K2's Eco inline skates provide a smooth ride for you and Mother Earth

I have a pair of quad roller skates, Riedell's model number R3. They're big and they're heavy and when I put them on I feel as if I've strapped a Camaro to each foot.

I love my Riedells, but I fully admit that they're atavistic (I wore something similar to skate rinks in the early 1980s), and may not be the kind of wheels you want to wear to join the eight-wheeled traffic circling Green Lake.

You may want something more fashionable, more environmentally conscious -- a pair of hybrids to my pair of V8s. You want a pair of K2 Eco Inline Skates.

The K2 Eco series -- available in men's (the Etu) and women's (the Maia) models -- looks immediately different than other inline skates. Even if you regard a pair as they're in motion, you're going to notice the bamboo frame.

"The K2 environmentally friendly inline skates bring together a large number of naturally occurring and recyclable materials," says Steve Kopitz, the president of InlineSkates.net -- an online skate shop that offers the Eco skates a healthy discount.

"The use of bamboo in the frames absorbs road vibrations similar to a composite frame, but transfers energy like an aluminum frame."

Meaning: The Eco's Mao bamboo frame promises to absorb most vibrations, even the ones arising from those unexpected and delightful gravel patches on the Burke-Gilman, and to give you a smooth ride.

That innovation, coupled with the usual quality elements that K2 builds into its inline skates -- including their comfortable "Softboot" and one of the most stylish heel-brakes you've ever seen -- make the Eco a first choice for anyone looking to join Seattle's trail skaters.

But K2 didn't stop with merely improving the ride. The manufacturer aimed to create the greenest pair of inline skates it could.

"Even the fabric of the skates is distinct among inline manufacturers," said Kevin Palmer, InlineSkates.net's buyer. "It's composed of fibers made from ground-down polyethylene terephthalate bottles -- commonly known as 'plastic water bottles.' In addition to being used in the fabric, the recycled bottles also have been used in the skate's laces, skate liners, webbing and mesh."

InlineSkates.net offers Etus and Maias at $189.95, some 16 percent off the $225 retail price. While that's more expensive than many of K2's other midlevel inline skates (the aluminum-framed Exo models go for $50 to $140) and more expensive than my beloved Riedells, you'll have the pleasure of knowing that the wheels on your feet leave very small tracks, environmentally speaking.

Plus, you'll turn heads on every crowded trail from Green Lake to Woodinville. Physical fitness mixed with moral fiber? It's got to be good for you.

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