Equipment
When you sign up for a tour, we'll send you a
Pre-Departure Packet full of information about the local area and the tour itself. We will include
a suggested Packing List of clothes and other items. Here we will only discuss the actual skating
equipment you should have on a tour.
Skates
Unless you race, the most important aspect in choosing a pair of skates is comfort.
This is doubly true for an inline skating tour where you will be spending long periods of time in
your skates. Skate technology has improved drastically since 1994, when K2 introduced soft boots
that replaced the old plastic shell ski boots on wheels.
The first question to ask yourself
Do you need new skates? If you are currently using skates that are more than four years old,
our initial answer is "yes". You will likely find greater comfort and performance in a
new pair of skates because the technology has changed. We hear all the time how someone's
"original pair of 19XX skates are the most comfortable" and this can be true. Most of the
time, though, when we get these people on new skates they are convinced.
Let's assume you are going to purchase a new pair of
skates. Go to a good retailer, one where the skating staff actually knows something about skates.
Try on several different brands of skates and skate on them in the store's aisles. If they won't
let you do this, go somewhere else. Pick the skate that feels best on your foot. How much should
you pay? Any skate over about $160 should have good performance, although often sales can bring
prices of good skates down to $120 or so. Higher prices usually translate into increased
performance. (If your son or daughter is joining you on a tour and has "aggressive"
skates with smaller wheels, you might think about upgrading. These are just no fun on a skate tour.)
Our guides use and we recommend K2 brand skates. K2 originated the "soft boot" technology
way back in 1994, although it didn't become popular until 1997 or so. Now all the skate
manufacturers are following suit. We believe K2 is keeping ahead of the game by continually
developing their technology and by having a unique skate line for women. Our guides skate on
the Mod 8 four-wheel skate, although you might find this model too fast for you.
Most skates are recreational four-wheel skates. For
those of you who own or are interested to purchase five-wheel fitness/speed skates, you need to
clearly identify why you are getting them. If your goal is to race, you should probably get the
tight-fitting and less-comfortable leather speed boots. However, if you are just out to have fun
but at a high speed, we suggest you look at the K2 Mod10 skates. The Mod 10 provides an excellent
combination of speed and comfort.
Footbeds
Any skate you buy will come with a thin footbed. If you generally have no problems
with your feet, this will probably be fine. However, if the bottoms of your feet become sore or if
you currently wear orthotics or special liners in your everyday walking or running shoes, you
should put similar footbeds in your skates. You can get off-the-shelf footbeds for about $30 at
your skate retailer and a custom-molded version for about $100.
Wheels
Wheels are described by their diameter (size) and durometer (hardness). A large wheel
 rolls faster. A
harder wheel generally wears more slowly but has less shock absorption. On a skate tour, we
recommend you have larger and softer wheels, so that you roll more easily and with more comfort.
Your wheel size should be between 76 mm and 80 mm and your durometer between 78a and 80a (lower is
softer). Our guides use and we recommend Explore brand wheels. Not only do they make great wheels
but they are a great company that is supporting skating from the ground level up.
Bearings
Bearings are rated in their precision from ABEC 1 to ABEC 5 and higher. To be honest,
there is not a lot of data out there about the performance of bearings. To be equally honest, you
will probably be able to tell little difference between most quality bearings. So, unless you are
into racing, we suggest you not worry about this too much. Any skate
over $140 will probably come with a good set of bearings, usually ABEC 5s. Our guides use and we
recommend Twincam ABEC 5 bearings, which we have found to be excellent.
Maintenance of bearings is a whole 'nother
ballgame. The best maintenance is prevention - avoid skating in the rain. Rain gets in the
bearings, washes away the oil or grease, and allows the bearing to freeze up. However, sometimes
you can't or don't want to avoid the rain. (We have certainly skated in the rain many times and it
doesn't hurt.) In this case, have a separate set of "rain" bearings, spin them when you
are done, and replace any that freeze up. It costs a little money but saves a lot of time. The
alternative is to clean and oil your bearings when you are done, which can take from one to two
hours. Which to do? It depends on how much you value your bearings versus your time. Remember that
bearings lubricated with grease (standard in new skates) are a bit slower but much more rain
resistant than bearings lubricated with oil.
Protective Gear
You are required to wear wrist guards and a helmet on all Zephyr tours. Why these
two? Wrist injuries are the most common skate injuries and head injuries are, obviously, the most
serious. Wearing knee and elbow pads is up to you but we certainly recommend them. Why wear
protection at all? Two good reasons. First, any time you put eight wheels under your feet you are
increasing your risk of falling. Second, many accidents occur not because you are out of
control but because the skater, biker, or car next to you is. Third, it is a good example for kids.
These last two reasons make it seem a bit absurd to see a family skating (or biking) down the path,
the kids with helmets and the parents without. The assumption is the kids have less control. This
misses the point. Wear your gear, especially for your kids' sake.
Traveling With Your Skates
We use and recommend  Transpack skate bags for traveling with our skates.
These skate backpacks are a really handy way to transport your skates and gear to a
skate tour and come in a variety of colors and sizes. Click on the Transpack logo to
visit their website and see all the bags they offer. Email them
at transpack@att.global.net to find the retailer nearest you.
Tell them “Zephyr sent me!”.
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