Rollerblade Microblade Free 3WD - Green/Orange Inline Skates

The Rollerblade brand holds a reputation of premium skates manufacturer and for a good reason. Their products are made out of the best materials and have high quality finish. Without a shadow of doubt, Rollerblade is not playing a game of compromises – this approach has been used in creation of their junior skates, of course.

Microblade skates are one of the brand’s best-sellers. The attention to detail and care put into creating these is easily on par with top tier fitness skates for adults made by RB. Microblade skates are top shelf product, but they are worth every single penny spent on them.

The boot is a classic softboot – a soft, sneaker-like upper attached to strong, composite skeleton. The fact that soft part of the skates is built using similar technologies to high end running shoes is a nice touch. Microblade share this aesthetics with Macroblade fitness skates for adults and what can we say – it rocks.

The Free version of the skate was created to be better suited for kids who struggle with both fine and high motor skills or have attention deficit disorders.

The boot is built around Junior Fit concept, to be better suited for children’s anatomy. The fact that it is covered by engineered mesh makes it very breathable. Overall, skate provides a high level of comfort. Microblade Free version is not using a standard lacing, but have a stretchy material sewn in the place where it would normally be – this makes these skates easy to put on and take off even for children who have difficulties with fine motor skills or attention deficits and struggle to lace normal skates by themselves. The soft part of the boot wraps around the foot just as well as in case of models with traditional lacing. Strong Velcro strap locks the heel in place and top buckle with lock stabilizes the ankle. Rigid cuff provides excellent support – there won’t be any unwanted bending of the ankles. The foot is secured in place and you do not need to worry that skates will unbuckle themselves or flex too much to the sides during skating.

As in most cases of junior skates, Microblades have adjustable boot. Thanks to it, they will provide joy to children for more than just single skating season. Adjustment mechanism is super simple to use – just press the button placed on the side of the boot and slide the toe cap to front or back as needed. There are three size ranges and each one of them have four possible toe cap positions. These are as follows: EU28-32, EU33-36.5 and EU36.5-40.5. If this seems strange, know this – the secondary reference point is US sizing, which doesn’t translate to EU one in nice, round numbers. This is actually a good sign, because that means the sizes across the regions are marked according to mondo point in centimetres. Rollerblade is trustworthy with sizing, as many companies tend to round the numbers up or down to give an impression of full sizes.

The frame is plastic composite and is moulded as single part with the boot’s base. This is called monocoque or unibody concept and thanks to it, the skates are really responsive. It is a hybrid frame, accepting 3 or 4 wheel setups, allowing you to switch between the two. Frame was designed to provide a low centre of gravity, which makes skating much easier for younger skaters.

The Free version of the skate comes with altered three wheel setup known from regular Microblade 3WD models. Thus, instead of 80mm 82A wheels, we get smaller and softer ones: 76mm and 80A specs. This is to make skating more accessible for children who struggle with motor skills and need to have something slower to start on. Three wheels make the setup very light, which is also a plus. Of course, the frame is exactly the same as in every other Microblade version, meaning that you can upgrade the skate to 3x80mm or 4x72mm setup. This flexibility is not that common thing in skates and thus, is definitely a highlight of the Microblade range of models. Rollerblade SG3 and brake (you can take it off if needed) complete the package.

Without a shadow of doubt, the Microblades are one of the best options to introduce children to skating. As always, by choosing Rollerblade, high level of quality is guaranteed!

In addition, as far as we are aware, the Microblade Free are first ever skates made for kids adjusted to provide a stress-free introduction to skating to users with motor skills issues, attention deficit disorders or oversensitivity. Even though there are only two differences compared to regular 3WD skates, the boot which is easier to get into and tighten is a very significant change alone!