Hockey Skate Boot Stiffness

[apeks74 1]

In the new CCM Catalog they are starting to list Boot "Stiffness" ratings for Tacks, Jetspeed, Ribcore.  I know it is subjective from brand to brand but I see this as kind of pointless unless there is a comparison against previous models and other brands. Anyone ever come across a list or anything similar that would compare CCM, current vs older models or CCM vs Bauer vs True?  I have no idea if my old skates are stiffer or not by comparison or what the benefit or setback would be from a particular rating.

[caveman27 208]

6 hours ago, apeks74 said:

In the new CCM Catalog they are starting to list Boot "Stiffness" ratings for Tacks, Jetspeed, Ribcore.  I know it is subjective from brand to brand but I see this as kind of pointless unless there is a comparison against previous models and other brands. Anyone ever come across a list or anything similar that would compare CCM, current vs older models or CCM vs Bauer vs True?  I have no idea if my old skates are stiffer or not by comparison or what the benefit or setback would be from a particular rating.

Interesting. I didn't know they were doing that.

Just a side note, figure skating boots have stiffness ratings where the boot is stiffer for higher level skaters, as skaters need more support for more difficult jumps. I notice a huge difference between beginner skates and intermediate skates. There's more noticeable flex as the boots are still made of leather. Newer ones have a non-leather sole for improved stiffness and decreased weight. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

8 hours ago, apeks74 said:

In the new CCM Catalog they are starting to list Boot "Stiffness" ratings for Tacks, Jetspeed, Ribcore.  I know it is subjective from brand to brand but I see this as kind of pointless unless there is a comparison against previous models and other brands. Anyone ever come across a list or anything similar that would compare CCM, current vs older models or CCM vs Bauer vs True?  I have no idea if my old skates are stiffer or not by comparison or what the benefit or setback would be from a particular rating.

They do show the stiffness index in the previous year's CCM catalogs.

As for comparing CCM vs other brands in a stiffness index, I don't think they CCM shares the information on how they test their stiffness ratings. 

[start_today 770]

Early Mission skates had stiffness ratings on them, but similar problem in that it was done without much context, so it was impassible to compare across brands. 

A few years ago, didn’t Graf try to offer skates with the same designs and features but varying stiffnesses? 

Its always been odd to me that if you want some of the fancy upgrades like flexible tendon guards or injected lacing, you also have to buy the stiffest skate. .....But what if the stiffest skate doesn’t benefit you?