Funny, every time I see some inconsiderate little brat rolling around on these things with their parents just watching them annoy everyone around them, cutting people off and making people stop and move out of their way, I often think about "accidentally" throwing an arm out to clothesline them, or tripping them....

Apparently there are people that do that...

I actually found some in my size, so my girlfriend and I each got a pair. Those little kids make it look so easy. Holy hell these things are hard to balance on. I'm close to paying one to give me lessons.

Ugh. I cannot stand those dreadful shoes. First of all, it's bad enough we have a childhood obesity epidemic in this country. Now kids don't even really have to walk anywhere.

And then you have to worry about some little snot nosed punk ramming into you at 5mph while you're trying to get groceries.

I've come dangerously close to tripping some of these kids but keep from doing it because I don't wish to be thrown in jail by a pissed off suburban mom.

"they're the wheeled shoe that sends children floating past you like the nun in Blues Brothers"

Ha! Though they always remind me more of those twin girls in "The Shining"

My concern is not the saftey of the kids, but of bystanders. I've seen them come flying out of isles at food stores, and almost knocking over old ladies. I might be safter than basketball or skateboarding, but neither of those are acceptable in retail locations.

I had a kid zoom by me in Target lastnight. It pissed me off until I realized that I would have owned a pair and done the same thing if I were a kid again. All they need is a Totenkopf symbol on the side and the kids are all set.

One day, I will trip a kid wearing these.

My children will exist without rollershoes.

Just another reason to hate children and marketers.

Some stores have banned these -- I've seen at least a couple of local news stories about it. Store owners are worried about getting sued if the kid or an innocent bystander gets injured.

I really wish store management would put a stop to their customers kids using these. AND I wish parent would show more responsibility, they should not let their kids use these in stores, etc.

They should be banned in stores, malls, schools etc. I don't recall being allowed to wear roller skates indoors when I was a kid, despite what Tootie from Facts of Life was allowed to do. I don't see how these are that much different.

And yes, I'm with everybody else who's itching to clothesline one of these snot-nosed brats and bitch out their overindulgent mothers.

I got yelled at by a parent when I called her kid a f****g brat after the kid nearly clipped me and then pushed my cart out of her way zipping through the store.

I just looked at her for a moment and walked away.

Then 5 minutes later thought of about 90 snippy, biting comments. grrrr

The Penguin!!

I had a pair of skate shoes like that when my feet were small enough to fit in them. They had two wheels, though, and buttons on the side, so you just had to click your feet together really hard Dorthy style to get going. I never broke anything, but I was too scared to use them outside of my house.

I honestly haven't seen a single kid with heelys in my area. My little brother wanted some, but then he got his senses straight and remembered he had no coordination.

Seriously people, it's not that big of a deal. Everytime I've seen kids with them I've though "Cool". If there is a problem, blame the kid not the product.

Rollershoes dont hurt people, kids hurt people.

Kids are going to be inconciderate in some way shape or form. Kids are the definition of self centered. We get to deal with it...for now...

I'd rather my kid used these and got hurt and discovered his boundaries than lived a cooped-up sheltered life of safety.

Hah, listen to all you old boring fogeys. Brats this and ban that and clothesline this omg how dare they.

I think they're cool. I approve of anything that allows kids to go fast and possibly injure themselves and others. It is the responsibility of the adult to get out of the way of an out of control and speeding child, always.

"i wanna go fast"

i applaud these wheeled maniacs that they have the balls to say "hey wal-mart, stop putting items that i need all the way across the store"

get the fudge out of the way grandmaw

Man little kids wear those damn things all the time at the super market I work at. They run full speed, then roll around not looking at all where they're going. All the while their parents are oblivious to what their children are doing.
I don't know how more don't get seriously hurt.

Oh, these fill me with rage, completely irrational rage. My children know that they will get Heelies over my dead body (because I'm the meanest mom in the world, but at least my kids aren't assholes on wheels).

I'm pretty laid back with kids having fun but I have to draw the line at these stupid things. Parents - control your children.

Anyone else remember an episode of CHiPS where a gang of clever purse snatchers wore roller shoes (in groovy 70's platform styles, of course) so they could make a quick escape after they grabbed their loot. Where are Ponch and John now that we really need them?

Sorry, there's no defense for this annoying fad. These shoes have annoyed me for a while. I don't even blame the kids -- much :P. I put most of the blame on the stores that sell them and the parents that buy them. It is basically the equivalent of roller skating or skateboarding in the store - and trust me, even YOUR kid is annoying! :)

@DashTheHand: Oh, where did you find them? My boyfriend is in love with them and wants a pair like crazy.

@Jasmo:

Ya, super. Let your kid bust his tail in your driveway, not into the side of my shopping cart.

I don't give a crap if children decide to jump off skyscrapers in mass exodus from this earth. When they interfere with my day to day activities, then I get pissed.

Children lack consciences. It's up to us, as adults, to beat some goddamn sense into them.

Remember, children are our future.

I see kids wearing these in the worst possible places, and wonder why their parents let them. I was in a tile store once and saw this kid, kind of old for the shoes, maybe 12 or 13, zipping around the store at an alarming speed. I kept cringing, expecting her to go slamming into a display of tiles, causing a landslide of glass and marble. Of course, I also sort of hoped she'd get crushed and maybe learn a lesson. Ditto to the people who hate getting clipped by these kids at the supermarket. I'm not a total fogey, I understand why they'd be fun and know that kids need a little danger in order to learn lessons (I had more than my share of scraped knees), but these just seem like a deathtrap when used in some situations.

My 7 year old nephew saved his money for weeks to buy a pair of these. For the life of him, though, he couldn't master them. So now they're in a closet somewhere collecting dust.

My own opinion on these shoes varies. I don't really have a problem with them, whenever I see a kid zip by I think it's hilarious. Flying kids! Awesome. And I know if I were 8 or 9 I would have begged for a pair of these or done as my nephew did. But I can also see how they'd piss a lot of people off. I myself have never seen a kid be so reckless that they're running into people or getting in the way, but maybe their parents are a rare breed of reckless responsible. "Sure, I'll get you a dirtbike, but wear a helmet and eat your broccoli, son."

I tried to buy some for myself last week, but Big 5 only stocks them to men's size 9. Instead I'm going to order them from Amazon. Like right now. I usually prefer to buy shoes where I can try them on, but the system is trying to keep me down. ;)

@enroper: Kids still get exercise rolling around on these, due to the balance needed. They'll get the health benefits just by not being stationary on a couch. I suspect that riding Heelys is better exercise than walking. I'll find out soon enough.

@SweetieDarling: Just wait until your kids grow up. After the sheltered life you're giving them, they'll be assholes on wheels as soon as they can get behind the wheel of a car and drive away from you.

@brew400: Right on, bro! ... er, brew...

a kid on the south shore of MA died last year when he rolled into traffic without looking. i can't imagine why parents let their kids have these on outside their garage/driveway. oh wait, i can, parents are fucking idiots.

I have a pair of these. For reference, I'm 28. I used to wear them while valet parking. They make getting around the parking lot quickly very easily, and since the wheel is nowhere near the toe, they don't impede driving at all.

That said, here is a great story about one day I was wearing them...

Customer: "Wait a minute. What are you wearing?"

Me: "You mean my shoes?"

Customer: "Yeah, lemme see those."

I stand on one foot and show him the sole of my other foot.

Customer: "Oh my God, I can't believe they made 'em..."

(It should be noted this story takes place about 4 or 5 years ago)

Me: "Huh?"

Customer: "Yeah. I've seen these before. I work in insurance. Someone showed them to me before they started making them, asking what kind of liability they should be prepared for. I said none. Just don't make them. I said they should stay far, far away from this idea. No good can come from it."

Me: "Seems they didn't listen."

Customer: "Guess not."

And then I slid away to get his car. When I returned, he just shook his head.

@SweetieDarling: Don't listen to Brian. My mom was a hard ass when I was a kid too, and I love her for it. I haven't lived with her for years, but still get together at least once a week (sometimes more) for dinner. I can only hope to raise my children as well as I feel like she raised me. Your kids'll be fine.

Yeah, the kids running around with them are annoying. But god they look like fun, and if I was young enough, I'd be all over them.

I do think they need to be banned from stores. More than half the posters here should get a rocking chair and take up a post on their front porch, screaming at the kids get off the damn lawn.

They're neat, and I don't want to ban them, but parents need to teach their kids to be responsible and safe with them. I'm partly concerned for my own safety, and partly for the kid's. I don't want some parent screaming at me because their kid wheeled into my grocery cart going 15 mph.

Seriously, I've had kids almost run into me wearing these things, and they don't even say "excuse me"; somehow it's my fault for being in their way.

Bikes, roller blades, skateboards, Heelies blah blah blah all dangerous in some fashion and all are good fun for a lot of kids. My kids have all of the above and have the bumps and bruises to show for it...such is life.

Kids zipping through stores on heelies pissing people off is not a problem caused by heelies nor should it be a call for them to be labeled evil. It IS a call to the oblivious parents of the world to get your kids under control, teach them some rules, set some boundaries and show some respect. Parents are the problem.

And yes, for the record I rode a skateboard and yes I got my a$$ handed to me by my parents a couple of times for riding in places I shouldn't have...and I learned.

I want those in my size.

The little person on the Amazing Race had them, and it was hysterical to see her cousin dragging her through the airport like a piece of luggage.

I have a pair of crazy Italian roller sandals. I still haven't worked up the courage to strap them to my feet yet. I don't come by the title of World's Least Graceful Human for nothing.

I'm surprised at the amount of people here not blaming the individuals for their misuse. That said, I wouldn't mind if they were not allowed to be used in stores, but since they are, I don't complain.

A couple months ago I was wheeling a cart around in Target and as I'm going through an aisle some kid probably 9 or 10 (old enough for me to not feel bad) comes zipping around the corner and flies right into the front of my cart, does some awkward and uncoordinated fall and hits his head on one of the shelves. Of course he starts crying, and the mom comes following around the corner, me just standing there behind my cart. She asks the obligatory "What happened?!" not to anyone in particular, and I just comment "I guess the cart was in his aisle space."

With an angry look, she turns to her kid and starts yelling at him for running into my cart, all the while this kid is on the floor supposedly (and perhaps legitimately) in pain crying. I felt some satisfaction that whether or not I agreed with her parenting, this kid wasn't going to be pampered. Act stupid and you might get hurt, so when you do, don't come crying to me. I walked off with a smile.

I'm and adult with a pair of Heelys and while these things are fun they really are pretty dangerous. The dirty little secret is there is barely any place you can actually use these. Stores will soon clamp down and ban them and they work poorly outside.

1. Outside, tiny rocks CONSTANTLY get up in and stop your wheel, making you go flying. You spend more time bracing for this and actually having fun. (on an off note: now that I'm older why is this knee scrape scarring instead of magically going away like they used to?)

2. 46.394% of sidewalks have cracks too large for the wheels to go over. The ones that aren't still destabilize you to an extent.

3. You realize quickly how not smooth most surfaces. Some slow you down others are impossible.

4. Stopping means changing into a run until you slow down.

Let me make it clear that I don't condone any kind of child abuse, but every time I get cut off in the store by a kid in Heelys, it make me want to beat a biter down with an aluminum bat.

@Kyle: I wish I could edit my comment. Anyways, I wanted to clarify that you don't go flying every time a rock stops the wheel but you have to be paying close attention so that you can transition into a run and stop before falling on your face.

I wish I had heelies when I was 10. I would have glided all over the world!

But I'll be honest, anyone over the age of 10 wearing heelies just looks like a big dork wearing roller shoes. Really, they do. Like the kind of adultdork who wears Napoleon Dynamite shirts and red hightop chucks with shorts. I'm shaking my head just thinking about it.

Here's a death-trap I can get behind, and I can use them in the safety of my own livingroom: http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp?pn=3053538&bhcd2=...

Man, sometimes I am glad that I don't have children yet. I see tons of kids wearing these here in NYC everyday and parents don't even watch them either. I saw some kid walking his dog while on these things and he fell flat on his face when the dog took off.

@ slaps@slapstick: I looked all over for them never finding anything over a size 9, then I finally found the motherload at Modell's. My suggestion is that if you find them online, make sure the store has a good return/exchange policy because their sizes are really jacked. I usually wear a 11.5 and the same size in Heely's for me was a 10.

For the record, it's the marketers I blame, and the parents who can't say no to their kids.

My daughter already talks about wanting to get a pair when she's older. My hope is that they are no longer in fad-shion when one of her grandparents decides a pair of Heelies would be a great present--because I've already sworn not to get her a pair.

Those shoes just scream laziness to me. If God had intended us to roll everywhere he would have built rollers into our feet. If my boys every ask for those shoes....!!!

I'm an adult that owns a pair of these and likes them. They're fun, as long as, just like with rollerskates, rollerblades, and skateboards, you're aware of your surroundings and display some common courtesy to people around you. I hate it when I see kids plowing through crowded areas at top speeds on the things, practically running people down.

You can step out of the roll pretty easily and quickly (unless you're going really fast downhill, in which case it takes a few steps/jogs).

@slapstick (and others) - they make Heelys up to a guy's size 12. At the Nordstrom near me, they keep them (even adult sizes) in the kids shoe department.

I own a pair of Heely's (I'm 27). My wife got them for me from Zappos for Xmas.
They can be dangerous - and I completely love them.
Outside can be a challenge as Kyle noted. Parking lots are your best bet - dangerous because of cars.
Inside, I love Costco, big aisles and smooth cement floors. Another bonus for adult beginners is using the cart to stabalize yourself at first.
My 4 year old daughter wants a pair and I'll probably get her some when her feet are large enough, my wife just likes to watch me make a fool out of myself.
Oh, every kid (and some adults) that I roll by wants to get a pair too. These will be HUGE.

I hate these stupid things.
I don't care about the kid or me (I'm 6'2" @ 250#, so the kid is going to get the worst of a collision with me), but the first time one of those knotheads runs into one of my kids, there will be hell to pay. More than once have my family and I been shopping and one of these idiot kids nearly knocked my 5 year old down without, I might ad, as so much as a glance back, let alone an "excuse me" or "sorry" or even a "bite me". Ultimately, it is the parents who are at fault for raising such inconsiderate jerks.

Why are we equating not wanting your kids to be jackasses on skates to being "overprotective"? My brother and I had dirtbikes and a trampoline (with no cage) and drove tractors on the farm but our mother would never have let us rollerskate in a grocery store. She wasn't scared we would crack our heads open, she was considerate and teaching us to be the same.

@missbrooke06: Well said. My mother was the same way. I wasn't sheltered from getting hurt doing normal kid things. I wanted (and got sometimes) all the cool new fads, even the ones that could potentially be dangerous. I was, however, taught not to be a public nuisance. Stores and malls were designed for shopping, not to be a goddamned roller rink. I don't blame the Heelys; I blame the parents who don't know how to teach their children how to behave in public.