CCM Super Tacks Skate Initial Thoughts

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

I've mentioned before that I haven't had a lot of success with CCM skates over the long term - usually it was strictly a fit issue.  On some, the volume wasn't right.  On others, it was too much volume.  Or it was the arch.  Or it was too wide.  You get the point.

 

Then Jetspeed came along.  While those seemed to fit me pretty decently, there was something odd about it.  Well-made skate, but in terms of bleeding-edge technology that we were seeing from competitors and upstarts, it simply wasn't there.  And there's nothing wrong with that.  The skate is what it is, and the price point reflects that..  

 

The first iteration of the Tacks reboot was interesting, however, once again, it really did not have "it."  And this version just might.

 

 

With Super Tacks, you're seeing a departure from skates that come boxy out of the box; gone are those cavernous heels and ankles without definition of any sort.

 

It is similarly shaped to Jetspeed in the rear, but wider in the front.    

 

 

 

The toe box is nuts.  It feels like nothing before - completely seamless.  The way it is achieved is the outer toe box goes over the bootsock, held together by a rivet on both sides; as if it's snapped in.  To get a better understanding of it, I went ahead and unmounted the holder to see what was underneath.

 

 

The boot is beveled to accommodate the TPU outer toebox covering.

 

 

The bottom of it is held in by the rivets when the holder is on.

 

The tongue is different from the initial pictures of the skates in the catalogue; that one called for a molded tongue.  This is a good compromise between that and a standard felt tongue.  

 

Also noticed a running change with the graphic; my pair does not have the grey heel accents that the stock photos had.

 

They baked well; it is interesting to see what happens to the carbon fiber post-bake.  You can see where it was pushed out - it looks like ridges.  In my case, they were at the balls of my feet, on both sides; the inner was more pronounced than the outer.

 

 

 

The boots wrapped very well after the bake.

 

One of my biggest fears was that they were going to be extremely stiff, considering the materials and also the tendon guard.  Won't be able to touch on that until I skate them, but I received them a couple of days ago.  

 

As far as sizing is concerned; I went with 11D.  My Jetspeeds were 10.5 D.  I'm a 10.5 D in Bauer Supreme and 10.5 EE in Vapor.

 

Thanks goes out to the team at CCM Hockey for providing me with this pair.  

 

Any questions in regards to my experiences can be posted here; general thoughts on Super Tacks can be posted in the Catalogue thread.

[All Flash 49]

Would like to know how the depth is, as my inner ankle bones sit forward and the last skate with traditional eyelets that I didnt have to alter with more padding was the RBZ. My current skating shoe knives are MX3's which the inner ankle padding has flattened to nothing after just over 2 years.  As well as the Mako's fit, they don't come with the protection, height, or energy return that other top model skates come with. Really hoping these fit deep enough to get into.

[GQRDY 24]

I'm a bit worried about them being very stiff too coming from ribcors, be good to see what you think after you skate on them.

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

Updated the post to show how the skate pushed out after bake.  This is what JS is referencing to in his post on the catalogue thread.

[DarkStar50 679]

Our CCM rep set up a test skate session for dealers a few weeks ago with a scrimmage game. I was able to bake my size and sharpen to my hollow 2 days before the event. After skating on Supreme NXG for a long time, I was more than pleasantly surprised with the comfort and quick adaptability to this skate in a 60 minute session. Stiff? Too stiff ? Depends how you lace them for me. Compared to NXG stiffness the boot was strong without being overpowering. I'll let JR carry on with his thoughts. Mine are that I would have no hesitancy moving out of Supreme into the Super Tack.

[jeffg 13]

in the last picture the carbon fiber looks cracked or broken from the baking, is it?

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

 

12 minutes ago, jeffg said:

in the last picture the carbon fiber looks cracked or broken from the baking, is it?

 

I referenced how the carbon fiber that they use in the skate changes post-bake.  It pushed out at the balls of my feet.

 

JS also spoke on this:

 

Posted April 18

 

This is merely a PSA so that people don't think it's cracked.

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

It reminds me of the S17.....

[jeffg 13]

Thanks for the clarification 

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

How's the fit differ from the previous generation's Tacks skate?

[kovalchuk71 212]

32 minutes ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

How's the fit differ from the previous generation's Tacks skate?

Not as wide, MUCH narrower heel pocket. The heel pocket width is on par now with the Jetspeed, which I would say is equal to the Vapor ( "A" width heel). 

[Zorlac 22]

The toecap assembly looks great!  One of the reasons I ditched my 1Xs was because where the cap met the boot was sawing a trench in my foot.  This looks well thought out..

[Vet88 674]

On 6/25/2016 at 8:38 AM, DarkStar50 said:

Our CCM rep set up a test skate session for dealers a few weeks ago with a scrimmage game. I was able to bake my size and sharpen to my hollow 2 days before the event. After skating on Supreme NXG for a long time, I was more than pleasantly surprised with the comfort and quick adaptability to this skate in a 60 minute session. Stiff? Too stiff ? Depends how you lace them for me. Compared to NXG stiffness the boot was strong without being overpowering. I'll let JR carry on with his thoughts. Mine are that I would have no hesitancy moving out of Supreme into the Super Tack.

What size were you in compared to the NXG's?

[DarkStar50 679]

I wear size 6-D in NXG and the Super Tacks were also a 6-D. I have a wide foot but narrow heel. I always squeeze the ankle quarters when baking the NXG to lock in the heel better. It always works. With the Super Tacks, the heel was snug without any squeezing the ankle quarters during the baking, the width was fine and comfortable at the front, and the length was no problem at all. Toes were fine, no cramping. One other thing I forgot to mention was the footbed in the Super Tacks. I have been using Superfeet for a long time. The ST footbed is comfy memory foam which feels like it grips your foot to help it sit firmly when you skate. Another positive plus for the skate.
 

[kovalchuk71 212]

On 6/26/2016 at 2:52 PM, DarkStar50 said:

I wear size 6-D in NXG and the Super Tacks were also a 6-D. I have a wide foot but narrow heel. I always squeeze the ankle quarters when baking the NXG to lock in the heel better. It always works. With the Super Tacks, the heel was snug without any squeezing the ankle quarters during the baking, the width was fine and comfortable at the front, and the length was no problem at all. Toes were fine, no cramping. One other thing I forgot to mention was the footbed in the Super Tacks. I have been using Superfeet for a long time. The ST footbed is comfy memory foam which feels like it grips your foot to help it sit firmly when you skate. Another positive plus for the skate.
 

Interesting. I tried the 6D (I wear a 6D Jetspeed and 6.5 MX3) and the forefoot area was squeezing the heck out of my foot. I don't have a particularly wide foot either.

Edited June 27, 2016 by kovalchuk71

[markush 12]

Would be interesting to know how the default pitch of the holder / runner is different than Bauer 1X

[kovalchuk71 212]

I'm still curious why CCM would pick their "Revolutionary" Skate to be the fit that doesn't seem to work for a lot of people, width wise. I would have assumed they would have made this skate to be more of a Jetspeed/Supreme fit.

[fatwabbit 93]

HOw do the super tacks feel in terms of volume/depth? I'm currently in a pair of older model Flexlite pros (assuming same foot last as the Nexus???) and they fit me ok. 

 

If Graf had more G70 in size 8.5 I would be happy.

[kovalchuk71 212]

43 minutes ago, fatwabbit said:

HOw do the super tacks feel in terms of volume/depth? I'm currently in a pair of older model Flexlite pros (assuming same foot last as the Nexus???) and they fit me ok. 

 

If Graf had more G70 in size 8.5 I would be happy.

They should be great for you. Plenty of depth. Much more than Supreme, On par with Flexlite, I'd say. Maybe a smidge less. They are not as "boat" like as the Nexus skates.

Edited June 29, 2016 by kovalchuk71

[GQRDY 24]

8 hours ago, kovalchuk71 said:

I'm still curious why CCM would pick their "Revolutionary" Skate to be the fit that doesn't seem to work for a lot of people, width wise. I would have assumed they would have made this skate to be more of a Jetspeed/Supreme fit.

I thought they made them narrower this year, and its a one piece boot so moulds 360 around your foot.

[IW Team - Chase 184]

7 hours ago, GQRDY said:

I thought they made them narrower this year, and its a one piece boot so moulds 360 around your foot.

The JetSpeeds actually have a narrower forefoot/toebox compared to the Super Tacks. I agree with Kovalchuk that Super Tacks are deeper than Supreme but not a huge amount. I get lace bite without a gel pad in the 1S' but unless I tie the Super Tacks too tight across the top of the foot, I'm golden without the gel pad (all sizes equal). 

e

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

On 6/26/2016 at 3:29 PM, kovalchuk71 said:

Interesting. I tried the 6D (I wear a 6D Jetspeed and 6.5 MX3) and the forefoot area was squeezing the heck out of my foot. I don't have a particularly wide foot either.

 

You need to go one up from Jetspeed.  

 

I wore 10.5 in Jetspeed as well as MX3, and 11 in these.  I tried the 10.5 ST and couldn't get the skate on.

[beedee 227]

Great review, thanks for the pictures too!

 

I'm currently in a Graf Ultra G5, regular width. I had to punch out the mid-foot area a couple times, and after 3 years or so of wearing them, they have never felt "right", or great. I need a change. 

 

Over the weekend I tried on a CCM JetSpeed in a D, and a Bauer Supreme in an EE, both 7.5. To be honest, they both felt the same to me width wise, I even thought that the JetSpeed was an EE (I wasn't paying that close of attention apparently). The JetSpeed really fit much better than the Supreme though, almost no discomfort in the arch area compared to the Supreme, and overall it just fit like a glove, just the right amount of snug in all the right places. Unfortunately they didn't have the Tacks in a 7.5 D or EE to try on. Would the Super Tacks fit closer to a Bauer Nexus?

[kovalchuk71 212]

6 hours ago, IW Team - Chase said:

The JetSpeeds actually have a narrower forefoot/toebox compared to the Super Tacks. I agree with Kovalchuk that Super Tacks are deeper than Supreme but not a huge amount. I get lace bite without a gel pad in the 1S' but unless I tie the Super Tacks too tight across the top of the foot, I'm golden without the gel pad (all sizes equal). 

e

The Supreme line seems to have become shallower over the years (At least, since the One95). I wish they would have kept it the way it was.

[raganblink 82]

I skated on them in January - no bake or anything, they felt good. Turns were really responsive, they were light on my feet. I didn't feel any spring in my step compared to the Nexus skates I was in earlier and later on in the day. However they were a definite upgrade over the Ultra Tack...if you're thinking between the Super and Ultra, go Super. The money is worth it.  On sizing I had some severe issues with the ball of my foot like JR, which I assume would go away with a punch out. I skated for about 15 minutes and after 3 I was in trouble.... 15 it was definitely time to come off and take them off. For comparison sake on sizing, I skate in 9.5EE Nexus and I was in a 9.5EE ST. Had to go up to a 10EE in the Ultra Tack, not sure if the sizing is still off with those two models.

 

A 9.5D Nexus felt better in the forefoot compared to the 9.5EE ST. 

The only downside I could think of is questionable durability. Is this skate going to handle a season of high end hockey? I don't want to crap on CCM, but, I have yet to see a player on my USHL team make the season through a pair of Tacks, RBZ, JetSpeeds, Ribcore, etc. All the guys who buy Bauers from me to begin the year - not counting the 6'7" kid that was drafted, they've all had their skates last all through the year no problem.  We've seen 1 piece boots before and they didn't quite go for that long. Who knows if that was Easton Quality or if it was an inherit flaw in the 1 piece boot process. You'd think Bauer for all of its R&D and innovative skates would have brought a 1 piece to retail a long time ago and they never have. Maybe they know something we don't?

 

Saying that, I feel as if any issues do come up they will come up quickly, and CCM is offering the demo to try the skates out and if you hate them you can return them....they must be truly committed to thinking their product is superior and is going to work well. Hoping these are a home run for CCM as its good to have a healthy competition in skates, as we're only down to 2 (basically) manufactures.