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NIMH Review

When I first read a rumor about new boot company from Jon Elliot and Brian Shima I decided to do two things straight away. 
1. I will buy this skate as sson as possible
2. I will write a review and make a test-edit for inmag.info

Unfortunately, from the beginning things didn`t wok out as I had planned. The release date of the skate coincided with the start of winter in Poland, and what`s worse the shipping of the skate to the shop  was constantly changing because of the distributor`s delay.

I got the skates in the mid of december`07, and due to bad weather conditions and the fact I broke my arm, I got only few chances to skate them at the shity Czeladz park.

If it wasn`t enough, my friend who was supposed to help with the review by taking some photos had lend his camera earlier. So I got Radek ‘kojot’ Kojtych and his video camera but during that day everyone want to skate and there wasn`t any volunteer for filming.

To sum it up I haven`t had enough chances to skate NIMHs and write a detailed review, and besides few weak  ass clips from that skatepark I didn`t collect materials I wanted, but……

I would like to describe a few Nimh features which I managed to notice. Also, below the article  you can find a short edit made by Radek ‘kojot’ Kojtych which maybe doesn`t now have the coolest tricks but is edited very well!

About the skates. First of all it was known from the start that NIMHs shell is based on the Cult boot. Like everything in this world, it has its pros and cons. The advantage of such solution is of course proved construction of the shell, which isn`t as bulky as the Genesys boot (it fits your foot perfectly) and isn`t as narrow as Valo/M12 so there is no problem with thicker liners like Jug or Sifika SL415. The biggest con on the other hand is the fact of the non-ufs shell where the heel area is rised so if you put any shockabsorber (NIMHs comes without any) your heel will be unnaturally high, which for some of you may be very disturbing. 

NIMHs come equipped with completely new cuff and new buckle. The NIMH`s Cuff is a little different from the one used in Cults, in my opinion it is a bit higher on the back and more stiff, but in general the skate flex very good and provides enough support for your ankles.

As far as buckle is considered, I guess it is the weakest part of the skate. NIMHs buckle is leaning a bit, I have no idea why but I know for sure that person who designed the cuff didn`t talk with someone who designed the buckle. The so-called buckle cover doesn`t match the position of the buckle at all. Your first missed soul trick and the buckle is all scratched if not broken, as it is made of rather weak material. I hope the existing screw holes will be enough to mount some other buckle, without drilling. What`s more the buckle`s end is not hidden inside the cuff which is very annoying.

The last innovation of NIMHs is cut toe-area. They say that some people who skated Cults were complaining about hurting their toes while hitting the front part of the shell, but to be honest I haven`t had any of these problems at all, so its rather indifferent to me.

NIMH skate comes with new Vicious liner. It is not hard to notice that the liner is almost the same as the standard Razor liner besides the obvious color and graphic patterns but in this case I think there is nothing wrong with it. Vicious liner is by far one the better liners I`ve had (original Elliot 2 liner still remains the best one) and here`s why:
- not too thick, not too thin
- quickly adjust to your feet. NIMHS are one of these skates which didn`t hurt my feet during the first sessions at all
- lack of unnecessary elements which only make it hard to put liner on and off
- perfect fit for the shell and good ankle support. If you tight your skate properly there won`t be any ‘fee space’ inside the skate
The only thing which is missing here as well as in every other liner out there now, is a leather part around the ankle area which worked soooo good in the Elliot 2 liners.   

NIMH Soulplate. Designed by Brian Shima, it doesn`t look anything innovative at the first glimpse, but just try it for the first time and you will notice it`s great features. The size. Soulspace is perfect – not so oversized as Xsjados and a little bigger than in Remz. It slides very smooth and so far I don`t think that it will change. Small side walls sticking out of the soulplates, at the front and at the back, are very helpful when doing cess slides or ledge-skating, their position and size are very well designed. I can`t write anything about the groove because there is not such thing. Brian Shima decided that it is up to skater itself to work out a groove for his particular needs. As I said before I didn`t have enough time to skate so it`s really hard to say for me if it works, but I guess it will be a really good feature for some of you – decide for yourself. 

Let`s wrap things up. NIMHs are combination of proven solutions as well as some new great features. The overall look is a matter of taste, but for me the common all-black pattern with gold highlights looks mad good and makes it one of the best looking skates available. Don`t forget that NIMH is the first and the only company estabilished and run by skaters!!!!!



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Text Author: Szymon
Edit Author: Kojot