Artisitc (high cut) or speed (low cut) roller skate?

What is the difference between the two. I tried looking it up on the internet, and I was surprisingly disappointed with the little amount of information I was looking for.





I was thinking about the high cut boot because it looks like it would provide more ankle support and I heard it is great for manueverability and spins.





But my friend (who moved away) had speed skates and she was looking into jamskating aswell (however she was also in roller derby which might have affected her judgement on which skates to get). They looked cool and a lot of people have them at the rink.





What I'm planning to do with them is just skate for fun, nothing serious, and maybe dabble in some jam skating. So, what do you prefer? And *why*? Also, why do they call high cut boots, "artistic"?

Artisitc (high cut) or speed (low cut) roller skate?
Hey there,





There are several differences, here are the main ones:





1) Tall boots typically have a higher heel than low-cut boots (unless you get custom heels) - this means that your balance will be more "forward" with a tall-boot (i.e. the boot will force you to lean forward more, which can be good). Low boots give you a flatter base, making your centre of mass more towards the back. The advantage of a low heel is that you can get more power out of your stride in certain circumstances.





2) Most recreational tall boots are made of reasonably thin vinyl, leather or suede. They are not rigid like most figure skate boots. Most of the recreational-grade LOW boots are a padded synthetic/vinyl. It is not really true that a tall boot gives more ankle support - yes, you will have the feeling of something around your ankle, and with the laces, you can "hold" the ankle a bit, but a low boot is often more rigid and in some ways offers more support.





3) Tall boots are not all "Artistic" boots - if you get an artistic tall boot, it is a more rigid (and usually more expensive) version of a recreational one. This allows for tighter manuevering and dancing - precision.





At the end of the day, for recreational skating, it's really all about aesthetics, fit and comfort - it doesn't really matter which one you choose. Your wheels will make a much bigger difference in terms of the appropriateness for your skates for what you plan to do with them.



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