My “imperial” diary – imperial vs. carbon 2
I guess this is going to end up as a kind of review for the new USD imperial. Im gonna check out the skate for some weeks and keep posting how it works and eventually come up with an edit in the end. This Post doesnt have any skating pics (till now) I guess its only interesting if you consider buying an imperial.
If you have any specific questions about the carbon or the imperial post a comment – maybe im able to answer them.
Part 1 – or how to burn your skate in the oven.
Before I got the imperial I skated a USD carbon 2. I have to admit, I love the carbon 2, might be the best skate ever produced so its going to be rather difficult for the imperial to impress me. Ok, the parcle arrived, I opened the box and took a first glimpse at the skate. The imperial seriously looks better in “reality” than on pictures. The cuff isnt as high as I thought.
First thing I noticed: “someone forgot to put a carry strap at the cuff” and thus I had to open the laces more to put them on.
Second thing I noticed, the sizing is not the same as with the carbon 2. I have a size 42 (euro) in carbons but the imperial is a bit smaller – i guess i would need a 43. Also the skate seams to be “tighter” than the carbons. Due to years and years of skating my foot got kind of extra wide and im having a lot of trouble in the area of my small toe. I dont have this problem with the carbon but the imperial (probably also cause I would need a 43) is pretty “tight” and hurts a bit. But – clever as I am – or think I am – I decided to put the skate in the oven.
Dont ask me what temperature – I have no clue – I used the same temperature as for my daily pizza – if that helps.
And because im extra clever I decided not to stay and observe but instead go and take a shower. Obviously when I finished showering a suspicious odor of burning plastic filled the air.
BUT – actually nothing happened – ok the tongue lost some of its black color (its a bit “redish” now), the bottom of the skate burned a bit – but u cant see this part anyway cause its covered by the soulplate. Beside that, nothing. The leather is 100% as it was before…
Obviously I removed the powerstrap, buckle and soulplate before I put them in the oven. And if you plan to change the fit of your skate like I did – dont forget to put an old towel or something like that on the floor cause if your skate starts “melting” like mine did u dont want to leave black plastic on your moms kitchen floor…
The skate was extremely hot and soft when I removed it but I put my feet in there anyway (dont forget to wear socks). Yes it got quite hot, a bit uncomfortable maybe but nothing too serious. So, no damage done but as I put the skates on (and didnt take them off till they cooled down) the fit changed and the skate is perfectly comfortable now.
I didnt take any pictures of the “burning marks” till now – maybe ill post some tomorrow.
We skated 4 hours – 2 spots. In the beginning the skate was really tight around the ankles but this changed after like 30 minutes (keep in mind the skate is 1 size too small). We skated 2 pretty rough ledges this day. Looking at the skate now I have to say that the material doesnt have a single scratch/mark worth talking about. Id say the skate is able to deal with a lot of abuse.
How does the skate feel?
As Ive said the skate is really comfortable. Its not even close to being “stiff” but offers a bit more support than a carbon 2. No that doesnt sound right – lets say the carbon 2 has a bit more flex and bends easyer on topsides. Its not at all annoying, the skate works perfect on curbs, its easy to do topsides its just not as “soft” as the carbon. Thus if you want a skate with a lot of flex in all directions u should go for a carbon but if you feel like you want a little bit more support ure more of a “imperial guy”.
The imperial worked right out of the box – I didnt have to break it in or anything. The soulplate slides really fast, quite perfect and due to its width its easy to do negatives. I didnt really check but I guess its the same as on the carbons. Something thats really important for me is that the groove is perfect for torques and backslides – back in the day some skates had trouble with that. Ouh and looking down on the skate (during skating) I thought it even looked better than the carbons – but thats 100% my personal opinion.
What really surprised me – I also have a brand new pair of white carbons but during the session I didnt want to change skates. The imperial is a really good skate that works perfectly well. I didnt skate any rails till now – but im gonna go for another session tomorrow and post some more experiences.
I might come up with a little edit showing how the skates work/look but as I just recently dislocated my right shoulder I have to skate rather careful.
I just noticed – I never wrote a carbon 2 review that I could link to but for now you could check out my carbon 2 edit.
Before I forget – Oli Benet also posted a review of the imperial – so if you want to find out more – or hear an other opinion check out: http://www.olibenet.com/
whats the trick
Part 2 – day 2- or how to spend 2 hours preparing a spot n getting kicked right after it started to slide.
An other extremely rough curb? EXACTLY – we spent 2 hours working on it with stones, wax, skates – and after it finally started to slide well – we got kicked from a 80 year old guy. But – the spot is cool now and were definitely going to come back.
We skated 2 more spots – a wood curb and some lowrails – anyway the first spot was pretty rough n I was afraid of destorying the whole soulplate – but looking at it now I have to say that obviously the groove got bigger but just a little bit. The leather might be a bit dirty but nothing one couldnt brush off. Nothing ripped / no scratches – the soulplate protects the skate quite well – even the buckle still works perfectly (I tend to fuck up the buckle before I take the skates out of the box). Ive tried skating without powerstrap today – I thougt about telling you that I prefere to skate without it to get more flex or anything like that – but – to be honest – I forgot the powerstraps at home. I didnt notice much of a difference but I prefere the look of the skate without powerstrap. makes the skate look a bit thinner.
After skating the whole day my feet hurt quite a bit (ankle area) – I had the same with carbons in 41 so I guess thats a sizing matter. I should consider ordering a pair of size 43 imperials.
Udo said,
April 10, 2011 at 9:51 am
“I dont have this problem with the carbon but the imperial (probably also cause I would need a 43) is pretty “tight” and hurts a bit. But – clever as I am – or think I am – I decided to put the skate in the oven.”
“The imperial worked right out of the box – I didnt have to break it in or anything.”
widersprich dir mal nicht
glaub trotzdem das der carbon 2 feiner zu fahren is …scheiss auf die 50 euro was der imperial billiger is.
danielll said,
April 10, 2011 at 12:01 pm
naja “widerspruch” – indirekt hast ja recht, aber er is mir nunmal zu klein, den carbon kann ich auch ned in 41 fahren ohne zu sterben
mit “right out of the box” habich eher den groove und so gemeint, musst mich ned einfahren oder an den skate gewöhnen. wie gesagt schaut der imperial am fuß (meiner meinung nach) schöner aus, aber ich mag den felx vom carbon lieber.
die skates sind aber sehr nahe beinander findich. denke das is echt hauptsächlich ne frage ob man das ding bissl “steifer” oder eher “locker” haben will…
Sascha said,
April 12, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Den fährst aber nicht flat oder ?? wie du ja wieder Fluid fährst …
Danke
danielll said,
April 12, 2011 at 3:28 pm
not skating flat at the moment – i changed back during the winter time cause i had some trouble in our skateboard indoor park with the flat setup.
Alexey said,
April 12, 2011 at 1:15 pm
I have a pair of size 43 USD UFS Thrones, and they fits perfectly on my feet. Which size of Imperials you think I should take?
danielll said,
April 12, 2011 at 3:34 pm
I skated my ufs thrones in size 42 with 43 liners – im skating my carbon in size 42. I would need a size 44 (1 size bigger than ur thrones) imperial – so i guess you would be the same. but thats just my guess.
im trying to get a 43 imperial so i can make some pictures comparing the size of the shell n stuff – though im not too sure if usd is too keen on sending me another pair
Alexey said,
April 12, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Thanks a lot, Daniel
random USD fanboy said,
April 12, 2011 at 2:46 pm
hey daniel
interessantes review so far!
mich würd interessieren wie der imperial so im vergleich zu nem deshi ch1 ist… hab gehört der skate wird inoffiziell als CH2 gehandhabt… ist da was drann bzw macht das sinn??
bitte ein statement
danielll said,
April 13, 2011 at 1:27 pm
so, sorry ich musst erstmal rausfinden wer plan von den deshis hat – oli erzälht in seinem review auf http://www.olibenet.com etwas über die ählichkeiten – der is für deshi gefahren und hat jetzt nen imperial – wenn einer plan hat, dann er – ich hab an den ch1 ehrklich gesagt ähm keinerlei erinnerungen drum kann ich dir da leider auch ned weiterhelfen.
aber check mal olis blog und wenns is, mit dem kann man auch gut labern, englisch oder spanisch halt
tony ferreira said,
April 12, 2011 at 2:59 pm
yeah im a 10.5 in all my usd skates . these do run small should of got a size 11 . do u think the toe will give if i try the oven process to strecth them ???
danielll said,
April 12, 2011 at 3:37 pm
id guess you would have a 11 or 11.5 (if thats available) – the toe area of my skate got slightly wider through heating the skate in the oven n shoving my feet in the hot skate. so maybe a size 11 could be enough – it always depends on the shape of your feet n stuff but its possible that 11 is enough.
Goofy said,
April 13, 2011 at 6:43 am
würd auch gern mal den imperial testen aber mit größe 48 wirds bissl problematisch xD
ich komm bis jetzt mit meim xsjado damien wilson besten klar würd aber trozdem gern mal was leichteres fahren. IrgendwelcheTipps?
danielll said,
April 28, 2011 at 1:33 pm
boah – neh da kann man fast nix machen glaubich – aber ich würde mir wegs dem gewicht keine sorgen machen – das ist echt nicht so extrem wichtig – sobald man sich an das gewicht gewöhnt hat das man am fuß hat ists “normal”. und xsjado is doch nicht sonderlich schwer eigentlich.
Jeff Dalnas: Imperial Edit by Nick Pisciotta said,
April 15, 2011 at 7:26 am
[...] My Imperial diary by Daniel Prell [...]
Qew said,
April 28, 2011 at 9:36 pm
best edit you’ve seen so far?
carbon 2 by daniel prell! I’ve never seen an edit with these filming and editing skills combined together. Was a great watch. there was constantly action going on du ALTER!!
Wie gehts du denn? Nl-contest 28. und 29. Mai?
grüss dich,
Qewbert
Nikko posdo said,
May 4, 2011 at 2:37 am
Hello daniel, I’m a biggest fan of you.. I’m from Indonesia, Jakarta.. I directly change my old boots and bought Imperial since I’ve read your opinion about it.. I curious about this boots and I can’t wait to put in on. In Indonesia, Jakarta where I come from, there’s a lot fans of you.. Would u give us a comment or testimonial for encourage and motivate us? I’ll be proud to hear that..
Nikko said,
May 17, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Hello daniel, I’m a biggest fan of you since you in classic throne.. I’m from Indonesia, Jakarta.. I directly change my old boots and bought Imperial since I’ve read your opinion about it.. I curious about this boots and I can’t wait to put in on. In Indonesia, Jakarta where I come from, there’s a lot fans of you.. Would u give us a comment or testimonial for encourage and motivate us in here? I’ll be proud to hear that.. Thx a lot before.
Ege said,
June 30, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Hey Daniel
Ich habe extrem lange überlegt ob ich mir Carbon1 oder 2 kaufen soll aber da ich irgendwie auf die lebensdauer von beiden boots nicht getraut habe, habe ich mir jetzt die USD Legacy Venom gekauft mit denen ich auch angefangen habe wieder zu Bladen das ist jetzt mein 2tes paar von der Legacy Serie aber ich wollte hauptsälich wissen was du von den Legacys denkst und was der vorteil wäre wenn ich mir den Carbon2 kaufen würde… Danke
danielll said,
September 7, 2011 at 11:51 pm
ich würde ja den zweier nehmen – geilster skate ever!
Diego Elias said,
August 21, 2011 at 6:29 am
The imperial area tough skates, or are like the USD Throne boot?
Carbon Free Eisler vs Usd Carbon II – work in progress « let me bore your mind – by dprell said,
October 2, 2011 at 1:46 am
[...] I wrote about the carbon II some time ago – if you want to know my opinion on that skate check LINK The same goes for the Imperial. LINK. [...]