Which Bont Inline Speed Skate is right for me?

Bont skates make a lot of different inline speed skate models. This article will help you select the right one for you. The key differences between the models include the manufacturing technique, foam padding, quantity of carbon fiber vs fiberglass, the resin, the outer skin and liner material and the amount of thermoplastic which is used for heat molding.

Bont Vaypor inline speed skate

1 piece vs 2 piece boots

The most important difference between Bont’s high end and low-end inline speed skating boots is the manufacturing technique. 2-piece boots are a cheaper and faster manufacturing technique. A 2-piece boot is a boot where the carbon base is made separately to the outer skin and they are glued together. Some of our competitors use this technique for their high-end boots as well. You may see stitching lines on the boot but they are purely cosmetic. Glue is the only thing holding the boot together. If you are on a budget, there is nothing wrong with this type of boot but if you want your boots to last a long time and give you the highest performance, a 1 piece inline speed skating boot is the better option. The boots look very similar from the outside so it’s almost impossible to tell if a boot is made with a 1 or 2 piece technique so if you are not buying Bont boots, ask the manufacturer or skate shop if the boot is a 1 or 2 piece boot. In the Bont range, here is a list of boots using 1 vs 2 piece method of construction:

1 Piece: Crono, Vaypor, BNT, Super Jet, Semi Race, Jet, and Luna
2 Piece: GT4, Boss, Enduro

A 1 piece boot is made from the inside out. We start with the last (plastic foot) and we add the mounting blocks and padding and then we hand lay the carbon or fiberglass over the top and bond it to the boot with epoxy resin. The outer skin is added and the boot is then sewn. The stitching is typically not as beautiful as you would find on a 2 piece boot because we need to sew the boot after it has been made. A 2 piece boot is much easier to sew because you are sewing flat pieces of material. A 1 piece boot is almost impossible to pull apart and you can’t easily replace the liner or outer skin where as a 2 piece boot can easily be disassembled and have the liner replaced.

Bont one piece inline speed skate construction

Carbon vs Fiberglass

Bont’s high end models use 100% carbon fiber construction and our entry level models use more fiberglass. Fiberglass is a great material for making boots and the weight saving is quite small. Each layer of fiberglass or carbon fiber needs additional resin and it is the additional resin that makes fiberglass boots slightly heaver than carbon. With Bont’s high end inline speed skating boots, we also use uni-directional carbon which is carbon that comes in one direction only rather than a cross weave carbon fiber. This allows us to lay the carbon in the direction that force will be applied to the boot which lets us use less resin, which in turn absorbs less resin and results in a lighter boot. Our high end boots also use nano resin which makes the boot even lighter.

Boots that use nano resin in the Bont lineup include the Vaypor and Crono
Boots that use uni directional carbon: Vaypor and Crono
Boots that use 100% carbon in the construction: Vaypor, Crono, BNT.

 
Bont Carbon Fiber

Thermoplastic

Bont was the first inline speed skate maker to add thermoplastic to boot construction. This makes the boot a lot more heat moldable and allows you to custom fit your boots in your oven at home. However, it does add some weight. Some skaters don’t want any added weight where as others want more customization to get the perfect fit. We reduce boots with and without thermoplastic to help you get the boot you want.

Boots with thermoplastic include: Crono, Vaypor, Super Jet, Jet, Semi Race, Boss, Enduro, GT4
Boots without thermoplastic include: BNT, Luna

Boots without thermoplastic are still heat moldable thanks to Bont’s special epoxy resin that we develop in-house but the boots are not as moldable as one of our boots with thermoplastic.

Boot Padding

As a general rule, the higher up the chain of boots you go, the harder the padding becomes. New skaters using entry level boots want more comfort and professional skaters want more performance. Harder padding absorbs less of your power but you can have boots that are too hard which can lead to foot pain. If your boots give you pain you know that something is wrong. Inline speed skates shouldn’t give your feet pain.

Outer skin and liner material

Bont’s high end boots use exotic materials such as Durolite™. Durolite is very thin and stronger than leather and can withstand mild crashes. Bont’s high end boots also use very light, thin, strong liners that save more weight than our entry level models. Boots that use Bont Durolite material include: Crono, Vaypor, and BNT.

Bont Durolite material

Craftmanship

Bont’s high end models are produced by our finest craftsmen and women. The Crono and Vaypor are only made by hand by Bont master craftsmen and women who have worked for Bont for a minimum of 10 years.

About the author:

Alexander Bont has been skating since the age of two years old. He was part of the Australian national short track team for 7 years. He has also competed on quad roller skates, long track ice skates, and inline speed skates. Alexander has won a number of Australian national titles including national records in short track and state titles in inline speed skating. He is the owner and CEO of Bont Skates and has a passion for skate design.