Buyer's Insight: Comfort vs Control vs Price

Maybe it seems obvious for everyone else, but price differences between skates from the same brand often involve the most trivial of details that make $40 differences in buying power.

For example, you're looking to get your hands on Cool Brand A, and you're not sure why the CBA Basic is $180 while the CBA Pro model is $320. You're comparing the photos and reading over the features and you're just not getting it.

Same wheels, same hardnesses, same frame lengths, minor aesthetic differences in cuff and boot shell that amount to very little, so what exactly are you paying for?

Well, higher price point skate models tend to come with "better" bearings. That CBA Pro model comes with ceramic twincam rustproof 6 ball bearings that are specially designed for inline skating and aren't ABEC rated, but are purportedly way beyond that scale. These bearings cost $180 for a set of 8, and they come on a higher level skate that is specialized for a specific discipline.

Whereas the CBA Basic skate is less specialized. It doesn't have quick lock features or an adjustable cuff with 9 points of articulation, and it has a velcro ankle lock versus a plastic strap with aluminum buckles, but the boots, cuffs, and frames are essentially the same. Additionally, its bearings might be standard ABEC-5 or ABEC-7 bearings, or maybe they're servicable unrated budget bearings that are designed to provide consistent performance throughout their lifespan, and only cost $13 for a set of 4, because they're from skateboards.

Essentially, if you buy the CBA Pro and stick skateboard bearings on it, it becomes a slightly upgraded version of the CBA Basic. with a better fit and marginally better production materials/methods. If you buy the CBA Basic and stick a better frame and bearings on it, you get a CBA Pro that might have cost $100 less overall, and the investment will show.

Ideally, you want to get the very best boot for your feet, and that means something different to you than it does me. What it mostly boils down to is Comfort vs Control vs Price. Something has to give. If you want quality comfort and master control, you're gonna have to fork out a lot of cash.

Me? I just want those Seba FR1 BOOTS... I already have pre-rockered frames and Twincam bearings...