Riedell RW Wave Roller Skates - Quad Roller Skates for Indoor/Outdoor

Decided to get back into skating after ~30 years since I was a kid and skated all over my neighborhood. Because I plan to skate outdoors over concrete, asphalt, and all their seams, cracks, and debris, I wanted durable skates with metal plates. (Most cheaper skates use plastic plates.) Riedell has a good reputation for quality boots for ice and roller skating, and I was surprised to see the Riedell Wave for $100 with metal plates (at time of this writing), at least it appeared from the photos and info from other sources. Detailed info on these skates was hard to find, so here is my review of what came in the box:Boot and sizing: I'm a woman who wears a a size 7.5-8 in shoes (about a Euro 38), and I purchased the men's black size 7 RW skates. (These gendered color/sizing conventions in the 21st century are stupid. And black goes better with almost anything you wear.) I guess my foot is a bit smaller than I thought (24.0 cm), so I probably could have gone with a men's 6. However, there is a lot of padding in the rather stiff boot, so the width is good, and I have some extra space to add an insole for more cushioning. And yeah, the boot is very stiff -- great ankle support, which as a returning beginner and recreational skater, is exactly what I need. It's synthetic material, so it's not going to soften up like leather would over time. (Keep that in mind when choosing your size, and if in doubt, it's probably best to go up in size.) Overall, very comfortable boot with all that padding on the sides. I do recommend adding an insole.Plates, trucks, cushions: Metal plates, most likely aluminum, with no markings, except a "10 1/2" stamped on the inside under the boot (have to look hard for this) -- probably just the plate size. Jump bars. Metal trucks. Black (urethane?) cushions with no markings. As received, trucks were tightened down for no lateral movement. No tool is included with the skates, but I also got a Powerdyne Y3 Skate Tool for this purpose. Loosened up the trucks before skating. Cushions seem fairly hard -- this skate is apparently designed for rink skating, after all -- so I will probably change out the cushions for something softer eventually.Wheels: Riedell's Wave, apparently made specifically for this model series. 57mm, and of unknown hardness. Definitely for indoor skating. ABEC 1 bearings, good but nothing fancy. For outdoor skating, I swapped the Wave wheels out for a set of Moxie Juicy (65mm, 78A) wheels in smoke with Skitch ABEC 9 bearings -- oooh, these are so much better! I plan to save the Wave wheels for when I go to the skating rink, or if I'm at home indoors on the laminate flooring. I will probably change out the bearings on the Waves to something smoother, and use the original bearings for something else.Toe stop: Hard rubber, bolt-on, non-adjustable. Works fine.Laces: Cotton, or cotton-like material? They are a magnet for pet hair. Each boot was pre-laced, outside-in, for just a few eyelets on each skate. Pretty smart, since it prevents a box of skates from leaving the factory without laces. Also, they aren't laced so far that it takes too long to undo and re-lace, if you want. I did, changing the lacing to inside out to make tightening easier.Also in the box was a card with instructions for care and maintenance of the skates. Overall, I am very happy with my new skates. At $100, I have good quality skates, with room in my budget for the second set of wheels and a few accessories. I expect that these Riedell Waves will serve my indoor/outdoor recreational skating needs for many years to come.Note: The Powerdyne tool, Moxie wheels, and Skitch bearings were also purchased at Amazon.com. I have reviews of those products, too.Addendum: Double-action metal trucks. No manufacturer markings. Upper cushion is 24mmx14mm barrel, bottom cushion is 24mmx11mm barrel.

It has padding on the inside,the overall material is sturdy, metal trucks, indoor/ outdoor wheels , toe stop, lightweight and skates great and accurate sizing , I LOVE IT soo worth the money

Almost one year later: obviously brevity isn't my strength, but I'll keep this short. I've still only swapped wheels (got super soft ones for outdoors during pandemic restrictions) and I still use Bones Reds bearings. I've been meaning to get around to trying new cushions but haven't yet. I have no stitching defects, no rusting, no major quality control issues at all. The upper hooks rotate sometimes, but I don't feel the need to use them/ have that much stability anymore. Tightening the places has gotten easier too so I don't go chasing my thickest socks anymore. I'm finding myself interested in other, more expensive and colorful Riedell skates, but I'm also not in a rush. Paint and accessories can do wonders lol. And I know I'll still be happy and safe until I do finally decide to move on. I'm so happy I found these on my first go.Update (New Bearings): Out-the-box, these were cool to learn on. They feel stable and slow, and the effort to skate forward built stability in my back, butt, and leg muscles I didn't know I had. Some things were harder because I realized going a little faster makes learning certain things easier like learning your balance on a bike (e.g., balancing on one foot). I'm going on 2 months with these, and I'm still loving the boot, plate, and cushions, otherwise they're sluggish. I've been on a nice outdoor tennis court, a rink with a wooden floor, one with a concrete floor, and I'm back on a roller hockey rink floor. I can't help but compare myself to really fast skaters who aren't kicking as much as I have to. I found my wheels didn't have the spin like I see on YouTube, so I tried cleaning my bearings, and found they are ABEC-1 bearings with "non-removable" shields. I tried to get them off anyway like several YouTubers demonstrated, but I couldn't do it. (By the way, these come with spacers inside, which threw me off when I tried to use a lil bearings puller. I used the axles to help pull the bearings out even a little, then used the tool to finish removal). I'm told non-removable shield bearings come grease-packed, so the added 1 drop of Bones Speed Cream that initially helped in the first 2 weeks after I bought them, probably made them worse long-term. Since replacing them with Bones Reds last week, I feel far less fatigued after 2 hrs or so of rink skating going non-stop and my back doesn't ache the next morning. I still notice I'm slower than others, and actually, I think these wheels are better for outdoor skating altogether (too grippy indoors) so I'm excited to try the new wheels I ordered.Original Review (5-stars): I'm 29 years old and finally committing to learn how to skate. Fast forward past Class #3 and an adult skate night, my patience and confidence were beginning to take a nosedive from struggling in rental skates every. single. session. I heavily researched and read reviews everywhere on buying skates like a crazy person for 3-4 days before I settled on these. The price point alone seemed to signal that these are quality enough for beginners w/o much need for swapping parts, yet not so expensive that if my interest sizzles, I wouldn't have invested so much.First, I will have to say these were GREAT for me on indoor skating rinks. The one near me doesn't have the smoothest floor. In rentals, I could feel every hump and lump, nevermind the lumps in the boots themselves. These skates are smooth like a ride in a Cadillac! I don't recall where I found the info, but I believe the wheels' durometer is 82A, which is on the high/too hard end for outdoor skating based on my research. I'm not confident enough to try the factory parts outside yet. Also, the toe stop is plastic. I can see how they don't fair well outside, but again, they were great on an indoor rink.Second, I'm not sure if these were supposed to come with a key, so I'm glad I bought one at the same time I ordered these anyway. (I say that because the right toe stop was scraped a little and tags weren't connected; I think mine were previously owned and returned & therefore if there was a key, it never made it back or got replaced). The nuts were as tight as they could get on the wheels, so that was the first thing I loosened, just a quarter turn was needed until the wheels spun freely after a flick of the wrist. The trucks were also insanely tight. I tried to play around with them, but I have maybe 12ft of space in my apartment to test these skates, so I mostly waited until Saturday's class (#4 of 5). I had the owner of the rink help/validate me lol. Again, I'm a newbie, so I can't really say if my trucks' adjustment helped or hurt or if they/the cushions suck.Third, the boots are nice and cushioned inside. The top inch or so of the boot around the shin/ankle isn't cushioned. They felt great skating at home in my ankle socks, but I wore the traditional thick socks in class #4 just in case there would be rubbing. Of course, they aren't nearly as worn as rental skates, so tightening the laces takes effort.Finally, I can now join the hoards of people that say "there's nothing like having your own skates". They're not lying to you. My falls in class #4 were when I was warming up and further adjusting my skates, and a kid who curved right in front of me. I felt different muscles getting used, maybe they're heavier or parts can still stand to be replaced, but I felt a lot more confident and comfortable on the rink. I could get up to speed to practice the various coasting drills and I could finally start to balance on my right foot for more than a second while rolling. I'm SO happy I made this choice. I feel like I'll put a couple years of experience in these.

I love the wheels The appearance, the way, smooth and color

I have skated most of my life but stopped 20 years ago after I broke my leg (not skating). I decided to go back to skating as it is easier on my old body. These have a very comfortable boot, heavy duty truck and overall, a great skate for the price and for beginners. The only down side is the wheels, which are for outdoor skating. Since I skate at a rink, I will be upgrading the wheels to a higher durometer.

I loved my new skates. They are very comfortable. I wear a size 8.5 shoe and bought a size 9 skate. They were a great fit. I would recommend these. You may need to adjust the wheels to help them roll better. They were a little too snug but after the adjustment they rolled fine.