Usd Aeon 80 Team - Dark Grey/Gold Inline Skates

The USD brand is one of pillars of aggressive inline skating worldwide and have created many iconic, excellent skates over the years. Their most recent smash hit is Aeon – a skate which was voteda product of the year in One Blade Awards in year 2016 when it first came out. USD is back for season 2022 and once again, goes in with multiple Aeon models, in different configurations and with brand new parts. Aeons are better than ever and we say this with absolute certainty.

The new edition of USD Aeon 80 Team is a perfect example of a modern skate which blurs the lines between aggressive inline and freeskating. Thus, even though it is firmly rooted in aggressive style, fans of urban skating should also consider them when looking for a fresh gear. Furthermore, if you live near a skatepark, these are an absolute must-have.

Aeons are based around unibody concept – the shell, soulplates and frame are one moulded piece. This may seem like a step back compared to interchangeable frames and souls, but this unique approach brings many benefits. First of all, even though Aeons are composite shell skates, they are one of the lightest on the market. Secondly, the unibody solution means that there are no screws, t-nuts and washers to mount the frame and soulplate – you don’t have to worry about lost hardware, damaged frame bolts and so on anymore! Last but not least – the energy transfer and movement precision is simply superb, making for fast and snappy skating experience. Comparing it to UFS, where plastic frame is attached via two screws to a soulplate, which in turn is attached to a shell, the difference is striking – Aeons win by a huge margin in terms of responsiveness.

The Aeon shell is highly resistant thanks to material used: the glass fiber reinforced plastic. It gives the skate boot adequate rigidity and slides well on ledges and rails. Experienced skaters may consider the soulplates to be just a bit too slow, but this comes with advantage of easier control while grinding steep handrails of really slippery ledges. Furthermore, because the foot is placed so close to grinded surface, the physical feedback is excellent. The soulplates are also well designed and have the same width from front to back, making locking on tricks easier.

The liner used in Aeons is upgraded MyFit 2nd Skin model – one of the best liners in MyFit range. It can be laced and have anatomically shaped tounge to secure foot better. It can be even heat-moulded to achieve customised fit! Inside of the liner resides EVA insole with arch support. MyFit 2nd Skin is dual fit, meaning that front of the liner covers two sizes thanks to stretchy neoprene toe area. The skates come with a thick shock absorber to dampen vibrations and protect your heels during landings.

When Aeons hit the market for the first time, their cuff was a divisive subject – some people were praising it, but there was also a notable portion of the community criticising it. New, redesigned part has been around for some time now and should satisfy majority of skaters. It cannot be hidden that new cuff is inspired by cult classic Salomon ST skate – one which is no longer in production for well over 15 years. The part is enclosed at the front with overlapping „wings” underneath the buckle strap and have „cuts” designed to improve flex on tricks. It even comes with a canting system that allows you to place it higher for more support or even to counter pronation or suppination issues with ankles! Least to say, this cuff has proven to be so well performing that Powerslide has started using it in other models of skates, too.

Another important aspect of 80 mm version of Aeons is the inclusion of 45 degrees ratchet strap instead of Velcro (or additional lace hooks). This allows you to achieve a tighter, more rigid closure which comes in handy considering the height of 80 mm setup.

One of the key reasons why Aeons are so popular is their ready to roll nature – they are perfect flat setup out of the box. There’s no UFS frame mounting, so there are no limitations of it – this means that the frame can be low as possible as well as distance between wheels in each pair: 1st and 2nd / 3rd and 4th can be super short. Thanks to this design, the frame groove can be wider. In practice, there is no other 4x80mm skate (or frame) out there which would offer even remotely similar space for grinds. However, be aware that due to frame height in this version of the skate the royale angle is very sharp and you still need some solid skills to pull off H-block grinds.

It is worth to note that frame length depends on size of the shell. The EU39-40 and EU41-42 sizes get the shortest wheelbase, measuring 265 mm. EU43-44 get 270 mm and finally, EU45-46 comes with 275 mm.

For sake of comparison, even though all of these are notably longer than usual 243 mm length found in 4x80 mm frames, they still are not longer than typical 4x90mm setup. Even though the groove is more than a cosmetic addition, the Aeon 80 are still as agile as most freeskates out there. Furthermore, adjusting the frame length to the boot size guarantees a high level of stability for all users, which means that jump landings are easy and you get a really solid base for deep, powerful pushes. The unibody concept allows the wheels to be as close to the foot as possible – even closer than in case of famous Trinity mounting skates. It makes the centre of gravity super low, helping you with performing tricks, as skates are easier to control.

Speaking about wheels – USD was not holding anything back and stock wheels are Undercover RAW in 85A hardness, made of Ultra High Rebound Xtreme Pro urethane mixture developed specifically for ubran skating. The wheels won’t spin by themselves, of course – luckily, bearings are no disappointment either. Wicked ABEC9 chrome steel bearing will last long, roll smoothly and allow you to use the skates to their full potential.

This setup makes USD Aeon 80 Team a competent skate for basically anything you’ll throw at them. Aggressive tricks on street? Yes, of course. Skatepark, bowl? Why not? Freeskating? No problem at all. Without a shadow of doubt, this is the most versatile skate on the market as of now, plus it is a truly premium quality skate to begin with.

When we look at Aeon 80 Team we cannot skae off an impression that it is what a modern version of classic skates from the 90’s such as Roces Street or Rollerblade Lightning looks like. After all those skates were used for everything, from playing street hockey, through skating marathons to grinding rails and ledges. Is there anything else to say? We recommend these skates to both aggressive inline and freeskating enthusiasts.