First things first, the box that these things come in is huge, like 'Happy Christmas' huge. It's a good indication of the size of the skates - these are pretty big compared to derby style skates, and one hell of a weight. More on that later. I skated indoors in a sports centre, and outdoors with these skates to get a feel for them over a period of about 1 month.
The first thing you notice is that they look like the skates you saw a lot in the 90s. If you had some Bauer Turbos and loved them, these might offer some sort of nostalgic comfort, though there are other skates out there more similar to the Turbo. The point is, looks wise they're pretty dated, which is no bad thing if that's what you're after. I sold mine on to a guy who's first words when he came to pick them up were "i used to love my old Bauer skates and want to get back into skating".
The outer boot is pretty solid, made of a rigid black plastic shoe and ankle cuff. If you're expecting to get hit in the ankles for some reason, these skates have you covered. Its got a matt finish and looks pretty good, and the branding isn't too in-your-face, which i like. The cuff isn't bulky, and can be laced up or left open. I left it open, that's just how I roll. I think laced up it would impair movement, but open gave me plenty of room to bend my ankles.
I got a size 10, same as my shoe size. I did have some bother getting my foot into it at first, like there was a bottle neck, but once you negotiated it there was plenty of room and the inner sock is well padded. Underneath it's the usual plastic plate/ aluminium trucks setup, only with the addition of a metal bar. Apparently it's something to do with jumping, not like "grind down that handrail" jumping, more like reinforcing the axels or something. Anyway I didn't exactly do a lot of jumps so I couldn't say if this was any good.
The wheels were excellent for outdoor skating and learning on. The SFR slicks were 78a which means they are super rubbery with loads of grip. I could skate comfortably outside on them, the wheels just absorbed a lot of the vibration from the Tarmac. Speaking of outdoor skating, I was never worried that the skates were taking damage, or receiving undue wear-and-tear, which i feel sometimes with derby skates. Like the Raptors were so tough they were designed for it, and I think this is what I liked the most about them.
There's one bad point though, they are HEAVY. I can't remember exactly how much they weighed but it was a lot. Great if you're trying to build up mega calf muscles, but eventually I just felt that the weight was holding me back. It's like skating around with concrete blocks tied to your feet.
In summary: pros -great for outdoor skating, hard wearing. Cons - style is dated, weigh a tonne.
I wish I'd kept them, if only to skate outdoors.
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