Just over a year or so ago my lad decided he wanted to get into inline roller skating. Just in case if was just a tad we bought cheap muddy fox pads and he uses his cycle helmet. He wants now to buy some better gear but not silly expensive stuff, he hates how awkward his pads are to put on so something simpler and more effective than the elastic velcro thing he has. This might be the only way to secure them so that might be his only option I just don't know. A more skater like helmet would be good too. Any help would be great thanks.
I'll be honest I hate pads. It's like sex with two condoms on. However after my slam last year involving a fair portion of skin loss I have now bought some. Sadly I can't offer much advice. I bought Adidas shin pads with ankle guards as that's what the pro guys told me they use (cheap and affective worn under bottoms) and then a cheapish full set of elbow/knee/wrist pads with abs plastic all over. Not used them yet as I've not been doing anything daft. I do advise protection though. Seriously tell your kid if he still wants to walk properly when he's 46 don't be a bellend like I was. I know guys riding ramps at my age (the ones with sense) give me 10 years and I'll need ramps for my wheelchair lol.
I used to do inline skating a long time ago from about the age of 11-15, so notable brands have probably changed a fair since then. SFR's protective gear is nice and not too overkill on the price. If you can, you want to try find a local skate shop so that he can try on pads as you'll want to make sure they're the right size for his body for optimal protection... I'd say making sure they fit properly is way more important than finding the perfect brand. From personal experience, I would also recommend spending more on wrist pads than knee/elbow pads as you often instinctively put your arms out when you fall, so having something decent that can take the brunt for your wrists is a godsend. If you can't get to a shop for him to try stuff on, this site does a really good breakdown of sizing guides for almost every skate brand's gear: https://www.skatepro.uk/a837.htm (massive list of brands down the left) Best three online shops that I used to use as a kid, amazingly still around, are kateskates.co.uk, prolineskates.com and locoskates.com
I've nothing useful to add about safety gear, but I've bought loads of stuff from kateskates.co.uk over the years and always had good service - Especially getting hold of things not commonly (at the time) available in the UK.
