Alkali Hockey

[IW Team - Chase 184]

21 hours ago, stitchy said:

I see the new RPE line at inlinewarhouse. Is the only difference between the Zenith and Visium the outsole and wheels?

The Zenith has extra stiffeners through the quarter package for more rigidity. 

[MikeWhy 39]

On 2/21/2016 at 0:10 PM, sss1987 said:

Regarding the new line.

I know that they are built on the wider last.

How much wider is the boot compared to the RPD+ range? Is the heel pocket much wider? I like sound of the low pro tongue. I find that in my shift+, the laces from the instep up dig into some boney parts of my ankle. I also have a wide forefoot and find that the first 3-4 lace i keep "medium" tight..and if i go too tight i get cramp. However i feel the heel pock itself fits nice. wondering if the new boots might give me a little extra room in these areas without losing the snug fit.

 

 

Im in the same boat with most of this

Edited February 23, 2016 by MikeWhy

[stitchy 1]

Thanks for the answer, Chase.  I'm looking for a boot that's right in the middle. D width is too narrow and EE seems to be too wide (out of the skates I've tried). Is "E" gonna be right in the middle or does E=EE?

[sss1987 55]

I must say..i love inlinewarehouse's descriptions. Dont stop doing this as its actually so handy!

From the Zenith skate:

" General fit aspects of the Alkali boot are high volume, narrow-med heel pocket, wide across top of foot and forefoot and toe box. Aggressive stance. "

The RPD Max skate:

" General fit aspects of the Alkali boot are med-high volume, narrow-med heel pocket, medium-wide across top of foot and forefoot and toe box. Aggressive stance. "

I'm hoping someone can "quantify" somehow how much more room there is in the RPE skates. What is promising, is that "narrow-med heel" seems to be across both skates...im hoping that means they are about the same in this area!

 

Secondly..are these skates coming to the UK?  

[IW Team - Chase 184]

On 2/22/2016 at 3:58 PM, MikeWhy said:

Im in the same boat with most of this

To answer your guys' question, Alkali widened the forefoot and used a lower profile tongue. I felt the new tongue gave me more room on the sides of my foot, plus its a little less thick than the traditional felt tongue; which is where you gain more volume internally too. 

[GeeZa32 0]

Hey guys, long time hiatuser here...Size Question...

IW has the RPD Team's on sale.

I'm an 8 shoe.

I have some Mission Soldier Black's that I have put thousands of hours in over the years and I'll continue to wear them until they are completely dead. These are size 7. Love them. Perfect fit and length.

I bought a pair of Tour Bonefish Lite 750s last year in a size 7 and I hate them. They don't hug my ankle enough and there's too much room in the toe box and they are a tad too big overall. (Does anyone want these?! Practically brand new!)

The RPDs that are on sale are a size 6.5. Inlinewarehouse's information contradicts itself, on the product page it says size 1 down from shoe size and on the generic "size chart" page, under Alkali it says a size 6.5 would work for my shoe size.

Any feedback?

[Vet88 674]

I don't know what the "official" definition of a narrow heel is but I have to disagree with the IW statements. The CA range (I had CA9's) fitted a narrow heel and then they increased the volume in the heel considerably through subsequent releases. I had the RPD Max and took to it with clamps to try and get a better heel fit, I moved the boot 1cm inwards in the area under and just forward of the ankle. Somewhere earlier in this thread I posted measurements of the heel pocket widths between the CA9 and RPD Max and the difference is a lot. The current design is more suited for a medium width ankle, not a narrow one, and seems to be getting wider. 

[Vet88 674]

1 hour ago, GeeZa32 said:

Hey guys, long time hiatuser here...Size Question...

IW has the RPD Team's on sale.

I'm an 8 shoe.

I have some Mission Soldier Black's that I have put thousands of hours in over the years and I'll continue to wear them until they are completely dead. These are size 7. Love them. Perfect fit and length.

I bought a pair of Tour Bonefish Lite 750s last year in a size 7 and I hate them. They don't hug my ankle enough and there's too much room in the toe box and they are a tad too big overall. (Does anyone want these?! Practically brand new!)

The RPDs that are on sale are a size 6.5. Inlinewarehouse's information contradicts itself, on the product page it says size 1 down from shoe size and on the generic "size chart" page, under Alkali it says a size 6.5 would work for my shoe size.

Any feedback?

If I recall right the Black range was built on a different last to everyone else at the time (1 size larger than everyone else). I had Mission Blacks in a size 7 and am now in Alkali 6.5 which I consider a perfect fit for length, toes just brushing the toe cap until laced up when they are around 1mm off the toe cap. As a guide, my feet are 26cm's long.

[IW Team - Chase 184]

1 hour ago, Vet88 said:

I don't know what the "official" definition of a narrow heel is but I have to disagree with the IW statements. The CA range (I had CA9's) fitted a narrow heel and then they increased the volume in the heel considerably through subsequent releases. I had the RPD Max and took to it with clamps to try and get a better heel fit, I moved the boot 1cm inwards in the area under and just forward of the ankle. Somewhere earlier in this thread I posted measurements of the heel pocket widths between the CA9 and RPD Max and the difference is a lot. The current design is more suited for a medium width ankle, not a narrow one, and seems to be getting wider. 

In my opinion, it sits between narrow and medium, maybe on the side of medium more than narrow. The Hyperlock L pads really lock the heel down and with such a moldable boot, a quick bake shores up ankle depth issues. The ankle was slightly narrowed on the RPE line too. 

[IW Team - Chase 184]

2 hours ago, GeeZa32 said:

The RPDs that are on sale are a size 6.5. Inlinewarehouse's information contradicts itself, on the product page it says size 1 down from shoe size and on the generic "size chart" page, under Alkali it says a size 6.5 would work for my shoe size.

Any feedback?

The info on the product page is what I have found to run most true, while the info on the size chart page is what Alkali has provided. I'm a 9.5 - 10.0 in Alkali Skates, 8.0 - 8.5 in Bauer and 10.5 shoe size (brannock shoe device). 

[GeeZa32 0]

22 minutes ago, IW Team - Chase said:

The info on the product page is what I have found to run most true, while the info on the size chart page is what Alkali has provided. I'm a 9.5 - 10.0 in Alkali Skates, 8.0 - 8.5 in Bauer and 10.5 shoe size (brannock shoe device). 

 

Ahhhh bummer. Sounds like it wont work then.

[kovalchuk71 212]

So, what is going on with Alkali? Seems like a lot of products/model lines have been reduced drastically. Example: their flagship skate is only $499 and lacks a magnesium frame. Were sales/popularity down over the last year? 

Edited February 26, 2016 by kovalchuk71

[krisdrum 233]

Hi all,

New to roller and just picked up a pair of RPD Lite + skates for myself.  So far, really digging them.  Since baking them, the fit is pretty darn close to my Graf 535 ice skates.  I have a tough foot to fit, so that is a pretty impressive feat.  Impressed with just how much the bake process molded them to my feet.

So impressed in fact that I bought my son a pair of the adjustable skates (he is already pretty accomplished on ice).  Are the adjustables heat moldable as well?  Or is that a feature that was left out in order to keep them neutral as my son's foot grows and changes?

[Thunder_Dad 3]

How do the Alkali gloves fit with regard to others?

I have some Nexus which are traditional fit four roll. Looking to get a pair for just roller.

[Justin 1933 134]

On February 26, 2016 at 7:05 PM, kovalchuk71 said:

So, what is going on with Alkali? Seems like a lot of products/model lines have been reduced drastically. Example: their flagship skate is only $499 and lacks a magnesium frame. Were sales/popularity down over the last year? 

You have to remember that most people do not buy High End skates.  The majority of inline skates sales is below $199.  When we built the RPE line, it was not a replacement for the RPD line, but an additional line that would fit in certain price points we didn't offer.  Many players we talked to said the Magnesium chassis was not really worth the extra cost (and believe me it cost dramatically more than regular aluminum).   Based on that feedback, we decided to offer a high end boot at a better price.  Sales were actually up significantly last year and from what I have heard and picking back up again (post-sale).

[Justin 1933 134]

On February 24, 2016 at 2:24 PM, GeeZa32 said:

 

Ahhhh bummer. Sounds like it wont work then.

I think you may fit just fine in the 6.5 personally.  I am 10 shoe and wear an Alkali 8.5.  Most people with a shoe size below 10, go down 1.5 sizes in the sizing I have done.

[Justin 1933 134]

On March 8, 2016 at 5:31 AM, Thunder_Dad said:

How do the Alkali gloves fit with regard to others?

I have some Nexus which are traditional fit four roll. Looking to get a pair for just roller.

Alkali gloves fit like a traditional roll glove.  They are a little snug on the backhand, but that varies depending on the thickness of a player's hand.  I personally played with the back hand pad flipped out.

[Torb 0]

Hello all,

 

i have some issues with blisters at the heel with the RPD Max+. I bought them last year and used them around 6-8 times and i thought breaking them in/baking them would help. Starting inline hockey again few weeks ago i still had the same problems. The skates feel very confortable but when i'm using them for around 30 mins or longer (and sweating) my heel just starts moving up a bit when i start sprinting. It feels like i just can't get them tight enough. Until now i have used them around 20 times.

 

I baked them twice, bought some waxed laces and tried to use two sole inserts. In the end i guess they might be 0.5 or 1 size too big, but i never had similar issues with 'big' skates. My CA5 Skates were the same size and they were just fine. I use them right now but they have gotten pretty soft over the years.

 

Any help is appreciated.

 

cheers from germany

[kovalchuk71 212]

On 3/8/2016 at 11:46 AM, Justin 1933 said:

You have to remember that most people do not buy High End skates.  The majority of inline skates sales is below $199.  When we built the RPE line, it was not a replacement for the RPD line, but an additional line that would fit in certain price points we didn't offer.  Many players we talked to said the Magnesium chassis was not really worth the extra cost (and believe me it cost dramatically more than regular aluminum).   Based on that feedback, we decided to offer a high end boot at a better price.  Sales were actually up significantly last year and from what I have heard and picking back up again (post-sale).

That makes sense. I didn't realize that the RPE was a separate skate line. 

[Vet88 674]

On 4/4/2016 at 6:54 AM, Torb said:

Hello all,

 

i have some issues with blisters at the heel with the RPD Max+. I bought them last year and used them around 6-8 times and i thought breaking them in/baking them would help. Starting inline hockey again few weeks ago i still had the same problems. The skates feel very confortable but when i'm using them for around 30 mins or longer (and sweating) my heel just starts moving up a bit when i start sprinting. It feels like i just can't get them tight enough. Until now i have used them around 20 times.

 

I baked them twice, bought some waxed laces and tried to use two sole inserts. In the end i guess they might be 0.5 or 1 size too big, but i never had similar issues with 'big' skates. My CA5 Skates were the same size and they were just fine. I use them right now but they have gotten pretty soft over the years.

 

Any help is appreciated.

 

cheers from germany

Heat the heel area and take to it with a clamp just under the ankle bone. Previously you will see I have commented on how the heel pocket got a lot bigger from the CA line to the later lines.

[sigpop 0]

I wear a Bauer Nexus 10.5 on ice and want to try some roller hockey.  The RPE line seems like a good choice for me.  Will the Rival model be available soon?  I only see the option to pre-order at IW.  If not will a lower end Mission in E width suffice?

[Justin 1933 134]

The rival will be in stock in about 30 days.  

 

[aeriches10 3]

I wear Graf 707 boot with Labeda humer chassis for over 10 years now (2 pairs). Looking for a change... Any similar fit with Alkali? I wear 10 in Graf, regular fit. And what's the break in period like?

 

Thanks a lot!

Edited May 30, 2016 by aeriches10

[Justin 1933 134]

Graf and Alkali were made at the same factory.  I never skated the 707, but as you will read,  the vast majority of people that try Alkali love them.

[sigpop 0]

On 4/26/2016 at 6:16 PM, Justin 1933 said:

The rival will be in stock in about 30 days.  

 

 

Any news on release date for the RPE Rival model?