Which adult-sized Heelys are the best ones?

February 19, 2007 7:19 PM

Which adult-sized Heelys are the best ones? I am finally jealous enough of the kids that I am looking at Heelys for myself. I see that most are about sixty dollars, but some are eighty or a hundred. Are the more expensive ones actually better skates, or what?

I actually like the lower profiles of the less-expensive ones, but will suck that up if the more expensive ones actually work better. My gut-preference is much, much more about aesthetics than the extra $20 or $40, but if there's a performance advantage I could bend on that.

posted by castironskillet to sports, hobbies, & recreation (7 comments total)

I had a pair of adult heelys back when I first saw them in 2000 or 2001. They were pretty hard to walk in, since you had to walk on your toes or go sprawling backwards. I felt like I was wearing high heels or something. They were fun though, but I mostly took the wheels out 90% of the time. I'm not sure how the kids get used to them all the time. Perhaps they are better these days.
posted by metajack at 7:44 PM on February 19, 2007

I have the higher-heeled ones, and find they're a little awkward to actually take out and use. I'd say to go for the cheaper ones, which are both easier on the wallet and better aesthetically.
posted by anildash at 8:21 PM on February 19, 2007

I have the eighty dollar ones and agree with the above. You probably won't wear them all the time but they're super fun for the airport and malls.
posted by dripdripdrop at 9:32 PM on February 19, 2007

I hate to be the party-pooper here, but Heely's are actually quite dangerous. I know a number of orthopedic surgeions who prohibit their children from using them, and there are studies showing the dangers of the shoes.
posted by dantekgeek at 12:24 AM on February 20, 2007

Dante--

The fact that (without a downhill) you can't go faster than you can physically run is *real* nice, safety-wise. You arguably have more immediate mobility (shifting from a roll to a run) on Heely's than anything else.

That being said, you have to wear wrist pads. You'll fall the same way pretty much each time, and it's wrist first. I don't know what they're selling nowadays, but get ones with the wider wheelbase. They handle roads and cracks much better. And just go ahead and get a pair or two of extra wheels; the newer you are, the quicker your wheels will burn out.
posted by effugas at 2:06 AM on February 20, 2007

I didn't know that they made specifically adult Heelys. When I bought a pair, I just bought them in the Atomic style, in the largest size they had (which just happened to be my shoe size, lucky me). heelys atomic on zappos
posted by Glitter Ninja at 4:42 AM on February 20, 2007

I have a pair of street flyers, which look like platform shoes, with hidden wheels in the base. With four wheels, two per shoes, they provide a lot more stability than heelys, plus you can "turn them off" as it were.
posted by nomisxid at 8:15 AM on February 20, 2007