Playlife Flyte 84 AL - Black/Turquoise Inline Skates

The Playlife brand is a more entry-level, wallet friendly branch of renown Powerslide company, aimed at providing solid skates for beginners and intermediate skaters alike. Many good skates were released under the brand over the years (worth to mention Lancer skates here) and Germans are at it again, raising the bar with new fitness skates. Meet Playlife Flyte.

It’s worth to note that Flytes are not a brand-new skate. The blueprint used to create these was used by other companies in the past – however, you do not need to reinvent the wheel every single time, do you? Quite often it is more than enough to take existing, proven solutions and give them additional level of polish to achieve something great. This is the case of Flyte – in their respective price branch, they are one of the best fitness skates available.

Flyte are based around a softboot concept – the rigid base and cuff made out of composite material is connected to a soft upper which wraps around the foot. Even thought the outer skeleton structure is minimal, it is enough to provide a decent level of ankle support. The top is closed using a plastic buckle – the strap is hidden inside the cuff. Thanks to it, you won’t lock these straps against themselves, which could result in a fall.

The heel is secured in place by a Velcro strap, but lacing plays a role in this too. There are additional lace hooks in ankle area and boot can be laced to the very top, which is not that common among skates at this price-point. The outer nylon mesh material is a nod towards running shoes aesthetics and does a good job of letting moisture out. It is finished with artifical leather and have thermoplastic polyurethane reinforcements in key areas. Padding is made out EVA foams with two densities, anatomically shaped to provide excellent fit out of the box and gives high level of comfort.

The frame used in Flyte is embossed one, made from thick sheets of 6063 series aluminium. It has a high level of rigidity and gives a good energy transfer. It fits four 84 mm wheels, an excellent midpoint between speed and low setup height. Furthermore, the frame length scales according to boot size, ensuring that no matter which one you wear, you’ll have a fine balance between stability and agility. The frame lengths are as follows:

• Sizes EU37-EU39 = 295 mm frame
• Sizes EU40-EU42 = 266 mm frame

The stock wheel come in 84 mm diameter and 82A hardness, a good starting point in to the world of skating. They have durable, proven core. The ABEC7 bearings made out of carbon steel will serve you well even if you want to skate faster, on longer paths, for fitness training. The skates come with a brake, which can be detached (shorter axle included in the box). Skates, as a whole, are pretty light, weighting only 1320 grams in size EU41.

Flyte are not the most advanced skates on the market – but they don’t have to be! As a model for beginners and intermediate skaters looking for a solid pair without premium price-tag, these are excellent. They truly exceed expectations for gear of this level.