What's normal on a brand-new skate
Your skates are assembled by hand, not stamped out by a machine — and that hand-built quality is exactly what makes them perform. It also means a brand-new pair can arrive with a few honest marks, or need a short break-in before everything settles. Below is what’s completely normal, what sorts itself out after a few skates, the things that come down to setup, and the rare issue you can fix yourself in seconds. None of it affects how your skates perform or how safe they are.
Look closely at any brand-new skate, from any brand, and you’ll find small marks. They pass QC because they have no effect on safety, strength or performance.
Markings & scratches
Skates go through an assembly line and are put together by hand in large quantities, so light marking on plastic and frame surfaces is unavoidable. Anything harder than plastic — even a fingernail — can leave a mark, and more can appear during packing and the journey to you.
These pass QC because they don’t affect the safety, strength or performance of the skate, and they blend in with the marks of your first few sessions anyway. Cosmetic scratches aren’t a defect, and aren’t grounds for a return or exchange.
Scuffs on the frame
Here’s a real one a customer recently flagged: a light scuff on the frame of a brand-new pair. It catches the eye, but it’s purely cosmetic — it has zero effect on how the skate rolls, how it handles, or how strong the frame is.
This is exactly the kind of mark that’s completely normal on a hand-built skate. Not a defect, not a fault.
Dirt, blemishes & colour variation on fabric
Soft-boot skates use a variety of fabrics, and different materials react slightly differently to storage, so small variations in colour tone between panels are normal. Minor marks can also come from the hand-assembly process, or from surface abrasion against the inside of the shipping box.
None of this affects performance or function, and since skates are built for outdoor use, some surface character is expected from day one.
Fresh parts carry wax and grease and have tiny manufacturing tolerances. A few sessions and they settle. Nothing here is a defect.
Wheels don’t all spin freely or at the same speed
Brand-new bearings carry a little extra grease — it’s slightly sticky to trap dirt and protect the balls inside, so it slows the spin at first. Wheels also have a tiny size tolerance (even a tenth of a millimetre), which can let one rub very lightly against the frame.
It’s nothing to worry about. Skate them, and as the wheels wear in slightly and the grease settles, they’ll all spin freely after a short run-in.
Wheels lightly touching each other
New wheels usually carry a thin layer of wax that wears off quickly with use. While it’s there — especially with bigger wheels in tight frames, or when mixing parts from different brands — wheels can lightly touch.
Just put the skates on and use them normally. As you apply weight and roll, the wax wears off and the wheels spin clear. This is common, and not a defect in any way.
Wheels don’t all touch the ground at once
Wheels and frames are mass-produced by machines, so tiny microscopic differences between otherwise-identical parts are normal — in wheel size, or in how precisely the mounting holes line up. With uneven ground or uneven pressure, that can leave one wheel a hair off the floor.
The fix is simply to keep skating until the wheels wear in and all make even contact. It’s within the manufacturer’s production tolerances and doesn’t affect how the skates function.
One side feels slanted
This usually comes down to weight — most people naturally lean to one side — or a boot that hasn’t been tightened enough. When there’s space in the boot, prolonged pressure on the sides pushes it out of shape and makes it harder to stand straight.
Wearing your skates snug keeps the boot’s shape and keeps you centred. And if your skate has an adjustable frame, you can fine-tune its alignment to centre everything up.
A few issues are about setup, force, or mixing parts. They’re easy to avoid — and aren’t manufacturing defects.
The handle strap tore
The pull-on handle is stitched to the liner, and liners are fabric — so even the best materials can tear if you yank too hard getting your foot in.
Loosen the laces first to give your foot room to slide in easily and it won’t happen. If a strap does tear, any cobbler can re-stitch it. As this is caused by handling, it isn’t a manufacturing defect.
Overtightened axles
Tightening axles with a power tool, or with too much force by hand, can push the axle through to the other side of the frame. It won’t usually affect your skating directly, but it can add vibration.
Always hand-tighten only. If you want them to hold more securely, a drop of Loctite does the job. Over-tightening is a setup issue, not a defect.
Loose wheel hubs
A tolerance as small as 0.01 mm between the bearing, spacer and wheel hub can stop the bearings seating 100% perfectly, leaving a hair of play. That’s within the acceptable tolerance band of those parts.
It’s easily solved by lightly sanding the spacer so the bearings sit deeper into the core. If you’d rather we look at new wheels, bring them in. It isn’t a defect or a warranty matter.
Buckle spring or button came loose
The spring and button in a strap buckle are tiny moving parts, and tiny parts can break under force — a hard push getting the skate on, a fall onto the buckle, or excessive cuff movement.
Even without the spring and button, the buckle still works perfectly to tighten your skate. As these are minute moving parts in normal handling, this isn’t covered as a defect.
Damage from mixing parts
Even when specs say two parts are compatible, components from different brands — or even the same brand — can vary slightly in design and not fit precisely. Forcing them can cause damage.
Test-fit gently and take care when assembling. Any damage from combining parts, whether same-brand or different, is the skater’s responsibility and isn’t covered.
Folded liner or insole
Once in a while, a liner or insole gets folded as the skate is put together by hand on the assembly line.
Just unfold it and wear the skate as normal. There may be a slight crease you feel at first, but it flattens out completely within a skate or two and feels like new. Because it’s a quick self-fix that doesn’t affect the skate, it isn’t a defect and isn’t grounds for a return or exchange.
The short version: cosmetic marks and break-in quirks are completely normal on hand-built skates — they don’t affect performance or safety, and they aren’t grounds for a return or exchange. If something genuinely affects how your skates work, send us a photo and we’ll look into it. Unsure which of the above you’re looking at? Send a photo through live chat and we’ll tell you straight away.
Google Reviews
