Editing Inline skates (section)

=== Hockey skates ===

{{Main|Inline hockey|l1=Inline hockey (roller hockey)}}

[[File:Bauer Vapor Inline Hockey Skates-IMG 4412-FRD.png|thumb|right|x220px|Bauer hockey skate]]

In the 21st century, skates for inline hockey (roller hockey) use a construction process for the boot that differs significantly from other inline skates.<ref name="us-patent-7316083-labonte-traditiona-construction">{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=7316083
|fdate=2004-03-29
|pubdate=2005-09-29
|gdate=2008-01-08
|title=Footwear having an outer shell of foam
|inventor1-first=Ivan
|inventor1-last=Labonté
|assign1=Bauer Hockey LLC
}}</ref> They are mainly made by ice hockey manufacturers such as [[CCM (ice hockey)|CCM]], [[Bauer Hockey|Bauer]] ([[Mission Hockey|Mission]]), [[True Temper Sports|True]], Marsblade, etc.<ref name="powell-svensson-inline-skating"/>{{rp|37–38}}{{efn-ua|1=See inline hockey skates made by ice hockey manufacturers, archived here: [https://web.archive.org/web/20250117014217/https://www.inlinewarehouse.com/CCM_Super_Tacks_9370R/descpage-CST937S.html CCM Super Tacks 9370R], [https://web.archive.org/web/20250117014551/https://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Bauer_Vapor_3X_Pro/descpage-V3XPRS.html Bauer Vapor 3X Pro], [https://web.archive.org/web/20250117014732/https://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Mission_Inhaler_WM02/descpage-MWM2.html Mission Inhaler WM02], [https://archive.today/20250119220702/https://www.thehockeyshop.com/products/true-tf9-senior-roller-hockey-skates True TF9 Roller Hockey Skate], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20250117015104/https://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Marsblade_R1_Kraft_Crew/descpage-MKCR1.html Marsblade R1 Kraft Crew].|name=inline-hockey-skates-made-by-same-ice-hockey-makers}} In many instances the same boots are fitted with a blade holder for ice hockey, and an inline frame for roller hockey.{{efn-ua|name="note-on-complementary-hockey-making-video-patent"|1=Refer to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vokXYoL1BsE this video] showing the production process of a Bauer hockey skate (both ice and inline), corresponding to the US patent 7,316,083. See FIG. 9: an exploded view showing components used in the construction of a traditional hockey skate in the 2010s.<ref name="youtube-discovery-uk-making-of-hockey-skates">{{cite web
|title=Ice Skates: How It's Made (Hockey Skates)
|others=Video shows the production process of a traditional hockey skate, with a boot that is fitted to either an ice blade or an inline wheel frame
|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vokXYoL1BsE
|website=discoveryuk.com
|publisher=Discovery UK
|language=en
|format=video
|date=2020-06-05
}}</ref><ref name="us-patent-7316083-labonte-traditiona-construction"/>
}}{{efn-ua|1=See [https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/cb/bd/9c/cb7e75194591a7/US7039977.pdf US patent 7,039,977] filed by Mission Hockey in 2003, showing the same hockey boot construction, mounted on an ice blade (FIG. 1), and on a wheeled frame (FIG. 2).<ref name="us-patent-7039977-mission-bauer-2003"/>
}} As a consequence, inline hockey skates continue to use the same '''rivet-based''' mounting system from ice hockey. This is unlike other inline skates which have largely moved on, now adopting standard mounting systems such as UFS, 165mm, 195mm and Trinity, with replaceable frames for all but entry-level skates.<ref name="vegter-everything-about-frames"/>

[[File:Hi-Lo setup for natural dorsiflextion-TRUE hockey skates-IMG 1334-FRD.png|thumb|right|200px|Hi-lo setup with 80mm rear & 76mm front wheels]]

Hockey frames, wheel choices, and wheel setups reflect the specific needs of the game. Hockey skates adopt some of the shortest frames in all inline skates, to allow a player to turn hard on a dime, and to do crossovers unhindered. Hockey boots are kept as low to the ground as possible, only allowing their frames to accommodate smallish wheels, in order to deliver the best stability for hard edging maneuvers. The largest wheels used are 80mm which would be the smallest ones found in recreational skates. Wheels with a rounder profile are preferred, to support sharp edging and turning, without the skate sliding out from under a player.<ref name="vegter-everything-about-frames"/><ref name="powell-svensson-inline-skating"/>{{rp|37–38}}<ref name="joyner-inline-hockey-1995"/>{{rp|19–24}}

Hockey skates often incorporate a hi-lo wheel setup through the deliberate use of wheels with different diameters (e.g. 80-78-76-74mm), or by having its frame explicitly support such setup (typically 80-80-76-76mm). A hi-lo setup places larger wheels at the rear, and smaller wheels in front, while all wheels touch the ground. This raises the heel higher, and pushes the toe cap lower, thus the name hi-lo. It causes a player to forward flex naturally, for greater stability and stronger strokes.<ref name="rerolling-inline-boot-frame-wheel-setups"/><ref name="markus-thierstein-wheel-rockering"/>

[[File:Real inlinehockey pahalampi vs GBGCity.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Inline hockey in Sweden]]

Inline skates started as a wheeled equivalent of ice hockey skates, when Olson adopted molded plastic hockey boots that Lange just introduced to the ice hockey world.<ref name="rollerblades-dryland-training-1985"/> This type of hard boot construction, with a pivoting cuff and a removable liner, as typified by the 1988 Rollerblade Lightning, evolved into many types of inline skates over four decades. Yet ironically, neither ice hockey nor roller hockey ended up adopting hard-shell boots nor hinged cuffs.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.purehockey.com/c/the-history-of-hockey-skates-part-2
|title=The History of Hockey Skates, Part II: The Rise of Hockey-specific Skates
|website=Pure Hockey / Hockey Resource Center
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250117034047/https://www.purehockey.com/c/the-history-of-hockey-skates-part-2
|archive-date=2025-01-17
|access-date=2025-01-17
|others=See discussion on how Lange hard boots did not fare well in ice hockey
}}</ref>{{efn-ua|1=See background section discussion on why hard boots with hinged cuff and thick liners do not work to either ice hockey or roller hockey, in US patent 7,039,977 from Bauer/Mission.<ref name="us-patent-7039977-mission-bauer-2003">{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=7039977
|fdate=2003-07-09
|pubdate=2004-05-06
|gdate=2006-05-09
|title=Contoured skate boot
|inventor1-first=Thomas V.
|inventor1-last=Wilder
|assign1=Mission Itech Hockey Inc
|assign2=Bauer Hockey LLC
}}</ref>
}}

[[File:Wern-Shiarng Jou-US8329083B2-2012-Method of making a lasted skate boot-Bauer-Patent Drawing Fig4-Redacted.png|thumb|right|x290px|Hockey boot construction]]

The rigor of a hockey game requires that inline hockey skates be made as lightweight as economically possible. At the same time, these skates must deliver superior heel support and ankle support. In addition, power transfer from foot to wheels needs to be direct and instantaneous. Traditional inline hockey skates achieve these by creating an unyielding wall, with anatomical contours that hug the heel and both sides of the ankle. This wall is known as a '''quarter package''' comprising left and right quarter panels, and it is bolted to a rigid outsole platform.<ref name="us-patent-7039977-mission-bauer-2003"/><ref name="us-patent-7316083-labonte-traditiona-construction"/> The wall and its connection to the outsole is reinforced, often with an injection-molded thermoplastic piece sewed into the wall, and then nailed, tacked or glued to the outsole.<ref name="us-patent-8329083-wern-shiamg-jou-bauer-injection-molded-outer-wall-2007-2010">{{Cite patent
|country=US
|number=8329083
|pridate=2007-01-19
|fdate=2010-07-12
|pubdate=2010-11-04
|gdate=2012-12-11
|title=Method of making a lasted skate boot
|inventor1-first=Wern-Shiarng
|inventor1-last=Jou
|assign1=Bauer Hockey LLC
}}</ref>

The rest of the boot is built around the quarter package, with a thick tongue to support the shin for an aggressive athletic stance, along with an reinforced toe cap. The entire boot is thus designed to protect a foot from flying pucks. The boot is furnished with an integrated and non-removable liner with varied thickness at places, to further deliver an anatomical fit. Hockey skates use eyelets and laces, not buckles or straps.<ref name="youtube-discovery-uk-making-of-hockey-skates"/> Players often use waxed laces, which grip the eyelets firmly, allowing players to selectively tighten and loosen laces around particular eyelets based on needs. Typically, the toe area is laced comfortably, the middle eyelets are laced tight to ensure proper heel lock, and the upper eyelets are left looser to allow for ankle mobility (forward flex).<ref name="laura-stamm-power-skating-2010">{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eo0AEACAAJ
|title=Laura Stamm's Power Skating
|publisher=Human Kinetics
|location=Champaign, IL
|year=2010
|isbn=978-0736076203
|access-date=2025-01-16
|first1=Laura
|last1=Stamm
}}</ref>{{rp|1–3}}

Thus, traditional hockey boots are not hard boots with removable liners. They are not soft boots with an exoskeleton. Traditional hockey boots may be constructed in a fashion similar to hybrid soft boots, but they are not soft anywhere, and eschew hinged cuffs for contoured quarter panels. Hockey boots are in a class of its own.