2014 CCM Tacks Skates

[Chadd 916]

would you say they are in the wrong business then? I would hate to seem them in the auto industry? does anyone remember the terrible pontiac aztek? did anyone think that was a good idea?

What about when Bauer went from the 8090 to the one90s? Is this sort of the same thing? Then with the one95 the skate was all black again. i could be wrong but i'm hoping CCM learns, well I hope they would have learned from their past mistakes.

People get too emotionally invested in projects in every industry, especially those responsible for design and/or aesthetics.

Honestly, my first thought was that they were intentionally trying to cop the Supreme or RS look in order to appeal to more kids that wouldn't be familiar with the Tacks branding and history. I would be interested in seeing graphics that remind us old folks of the older Tacks designs but don't look dated. It would be a tall order, but it's the direction I would have (and I guess I have now) suggested.

[the_game 452]

this got me all worked up. I just bought a pair of 552 tacks, 652 tacks, and pumps off of ebay just now. the 552 and 652 are my size, the pumps are a quarter size too big.

And now I am officially going to create an after market heel wedge to attach to your skate to give them the old school Tack look!!!!

(Patent Pending of course...)

[SCBlueLiner 19]

I've lurked on this site for years. This news prompted me to finally register to post here.

I grew up in Tacks. I still do my coaching in a pair of old Black Tacks I found on deep closeout and have been wearing for years. I have been waiting for the day Tacks came back. I have been waiting for the day I could buy my son a pair of Tacks. Overly dramatic? Yeah, probably.

I now feel disappointed to see that I waited all this time for...for..this.

CCM, it is so simple it can't be messed up.

1) Bring back the Tacks with the traditional fit/feel of the Tacks boot.

2) Give the skate a more traditional look. I personally like the 80's look. The promo has a skate from 1989. It has a nice clean look to it.

3) Make this more traditional skate using modern techniques and materials (heat moldable, etc)

4) Sit back and watch as you pull down huge market share and go right past Bauer.

There are those of us who have been waiting for CCM to return, for Tacks to come back, and who really don't like Bauer. We play hockey and we also have kids who play hockey.

I think I'll be waiting for Tacks version 2.0 after CCM figures this out and corrects their mistake.

[iceman8310 103]

I've lurked on this site for years. This news prompted me to finally register to post here.

I grew up in Tacks. I still do my coaching in a pair of old Black Tacks I found on deep closeout and have been wearing for years. I have been waiting for the day Tacks came back. I have been waiting for the day I could buy my son a pair of Tacks. Overly dramatic? Yeah, probably.

I now feel disappointed to see that I waited all this time for...for..this.

CCM, it is so simple it can't be messed up.

1) Bring back the Tacks with the traditional fit/feel of the Tacks boot.

2) Give the skate a more traditional look. I personally like the 80's look. The promo has a skate from 1989. It has a nice clean look to it.

3) Make this more traditional skate using modern techniques and materials (heat moldable, etc)

4) Sit back and watch as you pull down huge market share and go right past Bauer.

There are those of us who have been waiting for CCM to return, for Tacks to come back, and who really don't like Bauer. We play hockey and we also have kids who play hockey.

I think I'll be waiting for Tacks version 2.0 after CCM figures this out and corrects their mistake.

couldn't of said it better myself. For me the only skate that fit my foot more or less 95% perfectly was the tack.

[flip12 699]

wonder if this is the "blacked out" skate some CCM/reebok players are in. I know the Ribcor skate is out there but it looks different

Any skate can be a blacked out skate, but I'm pretty sure you are seeing Ribcors. They look blacked out, but at just the right angle you can tell what it is.

[IniNew 51]

Trying to sell what's going to be a top of the line price point skate to men's league goers and their children will not give you a lot of ground against Bauer in terms of market share.

[the_game 452]

Any skate can be a blacked out skate, but I'm pretty sure you are seeing Ribcors. They look blacked out, but at just the right angle you can tell what it is.

These are just begging for my aftermarket Heel Wedge!

Trying to sell what's going to be a top of the line price point skate to men's league goers and their children will not give you a lot of ground against Bauer in terms of market share.

I think the idea is that the New 'Tack' design will make its way to the lower end skates, just like CCM did back in the day with a 652, 552, 152.

So if Mr. 30-something goes in to buy new skates for his little tyke & sees the old school look on a pair of new CCM Tack lower end model, thats the brand he knows & picks out for Jr.

Or if Mr. 30-something getting back into the game sees that CCM is still putting out a product he is familiar with, he goes with the brand he knows.

[SCBlueLiner 19]

These are just begging for my aftermarket Heel Wedge!

I think the idea is that the New 'Tack' design will make its way to the lower end skates, just like CCM did back in the day with a 652, 552, 152.

So if Mr. 30-something goes in to buy new skates for his little tyke & sees the old school look on a pair of new CCM Tack lower end model, thats the brand he knows & picks out for Jr.

Or if Mr. 30-something getting back into the game sees that CCM is still putting out a product he is familiar with, he goes with the brand he knows.

Yes. This is what I meant with my post. Skates usually come out as top of the line but then lower price point variations come out.

Last summer I wanted to pull the trigger on a purchase of CCM RBZ's. I tried hard to like them. Tried on a pair and wore them around the store trying to convince myself they fit well and felt great. Truth was they gave me me some pretty bad arch pain so I ended up not buying. My son also tried on the RBZ but did not like them for the same reason, he opted to go with Reeboks which is the only brand he's ever worn.

Kind of bumbed the new Tacks won't fit like, well, Tacks. I'll still go try them when they come out but I have a feeling I'll be trying to convince myself they fit.

[leftwinger37 43]

I am in agreement that CCM missed a valuable opportunity with attaching the Tacks name to... whatever this is.

I don't hate it, but like others have said, I'm underwhelmed.

I think there is a lesson we can learn from this, just as we did when the Tacks line was originally discontinued: CCM's primary concern is gaining new customers and often that is to the detriment of old or existing customers. I guess that's how whole this crazy train keeps rolling, but I don't understand reviving the name if it has no connection to its heritage.

[iceman8310 103]

I am in agreement that CCM missed a valuable opportunity with attaching the Tacks name to... whatever this is.

I don't hate it, but like others have said, I'm underwhelmed.

I think there is a lesson we can learn from this, just as we did when the Tacks line was originally discontinued: CCM's primary concern is gaining new customers and often that is to the detriment of old or existing customers. I guess that's how whole this crazy train keeps rolling, but I don't understand reviving the name if it has no connection to its heritage.

Bauer did it the right way, CCM did not

[raganblink 82]

They're obviously making price point skates - its a full line not stand alone top-end ala Mako or when the U+ CL /U+12 came out.

And I think you are underestimating the consumer who switched to another brand (most likely Bauer) because they were shit on 11 years ago by being told that the skate fit they've had for ages would be discontinued. How do you leave 100% of your skate clientele in the dust and expect them not to look for a solution?

There are a lot of people out there who stuck with CCM just because of the brand and hate the Bauer name. A lot will and have blindlessly followed. A majority of the people who want to buy CCM skates for their kids had Tacks and still wear those or the new CCMs and only want to put their kid in that skate because they grew up on it. Some people got distraught and frustrated from CCM but a lot still drank their poison and continued to buy their skates - even with the fit continuously changing.

So all of a sudden CCM is going to become a barn burner of a brand because Reebok is being shitcanned? Not sure about that, but we'll see. I think it's healthy for the industry to have competition, however, Bauer has been dominant or at the top of ALL categories over the past 8 years or so, where CCM became a has been. Easton certainly has declined, especially in the stick category (which they dominated), and Warrior isn't even close to being near the top in any category.

Hopefully Bauer can be reeled in a bit, however, I think OD1N was a huge step ahead in many respects and to me, having been employed on the manufacturing side of the business, was very impressed where others on this board and others simply bantered about how ugly the products were and how they'd never purchase that product. The point was missed completely.

Sadly yes I do. It will allow retailers to focus more on the CCM name and overall it will grow the company. Right now lets say their is 4 kids in Vapor, 2 in Supreme, 1 in Nexus, 1 in RBZ, 1 in Reebok and 1 in other. For us at least, this is pretty on the nose. We probably do a little more Reebok/CCM then that, but we more or less sell this percentage and model breakdown. Well when 2 of those skates get branded CCM, it will appear as if there are more people skating in that skate then there are previously (even though Reebok and CCM are the same company). So my stock just went from 10% CCM to 20% CCM overnight, thus allowing me to offer the CCM skate to more kids, since I have a better change to have their size/PP in-stock. Long-term this will mean that I will end up stocking and selling more and more CCM skates and it will get closer to a 50/50 ratio. It will never be that unless Bauer drops the ball, hard, but it will close the gap for sure and increase CCM sales.

I concur on the OD1N project and its goal went by so many heads. Bauer is pushing the bar for all things innovative. They could remain stagnant and just reel in profits as they either keep the same models year to year or better yet, increase the cost on product while maintaining the quality of it (no name dropping, but, one is especially guilty of this). Bauer somewhat did this on skates the last few years, however not as bad another skate company did. Bauer is leading the way into the future and right now its a great train as a retailer to ride - which will only continue to be rode until someone steps up to the plate big time and creates a demand for their product, which I believe CCM is creating but its still no where near where they need to be. Warrior, as much as I love their sticks, gloves and protective, this next year seems to have hit a rough patch in innovation. Graf is smart streamlining their product offering which will help IMO have their product in stores. Easton is the most impressive for me in the last 5 years, and CCM with their new products and phasing out of Reebok seems to be going the right direction as well. Bauer though just pushed the bar again at the retail level, has by far the best and most popular team program out there is poised for another great year.

[DarkStar50 679]

Random thoughts

MSH members are gear whores that remember skates, sticks, protective that they loved and that is probably no longer available. The list is too long to name. The great majority of hockey consumers are kids that want something new and different. They have not established complete brand loyalty yet. A lot of hockey parents never played the game. They have no knowledge of CCM Tacks with a heel wedge. I'll ask a few travel hockey dads this weekend if they know what Tacks are. I'll bet over half won't have a clue. raganblink, do the same and let us know what you hear. So, while the MSH family knows heritage, while 'the major hockey retail" skate buyer knows heritage, not all consumers know the Tack heritage. As bad as we think this looks, CCM has a new generation to sell Tacks to. It has been 10 years since Tacks were in the marketplace. That is practically a complete cycle of youth players who have never seen an old Tack skate with a heel wedge on a shop shelf. They could look at a 2014 Tacks skate with a cosmetic heel wedge and totally dislike it .

[SCBlueLiner 19]

I don't think a cosmetic heel wedge would go over very well. I can see why the new Tacks don't have it. My formative hockey years were the 80's and that was prior to the heel wedge. The Tacks of that era were a very, very good skate and a look that could have easily been mimicked today while making a skate with modern features and materials.

[IniNew 51]

These are just begging for my aftermarket Heel Wedge!

I think the idea is that the New 'Tack' design will make its way to the lower end skates, just like CCM did back in the day with a 652, 552, 152.

So if Mr. 30-something goes in to buy new skates for his little tyke & sees the old school look on a pair of new CCM Tack lower end model, thats the brand he knows & picks out for Jr.

Or if Mr. 30-something getting back into the game sees that CCM is still putting out a product he is familiar with, he goes with the brand he knows.

That is an awful lot of baseless speculation.

[iceman8310 103]

Random thoughts

MSH members are gear whores that remember skates, sticks, protective that they loved and that is probably no longer available. The list is too long to name. The great majority of hockey consumers are kids that want something new and different. They have not established complete brand loyalty yet. A lot of hockey parents never played the game. They have no knowledge of CCM Tacks with a heel wedge. I'll ask a few travel hockey dads this weekend if they know what Tacks are. I'll bet over half won't have a clue. raganblink, do the same and let us know what you hear. So, while the MSH family knows heritage, while 'the major hockey retail" skate buyer knows heritage, not all consumers know the Tack heritage. As bad as we think this looks, CCM has a new generation to sell Tacks to. It has been 10 years since Tacks were in the marketplace. That is practically a complete cycle of youth players who have never seen an old Tack skate with a heel wedge on a shop shelf. They could look at a 2014 Tacks skate with a cosmetic heel wedge and totally dislike it .

There are a lot of hockey dad's that play or played hockey themselves. When I was growing up my dad still had his bauers' with metal holders and runners

[All Flash 49]

I still don't understand how the "wedge" fit tacks used was so popular?

I consider it one of the worst ideas for fitting skates of all time.

Wedging your foot into something does not constitute proper fit, help with comfort, or performance for that matter.

Just because you were raised on something doesn't mean it was right.

My perfect example; Toronto Maple Leaf fans. ;)

[iceman8310 103]

I still don't understand how the "wedge" fit tacks used was so popular?

I consider it one of the worst ideas for fitting skates of all time.

Wedging your foot into something does not constitute proper fit, help with comfort, or performance for that matter.

Just because you were raised on something doesn't mean it was right.

My perfect example; Toronto Maple Leaf fans. ;)

Well they fit a lot of people and were a very good skate.

[All Flash 49]

Explain how?

[CommodoreColt 19]

I see a lot of comments to the effect of "they were such great skates" in this thread.

Every one of those comments leaves out the part that makes it a true, factual statement:

"...for their time."

[DarkStar50 679]

iceman8310, I truly understand your position and passion for Tacks. My first pair of Super Tacks was bought in 1972. Since 1978 I have been on the retail side of the counter selling hockey gear. The Tacks of the 80s that some guys remember were very good skates although Daoust 301 and 501 had a significant market share back then too. The Bauer Supreme 100 was the catalyst for Bauer making headway to the dominant skate position in the mid 80s going forward. The CCM Tacks of the 90s that are well remembered(after 651 VakuTacks) earned their place among favorite skates with their performance on ice. At the retail level in the late 90s into early 2000s, Tacks did little to battle Bauer with solid R D & D. This led to their demise. I hated to see them go because in my shop there was always a skater that had a Tacks foot that Bauer skates just did not fit. Time will tell how the new Tacks sell with this next generation of skaters.

[Zjack38 46]

Random thoughts

MSH members are gear whores that remember skates, sticks, protective that they loved and that is probably no longer available. The list is too long to name. The great majority of hockey consumers are kids that want something new and different. They have not established complete brand loyalty yet. A lot of hockey parents never played the game. They have no knowledge of CCM Tacks with a heel wedge. I'll ask a few travel hockey dads this weekend if they know what Tacks are. I'll bet over half won't have a clue. raganblink, do the same and let us know what you hear. So, while the MSH family knows heritage, while 'the major hockey retail" skate buyer knows heritage, not all consumers know the Tack heritage. As bad as we think this looks, CCM has a new generation to sell Tacks to. It has been 10 years since Tacks were in the marketplace. That is practically a complete cycle of youth players who have never seen an old Tack skate with a heel wedge on a shop shelf. They could look at a 2014 Tacks skate with a cosmetic heel wedge and totally dislike it .

I believe this is spot on, I'm 15 and I've heard of tacks before, but I've never seen a pair.

[chippa13 1844]

Nostalgia is hardly anybody's reason to make a $700-800 buying decision.

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

Short article on the heritage of the skate; worth a glance

http://www.nationalpost.com/markets/news/Hockey+Launches+Hockey+Legendary+Tacks+Skates/9400554/story.html

[All Flash 49]

Nostalgia is hardly anybody's reason to make a $700-800 buying decision.

I would say it shouldn't be but ..................

[Chadd 916]

iceman8310, I truly understand your position and passion for Tacks. My first pair of Super Tacks was bought in 1972. Since 1978 I have been on the retail side of the counter selling hockey gear. The Tacks of the 80s that some guys remember were very good skates although Daoust 301 and 501 had a significant market share back then too. The Bauer Supreme 100 was the catalyst for Bauer making headway to the dominant skate position in the mid 80s going forward. The CCM Tacks of the 90s that are well remembered(after 651 VakuTacks) earned their place among favorite skates with their performance on ice. At the retail level in the late 90s into early 2000s, Tacks did little to battle Bauer with solid R D & D. This led to their demise. I hated to see them go because in my shop there was always a skater that had a Tacks foot that Bauer skates just did not fit. Time will tell how the new Tacks sell with this next generation of skaters.

To add to that great recap; The silver and copper colored Tacks were terrible and the final Tacks lineup (x92 and pro tacks) would have been great a couple years earlier but came out around the time that Bauer changed the industry focus (on weight) with the Vapor line.