Posts Tagged ‘quad skating gear’
A Few of My Favorite Things: Gear In the Headlights
February 10th, 2010
….And don’t be surprised that they include raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens! (My parents met in Glee Club and I came up in the musical theatre community, what can I say?)
Seriously, though – one of the things that make any activity more enjoyable is the right gear. Please note: it does not make you any better at it. But as an FNG (New Girl), it does let me focus on the basics, e.g., staying upright and close to my teammates in the pack – instead of on that nasty blister that’s developing on my heel… in the first half-hour of practice, no less! These aren’t product endorsements or ads or anything like that. These are just some of the little lifesavers I’ve found that work for me. I’d love comments from all you other Roller Girls out there who have found similar salvos to make skating a little bit better.
- Neoprene Ankle Sleeves. I love love love them. Usually used for compression and support, mine are used to keep the skin on the inside instep of my right foot from rubbing clean off. And there’s an added bonus – once we started back to practice for real after the holidays, I noticed I was getting an under-the-dogpads blister on the inside of my right heel. I’m a dancer as well (not THAT kind, naughty reader!), and I’ve got serious calluses. But I was getting a wicked sub-dermal ouchie. These cleared it right up. I read somewhere that some girls use a beer coozy with a hole snipped out for their heel – but they must have smaller ankles than I do, because there’s not a chance my Fred Flintstone feet are fitting into the same diameter as a beer can! Mine are about 2mm thick – enough to be cushy, but not so thick that my skates don’t fit right. I paid about $10 each, and I got them a size larger than you would for actual ankle support. (The Pro-Tec ones run small, FYI.)
- Cushioned Knee/Over-the-Knee Socks. Now that I’m not wearing two pairs of socks to mitigate rubbing (see above), I like my thin-bottomed socks less. I’ve been very lucky to get great clearance finds at Hot Topic; a lot of their socks are, well, awesome, and super-cute, not to mention cushy on the bottom, which is nice when you’re skating hard for 2 hours. I have a real weakness for accessories of all kinds, and I’m not ashamed to say that the fashion element of Derby was a big draw. So: function first, with fashion right on its, um, heels. And while we’re on the subject of over-the-knee socks, I like how they keep my kneepads from chafing my admittedly sissy skin!
- Ah, Marshmallow-y Kneepads. You know the ones. The pair that makes you laugh in the face of double-knee falling drills. Ha! Bring it ON, you say. Mine are the 187 Pros, and they were worth every penny – and the wait. I fear no floor. Well, not for my knees, anyway. The rest of me, maybe a more than a little.
- Skate Tongue Stay-Puts. (OK, I don’t really know what to call them.) You know those little tabs on the tops of sneaker tongues that you thread the laces through? Well, my boots are old, and have no such thing. I would look down at practice and my socks would be staring me right in the face. Huh. That can’t be good. So, since my boots were used and inexpensive – to me, at least, they’re good quality – I took an X-Acto knife and cut slits in the existing tongue so that I could feed the laces through. Seems to be helping some. I’ll keep you posted.
- Used Skates. And while we’re on the subject, I’m so glad that I got my first quad skates at a sports consignment store for $15. Because I didn’t know anything about skates – including what features I would and wouldn’t want them to have, feel like, etc. I’ve just put new wheels on and gotten the cushions replaced, which has been GREAT, but I’m glad I skated on the old beater wheels for a while so I could appreciate what I put on them. Plus, I can always put the new wheels, trucks, and so on onto new boots later if I want. If you’re new, ask other skaters what they like – but be prepared for a wiiiiiiiide variety of opinions on the subject. You’ll never know until you skate in them yourself, and everyone has a different style – and different feet, natch.
Please share your thoughts, tricks and fixes – I’m sure there are very clever ideas that haven’t even reached inkling status with me. (Like I said, I’m new-ish at this.)
Skate Hard,
- Strumpet
