Brand New Hockey Player aka newb

[bcgunnign 0]

Hey gang,

First of all thank you for having the best forum I could find about playing hockey.

I was invited by some friends to start playing some pick up roller hockey with them. They play mostly outside at a local amphitheater but there is talk of maybe moving to a local rink with sportcourt if we seem to click enough to play in an organized league. I live in the Charlotte NC area so as you can imagine hockey isn't the most popular thing here, so finding local stores is kinda tough. However I have a lot of ice hockey gear from when I aspired to play a few years ago, but never did. For now all I am looking to get are just inline skates, and some sticks. Since we are unsure if this will ever grow past the occasional game I don't want to sink too much into the skates. My question for you all is what do you think would be my best bet around 125 bucks for skates?

I apologize for the book.

[BucksAway 16]

Take a look here, there are other brands but as far as i know mission are the leaders in roller hockey skates

http://www.hockeymonkey.com/mission-roller...kates-2005.html

I havnt worn these but i know they are good skates as a few players at my rink use them

Mission Soldier Black Sr. Inline Hockey Skates

[TheHerminator22 0]

As far as durability and comfort go with Bauer. They are probably the best value. My last 2 pairs of skates have been low to mid-range Bauer Vapors and I've never had any problems with them, and they lasted me for 3-4 years of competitive college level play.

I know a lot of people swear by Mission, but they are notorious for being uncomfortable and for falling apart pretty quick (more of a fad brand).

http://www.rollerhockeymonkey.com/inlineskates-nike.html

[sdcopp 1]

I know a lot of people swear by Mission, but they are notorious for being uncomfortable and for falling apart pretty quick (more of a fad brand).

You are kidding, right? If it's been four years or so then you probably last saw Mission skates around the first HE line, which was a bad line. The last few years have been really solid skates that are quite comfortable assuming they are the right fit for your foot.

To the OP, if you can't try on skates, then inline warehouse is probably the best bet as they do free return shipping on skates, for the very reason that if they don't fit you can send them back for the correct size. The other option is have some chassis mounted to your ice skates

[TheHerminator22 0]

I mean it's all personal preference. However, I've been playing roller hockey for 15 years and was around when Mission first came out. Everyone I know that ever owned them didn't buy them again.

[sdcopp 1]

Ok, doesn't make them a bad brand. I was also around when Mission first came out, and I've seen just as many people love them as hate them. Same with Tour, CCM, Bauer, Reebok, Nexed, Gear, V-Form and every other skate that has ever hit the market. Every long standing brand has had some awful products at one point.

To the OP: What ice skates were you wearing? You can look at closeouts online, low end new skates or mounting a chassis of choice on your ice boots. For $125 you can get an ok pair of inlines, but if your ice boot is solid (and you implied that you aren't playing at all right now so I assume you have ice skates just laying around) you can get more bang for your buck doing a conversion. The Mission CSX being closed out on Hockeymonkey is a solid skate to get going in, and at $85 it's priced right. Again though, it's all about the fit. Ebay may have some options as well

[bcgunnign 0]

Thanks to everyone who replied. I went to Play it Again Sports today and they had a used pair of Missions that looked fairly worn but after I looked at them I couldn't really see anything wrong with them. They ran me about 30 bucks but since the whole thing was a big tossup I thought maybe I should go with something inexpensive. I don't have them with me as I write this but I think they said XI on the sides and they were all black exept for a fairly bland look chassis.

Again thanks to everyone for your input.

[shute 4]

two tips for noobs playing hockey is one wear a full cage and two keep your sticks down

[kpeach122 0]

haha true

[TheHerminator22 0]

two tips for noobs playing hockey is one wear a full cage and two keep your sticks down

Hahahaha! Yeah, wear a half shield or no shield at your own risk. Anytime someone bitches about getting whacked in the face without a shield, I have no sympathy. WEAR A SHIELD!!!