Inline Skates for Women

Rollerblade, K2 are top-rated

K2 and Rollerblade have roughly comparable adult inline skates. We saw some reviews for mid-priced skates from both brands. InlinePlanet.com covers the K2 Celena (*Est. $200) (*est. $200), a women's skate. The men's version is the K2 Moto 90 (*Est. $200) , which also gets a write-up in an article at The Wall Street Journal. Both sources note that the Celena and Moto inline skates are fast -- so they might not be the best choice for beginners, who can find themselves going too quickly. The review at InlinePlanet.com says these skates are "plush" and comfortable, with a nicely padded ankle cuff and great shock absorption over rough terrain. The Celena/Moto inline skates come with 90mm wheels and a lacing system that's easy to adjust. While testers at The Wall Street Journal found them very easy to tighten quickly, they were harder to loosen.

The women's K2 Celena comes in a white and pink breast cancer awareness color scheme. The men's K2 Moto 90 comes in mainly black with splashes of red. We didn't find any complaints about fit, and sizing appears to run true.

We also found a critical review for the K2 Alexis (*Est. $160) , a less expensive women's skate. While Alexis has many of the same features of the Celena, one big difference is the Hi-Lo aluminum frame which allows for two 80mm wheels and two 84mm wheels. This is purely a matter of preference and they can easily be changed to wheels of the same size. Favorite overall K2 brand features include superior fit and comfort even though they tend to run a bit narrow (according to testers at InlinePlanet.com). These skates are meant for casual skaters, with an easy lacing system and memory foam padding for comfort. They aren't as fast as the K2 Celena.

Rollerblade makes comparable inline skates. For novices, the Rollerblade Wing 50 for women , and Rollerblade Astro 50 for men (*Est. $130) are reviewed. These are recreational skates that are easy to use and enjoy. Experts like the washable liners and good balance of these skates. An adjustable brake lets you lower the brake pad as it wears, so you don't have to adjust your braking motion as the pad wears down. Reviewers say that these skates, which come with 80mm wheels, are adjusted to correct pronation - a problem that often affects novices, where your feet tend to roll in. The ride is smooth. These inline skates aren't fast, but they aren't meant to be. The women's version is gray with touches of lavender. The men's version is black and gray, with a bit of red.