Two Main Types of Roller Skate Boots
There are two main types of boots used for roller skating:
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Heeled boots
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Flat boots
In an upright position, 90% of our body weight is on the heels of our feet. Using heeled boots helps distribute weight more evenly to the balls (front) of the feet, making it easier to balance and not fall back on your butt.
Flat boots tend to make you go faster as they have better power transfer from your push, because there is no heel. It's also because of this that for some skaters, flat boots may be harder to get used to because you can easily fall backwards. This is why flat boots are mostly used for the skate park, roller derby, hockey, or speed skating, where bursts of power/energy are exerted by the skater, and where the stance while playing the sport puts the skater in a more forward-leaning position to compensate for no heel.
High top boots can provide better ankle support, while low top boots would allow more ankle mobility. Although, flexibility and stiffness still depends on the boot material.
Common boot materials: suede, leather, and vegan/synthetic leather.
Samples:
Jackson EVO Holo roller skates (hightop with heels)
Antik AR2 Customs (lower cut boots without heels)
Stacy Adams Lo Riders NTS (low cut, flat, no toe stop plates)