# Are there imitation "Heelys" out there?



## True Blue (May 9, 2003)

DS would love a pair of these, but he's only 4.5 and I don't think $60 is a reasonable amount of money to spend on them for him....are there any fakes out there yet?


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## Individuation (Jul 24, 2006)

Sorry, just had to weight in. My dd has heelies... her dad got them for her. And BOY are they a pain.

First, there's the falling. And she's eight, and agile. A younger child? I shudder to think.

Second, remember that these shoes are DESIGNED so that the child is constantly touching the bottom of their shoe. I don't think I'm that fastidious, but it was getting absolutely nauseating watching her touch her gunky sneaker sole and try to bite her nails, or rub her eyes... I started carrying handi-wipes again for the first time in years.

Third, the bits always get lost. ALWAYS. Either the wheels, or the bit that is supposed to fill the wheel-gap when the wheels are out. Or the little...shoehorn type thing that pries the wheels out. Next thing you know you're standing with one your butter knives in hand trying to pry out filthy wheels from a shoe bottom because your child has fallen for the ninth time...

Fourth (am I convincing yet?) they are an awful sneaker. Completely big and hard and unyielding and USELESS for running and playing. I think this is how they're made in order to fit the wheels? Anyway, the sole doesn't bend AT ALL, which causes the child to trip even when not using the wheels.

Heelies are the worst.


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## True Blue (May 9, 2003)

LOL Yeah. I wasn't actually thinking of them being a primary shoe. My son is quite agile though, rides without training wheels (for almost a year now). Hence my hesitation for paying 60 bucks for a pair!!! I just thought maybe someone had a fake out there by now.


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## mata (Apr 20, 2006)

If heelys are the worst, knockoffs are even worser.









My six year old has had knock off heelys and now has the real ones-she does use the Heelys well, but the knock offs were useless and fell apart. I don't like what Heelys do to their walking stance and posture-they definitely create imbalance because if they're using the wheels and need to walk, all of their weight is forced on to the ball of their foot. We keep the key and parts in a box in the closet and haven't had a problem keeping track of them. I agree with the pp that as a tennis shoe without wheels they're very uncomfortable-dd doesn't choose them when she wants to play.

IMO, this is completely an impulse, disposable item-if you felt your child had to have them, I'd get a skate shoe with retractable wheels (not ones that come out completely) and not bother spending a lot of $$ on them.


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## True Blue (May 9, 2003)

Thanks. Like I said, they would be totally for fun...NOT for wearing all the time. I agree, they do make everyone walk funny!


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## dewlady (Jul 8, 2004)

i have been looking out for these also, but with no luck...
i heard somewhere that they don't really make immitation heely's because heely's has a paton on that type of shoe. so even if you do find one, the company goes out of bussiness pretty quickly. sound a little wierd, but i read that somewhere. my dd really wants a pair but i won't pay the big buck either. so i'm interested to hear what others say as well.


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## mata (Apr 20, 2006)

knock offs are hard to find. we found ours at a local sporting goods store, and that was about two years ago-I haven't noticed any recently. The other thing about Heelys is the sizing-for girls at least the smallest is a 1, which fits size 13 (they run one size small.) So dd was chomping at the bit since she was about a size 11.5 to be big enough to wear them (which finally happened at age 6.)


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## Canadianmommax3 (Mar 6, 2006)

they can be somewhat dangerous, i would think. If the child falls and hits their head. My dh won't let my son buy them as he thinks they put to much of a strain on their legs.

here is something from natural health web:
"Unfortunately, the real high risk victims are our little children. They can look forward to the following problems after prolonged use:

1) Neck & Upper Back Injury
2) Lower Back Injury
3) Hip Injury

Neck & Upper Back Injury

The natural skating position of the Heelys forces the neck to push the head outwards to balance a body that is now poised to fall backwards. The neck and shoulder muscles are strained to push the head forward to counteract gravity. However, our neck muscles were not made to hold our head out on a horizontal plane. This is a stop gap measure by our body to prevent us from toppling. Sadly, the damage is not going to be stop gap nor temporary.

Back Injury

The skating position of the Heelys compels the lumbar curve of our backs to flex AGAINST its natural curve, creating a flat lower back instead of a concave one.

To be fair - the skating can be done with a natural curve but it takes great effort; and I certainly do not see children doing it!

Fortunately, in the walking mode, genuine Heelys allow you to take out the wheel but parallel brands usually do not. Remember to always get your child to take out the wheel. Do not allow them to be lazy!

Constant walking on shoes that pivot on rollers (now that wheels have taken the place of the heels) conditions our gait muscles to walk in a manner contrary to natural stride patterns. This leads to knee, shin and foot injuries later in life.

Hip Injury

Balancing in a forward motion on one back wheel is no easy task! Hence, our children's natural sense of balance intervenes by skating with one foot in front of the other. The centre of gravity effectively expands along the diagonal axis, creating a more stable base to balance on.

In other circumstances, this would be a beautiful celebration of the human body's ability to adapt. Unfortunately, in this case, it is a predisposition to a life of agony.

Modern children spend most of their time seated behind desks and computer. The rare minutes of movement they have in a day will be constrained by the muscular requirements for the precarious Heelys balancing act. Their hips will be locked in an awkward skewed fashion, having to constantly compensate for the imbalance.

The Long Run

Occasional postural stress on our human bodies is not a problem. It only becomes a critical problem when it involves children in their formative years. Prolonged exposure to un-natural stressors on our posture forces our body to evolve by strengthening those incorrect, temporary function, muscles. In the absence of postural rehabilitation, this is the only defence mechanism, albeit temporary. These reinforced muscles become a ticking time bomb waiting to fail.

It is our children's future that we hold in our hands. This article may not have been written based on a field study but it is definitely based on fundamental anatomic principles. Yes, I may not know what exactly constitutes prolonged use; but let's try looking at it inversely. What are the unique benefits of wearing Heelys that would justify this lifelong risk?"


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## freestyler (Jan 28, 2005)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR POSTS!!!! My daughter has been plaguing me for a pair, and now I have ammunition to show DH why NOT to buy those stupid dumb things. I think they're just crap, but now I have real ammunition.


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## dewlady (Jul 8, 2004)

what if you don't plan on letting your child use these so extremely?
what if they don't spend most of their time (or any time for that matter) behind a desk and are extremely active in many other ways...
i guess i just feel like if you disected a lot of things that my kids so they could have risks...
also, when it comes to hurting themselves from falling, i guess i just don't see how it is any different than anything else, risk wise.
just curious to see how others feel about this?


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## Canadianmommax3 (Mar 6, 2006)

i think even on the packing they suggest protective gear.


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## Individuation (Jul 24, 2006)

I guess I just don't see why one wouldn't buy a decent pair of rollerskates and call it a day. Trust me, changing into roller skates takes no longer (and is significantly less disgusting) than prying the wheel-thing out of the soles of heelies and putting the block thing in that replaces them. And on skates there's much less danger of falling, because they're balanced.


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## True Blue (May 9, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *halalove* 
I guess I just don't see why one wouldn't buy a decent pair of rollerskates and call it a day.

Because skates aren't Heelys LOL







:

I think I'll keep an eye out for a secondhand pair.


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## mata (Apr 20, 2006)

True Blue, I totally understand.









dewlady-you know, in our experience, there just aren't _that_ many risks to be taken with these things-they simply aren't that mobile. DD ends up only using them indoors, in large store aisles (which is something I thought I'd never let her do, simply because I don't like kids whizzing around me on those things!) They're just a novelty.


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## Canadianmommax3 (Mar 6, 2006)

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/...n1365761.shtml

i just think that they should wear protective gear


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## dewlady (Jul 8, 2004)

i think that this is just another example of hyper-saftey...that is what i call it anyway. i do not mean that to offend anyone in particular, but I think a lot of childhood experiences get taken away these days due to saftey concerns. in my experience (4 kids and 5 years teaching at a free school preschool plus a whole lot of babysitting in my life) if you let kids figure physical stuff out at an early age, by the time that they are 4-5 they are trustworthy to understand their own physical limitations. MOST kids in my experience have the self preservation to know thier limits and keep themselves safe. does that mean there is never accidents? of course not, but i think that kids are actually safer if they are given a chance to try things out. for example, my just 5 yr old has been climbing tall trees for at least a year or more now. he loves it. it often makes people nervous. but we are very attached, i know that if he didn't feel safe he wouldn't take the next step, that is just the kid of kid he is. my older daughter knows that that is not for her and never tries to go as high as ds does.
i think that kids feel our own apprehention about activities, so i guess i don't think people should let their kids do stuff that make the parent/adult feel nervous because then i think that the chance of an accident increases, kids are just so tuned in to us.
i am rambling, so i hope what i am saying makes sense, and again, i am not trying to dis anyone in particualr i guess i just feel like trueblue wasa asking a particular question, where to buy fake heely's and there are more responses about why she shouldn't get them at all when clearly she seems comfortable with her decision to let her child wear them. it just got me thinking about our culture and saftey...


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## mata (Apr 20, 2006)

I agree, dewlady-my issue w/Heelys is based more on a repetitive strain/poor alignment type of condition, and not so much from worrying about falls, etc.


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## dewlady (Jul 8, 2004)

yeah, i can see that, but i can't keep ANY shoes on my dd long enough to have long term effects....







she should join the barefoot tribe!


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## 1growingsprout (Nov 14, 2005)

saw something that looked like them at toys r us... not sure if they are exact or the price...


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## wildmonkeys (Oct 4, 2004)

My 6.5 year old is begging for a pair too. We had some out-of-town guests visit this summer and the kids (12 & 8 each had a pair and ds was enthralled) He has asked for them a bunch of times and I have told him he needs to wait for Christmas or his birthday since they are really a "toy" more than shoes. Thanks 1growingsprout, I think I will check Toys R Us. I am okay with a knock-off pair that falls apart since they are really just going to be weekend play shoes rather than his main sneakers so it is unlikely they will get enough wear to fall apart or cause any repetitive stress injuries at the rate he usually outgrows shoes!

BJ
Barney & Ben


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## closedaccount18 (Sep 10, 2013)

Well, I think heelys are for older kids and they are for rolling around and having fun.

Thanks for the insight though, I've wanted a pair for ages...now I'm not so sure

Thanks


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