Hi everyone!
Although I’m crazy in love with my Riedell 172 rhythm skates with Arius Platinum plates, I couldn't resist getting a pair of the all new Moxi Jack boots. I mounted them on Riedells high end Powerdyne Reactor Pro plate, added the Radar Donut wheels 78A and hit the streets of Barcelona. Here’s my review!
Street skating:
Streetskating with Jack was fantastic.. it made me go faster and do more fun things, like jump from pavements at high speeds and shifting a lot from going backwards and forwards at a pretty high speed (I normally don’t have the guts to do that). I guess that’s all in line with the Moxi message: ‘feel free, do the things you love to do, be courageous and confident’. The combination with the Reactor Pro was a match made in heaven. the Reactor Pro is extremely reliable and steady yet very light on my feet.
Dance skating:
The most important question for Ginger Skates customers is probably: ‘can you dance on them?’ My answer to this is definitely yes! I danced the night away at the Hot Skates disco on Saturday and also during the weekend at the W hotel, in Badalona and at Busfood. I liked the combination of ankle support but still incredibly soft feeling inside the boots. As for the plate.. for dancing I favor the Arius plate over the Reactor Pro. The reason for this is that somehow the Arius plates is even more responsive then the Reactor Pro, although this is not a terribly big difference…
Pro’s:
The Jack boot is very comfortable, partly because the shearling tongue is super comfy and it stays exactly where it should stay, no slipping to the sides. According to Moxi you need about 10 hours to break the Jack boot in, but in my case they were a 100% right from the start.
The ankle support is a nice mix of feeling soft around your ankle but giving a lot of support at the same time. A lot better then the original Moxi boot that has no padding around the ankles at all and can feel a bit sloppy.
It comes in half sizes! A real good thing because we have had some customers who were in between sizes with the original Moxi and that’s real unfortunate.
The jade color is to die for.. but that could be just me ;-) (it can be ordered in any other Moxi color)
A silly detail but the finger loops actually do come in handy when picking up your skates.
The Powerdyne Reactor Pro plate is a lot better equipped for hardcore street skating then the Arius plate. It handles speed better and gives me a very trustworthy stable feeling where the Arius sometimes can feel a bit nervous when picking up speed.
Con’s:
As an avid Riedell 172 lover (leather sole) I’m not too fond of the PVC sole, but so far this is only a matter of looks. It didn't feel very different when riding, so far..
Since most skaters are particularly fond of being unique, I felt a bit weird seeing three other skaters in Barcelona wearing exactly the same boots with that big M on the back. Luckily the fun feeling of the skates totally made me forget about that quickly..
Questions unanswered for now: how long will the padding on the sides stay firm? I wonder if the padding will get thinner with some years of skating. I plan to do a lot of outdoor skating the next couple of years so let’s find out!
xxx Esther
Disclaimer ;-)
Having owned a skate shop for almost two years now I’m very much aware of the fact that every skater has his own opinion on his gear and there are a lot of different preferences. That makes it hard to write or read reviews, but I decided to write one anyway. I don’t present this as the truth, but I would like to share with you my personal experiences. If you also use the Jack boot and/or the Reactor Pro plate, please share your thoughts on this post so that other skaters can profit!
Technical specs of the Jack boot:
• Reinforced double split leather suede upper
• Moxi Dri-Lex™ lining
• PVC unit outsole and heel
• Genuine Shearling tongue lining
• Unique Moxi “M” backstay with finger loop
• Anti-rotational lace bar stabilizer
• Ankle padding
• Triple reinforced eyestay
• Metal hooks
• Waxed laces
• Available sizes:
◦ Jade 4-11 Full & Half – Medium width