While on our last excursion over to the States, we saw children everywhere seemingly gliding about all over the malls and parking lots of Miami and Lauderdale. Upon closer inspection we could see that in the heel of those tennis shoes they were wearing was a wheel. How cool is that? We had to have a pair for our 5 yr old nephew back in Sweden, of course, so we accosted a child and wrung the information out of her as to where to purchase these marvels, and off we went. (Just so ya know, we are not prone to accosting strange children, normally…) Turns out the Heelys were in high demand and were flying off the shelf almost the moment they arrived in the stores. We finally got lucky and caught a store the morning of a Heely shipment and walked out of there with this pair of way-cool Heelys Octane for little Linus.
Then the trouble began.
Upon arriving back in Sweden we couldn’t wait to get these Heelys on the poor kid’s feet. His parents were just about as pale as I’ve ever seen a person get. I believe his mother’s words were something to the effect of Oh hell I’ll never be able to catch him now! Hey man, that’s what aunts are for, right? To drive parents crazy? muawahahahaaa
So. At first, these Heelys Octanes are a pretty tricky wicket to get a grasp on. Our poor Linus was on his rear-end more times than I care to count. Visions of broken bones started flashing before my eyes. I began edging toward the door after awhile, ready to make a quick get-away should the need arise.
Luckily, Linus is a very quick study and soon mastered the buggers. Once he had a firm command of the dynamics of the things, he was out the door and showing off to the neighborhood. A lynch mob of angry parents soon formed. Oops. You see, all the children want Heelys Octanes now, but they are not yet in the stores over here. DOH! Hmmm maybe I can start a black market operation….
At any rate, as I said, these are tennis shoes... but with a wheel in the heel. When you first buy them, there is like this plug in the heel. You have to pry that out then pop the supplied wheels into each heel. Extra wheels can be bought at Journeys in the US for around $30. Heelys themselves run between $70-100. The Octanes were $89. Pricey, eh? Still, not any higher really than a pair of regular ol’ Pumas.
As far as quality goes, well, the Heelys Octane are on par with just about any other $50 tennis shoe. You’re paying the extra for that wheel. They appear to be built to last at least until he outgrows them… which really won’t be all that long given his age. I think he’ll be able to hand them off to his little sister at that point though and we also anticipate that they will last her through til she outgrows them.
I mean, the stitching and construction seems very sturdy. The Octanes are low-rise tennies though so please do note that there is no ankle support to them. At that age, they don’t need it really. Just be sure to closely supervise them until they get the hang of it. I do know a few kids here and there have indeed broken their ankles on the things. But yanno what? Scoff at me if ya like, but a broken arm or ankle here and there is what childhood is all about. You cannot over-protect your kid or they won’t learn a damn thing about boundaries. Let them get hurt. It is a necessary part of growing up.
Having said that, the Heelys company covers their backside by suggesting full body armor while using their product. Ohj. Screw that… I also think helmets on bicycles is a bit ridiculous. Oh well…
Obviously, I have not worn these myself, but Linus assures me that once you get the hang of walking vs rolling, the Octanes are quite comfortable.
Inline Warehouse says: Smooth Synthetic and Breathable Mesh Upper w/ Abrasion Resistant Toe
External Heel Stabilizer / PU Midsole / Wave Comfort Heel Bracket
Uses the MEGA Wheel & ABEC7 608 Bearings (Can use Deuce Wheels too). (http://www.inlinewarehouse.com)
The Octane model was also on backorder last time I checked… HA!
I’m going with 4 stars for the Heelys Octane. I like the looks of the silver-on-black with a bit of a racing stripes feel to them; they appear fairly easy to clean; and they are just too cool for words. Lars and I are currently contemplating whether or not our old decrepit selves could handle a pair in the adult sizes. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
