They are good skates for a beginner or someone who is taking up inline skating again after many years (me). I wanted to have a soft boot skate (which I've never tried before) because I hoped it be more comfortable for my wide feet. These are pretty good for wide feet: normally I'm a 10.5 4E, but the size 11 skates fit fairly well. The "hinge" at the heel is a bit narrow compared to the rest of the boot but I'm hopeful that will flex out with time and use. If not I might heat it to allow a bit more of a bend at the base of the heel (I think some skaters talk about how to "bake" the skates to allow that type of modification, but I've not tried that yet).
I was worried the bearings would be a bottleneck but they're better after a bit of skating - out of the box they wouldn't spin longer than a few seconds; after 10 miles of skating outdoors they roll longer than 10 seconds and they don't feel too bad while skating.
I'm curious about how they'll hold up over time but I'm sure the boots will outlast the wheels. I don't use the brake so I removed it and used some washers to account for the longer bolt (it's wider to allow it to hold the brake in place, but without the brake the bolt is too long). But a quick email to K2 and they're sending me a standard length screw to allow for no brake skating.
I wish I could've sprung an extra $100 for the
SEBA FRX
or another $200 for the
SEBA FR2
but I'll use this to get back up to speed after not skating much for 15 years.
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