K2 Catalyst 2001 inline skates review

I finally gave up on fixing the “pronation” problem on my recently purchased Rollerblade Core Carbon Skates, and I decided to go shopping one more time for some new skates. Hopefully this will be the last time for awhile. I narrowed the search down to either a Salomon MG Elite or the K2 Catalyst. I wanted something that was light, had a long frame for stability, and was comfortable and well ventilated for the hot weather in Atlanta, Georgia, where I live. I went to a Sports Store in Atlanta and they had both the Salomon and the K2 Catalyst in stock. I purchased a size 12 in the last two pairs of K2 skates that I purchased, the VO2 Max and the Kinetics. These skates are both a bit on the tight side in the toe area. I had counted on the K2 skates “stretching” just a bit as they broke in, but unfortunately that never happened with either the VO2 Max or the Kinetics. I decided to get a skate that had a tad more toe room on my next pair.

The one complaint I have had about the K2’s is some ankle discomfort when the ankle strap or top buckle is slightly too tight. This seemed to bother me the most when using the brake with my right foot. My right ankle would start to ache a bit during a long skate, especially when doing a great deal of braking . It seems that some people are bothered by this ankle discomfort on the K2s and others have no problem at all. I have heard that K2 claims that they have made some design changes in their 2001 boots, and this problem is supposed to have been eliminated. For a couple of personal reasons, I decided not to get the Salomon Skates.

I tried on a pair of size 13 Catalyst skates first. I had predicted that a size 12 ½ would have been ideal, being slightly bigger than my two size 12 K2’s. I guess they have made a change in their sizing since the size 13 Catalyst, seems to be a perfect fit. This is the main reason I always tell people to try a skate on before buying. If I had mail ordered these skates, I would have ordered a 12 ½, instead of a 13. The skate has a wide toe box and my foot felt perfectly comfortable. The laces appear to be a type of Quick Lace, but they don’t work like they do on the Kinetics that I have. You have to pull pretty hard on the laces at the top in order to tighten the laces all the way down to the toe area. I happen to like this type of lacing as it gives one the option of having the upper part of the skate laced tightly and leaving the lower part near the toe area a bit looser. I generally find that when I lace the skates too tightly around the top of the foot near the arch area, it makes the bottom of my foot ache. On some of the Quick lace skates, if you tighten the laces at the top of the skate, it equally tightens from top to bottom, removing the option of micro-tuning the laces.

There is no ankle strap on the Catalyst, but I did not have any problem with getting a snug fit in the ankle area. There is plenty of padding in the ankle area especially at the rear of the ankle, and the fit is snug. I purposely tightened the Buckle and upper laces more than I usually do, and after a couple of 15+ mile skates, I experienced no ankle discomfort at all. The buckle works very simply, you insert the loose end in the release on one side, and just rotate the latch on the other side to tighten.

The K2 Boot

The boot on the Catalyst is well vented, with vents in the toe area, bottom and the boot material itself which K2 calls “Air-Flow Mesh”. This Air-Flow Mesh is everywhere on the boot, both sides, front and heel area. If you want ventilation, this is the skate for you. It has the typical K2 material inside the boot which on my previous 2 pairs of K2s seem to be almost indestructible. I have seen no wearing or pilling of the liner material on any of my K2 skates. The standard footbed has a nice amount of cushion built into it, and seems to be well made. The bottom of the boot has a Cushioned Heel Pad in that area which is supposed to reduce vibration along with the Magnesium frame. It seems to work rather well, because the skate seems to give a smooth ride. The Toe box area seems to be nice and roomy and the ankle area is nice and snug. The skate looks good and is an attractive color in both the Men’s and Ladies models. A really nice feature that is shared by my 2000 Kinetic is the strap that is used to pull the boot on, located above the heel area at the back of the skate. It is easy to grab, strong, and you will have no fear of it breaking or pulling lose from the skate boot. It also makes a nice easy way to carry a pair of skates with one hand.

Did you like this review and have you recently bought a pair of skates? Would you be willing to write a review such as this one for LondonSkaters.com?
You can email me via the contacts page.

Catalyst Frame

The Catalyst frame is long! It seems to be about the same length as my Kinetic size 12 frame and longer that the Core Carbon frame, by a couple of millimeters( I measured 305 Millimeters) . The frame is also nice looking and well made. They use a design called “IsoGrid” which is basically the bracing of the frame along the insides of the frame rather than cross bracing the frame. This makes for a very light, and strong frame. This is a frame that is not going to bend or warp in any way. The hardware on the frame is the usual sturdy, trouble free and easy to use K2 hardware. The axle hardware looks strong, well machined and strip proof. The axle has a large size oblong piece that slides into a slot on one side of the frame, and a bolt with a sturdy Allen head bolt on the other. It is easy, quick, and foolproof to remove, rotate wheels or replace the brake shoe. By the way, a nice K2 Skate tool is included with the skates. The frame is Magnesium and K2 claims that this is the lightest Fitness Skate in its size on the market because of the frame and the Micro Bearings. Moving from the Rollerblade Core Carbons which seem to be the heaviest 4 wheel Fitness skate around to the Catalyst, makes the weight difference very noticeable. I am not a big Micro bearing fan. I find them noisy, and limiting in my choice of wheels. I will see how they hold up and if they become problematic, I may replace them with 608s and new wheels, when they wear out. All that being said, at present, they seem to work in a satisfactory manner. The Frame is riveted to the bottom of the boot and K2 claims that the alignment is “anatomically centered” .No Pronation problems, seems to demonstrate that the frame is indeed mounted correctly.

The wheels are 80mm, 80 durometer wheels They have the K2 Brand on the wheel, but they are probably made by Hyper or some other wheel manufacturer. The bearings are also labeled “ K2”, and they are the Micro size which are supposed to be a bit bigger than the Mini size. The K2 bearings have the C rings so that you can clean them.

The one complaint I have with K2 skaters is the brake. I feel that the rubber stopper is much too hard and while it lasts a long time, it does not stop you as well as the stoppers on some of the Rollerblade Skates I have owned in the past. This is my biggest gripe with this skate.

In total, these skates seem to show that K2 has done their homework since they first marketed their Softboot Skates 8 years ago. They have refined and tweaked the features on their skates and it is a good bet that you won’t have to be a “Beta Tester” on your new K2 skates.

Overall Conclusions

I would like to see K2 make a brake material that is a bit softer. This would help stop you much quicker even though the brake would wear out sooner.

Comment on these skates?

More K2 Reviews

Disclaimer

As usual, this review is only my opinion about these skates, and your mileage may vary. You should always carefully judge whether the skates you intend buying are best suited for you and for the purpose you intend using. Remember that fit and comfort are extremely important, and you may wish to read the inline skating buying guide here on this site.

K2 Catalyst inline skate review 2001