Expensive Skates

I was always taught that, in the long run, purchasing something that is a little more expensive, but that is also a little better quality is worth it. Sometimes, with five boys, I forget that lesson. I am especially prone to forget that lesson when I am buying things in multiples. A couple of years ago we bought rollerblades (actually they were just in-line skates, not real Rollerblades) for the boys. Since we were buying three pairs, I opted for the least expensive rollerblades that I could find.

At first, this seemed to be okay. The boys occasionally put their rollerblades on and spent a few minutes trying to cruise around the house. This year, however, they have decided to take their rollerblading to the next level and they are rollerblading every chance that they get. It all started after they watched speed skating during the Olympics. This is when we found out that our earlier attempt to be frugal was going to be a costly mistake.

The problem with the less expensive skates (note that I am purposely trying to avoid using the words cheap and skate in the same sentence) is that the wheels are made of plastic that has virtually no grip on any hard surface. So last month when Kaden received several cards with money in them for his birthday, he was determined to buy new wheels for his rollerblades.

We searched all over town for rollerblade wheels with no success. So what did we end up doing? Buying new rollerblades (and yes, the new ones are real Rollerblades). Of course, Mom and Dad had to chip in for the new Rollerblades because (as I was taught when I was younger) good skates cost more. We now know that the key to good in-line skate wheels is the durometer rating of the wheels. The lower the durometer, the softer the wheel, which means better grip and improved shock absorption. As you would expect, the other boys all want to replace their skates now too because they are quickly tiring of watching Kaden skate circles around them while they slip and slide on the driveway.

The irony, of course, of this whole experience is that by trying to save a little money up front, we are ultimately going to end up spending a lot more money than if we had just purchased the more expensive skates in the first place. Let's just hope we learn our lesson soon because I have a feeling that this lesson will become a lot more expensive when the boys are older.