Caster Skates are an emerging rollerskates product that is hybrid between a casterboard and freeline skates

Freeline skates

Freeline Skates are a pair of skates designed to give the feeling of skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, and inline skates all in one. They consist of two separate metal plates with two wheels attached by a form of “truck” designed specifically for the skates. The technique used to skate with...

.

Construction

Most caster skates have two identical skates. Each skate has a foot pad where a rider can place their feet. Underneath the skate are two free-spinning wheels connected by casters, which allow the skates to turn in any direction. Each skate also has two brake pads, which are generally used for holding the skates steady while starting rather than to slow or stop the rider.

The primary distinction between caster skates and a casterboard is that caster skates are two separated pieces and do not require a center bar to keep the two sides together. Caster Skates are different from roller skates

Roller skates

Roller skates are devices worn on the feet to enable the wearer to roll along on wheels. A first basic type of roller skate consists of a boot with four wheels with ball bearings, arranged in the same configuration as the wheels of a typical car.-History:...

 (and inline skates

Inline skates

In-line skates are a type of roller skate used for inline skating. Unlike quad skates, which have two front and two rear wheels, inline skates have two, three, four, or five wheels arranged in a single line...

) because the rider's foot is not placed inside a shoe or boot, but rather placed on top similar to a skateboard

Skateboard

A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...

 or casterboard.

Caster Skating

Caster skating involves riding with one foot on top of each skate. Similar to other boardsports, the rider moves sideways perpendicular to the direction they are facing.

Getting Started

Before attempting to begin caster skating, the rider must first know which direction they plan to go (left or right). Most people will naturally have a left or right stance footedness

Footedness

Footedness, similar to handedness, is the natural preference of one's left or right foot for various purposes. While purposes vary, such as applying the greatest force in a kick or stomp, footedness is most commonly associated with the preference of a particular foot in the leading position while...

, which will determine the direction they will move. For beginners, the best way to start is from behind the caster skates. With the toe edge pointing down, the rider would step on with each toe facing downward. Next, the rider would lift the front skate and push off the back.

Riding Options

A rider can maneuver their caster skates in many different ways to generate momentum

Momentum

In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...

. The more effort that is exerted, the faster the rider will go.

• Twist - Both legs straight while twisting the torso
• Shuffle - walking type motion
• Carve
  Carve turn
  A carve turn is a skiing term, used to refer to a turning technique in which the ski shifts to one side or the other on its edges. In this case, the ski turns itself and is driven by the sidecut geometry while losing no speed, unlike a normal parallel turn....
  
   - swinging weight from left to right
• Rear Foot - shuffle or carve rear skate only
• Front Foot - shuffle or carve front skate only

Turning & Stopping

Turning is accomplished by either changing the direction of either skate or shifting weight back and forth from the toe-edge to the heel-edge. Stopping involves either making a single sharp turn, or facing each skate in opposite directions (which uses more leg muscles). Despite the existence of brake pads, it is best not to use the brakes to slow or stop because the foot can slip off the skate.

Up Hill & Down Hill

One of the things that makes caster skating unique is the ability to travel up and down hills.

Difficulty

Caster skating is no more difficult than casterboarding or skateboarding. All boardsports require balance and the ability to move sideways (which is often not a natural feeling). One common assumption is that the two skates will spread, causing the rider to do the splits. This is often true for beginners, but not a common problem for most riders. Some manufacturers include detachable straps or bars, which are generally never used.

Safety

Because the rider is not strapped to (or buckled in) the skates, the rider can simply jump off without having to fall to the ground. This makes caster skating much safer than in-line skating.

As with all outdoor and action sports, it is always best to wear appropriate safety gear while caster skating. This includes helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards. Wrist guards are often the most important, since most beginners have a tendency to fall backwards instead of forwards.

Skurf

Skurf branded casterskates are produced by Ride Skurf USA and are designed specifically for caster skating.

RipSkate

The RipSkate is produced by Razor USA, the RipStik casterboards company. Each of RipSkates can be connected like a snakeboard

Snakeboard

A snakeboard is a board that was invented in 1989 by James Fisher and Oliver Macleod Smith. It evolved from the original skateboard, and brought with it elements of snowboards & surfboards. These variants have a central board with two pivoting footplates attached at each end...

for beginners.