The all new CCM Super Tacks skates are some of the most advanced skates to ever hit the market. The legendary hockey company spent years of research and development to create this all new skate with incredible and exciting features. We caught up with CCM Hockey skate product manager J.S. Belanger to get a more in-depth look at the Super Tacks skates. Here’s what we learned:
What’s new/different with the Super Tacks Skate that players will immediately notice? What benefits will they see from this skate?
The first thing all players notice is the one-piece carbon composite boot frame. There is no more outsole, so you now have a seamless boot from top to bottom. We named this technology MonoFrame 360. It is a revolutionary new technology for CCM skates that takes performance to a whole new level thanks to the increased contact area the foot has with the boot. The seamless structure of the skate allows the player’s energy and power to be transmitted down through the boot to the ice without the interruption caused by a typical outsole found on most skates. Some players compare it to the type of jump in performance they noticed when sticks evolved to one-piece composite sticks.
What was the thought process behind designing this skate? What type of R&D went into the five-year development cycle, and what type of feedback did you hear from customers and how did that affect the design of the skate?
The thought process was that performance in skates had peaked in the last few years, and something new was needed to help players get to that next level. We worked closely with the biomechanics team at the University of Calgary – who are some of the only experts in the world specialized in hockey-specific research – and conducted extensive research on the foot and its strengths and weaknesses during different hockey-skating movements.
Once we identified the optimal performance design of the skate, we needed to make sure that it had everything else players would expect from a top CCM skate. It’s easy to make just any one-piece boot frame skate, but it can take five or more years to design one that uses carbon fiber that is completely heat moldable 360-degrees around the player’s entire foot, and that is also very durable, ultra-light, and that has such an anatomical fit right out of the box. We do not believe any company has achieved all these things in the past.
We had many elite players try the skates throughout the process and we knew we were onto something when they started telling us that these were the best fitting and most responsive skates they had ever worn. Now that the skates have launched, we hear it on a regular basis and it’s very rewarding for the team.
Who was it created for (what type of player, foot shape, etc.)?
The Super Tacks skates have an anatomical fit, which means it will fit the majority of hockey players very well. It has a medium forefoot width, medium volume and an anatomical heel and ankle form that locks the foot inside the skate even before you tie it. The one-piece boot frame is a very precise design and all the work we did with the University of Calgary and studying the shapes of thousands of hockey players’ feet has paid off in designing a skate that feels very close to the foot and eliminating more negative space than a typical two-piece skate with an outsole will allow.
The best part about Super Tacks skates is that the boot is completely heat moldable around, under and over the foot, for a micro-customized fit like no other boot available on the skate wall.
What considerations should players take into account before purchasing this skate?
Players often wonder if NHL players wear different skates than those available in store. Well, with the Super Tacks, NHL players are wearing the exact same boots as you. The skate uses premium carbon fibre which means it is an NHL-caliber, stiff one-piece boot. Players who want to heat mold the skate to their foot can do so by heating the skate for a few minutes at their local hockey shop, and that will temporarily make the carbon material malleable for it to the shape to the player’s foot. It will then stiffen up once again when the boot cools down so that players can experience the highest level of performance with the utmost comfort of a personalized fit.
Is there anything else we should know about the CCM Super Tacks skates that we haven’t already covered?
We also added the SB Black blade to the skate, which has proven to be a premium runner in the market. The black film is generated through an oxidization process of the steel, which ends up hardening the steel to offer players a better performance, a longer edge life and excellent resistance to corrosion.
A big thanks to J.S. Belanger and the CCM Hockey team for helping us to learn more about the all new CCM Super Tacks skates. If you’re interested in grabbing a pair of CCM Super Tacks skates for yourself, head over to IceWarehouse.com and check them out. You can grab the skates for $899.99 and score free shipping on your order too!
Thanks for this post! I bought a pair of these last month, and even though I’ve only played a couple games in them, I absolutely felt the difference between these and my old RBZs. They fit a whole lot better, they are far more responsive, and the lighter weight keeps the fatigue from setting in too early.
These were my first top-tier skates, and I’m absolutely loving them. The price was rough, but since I play only 2 (maybe 3) times a week, I’m betting these skates will last me a very long time.