Rollerblade Fusion X3 Urban Inline Skates Review

Before I go too much further, let me briefly describe what urban inline skates are. From first glance, the design of urban inline skates will remind you of the early 1990's because of the plastic hard shell boot. However, that's really where the nostalgia ends because the comfort, breathability, and performance features of urban inline skates are far and away better than the 1990's.

Urban inline skates are essentially a hybrid of recreational inline skates and aggressive skates. The comfort and performance features are taken from recreational inline skates and paired with a boot that is designed to withstand a beating like an aggressive skate boot is. This offers skaters who seek to perform jumps, aerial tricks, ramps and other aggressive style inspired tricks a skate that can take the beatin' and keep on tickin', all the while skating at speeds that are much greater than aggressive skaters.

As this lens is really designed to talk about the Rollerblade Fusion X3, you can check out the diagram pictured for more details regarding urban inline skate features (click on photo to enlarge it).

When the Rollerblade Fusion X3 was first introduced it was the littlest brother in the Fusion Urban Skate series, designed for intermediate to advanced level skaters. But that was in 2010. Now, the Fusion X3 is the remaining member from the Fusion series and is now a rock star in Rollerblade's urban skate series offering a perfect combination of comfort, stability, performance, and durability.

The Fusion X3 features an 80mm/80A wheel with an SG7 bearing. At 80mm wheel, this wheel is much larger than you would find on an aggressive skate. This is where the performance and speed is pulled in from the recreational skate. Pair that with a composite frame and you have a skate that is very light, particularly when it is compared to aggressive skates which are very bulky and heavy. Additionally, the Rollerblade Fusion X3 offers up some soul plates so that those skaters who seek to grind (a la aggressive skating) will have the ability to do so.

The boot, as you have probably already picked up on by now, is a molded plastic with an inner liner. The inner liner is extremely comfortable, but the boot is the real story. The molded plastic boot is where the aggressive skate feature is pulled in. This allows you to beat up the boot with jumps, rails, and grinds without worry that you're going to ruin your skates.

Finally, the Fusion X3 has a standard lace up system, a power strap at the cuff, and also features a standard brake (the brake does not come attached, but is included).