In my latest blog I wrote about my experiences with the Street Deluxe rollerskate by Wifa. In short: we are very happy to have a European brand come up with such a high quality full leather boot. I did miss a bit of arch support in the Street Deluxe and that made me extra excited to hear about plans for a more stiffer boot. (read the full blog here)
So here are my thoughts about the Xtreme boots:
In general the look and feel of the Xtreme boot is very similar to the softer Deluxe version. It looks just as beautiful, the outside material is the same and so is the leather sole and heel. Eyelets, stitching etc.. all just as well made as the Street Deluxe. The sizing is also the same. If you’ve read my blog about the Deluxe, you will remember that I’m usually a size 39 but with Wifa I’m a size 38.
Now let’s talk about the stiffness. Straight after you put the boots on you notice the difference. All along the foot the leather is more sturdy giving my feet more support. The arch support that I personally really need/want in skates is a lot more present than in the wifa deluxe but still not as much as in other high end rollerskate boots. But where I truly missed it in the Deluxe, I don’t miss it in the Xtreme boots that much. Apparently the overall higher stiffness gives me enough support, I think I can skate in these for hours!
About that arch support: in the meantime we’ve sold a couple of Wifa Deluxe boots and I’ve noticed that for skaters with a low arch on the inside of the feet, the fact that it doesn’t have a pronounced arch support is actually a huge plus. So this goes to show that there’s no right or wrong here: it all depends on the shape of your feet and what feels good for you. We’ve said it before and we will say it again: what’s heaven for one skater, can feel like hell for the next skater. That's why we believe it's so important to do a proper bootfitting.
So back to the Xtreme boots. I think these boots are an excellent choice for skaters who prefer a stiffer boot. Wifa is still working out what the final retail price will be but from what I’ve heard from them the price-quality ratio will be excellent: you will get a very decent well build high end boot without overpaying for it.
If there’s one thing I would like to say to Wifa it’s this: we’ve come to know skaters as people who are very specific about their style and gear choices… I’m thinking that skaters will want to see from the outside what type of boot they have. So I’m wondering if there would be a way to let the Xtreme boots stand out a bit more from the other models, for example by adding one small detail or using different colors for this line. But hey, that’s just a thought..
In the end, it’s not about the gear or the looks, it’s about the joy, the flow and that free feeling of rollerskating!
Esther
