Sure-Grip Boardwalk Unisex Outdoor Roller Skates, Leather Boots, 82A Wheels

I’m a beginner adult skater (43 yo male) with wide flat feet, and after reading a lot of independent reviews, I tested this skate along side the Riedell Wave. I chose these two skates to test because of the good reputations of the two brands and because they were in the same budget-friendly price range. THE BOOT In shoes, I typically wear a men’s 8 1/2. I bought the Boardwalk men’s size 8. I love the Boardwalk boot so much more than the Riedell Wave boot. The Boardwalk suede is conforming to my feet perfectly, kind of like how a baseball glove conforms to your hand, giving you that perfect fit sensation. In contrast, the vinyl material used in the Riedell Wave boot is stiff and will likely never conform to your feet, no matter how much you tighten the laces. I was searching everywhere for a suede or real leather (not fake leather) skate at a reasonable price. Don’t bother searching, because I’ve already done it for you. You won’t find a cheaper suede or leather boot. This is the only thing out there. If you’re wanting an all real (not fake) leather boot, I would get the Riedell Crew skate if you don’t mind the $250 price tag. But if you’re price conscious, like I am, I recommend that you get these skates for only $110 and dye them whatever color you want. That’s the nice thing about natural suede. Riedell makes suede and leather boots, but at a significantly higher price than the Boardwalk. My brother owns a beautiful pair of tan Riedell suede skates, but be prepared to pay upwards of $300, which I was not. The Riedell Wave is the brand’s budget-friendly entry level skate, and it shows. A lot of independent reviewers recommended that beginners use a vinyl high top boot, because the stiffness of vinyl provides ankle support. The Boardwalks feel perfectly supportive. And I would rather have that “fits like a glove” feel over having additional ankle support. But again, the Boardwalks are plenty supportive. PRICE I wanted the black or tan Boardwalks, but they were $250. The sky blue ones were available open box for $110, so that was a no-brainer to get the blue ones. I’ve also seen the lime green ones available open box for under $100. Just keep checking the open box prices and snag them when they’re $99 and labeled “like new.” These were probably returned to Amazon, but they were clearly never used. I bought one bottle of Albertis navy blue dye for $10 and dyed everything except the tongue and the back of the state. If you want to dye the entire skate, I suggest you buy at least two bottles. I’m really pleased with how they look after having been dyed. TRUCK Minor adjustments to the Boardwalk truck results in big changes to the skates supportiveness and responsiveness. No matter how much I tightened or loosened the trucks on the Riedell Wave, the responsiveness did not change. These changes are important because they affect the ease in turning corners and performing bubbles/scissors. WHEELS I used the 65mm outdoor Boardwalk wheels (not shown in my pictures) because I already had them. I can do bubbles and scissors almost effortlessly relative to the Riedells. Doing bubbles and scissors on the Riedells just wasn’t as satisfying. For a beginner, the easier it is to get your skates to do what you want, the more likely you will fall in love with skating. The harder it is to make your skates glide, or do bubbles, the more likely you will give up on skating and miss out on feeling the love. And that would be a shame. Here’s the other thing you should know about the wheels: the outdoor Boardwalk wheels are a dream to use indoors at the skating rink. Many independent wheel reviewers consider outdoor wheels to be a terrible option for indoor skating, but I find that these wheels glide nicely indoors, are not “sticky,” and absorb a lot of the unevenness and imperfections in the hardwood floor of the roller rink. So for a beginner, these wheels serve as a great hybrid (indoor/outdoor) wheel. This way, you can practice both inside and outside and you won’t have to swap out your wheels. Since the time of purchase, I have graduated to using a harder wheel more appropriate for indoor skating. But if you’re a beginner skater skating indoors, you’re not going to need to upgrade the wheels for a while. And when you do need to upgrade, you’re going to know it, which is a great thing, because it means that you’ve become a better skater. If you’re curious, I upgraded to the Rollerbones Team wheels (for indoor skating), Bones Reds Bearings, both of which I love. I also swapped out the bushings for the Suregrip super cushions in purple. As soon as I swapped out the cushions I felt an immediate improvement in the skates responsiveness, meaning that when I shift my weight to turn, I turn with less effort, and can make sharper turns. Just buy the cushions in the color that corresponds to your body weight. CONCLUSION It’s because of the Boardwalks that I’m completely obsessed with skating. To be fair to the Riedell Wave, I used those skates first so fell in love with skating while using the Riedells. But after a few skate sessions, I transitioned to the Boardwalks and discovered the difference was night and day. The two skates are in two different leagues. If you are a beginner skater, then do yourself a favor and splurge on the Boardwalks. You will be giving yourself a chance to fall in love with skating. My friends have used less expensive beginner skates and the skates available for rent at the roller rink, and they have not fallen in love with skating like I have. They like it, but they’re not obsessed. I am now at the rink 3-4 days per week for hours at a time. I’m completely obsessed with skating, and I credit that obsession to the Boardwalks. I don’t think that I will be outgrowing the Boardwalks for a while. Meaning that as I become a more advanced skater, these will continue to serve me. To all you beginner skaters reading this: May you discover the pleasure and bliss of roller skating, no matter which skates you choose to buy. Oh and one more thing: Do yourself the favor of watching Dirty Deborah Harry of The Dirty School of Skate before you go out to the rink. She teaches the fundamentals beautifully. Everything I’ve learned about how to skate, I learned from her. She’s fabulous. Update 8/15/23: Six months into my addiction, my feet are numb and my baby toes hurt. While I still love the Boardwalks, I wanted to find something with more padding. I ordered the Riedell Crew skate, but they’re too narrow for my feet. If you have wide feet, don't buy the Riedell Crew. I settled on the Suregrip Fame. I really like the skate. I like the comfortable padding. I like the wheels. I’ve only skated on them for one day, so once I break them in, I’ll come back to write a more thorough comparison between the Suregrip Boardwalk and the Suregrip Fame. The Suregrip Fames are recommended for beginners for good reason. Because beginners generally don't have the ankle strength necessary for excellent balance and stability, the stiffness of the boot provides the support in lieu of ankle strength. The padding is very comfortable. The wheels provide just the right amount of grip necessary to learn fundamental skills. You won't go very fast, but as a beginner, you shouldn't be aiming for speed. Aim instead for control and precision of movement. Learning things like transitions will be easier using the stock Fame wheels rather than the Rollerbones Teams wheels I've been learning on.

I ordered the Sure-Grip Boardwalk Plus roller skates in a size 7, and they fit perfectly! For reference, I generally wear a US women's 8.5 to 9 (EU 39/40) in street shoes. The Amazon description is a bit confusing and mixes up the skate versions, but my "Plus" version shipped with the 62mm/78A outdoor wheels and ABEC 7 bearings. I used to skate as a kid and haven't done it in years. Getting back into it at 46, comfort and stability were my biggest worries. The "Plus" version has great padding inside and a rolled ankle collar, and they felt comfortable right out of the box with zero blistering. I’ve been skating them around the house, and they roll beautifully and feel incredibly smooth on my floors. Tips for new buyers: ▪ If you want to swap out the laces for a fun pattern (like my checkered ones!), 84" replacement laces fit this skate size 7 perfectly! ▪ I highly recommend getting toe protection right away to protect the beautiful suede from getting scuffed up (you can see the black Sure Grip Toe Jammer caps I added in my photo). Highly recommend these skates!

Absolutely wonderful, high quality skates! Immediately comfortable out of the box with no break in period where I was getting blisters! I've been skating them for a year and a half now and have ZERO complaints! A great skate for people who are starting out! My original skates were $60 off brands and it's almost made me give up the hobby because I just couldn't get them to do what I wanted, ordered these and I was like "WOW! So THIS is how it's supposed to feel!!" The stock wheels are nice! I did eventually buy 98a to use at the rink but these are great for indoor and outdoor beginner use while you figure out what you want! I really believe the upgraded version are worth the extra money, the padding is just so comfy! My friend got the standard ones and they're great but just not as great lol! One last note for beginners, measure your feet! Seriously! I had to size down a few sizes and I would have gotten the wrong ones had I not measured my feet!

So to start, I see everywhere online within the rollerskating community that you should have very snug skates and that the suede will break in so much the skates will grow two sizes in size. I hemmed and hawed over what size to order for weeks. For reference, I am always a size 8.5/39 in womens. Always. My feet are 24.5 cm long and quite narrow. I originally was going to order the mens 7, but after seeing all kinds of posts everywhere, including one person who said they had 25.5 cm feet and the 6s fit perfectly, I decided to go for the 6. When they arrived it felt like my toes were being crushed. They didn't even reach the end of the boot, the toe box was just so small/short vertically. I took out the insoles and measured them against the insoles in my actual suede boots and they were identical, so it was purely just way too little room in the toe box, especially with the massive seam where the tongue is sewn in. I couldn't wiggle my toes even a little. I went to reddit to ask whether this was normal, and most every response said their boardwalks required almost no breaking in and fit great right out of the box. A few people told me to add suede conditioner and just skate around to break them in, but then I wouldn't have been able to exchange them and I was just not convinced that would help. I exchanged them for the 7s and they are PERFECT. They fit so comfortably and are just the right amount of snug. My feet don't slide around or anything, and it feels like if the suede broke in a lot (I am not convinced at all it will break in a whole size up. That has never happened in any suede shoe I have ever owned) I could just wear cushier socks to mitigate that. All that being said, everything else about them is perfect. All I had to do out of the box was loosen the trucks and I was ready to go. The wheels and laces are great. At this price, this is a substantially better deal than Moxi Beach Bunnies, which are vinyl and need the wheels replaced out of the box. The boardwalks are gonna last forever. I like the nylon plate, actually. It's sturdy but lightweight and can be replaced eventually if I want. I got the light purple color. It's a pretty color but I also consider it a bonus that I could redye these eventually once they're dirty because the purple is so light and neutral. I could go for a nice deep green or black or even a rich brown. Really pleased with these. I like that the wheel spacing is closer together because it will make them ideal for certain tricks, but coming from rollerblades it's a funny change in balance, but certainly isn't slowing me down at all. Overall, super recommend these. And hey, they're actually available to buy, unlike most skates!

I very rarely write product reviews, but I had to really work at finding quad skates that measured up to what I demand from them...and these Sure Grip Boardwalks fit the bill almost perfectly. My only complaint after the inaugural break-in skating for a couple of hours at a Roller Rave is that the tongue bunches up a very small amount after lacing with no-slip laces (from Moxi). The trucks are springy, the wheels and bearings responsive and smooth, and the boot is very comfortable and soft enough to allow for enough give to do tricks like Shoot the Duck. I got back into skating last year as a 50+ woman, blowing through two pairs of cheap skates knowing they wouldn't stand up to the abuse of active skating a few times a week, but using them anyway to redevelop some skills. The Boardwalks work equally well for rink skating and street/park skating. They did not come with a tool for adjusting the wheels and trucks, so if you don't already have one a Y-wrench is an invaluable and affordable investment (and you will need one to loosen the wheels, which come tightened from the factory). The stock wheels are really nice, smaller for more responsiveness and designed for outdoor use but work well indoors if your venue allows outdoor wheels. I tried on multiple models and brands of skates and the only ones that felt right were the Moxi Lolly (which my husband got, the Chuffed Panther (which are very hard to get in some sizes) and the Sure Grip Boardwalks, but they weren't in stock in my size so I chose to purchase through Amazon. Unlike the Lollies, the dye did not bleed during use. The toe stops are a perfect size, short enough to allow you to do tricks like the Manual while still providing excellent braking. It took me a long time to find skates that passed my personal litmus test and I'm extremely pleased with these. A tiny bit heavier than the Chuffed or the cheap starter skates, but my muscles adapted to the extra weight easily (the weight comes from superior trucks, so it's a good trade-off).

I love these skates! I had tried another pair of vinyl skates (beach bunnies) that were too stiff and tight around my toes, so returned them and bought these. The Boardwalks fit like a glove and were very comfortable immediately. I've been having so much fun learning on them already! I also really like the blueberry color of the ones I purchased.

UPDATE: 1-9-24. I’ve had these skates for about 8 months now. The boot feels great on my feet now. Still don’t like the pink, but the price was great! I’ve worn these skates both outside and at the skating rink. I’m not an aggressive skater so these work for outside and I feel I have the ankle support I need. This is a long review and some tips but in short: Pro: suede is easy for breaking, sizing is easy to follow, sturdy boot for ankle support, ready to roll but have the tools if needed to make adjustments. Good buy for starting and good quality so should get long wear of them. Cons: break-in period (about 12 hours), be patient. Personally, not a fan of pink, but price won over. I've had my skates for about a month, but have only taken my skates out for a total of 2 hours (four sessions). I had returned a previous pair because the skates were "too tight". In reality, I took the skates out of the box, laced them, took them off, then sent them back. Maybe all of 10 minutes of wear time. Not a good indicator of true fit of the skate after break-in. I'm still breaking in my pink Boardwalk skates. Most sources say about 12 hours are needed to get the boots to naturally break in to your feet. I have 10 hours to go Before I ordered my skates, I read a bit more about boot fitting and break-in period. When I ordered my Boardwalks, I also ordered a pair of Beach Bunny's. Both were used and only the boxes were damaged. Saved a good chunk of change. Why did I keep the Boardwalks vs the Moxi? The other pair was a stiff vinyl boot and pinched my toes, even after reading about boot fitting. What I did like about those boots was the padding around the boot and my foot felt secure in them. I have narrow feet but found the toe box a bit too small for me, even after relacing the boot for a better fit. For me, the Moxi did not work. I ordered a size 8. I kept them long enough to roll around my home to determine I was not going to get through any sort of break-in period. About 10 days. I did send these back. I also skated with the Boardwalks during the same time in my house. I kept the Boardwalks because of the suede and a slightly larger toe box, but not that much larger then the Beach Bunny's. Overall, the boot fit my foot in terms of length and width. I wear a size 10 women's shoe across all brands. I ended up with a size 9 for the Boardwalk. The color pink is almost a bubblegum pink, not my favorite color, but they were used and cheaper then the blue at full price. My only real complaint is the top of the boot. I feel like the top rubs, regardless of how tall or how thick the socks are that I wear. It may be related to the break-in period. In summary: Good skate overall but research boot break-in period, be patient, the boot is not like a standard shoe so don't be discouraged when the boot feels tight right out of the box. There are some really good videos that address brand/material break-in periods.

Excellent skate! This skate is so good it is comparable to skates that cost about $450. Great style, comfort and functionality!

Seller was good at keeping me up to date on the shipping process, the roller skates are comfortable and fit my wider feet! The color is also very pretty and matches the picture.

Hermosos me quedaron bien soy 24

Muy bonitos, solo pedí la talla más chica que ví marcada (mens 5- womens 6) yo soy #3 mexicano, así que me quedaron un poco grandes, tendré que usar calcetines gruesos. Sin tomar en cuenta lo del número están muy bien🔥❤️

Muy cómodos, se siente la calidad al usarlos

Me gustaron, es una bota rígida pero como es piel, con el tiempo cederá, las ruedas son muy buenas, el freno es muy bueno lo malo es que deja una mancha negra 😝 así que no lo usen en interiores.