If your child (or you) has been enjoying skating, a good Christmas present could be a pair of skates, pads and a helmet. You can also buy a voucher for a block of skating lessons from us, to get them going on skates or to give them some new exciting skills if they can already skate well. We have a skate guide to help you choose a good pair of skates so they will last well and help you learn new skills easily.
For inline skates (rollerblades) in particular, it is very important to buy skates with soft (PU) wheels, not hard plastic, as hard wheels will skid on solid floors such as the one in the leisure centre. The ones available in most toy shops and a lot of sports shops will be disappointing. Our top recommendation for good quality, low priced inline skates are these children’s ones from Decathlon (also available in blue and red) at £15. Decathlon also sell matching pads and helmets. These are not the top brand, but are perfectly good for recreational skating. If you want some better skates or your feet have stopped growing the skate guide has lots more recommendations.
With quad skates, beginners often like the cheaper hard wheeled skates as they go more slowly and are a bit lighter. These can be bought in any toy or sports shop for around £20. However, a good skater will not be happy with the slow speed, rough ride and lack of traction for fast turns and tricks. We have not found a cheap brand of quads that we can recommend, but there is a good selection at Skate Warehouse that start at £35 with free delivery.
We can advise on skates at any session and are happy for you to try on as many pairs as you like, to see which brand fits best and which size you need (useful if you are ordering online).
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