inline skates by helping to make learning to use them comfortable and easy.
Featuring a wheel and bearing combination that is perfect for those learning how to control their speeds and response, the Zetrablade W allows you to easily upgrade the wheels to make your skates faster.
The Zetrablade W also features a secure closure system that locks the ankles and heels for a snug fit and a frame that has been integrated into the shell, making it as low as possible, lowering the center of gravity benefiting beginner users.
Supportive and comfortable, this is a great skate choice for those on a budget, plus the supportive and stiff shell gives you durability and quality and makes it easier to learn to skate.
You will also find a comfortable liner that will give you great performance with the Zetrrablade W’s training liner that guarantees comfort for any level skater.
The strong monocoque frame is one of the best to use for learning, giving you great control and balance, which are crucial for beginners learning to skate.
The 80mm/82A wheels mix control and speed perfectly for those that prefer not to go too fast and keep just a moderate skate pace, plus the SG5 bearings give you an easy and smooth ride.
- Smooth ride, great color
- Great fit, very comfortable
- They are definitely true to size
- Wheels don’t roll smoothly
- A little on the tight side for some users
4. K2 Skate Raider – Best Inline Skates For Kids
Perfect for any young rider, the K2 Raider Kids Inline Skates will help them shine at the sport of skating for more than just one year.
With an adjustable feature, you can move these skates up 5 sizes with your child as they grow. These are skates that your child can use for several years, and they can then be handed down to their siblings.
The K2 Original Soft Boot is combined with the K2’s Speed Lacing System to produce the best fit and their versatile adjustability guarantees that they will be worn more than one season.
Plus, with the Stability Plus Cuff, your child will have a lot of support, and the Traditional Lacing system will keep them securely locked in and ready to roll.
Constructed with the F.B.I. Frame, the K2 Skate Raider, will absorb vibrations from the road and make it easy for kids to get accustomed to skating.
With its adjustability, performance, and comfort, the K2 Raider is a good choice for any parent looking for a safe pair of inline skates for their child.
- Well-made, great for beginners
- Good quality, very solid
- Adjustable and will grow with your child
- The strap doesn’t serve a purpose besides holding the laces down
- Sizing is off
5. Rollerblade Swindler – Best Aggressive Inline Skates For Outdoors
A great inline skate for beginners or experienced skaters, the Rollerblade Swindler Skates is perfect for grinding and features a molded shell support that will keep your ankles and feet in place.
Similar to the comfort of wearing normal shoes, the Swindler Skate is fast and easy to lace up, so you’ll be hitting the sidewalk in no time. This is the ideal intermediate skate for those that are looking to improve their skills.
With the durable and hardcore shell, the Swindler can take any abuse you can dish out to it, giving you the legendary Rollerblade quality at a great value.
With a super-strong TRS frame, 2 x 60 mm/90A wheels that are anti-rocker, the Swindler also includes the fast SG5 bearings for a smooth ride. You will enjoy a new skating experience with this super plush park and street inline skate at an awesome price.
- Great skates for beginners
- Smooth ride, nice not having brakes on them
- Size runs true to size
- Too heavy for some users
- Not very comfortable
Buyer’s Guide
Inline skates are more than aesthetically different when it comes to men’s, women’s, girl’s, and boy’s skates. They are specifically designed for the shape of the foot of a man, woman, boy, or girl. A woman will have a narrower fit when it comes to an inline skate as well as a lower height on the cuff.
Men generally have wider feet and a higher calf muscle, so they will need a cuff height that is higher to fit them better. Inline skates also follow the same sizes that go along with standard shoe sizes for each gender.
What an excellent inline skate should have:
Comfortable Boots
The boot of the inline skate should fit your ankle and foot snugly, but still allow your ankle to flex forward for balance.
If you are a beginner, look for a more supportive ankle cuff that is higher while an advanced skater should look for a flexible and lower ankle cuff allowing them to make aggressive movements.
Ventilated Boots
Boots that are ventilated will have ventilation channels that allow your feet to stay comfortable and cool on a hot day or a hard workout.
High-quality Bearings
To check the quality of the bearings on your skates, look at the skate’s ILQ or ABEC number. This number will tell you how fast the skates will run and how precisely the bearings were engineered.
If you are interested in speed skates, look for ABEC numbers that are either 7 or 9 bearings.
Otherwise, this number is not that important if you are only interested in fitness or recreation skating.
Appropriate Wheels
The type of wheels you want depends on the type of skating you do. To go faster, buy skates with larger wheels and for maneuverability, buy skates with small wheels.
Aggressive skates will have smaller wheels with fitness skates with mid-sized wheels and speed skates with wheels that are 100 or 110mm.
Control
When you are using wheels of 100mm or larger, you will be wearing skates that are considered recreational, but they may be too fast for a beginner to control.
Skates with longer wheelbases make skates feel more stable and make it easier to go faster while short wheelbases are more maneuverable.
Secure Closures
Skates with closures that come loose are potentially dangerous. Make sure the skates you purchase feel secure once fastened and use a lace, ratchet buckle, or snap-down buckle as a closure.
Skate Type
There are a couple of forms of inline skating which have created a few different styles of inline skates. Here are the four main types of inline skates:
- Fitness – For a more experienced skater, fitness inline skates are for those users looking to get more from their skates. You will find a wide range in this skate style, and they tend to be faster and for a greater distance than recreational skates.
- Recreation – Great for beginners to intermediate skaters, the recreation style skate is one of the more popular inline skate styles. These are generally more comfortable, fit well, and are a good stepping stone up to a fitness skate.
- Race – With a very stiff boot design, race-style inline skates will give you high performance. These aren’t the most comfortable skates though and just for those really interested in racing.
- Urban – The newest inline skate style is the urban style inline skates that feature a boot design similar to that of an aggressive skate. With a short and nimble frame, these skates are great for city streets and zipping around crowds.
Skill Range
Inline skates are designed for several skill ranges, including advanced, advanced intermediate, and intermediate similar to other types of athletic equipment.
Beginner skates with plastic frames start out the inline skate skill range with low-grade bearings and small wheels. As the skill range increases, skates will have better components like bearing, frames, boots, and wheels.
It is important to match your skate with your ability level or buy a pair that is just slightly above so you can grow into it.
Liners
Another important part of a skate is the liner. Having an ill-fitting liner means you will have an ill-fitting skate. Here are the four most common types of inline skate liners:
- Standard – Made of foam materials, standard liners give you basic padding and comfort for your feet. You won’t have any customizable or special features with this liner, but they are great for beginners to upgrade their skates once more experienced.
- Auto-Fit – Usually using pads with gels, auto-fit liners will automatically contour to your feet every time you wear them. Auto-fit liners give you more support and are typically more comfortable than standard liners.
- Memory Fit – Similar to an auto-fit, a memory fit uses a liner that can contour to and remember your foot pattern.
- Heat Moldable – Heat moldable liners are removed and heated at a skate shop and contoured to your foot. They are then allowed to cool and harden again.
Cuffs
Support is provided to your ankles with the cuff area on your inline skates. Having a high-quality cuff will allow you to produce more power when you are pushing off, plus it will give you support when you are skating for long periods of time.
- High Cuff – High cuffs are made of plastic and are usually found on recreational inline skates. Plastic cuffs are not necessarily a sign of an inferior inline skate as it makes them responsive and durable, plus it gives skaters a feeling of performance and support.
- Low Cuff – Found on race and marathon inline skates, low cuffs are made out of carbon and give more response and support for hardcore skaters.
Closure Systems
These days there are several different lacing systems for inline skates. Skaters usually have a preference and lean towards that type for all of their skates.
- Standard Lacing – This was originally the only type of closure system. It is now often seen with other systems, including Velcro strap and ratchet buckles.
- Ratchet Buckles – Lacing systems were replaced by two- or three-buckle closure system and became the only closure system on inline skates. You will often see ratchet buckles along with a lacing system like Boa, quick lace, and standard lace closure systems.
