So fun and easy, even a 41-year old kid can ride it

Proving that I’m pretty much still a 12-year old kid, I recently bought myself one of these Razor Sole Skates (from Amazon $47.50).

I told my wife that I was buying if to keep around for when my young nephews came to visit (even though they bring their Razor Ripstiks with them whenever they visit) — but I really brought it for myself.

Our new house sits about 3/4 of the way from the top of a long and somewhat steep hill that is about 600 yards from top to bottom, and ends in a nice gently curving uphill sweep that allows you to slow down after the long, fast decent. Since there are only 4 houses on our street and almost zero through traffic, the hill is very popular with the neighborhood kids who ride their bikes, scooters, and skateboards to the top of the hill and then race back down like Olympic downhill skiers and lugers.

Looking down the hill on our street (the hill starts about 100 yards further up the hill, around a gently sweeping curve). Tell me this hill wasn't made for fun...

Now I can join them…

Plus…our mailbox is down at the bottom of the hill, and my new little Sole Skate makes going to get the mail a whole lot more fun. Especially since I broke it down after the first week and put in better bearings and bearing spacers, making it much, much faster than the stock set up.

Next I’m thinking of getting a street luge… 

Quick Review

Pulled the Sole Skate out of its packaging and it was ready to ride without having to do anything else to it. Since we don’t have a flat street to practice on, I jumped on it, pointed it down hill and took off.  I was a little wobbly at first, but quickly gained confidence going down the hill.

The Sole Skate is stable and maneuvers easily. Anybody who has ever ridden a skateboard will instantly be comfortable on the Sole Skate.

There is a rear-wheel brake, which is depressed when you put your foot on the board. This brake stops the skate when you step (or fall) off. Also, if you lift your heel while skating, the brake will help slow you down. A little.

I was a little disappointed with the speed of the Sole Skate, so I upgraded the bearings to a better quality ABEC 7 bearing and added a better spacer than the floating stock spacer. Much, much better. Almost too fast for this hill, really.

The Razor Sole Skate is rated for “up to 225 lbs,” but I weigh about 25 lbs more than that, and have pushed the skate pretty hard and it seems to be holding up pretty well. If you weigh under the prescribed 225 lbs, you’ll probably need a sledgehammer to break this thing.

I also like that the Sole Skate will fit in one of my motorcycle saddle bags or in a back pack in case I want to take it along with me somewhere.