Boot wear

[frobnoid]

I owned a pair of Bauer skates for six years, and ran them into the ground, after all this time there are a number of problems with them, but boot wear was not one of them. While nowhere near "new", the boots had no visible damage to them aside from the strap on the rear of the boot (after putting them on and off a thousand times, I expect some damage).

This year I bought a pair of rollerblade skates (Aero 9) which have a coolmax liner in the boot. After skating in them for about a thousand miles, the boots are VERY worn, although the padding is completely intact, the coolmax lining has completely worn away in many places around my ankles.

Is this much wear on the boot typical, or are the coolmax boots known to suck? Was I just spoiled with such good luck with the bauer skates? (They were a lower end model!) My skates take alot of wear and tear with a ten mile daily commute, but I don't expect to need to need yearly boot maintenance...

[IW Staff]

A bit fortunate and a bit unlucky..

The lower end Bauer you had some good fortune with. Built more like a tank back then. Bauer doesn't make fitness skates any longer. The coolmax liners are a bit thinner as they are more catered to quick dry and all that good stuff. Makes sense that they may wear a bit faster. More comfortable typically. Unfortunately none of the biggies (K2, Salomon, RB) sell aftermarket liners. So we're pretty much stuck with what you got I would definitely flirt with other boots though to find one that caters to your regiment of skating. You may find that others hold up better.

Thanks for the post!

IW