Leaderboard

If you wanted to send in some steel we could put a 1/2 or 3/8 FIRE on them and ship 'em back. There's definitely (according to almost all of the skating instructors I've ever met) a benefit to a shallower hollow in general. It's just a bit of a change, so I'd hate for you to try a FIRE cut and then have them not like it and feel like you're out $50. But, like I said, if you're going to give it a go, start with 3/8 or 1/2 FIRE. 1/2 FIRE is a good middle of the road place to start, then you could go up in down in bite from there. Let me know if you'd like to ship us some steel.

No longer collecting dust in the back of one of my rink pro shops...

New for 2017, the Super Tacks is CCM's top-end girdle. Here's it out of the box: The shell is removable, with leg zippers and +1 adjustment. It has three points in which it attaches to the girdle. There is a second loop under the belt in which the shell strap hooks into. Adjustable spine pad, with D3O. Now, here's the girdle without the shell. Open front crotch. However, there is a step-in part in the seat of the girdle. Opening it up, you can see it. The tailbone pad is built in, similar to 9k. There are 4 adjustment tabs in the girdle. Two of them extend all the way up to the kidney pad and bring the back of the thigh pad up... And the other two bring the front of the thigh pad up. Hip pads are similar to 9k. There's a lot to like here. Having the open crotch is good, and there's no shortness of protection as well. However, two things could be potentially nagging - the step-in part is one. It doesn't really seem to be necessary - the points it's attaching to is the groin pad area and the tailbone pad. The second one is the lack of stretch material in the top of the girdle. The only part where there's any sort of stretch is a 1.5" piece where the velcro tab is that mates to the belly pad. I'm hoping to skate in them shortly. Any questions or additional pictures needed, please ask. Thanks goes to CCM for sending me this set. I've been a girdle wearer for almost 20 years so it's a category that always intrigues me.

Exactly - it seems that its only purpose is to hold the seat closer to you - it has significantly more padding there than a Bauer girdle. If it's gutted, it should still stay in place once fastened.

I have not had a chance to see either helmet yet, but employees at our LHS are talking up the 710 in a big way. Including saying that CCM believes it will score better than the new Bauer Re-Akt 200 in the VA Tech testing. Does anyone know if VA Tech will be testing these CCM helmets?

Yes, I'm pretty sure you can. The stretch mesh doesn't look like it will do a lot, as once you have your shell on it will pull the tailbone section in anyways.

I guess I should've showed that part but yes, it's a two piece junction.

Why are you switching over, if you don't mind me asking? If he/she is used to 1/2 and 5/8 and you don't want a huge change, I'd try starting at 3/8 FIRE. If you try 1/2 or 5/8 FIRE, it's going to feel like a big change for him/her. I guess, as long as he/she understands the change they are going to feel, you could jump straight to a 1/2 FIRE. Have you considered moving to a shallower traditional hollow first? Maybe a 3/4"?

This looks great. I was really excited for the TotalOne MX3 girdle that had a similar integrated girdle/shell setup, but I hated the fact that the internal piece didn't have a separate waist strap. Very happy that this one does.