Mom on wheels a good thing? A Heelys Review #Heelys

My foot and my daughter's foot in Heelys

Long before I accepted an opportunity to review a pair of Heelys, I was familiar with the brand.  As in "Mom, I want Heelys" or "But Briley has Heelys..."  It seems *everyone* had Heelys except for my poor 10 year old.  I would tell her, "You know, you're not allowed to wear the wheels in school." But, she didn't really care.  Nothing thusfar has deterred her from wanting a pair of her own.

But this product review was for ME!  Yes, Momma got the cool shoes for once.  What did I think of Heelys?

Wheels:   The last time I was actually on wheels was last spring at my daughter's skating party, and that was just about 2 months after I'd attended a friend's daughter's skating party.  Before that... well, let's just say I had big 80s hair and leave it at that.  So, I was a bit out of practice when I put the wheels in my new Heelys.  Did I fall on my butt?  No, but close.  In fact, I might have tweaked my back when I slipped just a little bit attempting to get my balance point, requiring a little bit of pain reliever.  They do have instructional videos to learn how to Heely, which was helpful to me as I attempted to learn this new skill.  If you're new to Heelys, then you should know upfront that you're not going to just take off and go.  You do need to practice.

The wheels were fairly easy to get in and out and I definitely recommend keeping tabs on the key and the plastic wheel hole covers.  I didn't have them -- my six year old ran off with them -- and walking without the wheels in felt a bit weird.  Like I could tell that there was a hollow spot under my heel.  Walking was more comfortable with the covers on.

Technique:  Apparently, I just can't seem to master the technique to Heely.  My daughter, who steals my shoes at every turn, seems to have the glide down, whereas I flail around like a fish out of water.  She has tried to show me how to roll, but I just can't get it, even after watching the video.  I know she's rolling her eyes and marking me as "old" in her head, and thinks that Heelys should be for kids only.  I'm afraid my back might just agree with her!  My hopes of being the cool mom on Heelys are dashed.  I'll keep trying to practice though!  Why should kids get all the fun?

Comfort of shoes:  I had hoped that if I couldn't glide along on the wheels that the Heelys would be comfortable for me.  I don't buy sneakers until I kill them and I was due a new pair before the Heelys arrived.  To me, I felt the back of the shoe felt a little low and that my foot would easily slip out.  I like my feet to sit deeply in shoes.  Another thing I noticed was that the shoes laced across a pressure point, which caused pain on the top of my foot.  This pain then radiated up my leg.  This happened more than once -- any time I wore the shoes for an extended period of time.  Loosening the laces didn't help alleviate the problem.  However, once I took the shoes off, it was just a few minutes later and the pain disappeared. 

Heelys for Christmas?  Heelys is throwing a Black Friday special that you may want to take advantage of if Heelys are on your or your child's Christmas wish list. Between Nov 25-Nov 28, buy any pair of Heelys, and you'll get the second pair for $25.  There's also a deal on Nano. Buy a Nano, and get a pair of shoes for $25, and get free ground shipping on all orders!


Overall impression: The shoe designs are geared more toward kids, and rightly so.  Most adults aren't going to Heely and though I was glad to give it a whirl, I think I like my shoes without wheels. 

Disclosure:  Heelys provided a pair of their shoes at no cost me me to review.  The opinions are my own or are related to my family's experience with this product.  My thanks to Heelys for this opportunity.