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K2's Alexis Fitness Skate By Planet staff
K2 Alexis women's fitness skates The K2 Alexis is a women's fitness skate with a nice set of features and a nice price. For $159 (USD), you get K2's comfortable soft boot technology, attractive styling and some extras: a hi-lo aluminum frame, ILQ-7 bearings and an easy lacing system. A few years ago, a skate like this would have cost a lot more. Athena's Kid Sister The Alexis is basically an updated version of last year's Athena. K2 changed the color scheme from light blue and gray to something a little more interesting: gray and white with green accents. Placed on top of a gold frame and you've got a nice looking skate (just as long as you like green). On the Foot Like most K2 skates, the Alexis provides plenty of comfort. The liner is made with lots of memory foam and the result is a plush interior. Nonetheless, it provides plenty of support for recreational and trail skating. The liner might be too cushy for some skaters, but most will appreciate its combination of padding and support. The skate has a relatively narrow foot bed, which makes it a good fit for women with slender and medium-width feet. However, they also fit some women with wider feet. Bottom line: try them on first, if possible. The skates run true to size. Just order your regular shoe size and they should be fine. It's a Cinch The Alexis is equipped with a power strap, ankle buckle and K2's nicely engineered lacing mechanism. The mechanism is attached to the skate's upper tongue, where it's easy to reach and see. To tighten the laces, you pull on a tab. To loosen it, you press a button. It's easy to use. Rolling Hardware The K2-branded wheels that come with the skates are just average, neither speedy nor slow. But the ILQ-7 bearings are excellent. They spin nicely and last a long time. Hi-lo
The hi-lo frame provides the skates with a little extra speed. Two 84mm wheels go on the back of the frame; two 80mm wheels, on the front. And if you don't like that, you can change it. Flipping a spacer on the frame allows you to convert to a straight setup. That way you can switch to all 84mm wheels (for more speed) or all 80mm wheels (for less). Brake The skate comes with a standard heel brake that's not quite standard. The brake pad is "non-marking" — in other words, it doesn't leave black patches on the skating surface. That can come in handy if you plan to skate at a roller rink where the owners don't want their floor covered with black streaks. Good Cause Another selling point of the Alexis is the Breast Cancer Foundation logo on the cuff. K2 puts the logo on the skate to let you know it contributes a portion of its skate sales to cancer research. ... It's hard to argue with that. Who Should Buy The Alexis is a good choice for casual fitness skaters who skate five to ten miles two or three times a week. If you plan to skate more, consider a higher-end fitness skate, such as K2's Celena. Summary K2's Alexis is a nice package. It has all the basic features of a fitness-rec skate along with some nice extras. Given its high quality, it's a lot of skate for the money. | ||||||||
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