“If the good Lord had intended us to walk, he wouldn’t have invented roller skates.” said Willy Wonka, the famous owner of a chocolate factory. I don’t know about that, but I do know that lots of children love roller skating.
Roller skating can be one of those things that your kids will either love or hate or they love the idea of skating and whizzing around on wheeled feet but lose interest when they fall over a few times and realise that is takes a bit of practice to be like their favourite YouTubers. Coming up to Christmas, you may find that roller skates have made it on to their Christmas lists.
In our house, the girls like to skate. They enjoy going indoor roller skating, so we decided to try out a pair of roller skates, suitable for beginner skaters. Skates.co.uk kindly sent us a pair of SFR Vision II Roller Skates for the youngest to try out.
The SFR Vision II Roller Skates are a mid-price, good value pair of quad roller skates (4 wheels on each boot). They come in different colour options, in sizes up to a UK 6, and are suitable for all genders. They are perfect for the first time skater, not too expensive and look good.
They are a padded boot with a Velcro ankle strap for added support and have colour co-ordinated laces and a great sheen finish. Features high grip and quality PU (Polyurethane) skate wheels for maximum responsiveness when skating.
- Semi-soft vinyl quad skate
- High-top upper design
- Aluminium axles
- 52x 30mm 82A PU injected wheels
- 608Z bearings
- PU stopper
When ordering, the Skates website states that they would suggest you purchase 2 sizes up from your normal shoe size as these skates do come up quite small. We think that this is quite accurate as the sizing does seem to be smaller than normal.
When our skates arrived, they looked fantastic, and our young tester couldn’t wait to get them on – she absolutely loved the white, blue and pink colouring. The boot itself is white with blue wheels, blue stopper and blue ankle strap. They feature a graffiti-style SFR image on the heel in blue and pink and is completed with a pink inner lining and pink and blue laces. Apart from looking very stylish with their child-friendly colouring, they feel soft outside and very soft inside, our tester said that they felt comfortable and gave good support.
The fit is small, so you really do need to take the advice of Skates and order bigger sizing.
Trying them indoors first (at roller disco), they skate quite smoothly and comfortably, easily rolling over the flat and smooth surface. Trying them outdoors wasn’t as smooth (pavement), they did feel every bump and dip in the surface. It might be worth investing in outdoor wheels depending on where most skating will be done.
Overall, our young skater loves the SFR Vision II Quad Roller Skates. She says they look cool, and she loves the colours. She also says that they look very stylish, and they fit well (in the bigger size) feeling very comfortable when skating on a smooth surface. They feel very sturdy and have good ankle support. She has spent a lot of time skating around and they really do suit being an indoor skate. They are okay outdoors but depending on the surface, can be quite bumpy.
It’s clear to say that out young skater loves the skates, especially as she can now take her own skates to roller disco with her (she never really liked wearing borrowed skates that other people had worn), which is great as skating is a fantastic aerobic exercise and gets children exercising without them even knowing it. They also help to build up important muscle groups (tones and strengthens) whilst helping to develop balance and coordination.
We think that they would make a great Christmas gift this year (just remember to size up). They feel solid, durable and good quality. They are perfect for indoor skating or on smooth surfaces and are comfortable to wear. They do look very good, very stylish and are an excellent way for children to get plenty of exercise whilst having hours of good clean fun.
And don’t forget to purchase safety equipment, helmet and pads, to keep skaters safe.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £37.95
For more information or to buy, visit www.skates.co.uk.
