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I'm looking to buy inline skates so that I can use them to commute with work.

I'm overweight (230lbs) and plan on skating ~8 miles a day, monday - friday.

I tried going to all the *mart stores in the area, Dicks Sporting Goods, duhnams sports...and they all have very little selection and all about the same quality.

So my questions, Where do i find a store that sells more than different pairs of skates so that I can try them and choose something that meets my needs? Also, What should i be looking for? I haven't skated in a decade, but when I did (this was in college) I was what I though "good" (jumping, quick turns, quick stops, stairs).

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Hello @XenoPuTtSs, welcome to Physical Fitness. The question of "where" to get something is a difficult question, as store availability is going to different in your location than mine. Here, I would suggest something like The Starting Block or Sunshine Bike Shop, but you likely have neither of those stores. Reforming your question to focus more on the "what to look for" side will likely elicit much better answers. – Nathan Wheeler♦ Jun 28 '12 at 15:47
Why not invest in a bike or good walking shoes? – le_garry Jun 28 '12 at 15:52
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@le_garry Skating seems like it would be more fun, which in turn would mean less likly that I'll give up on it. Plus, walking is slow. – XenoPuTtSs Jun 28 '12 at 16:54
unless you can find a speciality store in your area, and i'm sure you would have already thought to look, you'll have to settle with an online store with a great return policy. I've used netskate.com in the past and have had very good success with them, but I also knew exactly what I wanted. – Ryan Miller Jun 28 '12 at 20:33
Last time I went to Sports Authority, they had a good selection. Right on with the inline skates, it's great excercise, I love it! – user3781 Jul 3 '12 at 6:05
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closed as too localized by VPeric, FredrikD, Informaficker, Greg♦ Oct 11 '12 at 19:36

This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, see the FAQ.

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Unless you're doing specialty stuff, what the big box stores have should be sufficient. I would also add REI Outdoor to your list.

As far as fit, I always like them to fit fairly snug, almost like ski boots. Make sure that they are consistently snug, it's no good to have your ankles flopping around while your calves are being choked. (My wife has that problem, she can't find ones that fit due to small feet and large calves from Irish Dance).

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I tried a few different stores, and even different locations of the same store franchise. I ended up getting a pair from Dick's Sporting goods, K2 FIT 78 to be exact. My only issue that I thought was annoying was what appears to be a new style for inline skates where the ankle support moves forward and backward. I wasn't use to this and everything felt "loose". – XenoPuTtSs Jul 3 '12 at 15:33

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