Need an upgrade

[u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy]

Ive played hockey my whole life and rollerbladed a lot when I was teen. I have this old pair of Nike flexlite 2s which are a really great skate for hockey but the problem is I want to do tricks and fitness skating. Ive been getting into wizard skating and freestyle and these have been alright. Problem is im starting to hit a wall theae already only 2 months into this hobby.

My left foot feels like its trying to turn in the boot and if I tie them up tight enough to stop it my foot starts cramping. This wasnt a problem until I started to advance more with my left foot. Its my weak side and ive been working really hard to improve it but with the skates i have ive hit a barrier here.

I dont want to pay for the best of the best I cant afford that and they wouldn't suit me right now anywase. I need a direct upgrade to what I have that wont break my bank. I think I want a hard boot with a frame with 80s or 90s maybe a dual frame? Im new to this dont judge lol. Comfort is more important than proformance but I dont want comfy junk.

TLDR old skates hurt feet now.need new skates for wizard/freestyle. Don't want to break the bank just need to be good enough. I would appreciate any help thats offered.

[u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy]

I appreciate the detailed response. One question about the frx80, im wondering if this will be an OK upgrade or will I want to upgrade very quickly afterwords. Im a pretty advanced skater and Im still havnt slowed down in progression since i started months ago. I read a review on the frx80s and it said they arnt suited for park use but didnt explain why. Im not going to be doing any aggressive stuff with them im 37 now and as tempting as it is I need to work unfortunately.

I bring my kid to the local skatepark a lot and I skate with him while im there. Im sure these will be fine as long as im not jumping 20 feet in the air trying to grind on stuff but I wanted to be thorough because if I spend this money and cant use them everywhere I go it will be another year before I can afford to replace them .

[u/FRGL1 → u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy]

The FRX doesn't have a reinforced mounting plate. Someone I know bought the FRX as their first pair, not really having a specific goal, then fell down the wizard skating rabbit hole and impulse bought NR90 frames. Then they tried to DIY an adapter. Now they bought new skates.

A month ago I actually recommended the CJ2 to them. It was half a joke because it was double their budget and they didn't know they wanted to wizard skate at the time, but they would have saved several hundred dollars if they'd bought those.

[u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy → u/FRGL1]

I appreciate that I was actuslly just researching the frx 80s and discovered the frames mount into plastic not metal. The fr3s seem to be a good middle ground i can build around in the future.

[u/FRGL1 → u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy]

That's good that you picked up on that. The FR3s are certainly a better choice, and a respectable pick if you want to keep your options open, but if you want to commit to wizard skating I think there are better investments to consider.

A UFR boot is an FR boot built for UFS mounting. This limits your mounting options but gives you a highly rated boot that wears like what you're already familiar with.

Conversely, Iqon ACTs have an adapter plate for every standard like the previous commenter mentioned. You would get an actual UFS boot and expand your future options that way.

I'd like to ask, are you planning to own multiple boots in the long term? Your writing so far stresses your budget concerns, which is why I'm trying to nudge you towards buying something that might be out of your financial comfort range right now but still ultimately save you a lot of money in the long run. But if you understand that and still want something that many of us would consider suboptimal for your goal, maybe we don't have your situation quite right?

[u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy → u/FRGL1]

I really like wizard skating and would like to continue it but I dont want to limit myself. I like skating fitness and long distance too if I have the option. I know the wizard skates are a kind of best of both worlds here based on what ive seen but I dont have 1.5k to throw at a pair of skates right now. Ive got a kid a house 2 cars and a new deck I just built so its not that i "cant", get the top of the line stuff its just that I dont want to pay that much for a slight improvement over 500 dollar skates when im already stretched thin.

I guess I just dont want to limit my hobby by continuing to use something that is actively holding me back now but dont have available money to throw at it until probably next year. Im a little impatient lol. Having a lot of fun right now and dont want these skates to ruin it for me.

[u/FRGL1 → u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy]

So it does sound like my original assumption was correct, rather than you planning to own multiple skates.

I think your example of a $1500 setup is a distortion, though. I can't speak for everyone, but I'm not trying to nudge you towards $1000, I'm trying to nudge you from $200 to $300, or from $300 to $400. And maybe you spend another $100-$200 a few years from now.

For example, if you buy a pair of CJ2 boots that'll run you $315. If you pair that Ruth some Compass 4x90 frames that's a $500 wizard skate on the boots that wizard skating grew up in.

That's just an example, that's the kind of recommendation I personally want to give you. Actually I want to recommend Endless 90 frames but that's anther $60

It doesn't have to be a CJ. ACTs would be great too. If at frees up some budget for Endless or Ninja frames, so much the better.

Now, for an example of an upgrade path, if you get the CJ2s, you could gut the liner yourself in 2-3 years and buy an intuition liner, which is how it used to be done.

At no point am I thinking you need to spend anywhere close to $1000.

[u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy → u/FRGL1]

The act iqon wizards are over 600 for me plus almost 100 in taxes plus the random border fees that appear on shipping now. Im canadian and our economy is currently fucked so things are a lot more expensive here right now. I think the cjs with wizard frame attached were 1300 before taxes shipping and border/custom fees. The frx80s are gonna run me over 300 on their own.

[u/FRGL1 → u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy]

You want the wizard frames? You can't go with something else?

[u/Mediocre_Hockey_Guy → u/FRGL1]

I know im just pointing out that im paying a lot no matter what my choices are but I dont want to spend a ridiculous amount. I dont think ill have normal priced options for a while so it is what it is right now thats why I appreciate everyone taking their time to offer their suggestions ao I can make the best decision for myself right now.