# Sneakers With Little Pop-Out Skate Wheels Built In.



## AwayWeGo (May 18, 2007)

For a junior-high graduation gift, we're thinking about getting a set of sneaker-skates for a young teen girl -- not the conventional shoe-skate kind or the roller-blade style, but the 1s with the little skate wheels concealed inside the bottoms of the shoes with a tricky way of making them pop out at will. 

Is there a marked preference among the teeny-bop iPod crowd for a particular kind or brand of those?  Or are style & brand pretty much _mox nix_ ?  Do fore & aft pop-out wheels have any advantage over heels-only pop-out wheels, or vice versa? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## nightnurse613 (May 18, 2007)

Alan. They are called Heelies (or Heeleys) or some variation. Some have front and back wheels, some only back.  In most cases they are removable but the shoe is kind of clunky (read: heavy).  My impression is these are for YOUNG girls (or boys).  My 6 yo granddaughter for example. Although I have bought a pair for my 12 yo-he doesn't use them much. Also, his "size" seems to be a consideration-although, like I said-he does wear them. My impression is the rear wheels (as in Heel) are the preferred. I am not one to try them but, I would think wheels on the front would be like skates and, consequently, harder to stop. But don't take MY word for it.   By the way, Sports stores (Big 5, Sports Authority) seem to be the best place to find them. Check your Sunday ads!


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## cgeidl (May 18, 2007)

*No Wheels on shoes*

After seeing articles on physical condition of our youth and seeing parents push their kids on wheels thru the malls and stores I am not in favor unless the child is already very physically active.
I think very few high school kids use these.


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## Luanne (May 18, 2007)

I know you weren't asking for recommendations on a gift in general, but I go along with some of the other comments.  Unless this is something the graduate has specifically expressed an interest in, I wouldn't buy them for a child of that age.  When my older dd graduated from middle school we gave her a gift certificate to her favorite store.  She was thrilled to have her own "money" to spend as she wanted.


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## wackymother (May 18, 2007)

A friend of mine brought these back from Hong Kong for her nephews a few years ago, when they were the hottest, newest thing there and they weren't even available here yet. She wore a pair to the office and kept trying them out and crashing into things. It was quite a day--you would be walking down the hall reading a paper and she would come zooming toward you screaming, and you'd jump out of the way and she would crash into whatever was behind you. 

I do see HS boys around here wearing them, but not girls. I know my middle schooler was telling me that if the principal catches a kid wearing them, he goes, "Foot please." And the kid has to put his foot up and the principal goes POP and pops the wheels out of the heels and confiscates them. "Other foot please." End of heelies. Now they're just sneakers with a hole in the heel.


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## geoffb (May 18, 2007)

Make sure the parents have good medical and liability insurance. I saw a kid wearing those knock an old lady over and then crash into a parked car the other day.


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## bruwery (May 18, 2007)

I concur with the sentiment posted by others that the "Heelies" or whatever they're called are better suited for children not yet into their teenage years.

They seem to be all the rage with the 8 - 10 year old crowd, which probably means the 14 - 15 year old crowd would view them as a scarlet letter.

Onward and upward,

MB


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## mamiecarter (May 18, 2007)

*These things are dangerous!!!!*

Call ,ask parents before giving heelies.Do not cripple kid for life. 

Jr high to High School children are very hard to please. Somethings are in, some things are not. You will drop a few notches in their esteam if you give them something that is not cool. When in doubt ask the kid. Most kids have something electronic they want, or music, or a gift certificate or best of all a nice card and $$CASH.


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## Mimi39 (May 18, 2007)

My daughter bought our 10 year old grand daughter a pair a couple of weeks ago.  The novelity wore off fast and she lost interest in taking the wheels off and on, now she has a clunky looking pair of shoes. Agreed, this is definately for the under 12 age group, where they are still "in".  Natalie said that the first few times she used them she fell on her "keester", which I thought was an hilarious term for a kid to use.


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## Malibu Sky (May 18, 2007)

My junior high schooler-12 years old, would not be caught dead in Heeleys....they are soooo 5 years ago...

I would check with the parents if this is what the kid really wants....plus they are quite expensive so I would definitely check first.


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## Rose Pink (May 18, 2007)

Once worked in a hospital where one of the pediatricians wore them and skated down the hospital corridor to see his patients.


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## hibbeln (May 19, 2007)

Just quizzed my kids.  My 9 1/2 year old son has Heeley's and so do all his friends and they are THE in thing.  Very very cool!     (He wanted that dancing banana).

My 12 year old son (finishing 6th grade) says there is no way anyone his age would be caught dead wearing them.    

Ah, the fickle nature of youth.

I sure think they look like fun!


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## JoAnn (May 19, 2007)

I just "love" being in a store   and have kids come flying by me, in front of me or behind me in those things!    Even IF the store has a "NO heelies please" sign, the kids use them anyway and their parents are usually nowhere around.  I will be very happy when those things disappear from the planet. Sorry...JMHO.


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## pcgirl54 (May 19, 2007)

Alan,
I only see younger kids wearing Heelies on the east coast not anyone Jr High age so you may want to ask the parents first. JR high to High School trends ccan be brutal.

Ipods,Nanos and  and things of that nature would be more suited to that age group IMHO. IPAL radio seems to be popular and one can plug in your IPOD,they come in pink and other colors.

I think Heelies are pretty neat and if my boys were younger I know they would have wanted them.


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## Kay H (May 19, 2007)

I usually buy gift certs for specific stores.  One son has 5 children and no matter what I buy, it is returned .  Ergo gift certs,


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## Mel (May 21, 2007)

Actually, Alan may not be talking about Heelies, but a different kind like what my daughter has.  No principal is going to take the wheels from these because thoy don't come off.  These shoes are clunkier than the Heelies, with both front and back wheels,  They have a machanism to fold them up into the bottom of the show, to walk, or pop them out, to skate.

As for age, I would make sure this is what is wanted.  Around here, the heelies are very popular in the 8-10 set.  We've had to ban them from out scout meetings because the girls like to zoom around the room, rather than paying attention.  I know a few 6th graders with them, but they're just not such a big deal with the older kids.


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## AwayWeGo (May 22, 2007)

*"Heelys"*

OK, after reading all the TUG-BBS input & conferring with the graduate's mother, we got some nice white & green Heelys, size 8, from Sports Authority.  Present opening was this evening -- the Heelys were a big hit.  The recipient tried'm on right away to make sure they fit, then took'm off to pop out the heel plugs & install the actual wheels so she could put'm on again & start trying to catch on to how they work.  She took 1 spill, hollering, "I'm good!" even before she hit the deck.  I predict she'll get the hang of it in a day or 2. 

It turns out the pop-out heel wheels are not retractable at will while walking around & skating around in the shoes.  The wheels can be pried out & replaced with "upgrade" wheels, or with the plugs supplied with the shoes that convert them from wheelie-shoes to semi-clunky sneakers --  but it helps to have the shoes off while making the switch. 

Not sure whether the Heelys that are such a big hit today will still be so highly prized next month or next week.  If not, their new owner can put'm up in her next yard sale.  So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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