Even if you have recently started skating, you will have noticed the need to get a skating bag to carry your equipment. Each company in the skating sector has its own line of bags, so the choice available on the market is very wide. To orient yourself, a list of the objects that, in our experience, a skater should carry with him can be useful. The necessary equipment depends on your level of experience:
For everyone
Of course, your bag must be able to comfortably hold your skates. For hygienic reasons, the skates should be stowed in a separate compartment of the skates bag, which is easily cleaned and sanitized and has ventilation holes. The latter are essential to prevent the humidity deriving from use from stagnating in the compartment, which could facilitate the formation of mold and bacterial colonies inside the footwear, or facilitate the spread of mycosis (see: athlete's foot). The stagnation of humidity can also lead to the appearance of unpleasant odors, which are rather difficult to remove (to do this, we usually use an ozone-based treatment).A skates bag that has these characteristics is, for example, this one, produced by the well-known company Edea:
Beginners / occasional trainings
If you are a beginner, we recommend that you add a number of items to your skate bag that will surely come in handy:- your protections.
- A universal wrench (or a set of wrenches) for adjusting the steering, the brake and for opening / closing the wheel nuts.
- Any spare clothing.
- A small first aid kit (disinfectant, patches, ice-pack), for any evenience... :-)
If you are part of this category of skaters, the Edea bag visible above may be sufficient, also having a pocket with zip closure and an open pocket on the back.
Experts/frequent trainings
We recommend adding the following to the equipment already indicated:- one or more sets of wheels, of different hardness, to be used on different surfaces, more or less slippery.
- A pair of spare laces.
- A spinner and a skipping rope.
- Blister protectors.
- A small bottle of bearing oil, equipped with a spout. Warning: the vial must be placed in a plastic bag or container capable of containing any small accidental spills of product, which could damage the rest of the equipment.
If you belong to this category of skaters, you need a slightly larger bag. A possible solution can be a bag-backpack like the Libra, also from the Edea brand:
The Libra is an interesting, innovative solution, and also comes with a rain cover.
If, on the other hand, you prefer to stay on more classic shapes, a possible solution is the one proposed by the RDSkates brand: it is a traditional skate bag combined with a rigid lower compartment, to contain your equipment and a back pocket with zip closure, for smaller items:
RDSkates bags are designed and produced entirely in Italy, they are high quality products for professional use.
You may also need to equip yourself with a separate wheel bag, to keep your trains in order: generally, containers are used that can hold four complete trains (with 8 wheels each). Virtually all companies in the sector offer this type of bag, you can find some examples on our page dedicated to wheel bags.
Professionals/competitions
A professional must be able to face any need and unexpected, especially in the case of participation in competitions. If you belong to this category, we recommend that you also pack the following skates in your bag:- a full set of spare pads, plus any spacers.
- A bearing puller.
- makeup kit.
- The products needed to clean the wheels (e.g. sandpaper, detergent, etc.).
- At least a spare pair of tights, in the case of figure skating.
- The ideal would also be to have with you a set of bushings of the correct hardness and all the tools necessary to replace them, because if even one of them breaks, your skates will be unusable.
- a trolley, for your own racing clothes, technical clothing, and part of the equipment previously indicated, including skates. The trolley is also used for training.
- Optionally, a separate skate bag. In fact, some athletes compete in different specialties for they may need to carry two and sometimes even three pairs of skates.
- One or more wheel bags, as needed. In fact, it may be necessary to differentiate the wheels not only by hardness, but also by diameter, depending on the specialty considered.
As for the trolleys, there are many models on the market; for example, the Edea trolley is a classic of the genre, chosen by many atelti and figure skating companies:
In addition to the basic models presented, there are numerous other types of bags that could be useful to you and that serve to keep your skates bag in order: for example, make-up pouches, tool cases, beauty bags, bags, etc.
If you want to enrich your equipment as you progress from a technical point of view, you can consult the section of our catalog dedicated to skating bags.
In this mini-guide we have seen what are the equipment that you should provide to better carry out your business and the most suitable bags to contain and transport them comfortably. We wish you a lot of fun and, in case of need or doubt, contact us!