Toddler skates: CCM Tyke vs Bauer Lil Champs

[NuggyBuggy 0]

I have a 4-y old and a (almost) 3-y old, and I'm going to try putting them on the ice again this year. Last year I bought "real" hockey skates and they probably put a total of 1-h on them before I gave up.

This year I am looking at recreational skates like the CCM Tyke and the Bauer Lil Champs. Both look quick and easy to put on, no laces to worry about, and they look like they'd be more comfortable - both issues I had to contend with last season.

The Tyke has the advantage of being expandable, so it could last a little longer. I'm not worried about saving money, but I am worried that their fast-growing feet might make the Lil Champs more uncomfortable for them once the sizing is less than perfect. I figure the CCM could be tweaked a bit to make them more comfortable.

Anyone out there have experience with either or both ?

Also, does anyone know approximately what radii they would come with out of the box ? I'd like a flatter radius on their skates, and I'm wondering whether I'd need to have them profiled at my LHS.

[furlanitalia 1]

Get the ones that expand. And I'm not sure about the radii, I'd just ask you LHS to check them, and have them adjusted accordingly. Knowing the skates are built for little kids and can't seem them coming with anything more than a very flat radius.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

I picked up two pairs of each skate, in the smallest sizes available.

Even the smallest (size 6) looks huge to my eyes, we'll see what happens when I put foot to boot. But it will be a pleasure not having to spend 10 minutes lacing a fidgety kid's skates.

[jcp2 2]

The Bauer skates will probably suit them better. The back of the blade is extended straight out, while the CCM skate has a shorted and more rounded profile. Kids of this age tend to lean back and fall backwards, just like when they were learning how to walk.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

As I mentioned earlier, I ended up buying both types of skates for both of my kids. I took them home and decided to go with the expandable CCM Tykes. An earlier post suggested that the Bauers had a flatter profile, but I can't tell a difference by eye. The CCMs also seem to go back at least as far as the Bauers, certainly well back of where a normal skate would end. In fact, the blades on the CCMs seem as if they might be longer, possibly because they accomodate a range of skate sizes (8-11, in my case).

I picked the CCMs because the Bauers I bought were too small for them, but I liked the ability to adjust the skates. The next-size-up Bauers might just fit them perfectly right now, but the way their feet are growing they might not last long. Buying new skates isn't the issue for me, but since they can't tell me which feels better, I have no reason to suspect one is a better fit than the other.

In case any other parents are interested, I thought I'd make a few observations.

- the CCMs come with little plastic guards which MIGHT be usable as skate guards, if you can figure out some way to hold them on

- both come with removable liners which make it easier to "check" sizing. I put check in quotes because without real awareness on the part of the wearer, you're still doing a lot of guessing.

- the buckles are adjustable as to tightness through a wide range on both boots.

- the CCM liner is adjustable; the Bauer liner is not. You can adjust the size of the CCM liner to fit the foot outside of the boot; once this is done there are lines telling you what size the boot needs to be adjusted to.

- I found the buckles a little tricky to close properly.

- they both look cheap but my kids will never tell

- they are clearly going to be 100 times easier to put on my kids than the real Bauer and CCM skates I bought for them last season.

[Hooah4 12]

I started my son out on the little champs, etc...tried to get the CCM's but all of the local shops had a hell of a time putting an edge on them. Ended up just getting him some sports authority specials while he was still able to fit in them.

[jcp2 2]

That brings up a good point. A lot of the youth skates are too small to fit on the sharpening jigs of most of the local sharpeners here. I actually moved son to the Jackson Softec series of figure skates after a fail with youth sized Nike Quest skates, with lessons at the local figure skating club. Both skates had this problem with sharpening.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

I just got the CCMs sharpened at a local sports chain (SportChek, only because they are within walking distance of my office and I'm taking the kids to a parent-and-tot skate tonight), and they didn't seem to have a problem with sharpening - at least, they didn't say anything when I picked them up about 45-min later. I asked for the deepest hollow they could put on it.

[jcp2 2]

Both of mine are on 1/2 hollows. My oldest (6) is a minimite now and finally in hockey skates. Those little black strips are just so that the blades won't scratch up the skates in the box. Good luck!

[jimmy 194]

You don't need to radius those skates, they pretty much all have a very flat profile.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

Thank you to everyone for their advice.

Well, the skates were somewhat of a success. Both my children were able to stand by themselves for several seconds, stretch their arms out, touch their heads and knees, without too much whining. Best of all, I wasn't blowing a gasket trying to lace tiny little skates on fidgety feet.

Their next session will be on synthetic ice which I imagine will be even easier for them.

[skarbro 0]

Here's the thing about the Bauers - They haven't changed the design in more than 15 years! I had bought these exact same skates for my God-son way back then. They worked great, but I'm surprised they are no different today.

I'm glad I came across this thread as I didn't know about the CCM Tykes and was about to buy the Bauers. The CCM Tykes appear (in pictures) to be a little better designed and are expandable, so that's a big selling point. I'm going to pick up those.

NuggyBuggy - What's the reason behind getting the deepest hollow? Is that the way to go for a toddler just starting out?

[NuggyBuggy 0]

skarbro - I figured a deeper hollow would be much easier for the kid to stand on and get a grip on the ice with while he's walking/skating. Imagine how hard it would be to learn on a really shallow hollow. Plus, my kids only weigh about 35 lbs so they need as much help as they can get.

At this point, glide is not important to us, getting his confidence up is.

That's what I told the sharpener when he asked me, anyways. If my logic is wrong, someone please correct me.

Forgot to add a progress report: a week ago my oldest son was able to stand. The rink was so windy, however, that when he faced a particular direction it would actually blow him along the rink. He thought he was "skating".

This week, he was able to take a few steps pretty quickly. I decided to completely disengage, move out of his reach and leave him with the instructor, and before long he was walking up and down the length of the area, picking up bean bags, and picking his butt off the ice when he fell. His little legs got tired but he kept wanting "another try". I had bought them hockey pants the week before, and they made a big difference. Each time he fell on his butt he'd scream as if he expected it to hurt, but then there would be a look of surprise on his face when it didn't. If he didn't have the pants I think he'd want out a lot faster.

Unfortunately, my youngest son didn't want to participate at all, even though he was the most gung-ho before. It might have had to do with him wetting his pants at daycare, and being subsequently dressed by them in really thin pants which were probably very cold. I didn't have extra pants to change him into.