I know it all depends on preference, but is it worth upgrading from ABEC 5s to ABEC 7s?
The ABEC number is meaningless. It relates to high speed vibration in tools like routers (equivalent to 190 mph). Some of the best bearings designed for skating (top end of the Bones, Twin Cam, and Zero Drag brands) do not meet any of the ABEC standards so that they can have clearances to roll better for skating. There really is very little difference in bearing speed (once you have the same lubricant in all of them being compared) at hockey speeds. Life is where the better brands show up but unless you are in wet or extremely dirty areas (not likely while you are playing hockey), they should easily outlive several sets of wheels. Find a bearing that you like and trust, then stick with it. I happen to like Zero Drag.
Yeah Tex pretty much nailed it. There are some abec 3's that are nicer than abec 7's. It really depends on the brand. Bones Swiss are nice, but overpriced imo. Bones Reds and Pleasure tool might be worth looking into as well, as long as they weren't made in China. If you go with shielded bearings you will need to clean them.
It all depends on how serious you are. If you're just playing road hockey with some friends, you're probably not going to get much of a performance difference from ABEC 5 to 9. If you play competitive inline hockey, then I guess it might be worth it. Swiss bearings are better than any ABEC ones though so keep that in mind. Oh, and how clean the bearing is, and whether it still has any grease to it is just as important as the rating. Use some WD-40 on that **** and you'll be good to go.
They are half the price of a full on Swiss bearing and with almost the same exact performance.
