Author Topic: Off Ice Skates  (Read 956 times)

Aisling

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Off Ice Skates
« on: February 18, 2024, 05:04:47 pm »
Hi,

I am 19y/o female and have been figure skating for a year.

I currently skate in edea overtures which I have had since I began skating and although they are not terribly broken down my coach recommends I get new skates soon as I have my axel.

I am moving later this year and so skating on ice will become much more difficult for me and so I was considering getting some off-ice skates so I can continue to practice regularly - I was considering using my current overtures for off-ice when I get new skates but was wondering if anyone had any advice on buying inline skates and off ice blades and which ones are best to mimic spins, jumps and turns on ice.

Thanks!!

transmissionoftheflame

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Re: Off Ice Skates
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2024, 10:07:33 am »
Your plan sounds reasonable though you may want to consider getting exactly the same boot for on and off ice to minimise differences, though of course wheels and a blade on ice do feel and behave differently.  I've heard the wheels wear very quickly outdoors but there's probably not much you can do about that.  I used them once indoors on wood and they were fine - pretty similar to ice.  Outdoors can be different though - imperfect surfaces, wind, slopes, obstacles, twigs, dirt, moisture.  It adds to the challenge and you feel like a million dollars when you get back inside on wood or ice.  I'm afraid I don't know much about the difference between the main brands (PIC, Snow whites and Off-ice) - I know people who have used all of them and no-one complained.

WednesdayMarch

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Re: Off Ice Skates
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2024, 05:27:51 pm »
I've used both Off-Ice and Roll Line Lineas and of the two, the Lineas are by far the best in quality and value. If you go with Off-Ice, then you have to use their own brand of wheels and toe stops and the toe stops wear out very quickly if you're spinning. Roll Line work with many different brands, sizes and hardness/materials when it comes to wheels, and have two different sized toe stops to cater for different skating styles. This makes them much more flexible for use on different surfaces and for different preferences. You can also adjust the rocker on them to your personal preference, which is fabulous.

The main difference, however, for most people is that Off-Ice have 4 small wheels and Linea have 3 larger ones. The Lineas are far faster for far less effort! But - and this can be a big but for some - the Lineas are considerably shorter at the back, whereas the Off-Ice have pretty much a whole wheel sticking out behind the heel of the boot. As an ice dancer, I much prefer the Lineas for this reason and felt that the Off-Ice were clunky. Your mileage may vary. I suspect that Off-Ice are much easier to get used to for the average/lower level skater but I was very happy when I swapped to Lineas as the speed, manoeuvrability and lack of "heel" suited me much better.

There are several Facebook groups which are great fountains of knowledge on the subject of artistic inline skating, including one called Pic That Skate.

And as transmissionoftheflame has pointed out, surface is everything.
Returned to the ice in Sept 2017 after a major leg injury in 1999. Skating in Jackson Elite Pro & MK Vision Syncro. Still scary after all these years.

transmissionoftheflame

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Re: Off Ice Skates
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2024, 05:52:50 pm »
I think that's an Italian brand and artistic wheels is a big thing there so probably they are pretty decent.

WednesdayMarch

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Re: Off Ice Skates
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2024, 06:18:13 pm »
I think that's an Italian brand and artistic wheels is a big thing there so probably they are pretty decent.

Roll Line are pretty much the Rolls Royce of the roller world, I believe. Honestly, the build quality is superb. Off-Ice, er, not so much...
Returned to the ice in Sept 2017 after a major leg injury in 1999. Skating in Jackson Elite Pro & MK Vision Syncro. Still scary after all these years.



 

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