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I'll just make my own. It's easy, see.

I don’t know anything about the Alkali boots but it looks like the R1 uses the Revel 1 boot and the O1 uses the Revel 2. There are review videos on the Revel line on YouTube. We ordered the R1 chassis at $99 for my sons to try for their roller games, they have been using the original without problem. I will probably stay on the O1. I have only used ice boots outdoors (southern California) and I’ve never had a issue.

The main negative is the footbed isn’t quite as comfortable. I think it’s probably because of the overall rigidity of the chassis and pushing in to the foot. I can wear my ice version all day with no discomfort, the inline there’s a slight bit (still better than my previous skates). The boot itself also feels more rigid but it’s probably more just how bottom heavy they are, common of most inline skates. that said, worth the purchase to me, especially given how few retail boots there are and that I haven’t found a fit amongst them that I’m comfortable with yet.

I would claim that different wheel setups is barely comparable to the Flow Motion Technology that Marsblade uses. Flow Motion Technology is completely stepless while for example a 72, 76, 80, 76 wheel setups is based on jumping between three steps and always balancing on maximum two wheels at the time. I think this short film visualize it in a good way: When it comes to the feel of being locked in one direction you will notice a big difference with Flow Motion Technology. When you, for example, put the weight on the heel in a tight turn you will notice that the turning radius can be significantly reduced. However, of course, inlines have some limitation as they have another grip with the surface than a steel has with the ice. /Petter, Product Developing Engineer at Marsblade?

Mark this is a great question. I also only had a ice hockey background outside of a short stint in a roller hockey league in the late 90s during Junior hockey off season. What I didn’t like about using the inlines for hockey was exactly what you described, feeling like I was on skis. Over time I got use to it but when I returned for training camp for my junior team the transition back to being on a contoured blade took some adjustment and I never used inlines again. In early 2017 I received the marsblade chassis for a pair of old boots I had. The first time I used them was amazing, I felt like I was on ice. Everything was much more fluid. I was able to get the full extension on my strides and even though all the wheels are making contact with the ground I had the feel of being on a contoured ice blade. I do use the smaller wheel in front because I like the added difficulty. I immediately ordered two more chassis kits for my sons, both now teens. My boys are both ice players first and they have been on their Marsblades nearly everyday and have no problems transitioning to ice. Both boys use the O1s for competitive roller hockey also. We have 6 pairs. You really have to skate in the Marsblade to fully understand the feel. You won’t regret it and you won’t go back to traditional inlines.

Gloves from the 90's in general are the coolest looking just because they incorporated more colors, especially the Easton's. They were able to come up with some interesting colorways (sharks come to mind) but also with the glove construction I guess they could show more of the colors used so I guess thats what made them look good. I will admit though the only drawback to those gloves was being a kid and playing a tournament with 2 games in one day, the glove would never dry and that next day you put your hand in was just gross.