Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I'm joining our local women's roller derby team and looking for a pair of less expensive, yet durable Vegan skates. The only ones I have been able to find are the Riedell 265 Divine's and they are $450, which is out of my price range. Anyone know of any other Vegan skates that would work for less? Does anyone have derby experience? If so, could I just start out with a lesser pair and maybe work my way up to the better skates? Thanks in advance for your feedback!

What size are your feet? I need to sell mine....

Well, I typically wear between an 8 1/2 to a 9 in regular shoes. Skates usually run one size smaller don't they?

The Riedell R3s are a decent beginner skate.

You've probably heard this many times already, but if you are planning on doing derby for more than a year, a good pair of skates are worth the initial investment.

Which league are you joining?

I am going to try out for the newly formed Iron Mountain Roller Girls. Hopefully, I will make it on the team. Are the R3's vegan? I would hate to buy non-vegan but I can't afford $450 for skates. I have learned my lesson in buying down. You get what you pay for, unfortunately...

Yes. They are made in China, though.

Here is more info on them.

Thanks for the info! I'm going to go check them out!

Good luck!

Thanks! I think I am going to get those. Do you know if I need to upgrade the wheels or can I just use the stock wheels?

The wheels they come with should be fine for now.

Also, toe guards will help protect the R3s from getting scuffed up from falling drills. The cap kind are better than the strip kind. I haven't looked that hard, but I've only ever seen leather ones for sale. It would be easy to fashion a pair out of canvas or duct tape or something, though.

the vegan 265s are not 450, those are the skates i have, you need to look at more websites!

I just found them for around $360, but that is still too much for me. Does anyone have any experience with Diablo's? http://sincityskates.com/2nd/diablo.html

skates don't matter as much as your skills.
anything by reidell is going to be nice.
my first skates were bandits, bottom of the barrel and they saw me through the first year and a half of derby.

Sweet! I just heard that some skates won't even get you through one season of derby and practice and I didn't want to have to buy a pair and then turn around and buy yet another pair, which would cost as much as buying a good pair in the first place. I am excited. My skills are ok right now, but I am going to skate my asparagus off in the next 2 months to get ready...at least I hope some of my booming asparagus is skated off.

all of the reidells are decent enough to get you through your first year. you might have to upgrade bearings but those are like 15 bucks and you should always have some extra anyways.

the R3's are a good first pair, but don't stay in them too long. i ended up with stress fractures after two years in them

then i switched to the vegan clarno ridells, they're basically vegan wickeds. pricy but they're LOVELY skates

everyone is different what works for one person may not work for another, there is nothing wrong with r3s.

I'm kind of estatic to find out that the R3's are made out of vinyl.

I have been using and abusing my R3's for about 3 years now and finally they are falling apart. i just have not had the money to replace them but i love these skates and their boots. ( I skate anywhere from 3 to 5 times a week.)

I totally recommend them. Cheap investment see if your going to stick with the sport first.
Plus their more like cushy sneakers then other skates that can give you ankle blisters from rubbing. '

Hope this helps. And remember to have fun on the track!

moxi skates in cali makes vegan skate for like under 200, but you have to buy derby wheels.

i wouldn't use those skates for derby. they are an artistic boot, which means they are cut over the ankle as well as having a heel in the back. this is your first post on this board, i am suspicious do you work for moxi?

I'm going to also chime in and say go for Riedell R3s. I still wear mine, but make sure you get toe guards. The street hates my I know two people with Divine's - one was a wobbly new girl last I met her, but she loved them. The other is a seasoned skater who hated the toe stop on them. Almost everyone else in my league used R3's. Once you're used to derby skating you can change your bearings and wheels and you'll have no problems for at least a year or two as long as you treat your skates well.

Also they'll make you look like this.

where are your elbow pads?

That was halloween. I was sitting in a chair handing out candy after I took that picture. I swear I wear full gear the rest of the time!

reviving this thread. give me your updates. i need derby skates. what do you recommend?

I *believe* that Bont is coming out with an affordable new skate package that is made of microfiber. I also think that you can get any of their leather boots made semi custom with microfiber for only $30 extra. Unfortunately the microfiber isn't that tough (which is important for derby), so it's pretty important to tape up those boots. Also you can get Antiks custom made vegan for an extra $90, but the boots are already super expensive so the price is up there (I think almost $500!). Riedell builds Antik skates, so it's probably the same material as the Divine.