Riedell 220 Century Outdoor Roller Skates

These skates are awesome, and Roller Skate Nation never disappoints! I have purchased three different skates from them, and their customer service is top notch! I ordered these in white, and they were able to customize these for me by mounting them with the Sure Grip Avanti Magnesium plates, and swapped out the wheels for ones I really like. I have the magnesium plates on a pair of other skates I got from Roller Skate Nation, and absolutely love them, so wanted them on these skates. Roller Skate Nation did an excellent mounting job of the plates, and I couldn’t be happier! From the day I placed the order, until the day they arrived, took about 7 business days to arrive, which was awesome for the customization I wanted. Anyway, these skates are so well-made, and are the best skates I have now, including my Moxi Jack 1’s. I love the leather boot that is handmade in the USA, which is awesome! No machine, foreign imported skates here. Also, I believe the sole is leather, but I could be wrong on that. I love that the heel is made of genuine wood, and not vinyl, as the lower-end skates have. These are a solid, heavier boot, but I don’t feel like they are dragging me down when skating. These are advertised as artistic skates, and while I do some artistic skating, I mainly do recreational skating on tennis and basketball courts, as well as sometimes visit the skate park. When I first got these out of the box, I was impressed with the quality and attention to detail of the boot, and eagerly tried them on. I was so nervous ordering these because Roller Skate Nation says to order your street size for the women’s white boot, which for me, is a size 8. Riedell’s website put me at a size 7 when I measured my feet, so as mentioned, I was very nervous these would not fit. I needn’t have worried because they fit perfectly. They might be a teensy bit too big, but I swapped out the horrible stock insoles that are almost paper thin, with some gel arch support insoles, and they now fit perfectly, like a glove. Also, I was a bit nervous because I technically have wide feet, and ordered these in the medium width. I was worried I should have ordered them in a wide, but they fit my feet perfectly as mentioned. Whew! These boots are quite stiff, (but not uncomfortable) and I know this will eventually go away as I skate on them more. I did do a test run for a couple of hours, and these did not chafe or cause blisters on my feet or heel like some new boots do. So, I would say they are ready to skate in right out of the box, aside from the stiffness I mentioned. Also, they are soooooo comfortable, and provide excellent foot support. I paid a little over $600 with the upgrades for these skates, and the only thing I wish they had the shearling liner inside the tongue for ultra comfort, but the sponge-like lining in them is comfortable enough. They also have awesome padding in the ankle area, which is so nice and makes these boots ultra comfortable. Did I mention how heavenly they smell? I love the smell of leather and the “new skate” smell, and I always do a deep inhale when taking them out of my skate bag, lol! I did do some jumps in these while testing them out, and they handled the jumps like a champ! Ultra-smooth landing and very solid! All in all, these skates are an absolute joy to skate in. With the Avanti magnesium plates, they are the perfect skate for me, and I plan on keeping them forever. I am so happy I finally found THE PERFECT skate for me! Also, I did a YouTube unboxing review, and test run on these. You can find that review by searching “Custom Riedell 220’s With Avanti Magnesium Plates Unboxing and Review.” When I have a moment, I will do a part 2 because there are things I forgot to mention in the video. I am an intermediate skater, and believe the boot with the current plate being offered on these would be good for a beginner, too. The Avanti plate, in my opinion, is probably okay for a beginner, but I would highly recommend them more for an advanced beginner or more because they are very responsive, which might make them feel a little more unstable to a beginner.