10 Best Roller Derby Skates: Beginner To Advanced Quad Skates

Are you on the lookout for a pair of roller derby skates cut out for your personal needs? However, things seem hard enough, and oftentimes, you might find yourself in desperate straits against the bombardment of hundred skate brands accessible these days.

Our collection of top 10 skates for roller derby, therefore, will come to your aid and help you to pick out the most suitable pair of skates for your own needs. Now, let’s get involved and quickly delve into this review, shall we?

Best Roller Derby Skates – Quick Comparision

Product Image	Product Name	Skill Level	Bearings	Ratings	Latest Price
	Riedell Skates R3	Intermediate / Advanced	ABEC 5	4.5/5	Check Price
	Moxi Beach Bunny	Beginners / Intermediate	ABEC 5	4.6/5	Check Price
	Riedell Dart Ombré	Beginners / Intermediate	ABEC 5	4.7/5	Check Price
	Sure-Grip Rebel	Intermediate / Advanced	ABEC 7	4.6/5	Check Price
	Candi Carlin	Beginners / Intermediate	ABEC 5	4.5/5	Check Price
	Epic Skates Evolution	Beginners / Intermediate	ABEC 7	4.6/5	Check Price
	Sure-Grip Rock GT-50	Beginners / Intermediate	ABEC 5	4.5/5	Check Price
	Pacer GTX-500	Beginners / Intermediate	ABEC 3	4.3/5	Check Price
	VNLA Skates	Intermediate / Advanced	ABEC 9	4.6/5	Check Price
	Candi Sabina	Beginners / Intermediate	ABEC 5	4.6/5	Check Price

Reviews of The 10 Best Skates for Roller Derby

1. Riedell Skates R3 – Best For Wide Feet

Choosing a pair of roller derby skates can land you in quite a predicament should your feet be uncommonly wide, for the available size options are usually quite limited. If it is your problem, then the Riedell Skates – R3 will be the closest thing you can get as a lifesaver for your feet.

To make it clearer for you, for this R3 model, Riedell provides the users with roller skates of distinctively large widths (about 5-8 cm) that can fit large feet and high arches like a glove.

What is more,  they also make sure to include an easy lace system, a padded tongue, and a Velcro cinch strap in the finishing design for effortless adjustment and maximum comfort of your feet.

Nevertheless, due to the vinyl material, it might be quite challenging for your feet to get used to the feeling of the skate at first. But once they get familiar with the boot’s shape, the initial heaviness and odd sensation will be replaced by the ultimate comfort when you skate.

2. Moxi Beach Bunny High Top Skates – Best Plates

The Moxi Beach Bunny skate can make the most fastidious purchasers whole-heartedly content with its unique and efficient plate design.

For anyone who doesn’t know, the plate, which is attached to the boot and responsible for the wheels and bearings’ fixations, is a must-have part of the skate. A high-quality plate will optimize the performance and increase the boot’s response to the skaters’ movement.

Not surprisingly, the roller skate from Moxi is a knockout in terms of plate quality. Specifically, it is constructed of high-impact Marvel die-cast aluminum that comes with strong metal trucks for the best skating experiences.

To add to the effects, this skate is also built with a micro kingpin that is extremely adjustable. As opposed to the standard kingpin nut, the micro type like this is exceedingly effective if you ever find the need to customize the pressure on the skate’s cushions.

The only weak point of this product is related to the plate’s weight. Cast aluminum is probably the heaviest variety in the range of available aluminum alloys. However, it still provides way better power transfer and performance than the nylon ones.

3. Riedell Skates Dart Ombré – Best For Indoor Use

If you are on a lookout for some top-performing skates to serve indoor purposes, you should definitely try the Riedell Dart Ombré. Its outstanding features, which are specifically designed for indoor use, have gotten the better of most indoor skates in the market these days.

Typically, the indoor roller derby playground has some distinctive traits, and what takes the cake are the certain smoothness level of the surface and the nearly friction-free texture. Therefore, the skate’s wheels would be able to offer enough rigidity to glide across the floor.

All things considered, it comes as no surprise why the Dart Ombré is so well-loved by indoor users. It is equipped with a tough 62 mm – 93A hardness polyurethane wheels that promise the smoothest ride possible.

On top of that, the wheels of this skate can be easily customized and removed. Therefore, if you are in the mood for an outdoor play, just detach the indoor wheels, replace them with the outdoor ones, and then head straight out for some fun!

On the downside, this skate is hardly a fitting choice for beginners due to the rigidity of the wheels. You might want to ease into the game with a safer option.

4. Sure-Grip Rebel Roller Skates – Best Bearings

When the topic of skate’s bearing enters the conversation, you know there will definitely be a mention of the Sure-Grip Rebel Roller Skates, for it is one of the most competent products in terms of bearing’s quality.

As we all know, in spite of its moderate measurements, the bearings on your roller derby skates play an essential role in controlling the wheel motions and preventing unwanted metal impacts inside the wheels.

So, to complement the speed and technique of your skating, Sure-Grip has outdone most contenders in the game by featuring their skates with a set of top-grade ABEC-7 bearings. This rating, along with ABEC-9, is the best that you can get for the smoothest wheel spin and turning.

In addition to that, this skate’s bearings are made from ceramic material, which makes the bearings remarkably lighter than mill steel bearings.

However, the Sure-Grip roller skates might put many people, especially the budget-oriented purchasers, on the horns of a dilemma when it comes to buying the product. It is mainly because its price is probably the highest compared to the other items on the list.

5. Roller Derby Candi Carlin High Top Skates – Best For Outdoor Use

With its outstandingly well-constructed wheels specifically designed for outdoor use, the Candi Carlin roller derby skates are fully qualified to put all the other skates of the same category in the shade.

Allow us to go into more detail. In contrast to the rigid texture of indoor wheels, the malleable 66mm x 38mm polyurethane wheels of this product gives you full control and maneuverability over the rough terrain.

Alongside the more rubbery texture, the wheel size is another key difference between the outdoor and indoor wheels. The outdoor wheels are much larger to stabilize the skater’s movements against unexpected obstacles such as dirt, pebbles.

Additionally, you can replace the outdoor wheels with indoor ones if you feel like it, for this product’s wheels are fully customizable.

The only worth-mentioning issue with the Candi Carlin skate is none but its material. It is made of brushed suede uppers with soft suede lining. Even though the suede lining adds a lot to the fashion sense, the boots can get dirty very quickly, and it takes more time to clean up the stains thoroughly.

6. Epic Skates Evolution Quad Roller Skates – Best For Complicated Movements

Suppose you are in the market for something that can handle more complicated, freestyle movements in roller derby. In that case, we cannot recommend highly enough that you try out the jam skate from Epik Skates, for this particular one has been acknowledged by many skaters for its undefeated feet support when doing fancy footwork.

To elaborate more on the product, firstly, let’s talk about its overall design. This buddy is well built with a low-cut shape around the ankle, in companion with an ABEC 7 bearings to provide a limitless range of complex movements without trouble.

Over and above that, this skate also has an epic aircraft-grade, aluminum, and double action plate. Different from the single action type, which only has one cushion on top of the truck, the double-action one offers one more extra cushion located below the truck.

Particularly, the extra lower cushions play an important part in stabilizing the tricky movements and reducing the boots’ unwanted sensitivity to sudden motions. Also, safety accessories such as ankle padding, toe stops are fully installed for ultimate safety when skating.

However, the leather laces of this product might put some people off, for it might take more time than the linen one to be firmly tied.

7. Sure-Grip Rock GT-50 Roller Skates – Best For Beginners

The roller skate from the brand called Sure-Grip is, without a single doubt, an ultimate choice for novice skaters who just have recently kicked off their fresh skating journey.

With regard to the plate material, the nylon one is downright the most appropriate option among the other varieties such as aluminum, fiberglass, or magnesium. Thanks to the ultra lightweights of nylon, this plate makes the first steps on the skate utterly effortless and enjoyable.

That, along with ABEC-5 bearings and Carrera speed toe stop, provides the inexperienced with sufficient speeds and smoothness between movement transitions. You can quickly learn how to turn, rotate, and spin without non-stop tumbling over.

It should also be mentioned that this product features a high-quality set of jump bars in the design. This part is typically mounted under the cushions or kingpin heads. Unlike what its name suggests, it has less to do with jumping and more to do with improving the stability for a safer turning and spinning.

One drawback of this product that should be pointed out is its limitation in terms of performance abilities, for the impact level that the nylon plate can endure is lower than other materials. Also, skaters that are over 200 pounds are not recommended for this specific skate.

8. Pacer GTX-500 Quad Derby Skates – Best Budget

When the matter of product value is brought on the table, the GTX-500 Roller Skates from Pacer is clearly in the fit state to overshadow all of the other skates on our list today.

Indeed, saying that this skate provides the users with the best value is not an overstatement at all. Indeed, it has the power packs of essential features and reliable quality that you can get your hand on at a surprisingly low price.

To be more specific, you can get a pair of synthetic leather boots with Velcro strap, lightweight yet durable nylon plates for extended durability and maintenance reduction for half the price of most skates.

In addition to that, the G-Force 608ZB ABEC-3 sealed bearings, together with the adjustable trucks, fixed toe-stops, and extra cushions, are absolutely ideal for intermediate and beginner skaters.

On the negative side, similar to other roller skates whose low rating ABEC and nylon-based plates, the Pacer GTX-500 is fairly incompetent when performing sophisticated and tricky movements at a more professional level.

9. VNLA Jam Skates

Jamming is one of the skating techniques that requires a lot of skaters’ experience as well as the durability of the skates in strong-impacted circumstances. Poor-quality jam skates will not only ruin the performance but can also cause consequential foot injuries.

When it comes to preventing unforeseen injuries and putting up with external shocks and impacts, the VNLA Jam Skate has all the necessary features to be considered as a must-have jamming skate.

In terms of accessories, this skate is well equipped with top-grade low profile toe stops. This part plays a significant role in determining the accuracy of braking and accelerating actions. With this pair of toe stops, you will gain full control over every movement you make on the playground.

To take things to the next level, the VNLA Jam Skate also features an upgraded aluminum truck, durable leather exterior, and extra padded cushions for safety purposes.  The main reason for that is because roller derby can lead to high-risk accidents if no protection is included.

However, to maximize safety when using this jamming skate, you are required to purchase additional accessories such as wrist guards, mouth guards, and helmet separately.

10. Roller Derby Candi Sabina High Top Skates – Best For Fashion

With the variety of wheel color options, stylish and trendy lace designs that the brand Candi Sabina offers, this roller derby skater can give pleasure to those with the fanciest fashion senses.

Indeed, to satisfy the aesthetic needs for a wide range of buyers’ individual styles, this brand has come up with the most creative and eye-catching roller skate lineup among this list. The available colors include full black, black boots-blue wheels, mint boots-purple wheels, pink boots-blue wheels, and while boots-pink wheels.

Besides the aesthetic aspect, Candi Sabina still gives serious thoughts about the performance abilities of the skates. Particularly, they are constructed of synthetic uppers and reinforced heels and toes for durability. There are also extra paddings and linings added in for ultimate comfort.

The only negative aspect of this product is related to the wheel’s size. It is about 56mm x 33mm in measurements and non-adjustable so it can only be used for outdoor skating.

Things To Consider When Buying Roller Derby Skates

1. Wheels

The hardness of the wheels depends largely on the floor types and users’ weight. A wheel hardness of 88A-92A is perfect for a smooth indoor floor and of 93A-99A for a rougher surface.

Besides that, the heavier your weight, the harder the wheels should be, and vice versa.

2. Bearings

The bearing is essential to the movement control of the wheels. It is measured by the rating of ABECs. Normally, the higher the rating, the better performance the wheels will have, so it would be best if you looked at these numbers carefully.

However, low ABEC bearings are not completely bad, for it is a better choice if you are a beginner. Conversely, high ABEC bearings are not completely superior (ABEC 7 bearings sometimes are better than ABEC 8 bearings), for the quality is determined by a lot of other factors.

3. Plates

The plates are usually made from either nylon and aluminum. The aluminum plates can perform a wider range of techniques and are more durable than the nylon plates.

Nevertheless, if you are new to skating, the nylon plates might be a better option, for it is more lightweight and affordable for a short-term try-outs.

4. Cushion

There are two types of cushion: cone and barrel. Typically, every roller derby skate will be originally built with two-barrel cushions on top of the truck. You can fill in the two remaining places with both cone or barrel types based on your reference.

FAQ

1. What type of skates are used in roller derby?

There are skates explicitly designed to be used in roller derby, and they share a lot of similarities with regular skates. The only difference between roller derby skates compared to the other types are the focus on protection features.

2. Are roller derby skates good for outside?

Yes, roller derby skates can be used for both outdoor and indoor activities.

However, the skate wheels used inside are larger than those used outside, mainly for the friction reduction on a smoother surface. On the other hand, outdoor skates are smaller in width to better avoid dirt and pebbles on uneven terrain.

3. What is the difference between roller derby skates and regular skates?

Roller derby comes in both low-cut and high-cut shapes just like any regular skates. However, the design of roller derby skates pays more attention to the extra padding and strap for better protection, since it is a relatively dangerous sport.

The Bottom Lines

Our review of the top 10 best roller derby skates has finally drawn to a close. We hope that it has somehow been a gainful read and you have gotten the hang of things to an extent. After finishing the review, it would be best to check out each product based on our recommendation to read up on more product details. You will definitely settle on the one that resonates with your need the most, whether you buy it for yourself or as a gift. Besides, if you are fresh meat, you should learn about setting up a workout plan and how to get started with this sport.

All things considered, we wish you luck, and remember to stay tuned for other future reviews from us!

You might also want to read:

• The 3 Best Helmets You Can Get for Roller Derby
• The 4 Safest Roller Derby Knee Pads to Buy