Thanks for all your questions! I've divided them into sections, as there were lots of related questions. What works for me, may not work for everyone!
Weight of Skates
How heavy in kilos are a pair of Moxi Lolly's?
Standard Moxi Lolly skates with gummy wheels are approximately 3.8kg. It also depends on the size and the plate - some have a heavier aluminium plate compared to the nylon plate. If you allow 4kg, that should be adequate.
Airport and Security - UK perspective
Where can you take your skates with you in carry on?
Flying with skates, do's and don'ts
Skates in hand luggage, suitcase or over the shoulder when flying? Or maybe roll through the airport.
Do you carry your skates or check them in?
"Skateable" cities, good spots, airplane rules about skates
Would you recommend packing skates in a suitcase or as hand luggage?
How to take your skates on the airplane?
Do you pack your skates in your hand luggage or as carry on? I'm going to LA next May and need to plan!
Bringing your skates to the airport
When going on a plane, how do you pack, skates etc?
So travelling on planes and flying with skates. In my experience, the airline and airport have two different security systems.
Our first time at Skate Love BCN, I packed my skates in a carry on suitcase, and Len had hers on a skate leash over her shoulder. We had checked with the airline about carrying them - the airline were completely fine about us having roller skates in the cabin. Len and I rocked up at the airport, checked in our hold bag, and checked again with the airline lady, who assured us it was fine.
We joined the lengthy queue at security, had a discussion with at least 3 different security personnel about roller skating, and cleared that. We collected our belongings, put shoes back on and were headed towards the airport lounge, when a shout of "Girls! Girls! Oi! Girl Gang!" came from behind us. A security officer chased us down and said we had to check our skates! We said that we had asked numerous times with the airline, that our holiday relied on our skates being there and we had no back up plan if the hold bag went astray. She looked at us, stony-faced, and pointed to the check-in desks. "You need to check those. They are a blunt instrument. Our airport security states you can't take them on the plane." Well you can imagine our horror. We hadn't paid for two hold bags! We hadn't allowed time to clear security twice. What if our skates went missing?
We went back to the check in desk, and rapidly repacked our bags so both pairs of skates were in the carry-on suitcase. The calm check-in lady said the airline would carry our skates for free. We were then fast-tracked back through security and made it to the airport lounge to grab a cup of tea to calm our nerves! Phew! Len still thinks security simply wanted to frisk us twice. (Our skates and luggage turned up just fine at the other end too.)
On the return journey, we made sure to pack our skates in our hold bag, but then realised the bag was over the weight allowance! So we sorted through our clothes and shoes, wore as much as possible, put some stuff in our hand luggage, but were still well over. We ended up gifting clothes to the rest of the Moxi Skate Team!
Since then, we don't chance it and always pack our skates in hold luggage. There seem to be different and arbitrary rules at different UK airports, but for me, it's not worth the anxiety.
Rolling through the airport would be a dream - the floors are so smooth! At various connecting flights in the USA I've seen people with longboards in the airport - but they are never riding them. I don't push it as I don't want extra hassle from security. They've got a hard enough job to stay vigilant without me being pushy. I also don't want to give roller skaters a bad name. We want the world to roll on 8 wheels - that will never happen if security think we are all a massive pain in the ass!
Packing Tips
@carlageddon
Packing tips!
@tonks737
Do you pack a lot of clothes or do you wash your stuff?
@easypeasyletsgetwheezy
How to travel as light as possible
Going somewhere with warmer weather is easy to pack for. I actually find it harder to pack for UK based holidays when its so changeable. On holiday, I change twice a day - going out for the day and going out again for the evening. I may keep the same shorts or skirt for a couple of wears, but get through a bunch of tops and socks. In my experience, decent socks will make or break a skate holiday. Extra comfortable inner soles in your skates are helpful too. A skate leash is vital for minimising the size of bag you need to carry day to day.
For general packing, I put small items inside my skates before packing, and as I have a soft style of case, I pad out the upper and lower layers so the skates are protected. I put my skates in a bag too. I take the smallest amount of maintenance kit stuff, having done a little skate service (change bearings, replace laces) before leaving, and make sure it goes in the hold bag.
I generally put all my toiletries into the hold bag, unless it's a long haul flight.
My hand luggage has some clothes and I will wear my bulkiest layers. Within my hand luggage bag, I have a smaller handbag with all my documents, battery pack, headphones, a book and other essentials. Some airlines only allow one carry-on bag, and some allow two. I also take a bum-bag or fanny-pack for use when I'm skating. If you don't like it around your waist, you can clip it across your body. This is the best way of keeping valuables on your person at all times. I also keep my phone in it, much more secure behind a zip!
If I know I'm going to a skate park, I definitely take a helmet. This can simply clip to your hand luggage - no need to take up valuable bag space! I didn't pack my big ramp pads to go on holiday, as I feel confident to skate outdoors, up and down hills, without any pads. If you feel nervous though, it's worth packing a smaller set of knee pads or wrist guards. You don't want a bashed knee to ruin the rest of your holiday.
Clothing wise, I do allow a little extra, because I'm on holiday and I enjoy having that choice. I try to put outfits together and allow a couple of tops for each shorts of skirt. Accessories are light and you can do loads with - earrings, bandanas or silk scarves are great for changing the look of an outfit.
Non-skating Activities
@deells.art
How to effectively pack, airport tips, scheduling your holiday to fit skating when your travel buddies don't skate.
It's a tricky one when your mates don't skate, but you don't want to be THAT person who never talks about anything else! My kiddo and I had a great time on our holiday, making sure we had a balance of skating and non-skating activities. Our Air B'n'B had some cute bikes we were able to borrow, so we spent some time just freewheeling around the city. In a hot destination it's also nice to swim, which is a non-skating activity everyone can enjoy!
If you really just have to stretch your legs on eight wheels, organise to go early and grab pastries for breakfast on your way back, or arrange to meet your buddies elsewhere. If you're heading somewhere hot though, it may be too hot to skate in the middle of the day. This was definitely true on my recent holiday to Salt Lake City, UT. I'm not used to such intense heat and I probably would've ended up with sunstroke, so we just waited until the evening and then skated outdoors a little then.
Which Wheels?
@skatehoopbalance
How to travel with skates, what wheels to take etc.
This depends on the focus for my holiday. I will usually just use outdoor wheels, as the majority of time on skates will be travelling somewhere. It will already be much warmer than I'm used to, so having comfortable feet is essential! If I know it's a skate park holiday, I would definitely pack all my pads and a harder set of wheels. It's unlikely that I would carry the extra set of wheels with me to change over at the park though if I am travelling there on my skates - they're heavy and I would need to swap the wheels back again. Of course, it's possible to walk the route to the skate park and see if you would cope with a harder wheel all the way. What I want to avoid is having a big bag that I need to leave somewhere. I trust skaters the world over, but sadly, some people are opportunist and will just grab your stuff! This has happened to a few people I know, so it is important to be hyper vigilant. It's so easy to relax and trust everyone on holiday.
My favourite wheels are the Moxi Gummy wheels and Radar Energy wheels both a 78a so great for outdoors. Sure, your spins at roller disco won't be quite as impressive, but you can still spin. You will have to work a bit harder for height at the skate park, but if you're just doing a little bit of riding, you can certainly still ride. If you're not used to using stickier wheels at the park, I'd suggest starting small and building up. It won't take you long and it's the safest way of testing out a new set -up.
I also really love the Luminous wheels and these are what I'll be wearing at Skate Love Barcelona. At 85a, they offer a comfortable enough ride outdoors, and are not so grippy that I feel fully stuck to the floor when I am attempting to be more nimble at the roller disco. As I'm also likely to be out after the sun goes down, they also offer a bit of extra night time safety, as they are really really bright! Definitely the brightest light-up wheel in my experience. While they may not be everyone's the first ramp choice of wheel, Moxi Skate Team's Vanna still managed a back flip in them at Rollercon!
I hope my experiences will be helpful for others.
Skate love,
Mel xoxo