$100 skates vs $300 skates

[StuntMan12]

Is there much of a difference between them? I am buying a pair tomorrow and plan on skating once a week and occasionally renting out private ice so I can shoot the puck around. Can't bring sticks into public skating. Couple of months ago I was using my brothers old skates which were 11 D, first of which they were too big, I use 10-10.5 for skates, and they were D's and I need EE. So uncomfortable I had to get off the ice every 10 minutes. And do you guys recommend a 5/8, 1/2, 3/8 sharpen? I want to try the Flat Bottom V but nobody in my town does that cut.


Was thinking of buying:

($300 range)
Bauer Supreme S170
CCM Tacks 5092
CCM Ribcor 66K

($100-200 range)
Bauer Nexus N6000
Bauer Vapor X300
Easton Mako M8
CCM Tacks 3052

[2014olympicgold]

Is there much of a difference between them? I am buying a pair tomorrow and plan on skating once a week and occasionally renting out private ice so I can shoot the puck around. Can't bring sticks into public skating. Couple of months ago I was using my brothers old skates which were 11 D, first of which they were too big, I use 10-10.5 for skates, and they were D's and I need EE. So uncomfortable I had to get off the ice every 10 minutes. And do you guys recommend a 5/8, 1/2, 3/8 sharpen? I want to try the Flat Bottom V but nobody in my town does that cut.


Was thinking of buying:

($300 range)
Bauer Supreme S170
CCM Tacks 5092
CCM Ribcor 66K

($100-200 range)
Bauer Nexus N6000
Bauer Vapor X300
Easton Mako M8
CCM Tacks 3052

Flat sharpening is pointless for our level. Don't bother for the extra cost. The 3/8-5/8 sharpening you'll notice a bit of a difference for 1 game, that's it. Again, don't stress over this.

As per skates....

Mine are $350+ skates I got on sale for 60% off. I end up sticking with Bauer Vapors just because that's kinda been my skate brand for a long time and I know I like them. I'd honestly just get skates that are on sale for you.As per the feel between the top end vs bottom end of the price scale, just get what's comfortable for you. Skates last a while so if you're comfortable paying $300, pay it, if you don't see the difference, it's not worth the price difference then. Skates are about comfort, and the difference in performance between the levels will be unnoticeable at our level.

[Axeman33]

My recommendation: buy the right sized skate and get it molded to your feet. A lot of places that sells skates have the ability to get them to mold to your feet. That will help with comfort and that should be the most important thing to you considering what you are using them for.

[Axeman33]

My recommendation: buy the right sized skate and get it molded to your feet. A lot of places that sells skates have the ability to get them to mold to your feet. That will help with comfort and that should be the most important thing to you considering what you are using them for.

[2014olympicgold]

My recommendation: buy the right sized skate and get it molded to your feet. A lot of places that sells skates have the ability to get them to mold to your feet. That will help with comfort and that should be the most important thing to you considering what you are using them for.

i just assumed they all did it now for free with the purchase of skates lol.

But if this wasn't something you knew, 120% do this. You can skate on them 24hrs after they mold it (Has to set), and there's 0 wear in period. It's great/

[LordoftheRinks]

Is there much of a difference between them? I am buying a pair tomorrow and plan on skating once a week and occasionally renting out private ice so I can shoot the puck around. Can't bring sticks into public skating. Couple of months ago I was using my brothers old skates which were 11 D, first of which they were too big, I use 10-10.5 for skates, and they were D's and I need EE. So uncomfortable I had to get off the ice every 10 minutes. And do you guys recommend a 5/8, 1/2, 3/8 sharpen? I want to try the Flat Bottom V but nobody in my town does that cut.


Was thinking of buying:

($300 range)
Bauer Supreme S170
CCM Tacks 5092
CCM Ribcor 66K

($100-200 range)
Bauer Nexus N6000
Bauer Vapor X300
Easton Mako M8
CCM Tacks 3052

Huge difference in quality/price even between brands - also sizing is not consistent between brands. Big difference within Bauer for example between Nexxus and Vapor in terms of fit / flex / etc. Try them on before purchasing to get a sense of fit, comfort, and flex. Ribcor's generally will give you more flex than the others. I personally prefer a skate with more flex as it provides me with better mobility - I find most skates these days way too stiff. I scored a pair of Easton Mako II's off of eBay last April and love 'em for their comfort / mobility. Also price compare - if you find something you like at a store / pro shop, you can likely get the same skate off of eBay at a significantly lower price. Finally, in terms of radius, if you're unsure, start with a 1/2 inch and go up or down from there.

[StuntMan12]

Thank you all for the thoughtful responses. I'm going to check out a couple places and try them on. Sport Chek in my town I know does the free molding to your feet, not sure about the other place but we'll see. I've never had a comfortable pair of skates so it's going to be fun trying them on this time around. I never actually bought a pair of skates for myself either, had them handed down and given to me but they were always the wrong size and didn't feel good. I told my nephew who plays hockey that I'm buying a pair and that we can go public skating this weekend and he got pretty excited.

[PenguinHunter]

Take your time in trying them on... tighten them up and walk around... they may feel comfy sitting then you get up and walk around and they pull or pinch in a certain spot.

And definitely get them molded!

[finnys_fanatsy]

this is from teh guys at teh sports store i go to alot..its all about teh comfort and the materials used. the guy actually down sold me on a pair of skates for my son when we bought last. alot to do with the amount of comfort stuff, padding, flex, etc..

[StuntMan12]

Went to Source for Sports, they closed at 6 pm so I only had like 20 mins to try on skates. Tried on one pair, I forget what he said they were called, CCM Tacks that were originally $399.99 but on sale for $199.99. Suppose to be last years model. The dude there said there were no EE skates. The 10.5 Tacks I tried on were WIDE enough, it was just a tad tad (SLIGHTLY) tight around the ankle. The dude there said when it gets molded to my feet that I would just have to stand for a minute or so while it's being molded. I like the skates, it has the black steel blade which I like.

[2014olympicgold]

So you ended up getting them? Was it the Tacks 6092?

Could have been they had the new/high end black blade put in them because the pair at Sport Chek with that jet black blade is like $1,000 skates.

[StuntMan12]

So you ended up getting them? Was it the Tacks 6092?

Could have been they had the new/high end black blade put in them because the pair at Sport Chek with that jet black blade is like $1,000 skates.

I didn't get them yet. I forget what the guy called them. I thought he had a certain name for it ... like Tacks _ _ _ _ _ _ , not a number but a certain name. And that they were last years model going on sale from 400 to 200 basically .... The store was just closing and felt rushed so I wanted to wait until today to go there earlier and try a couple more on. This was at Source For Sports.


EDIT ... just looking at 6092 Tacks online and it looks exactly like em.


There were some nice looking CCM skates on for $200 which I also liked and will try on later today. The black skate blade looks very sharp

[2014olympicgold]

I didn't get them yet. I forget what the guy called them. I thought he had a certain name for it ... like Tacks _ _ _ _ _ _ , not a number but a certain name. And that they were last years model going on sale from 400 to 200 basically .... The store was just closing and felt rushed so I wanted to wait until today to go there earlier and try a couple more on. This was at Source For Sports.


EDIT ... just looking at 6092 Tacks online and it looks exactly like em.


There were some nice looking CCM skates on for $200 which I also liked and will try on later today. The black skate blade looks very sharp

Ya, no rush really for you. Just know that the custom fitting takes minimum 24hrs to set after you get it molded. So if you're planning on skating saturday, I wouldn't buy them on Friday. But you can always buy them, skate in them, then get them molded after if you're in a pinch.

"Looks very sharp" nice pun.