Sure-Grip Boardwalk Pastel Roller Skate Review from a Professional Roller Skater

Hello! Today we are going to talk about the Sugar Boardwalk Pastel Roller Skates. These skates come ready to roll with a suede boot, nylon plate, aluminum trucks, and an outdoor wheel. If this is your first time here, my name is Nicole Fiore. I am a four-time world champion roller skater, coach, and choreographer. I teach people from all over the world, at all different ages, at all different skill levels, how to skate each week on my website thatnicolefiore.com. There's a link below to check it out. Now, I know that the very best equipment is not available to everyone, and seen as most skaters I'm teaching each week are on various skates, I wanted to know what they feel like. I want to know what it's like learning different skills in different skates so that I can become a better teacher for them and a better teacher for everyone. Plus, this is the number one question I get. What skates should I buy? What are the best skates? I'm just starting out, so now I'm here to tell you. If you are looking for a beautiful skating community, please join my Discord. That is also linked below. It is filled with the most amazing people from all over the world, at all different levels, wanting to share their love of roller skating and the knowledge that they are gaining. This skate that we are talking about today was sent to me by Volition Skate Co. It's an amazing company with a great online store. There's an affiliate code below to check out. You can buy this on their website volitionskate.com for $269. This is not a paid video, though. This is purely my opinion, purely my thoughts after skating on this skate for a few months. If you're a beginner roller skater, you have probably heard of SureGrip Boardwalks. They are recommended a lot. They are a fairly inexpensive skate, and they're made by SureGrip, which is a very reputable brand. A little history about SureGrip before we get into the skate. It was founded by John L. Wentz in 1936. When I read this when I was researching, I freaked out a little bit because, first of all, that's a very long time ago. Secondly, when you win the U.S. National Championships, you get a Wentz Award. I never connected that that was also the founder of SureGrip, so I have a few of them on display back here. When I went to pick them up from my parents' house today, I read the top of it, and it says, founder of SureGrip International. All those years of competing, and I had never actually read the plaque. Anyway, they were made popular because of their wheels, and then in 1945, they made their very first roller skate, so they've been around a while. The main points I'll be covering today are the boot, the plate, the trucks, the wheels, the toe stop, and the overall fit of the skate. Because this skate is around the $200 price range, I would consider it an inexpensive skate. It comes ready for you to just lace up and go. The beautiful thing about this suede boot is that it will sort of form to your foot as you wear it and as you sweat in it. It's not too stiff, so the break-in process will be nice and easy and won't hurt too much. Now, because it is not stiff, it doesn't have a ton of padding. The sides are pretty thin, and it will fold over a little bit right here. Back here is nice and stiff, though, so it won't completely fold over. If you can completely fold over your skate, that might not be the safest for your ankles. So this will provide enough support for doing beginning skating, some new tricks, but if you are really doing some difficult skills and getting into really deep edges, this might be a little bit too flimsy for you. This skate comes with a nylon plate. That's this part right here. Nylon is much more lightweight compared to a metal plate. So, for example, this skate is 2.8 pounds. This skate, the skates I wear every day, is 3.6, so that's almost a full pound lighter than my everyday skates. One of the main things I get in comments is, no one told me that these skates were so heavy. Well, I'm here to tell you, these skates are not that heavy. They are pretty lightweight. Now, although this plate is super light, which makes it really easy to pick up your feet and move them around, especially if you aren't used to this much weight being on your foot, I do recommend getting a metal plate when you can. The nylon plate feels like it might not be able to handle super intense skating for too long, meaning I don't feel super comfortable jumping really hard or pressing super, super deep edges on it. A metal plate will last longer and it is more durable. On to these aluminum trucks. These are great and super easy to adjust. All you have to do is adjust this right here with a wrench. Now, when I first put these on, they weren't adjusted, so I kind of just could roll straight. So, I sat down and moved two clicks, loosened in the front and in the back, so that I could press just a little bit to the outside and to the inside. I actually sat back down and adjusted quite a bit, but that is totally personal preference. You just want to make sure you can move a little bit to each side when you're putting weight into the ground and pressing to the outside of your foot and to the inside of your foot. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can watch my edges video. It is actually in my free trial on my website, and I talk about it in a lot of my beginner videos here on YouTube. I just hit my head on the disc. Thank goodness that's hold off. The disc fell off, not my head. On to wheels. Wheels are not a super big factor when deciding on a skate, simply because they are pretty inexpensive and super easy to change. Now, this skate is labeled an outdoor skate, I think, simply because it has an outdoor wheel on. You can wear these inside, though. It really doesn't matter. One trick I have, if this wheel is too sticky for you inside, just go outside, move them around a little bit, get them a little dirty, a little dusty, come inside, and it will be easier to do things inside. Now, if you are planning on skating outside, I highly recommend a slightly larger wheel like the Adam Pulse. These are my favorite outdoor wheels. You can buy these at VolitionSkate.com, but these are 65 millimeter compared to these, which are 57 millimeter. If you are going to switch out the wheels, just know that you will need an eight millimeter bearing for these wheels. On to the toe stop. Now, this toe stop is pretty small. This could be a good thing and a not so good thing. If you are worried at all about tripping over it or having it get in the way, this might be a great size for you. It is totally great for your normal stopping and pushing. If you are wanting to do more with your toe stop, maybe strut on it, stop really hard, push really hard, spin or jump, you might want to purchase a larger toe stop. Because this is so small, it will wear down quite quickly, so you might switch that out anyway over time. The overall fit of this skate is wonderful. It's very comfortable. It laces up really easily. It feels more like a shoe or like a boot that you would wear every day. They do come in men's sizing though, so I'm a size four in this skate. I am usually a size five or five and a half in women's shoes. Now, this heel is not super high, which is great if you are just learning how to skate. If you're used to a more flat shoe, this will be nice. It won't send you too high up on your heel. However, for me, I have been trained in artistic boots my entire life, which have a much higher heel. That is to put more weight on the ball of your foot, making your posture a little bit better and some skills easier, more like dance skating. So that is one thing that I personally could not get super comfortable with in this skate. But if you are just learning how to skate, this is not an issue at all. It's just because I've been on a super high heel for 29 years. So this is not an issue for most people, but that is one thing that I personally could not get comfortable with. So overall, this is a very lightweight skate, ready to wear right out of the packaging, inside or outside. It's fairly inexpensive. I think it's a really great purchase for a beginner roller skater. It is sturdy enough for you to use for quite some time. I was comfortable skating forward, skating backward, trying some spins and doing some one foot tricks in these. So there are a lot of skills you can learn in these skates. They should last you quite some time. Alright, please let me know if you have any questions about this skate and let me know what skate you would like me to try next. My Discord is linked below. Again, it is filled with the most amazing people from all over the world. And that discount code below will get you 50% off your first month of classes on my website. Huge shout out to Volition Skate Co. for making this happen. Their website is linked below as well. Please like and subscribe. I really appreciate it. It does make a difference. And I will see you on the next one.