Warrior Alpha Pro Skates

[iceman8310 111]

Can we open a discussion?  the skates come out on Friday.

 

Edited June 5 by iceman8310

[Westside 274]

I’ve been in a pro stock pair for a month or two at this point. Very comfortable and feel a lot like the True skates I’m used to. Since I have a lot of CCM Step steel I already swapped holders which was easy since the hole pattern is the same. Time will tell how they hold up although certain elements of the pro stock version (that may be tweaked for the retail version) felt a little cheap. As in, not a $1200 skate, but maybe an $800 skate

[iceman8310 111]

14 hours ago, Westside said:

I’ve been in a pro stock pair for a month or two at this point. Very comfortable and feel a lot like the True skates I’m used to. Since I have a lot of CCM Step steel I already swapped holders which was easy since the hole pattern is the same. Time will tell how they hold up although certain elements of the pro stock version (that may be tweaked for the retail version) felt a little cheap. As in, not a $1200 skate, but maybe an $800 skate

I can’t wait to try these on 

[shoe2010 0]

Thanks for the overview. Any opinion on how they skate? Specifically, do you feel like these enforce the modern skating stride / penalize the lazy old man stride? Or are they what you make of them? That used to be a stiffness question, but manufacturers seem to be figuring out ways to have stiff + "flexible" feeling in one boot. 

[Westside 274]

Well I’m no longer young and am far from a pro, so I’d say they work for the lazy old man stride. lol! I’ve been spoiled with how True skates fit/feel and these are similar. When I tried FT6 Pros after they were released they never felt ‘right’ even after months of skating on them. With the Warriors I just needed to tweak the lacing a bit and I was good to go. 
 

The boot is definitely stiff and I can barely flex the ankle opening but they do allow me to move easily when wearing them. Not exactly sure how they’re doing it, but CCM is claiming something similar with flex zones on the Vizion skate so like you said, manufacturers seem to be figuring this out. Height of the boot is also on the shorter side. Measuring the inside of the boot to the ankle cuff without an insole my True 9x4 are ~6.5” whereas the Warrior Alpha Pro are 6”. One less eyelet as well 

[Sniper9 569]

4 hours ago, Westside said:

Well I’m no longer young and am far from a pro, so I’d say they work for the lazy old man stride. lol! I’ve been spoiled with how True skates fit/feel and these are similar. When I tried FT6 Pros after they were released they never felt ‘right’ even after months of skating on them. With the Warriors I just needed to tweak the lacing a bit and I was good to go. 
 

The boot is definitely stiff and I can barely flex the ankle opening but they do allow me to move easily when wearing them. Not exactly sure how they’re doing it, but CCM is claiming something similar with flex zones on the Vizion skate so like you said, manufacturers seem to be figuring this out. Height of the boot is also on the shorter side. Measuring the inside of the boot to the ankle cuff without an insole my True 9x4 are ~6.5” whereas the Warrior Alpha Pro are 6”. One less eyelet as well 

I'm guessing that's how they're incorporating more ankle flexion.  Making it shorter and one less eyelet. For trues, I always had to drop the to eyelet to not feel like I was in casts. 

[Westside 274]

10 minutes ago, Sniper9 said:

I'm guessing that's how they're incorporating more ankle flexion.  Making it shorter and one less eyelet. For trues, I always had to drop the to eyelet to not feel like I was in casts. 

I used to drop the top eyelet but for the last year and a half or so I’ve been skipping the second eyelet. Prefer how that feels on the Trues

[shoe2010 0]

13 hours ago, Westside said:

Well I’m no longer young and am far from a pro, so I’d say they work for the lazy old man stride. lol! I’ve been spoiled with how True skates fit/feel and these are similar. When I tried FT6 Pros after they were released they never felt ‘right’ even after months of skating on them. With the Warriors I just needed to tweak the lacing a bit and I was good to go. 
 

The boot is definitely stiff and I can barely flex the ankle opening but they do allow me to move easily when wearing them. Not exactly sure how they’re doing it, but CCM is claiming something similar with flex zones on the Vizion skate so like you said, manufacturers seem to be figuring this out. Height of the boot is also on the shorter side. Measuring the inside of the boot to the ankle cuff without an insole my True 9x4 are ~6.5” whereas the Warrior Alpha Pro are 6”. One less eyelet as well 

Appreciate the reply. Looking forward to trying these out. 

[Cosmic 179]

I picked up a pair and went for a public skate in them. The ice was bumpy as hell (I usually play pickup at this rink) and I did not feel confident at all without all my gear on. Also, there is a lot of negative space in the toe cap, and I had been wearing the Powerfeet inserts with my previous skates since around 2015 or so. I totally forgot about this until after I got off the ice and am looking for a place to buy the inserts again. I hope that it is the lack of inserts that has me feeling so unconfident (and not the skates, and not that I am a trash skater). I do remember that when I first started wearing the inserts, I instantly felt more confident and felt like the skates moved with me instead of feeling like they were always lagging. 

The ankle height is definitely lower on the Warriors skates than other brands, but did nt feel that different than Makos. I tried on a pair of CCM Vizions right after the Warriors and the Warriors felt more comfortable and natural. I did not like the to box in the Vizions how it was all one piece in a straight line. The Warrior toe box seems about identical to the Mako which I loved- anatomical and they seemed like a distinct piece from the rest of the boot. And the Visions also made my feet feel like they were in casts, but I am not used to traditional boots after having been in Makos since around 2014 (minus all the time I took off for CoronaPacylpse and the aftermath).

Edited June 7 by Cosmic

[iceman8310 111]

On 6/6/2026 at 11:50 AM, Westside said:

Well I’m no longer young and am far from a pro, so I’d say they work for the lazy old man stride. lol! I’ve been spoiled with how True skates fit/feel and these are similar. When I tried FT6 Pros after they were released they never felt ‘right’ even after months of skating on them. With the Warriors I just needed to tweak the lacing a bit and I was good to go. 
 

The boot is definitely stiff and I can barely flex the ankle opening but they do allow me to move easily when wearing them. Not exactly sure how they’re doing it, but CCM is claiming something similar with flex zones on the Vizion skate so like you said, manufacturers seem to be figuring this out. Height of the boot is also on the shorter side. Measuring the inside of the boot to the ankle cuff without an insole my True 9x4 are ~6.5” whereas the Warrior Alpha Pro are 6”. One less eyelet as well 

 I am in the camp that thinks skates now are cut too high and that earlier skates like in the late 2000s and early 2010s were cut shorter.

[Hills 725]

Can anyone comment on width compared to other brands?

[EBondo 243]

Bauer scanner measures me as an 8 Fit 2. My perfect-fitting Bauer skate is a 7.5 Fit 3. I'm more of a Fit 2.5 we'll call it.

If you're like me, not necessarily wide but have a higher forefoot/instep where the Fit 2's generally give you volume issues, you should love these. The Regular fit in these fits almost exactly like that - a fit 2.5. The 8 Regular felt great. Would also be curious how a 7.5 wide would feel.

I can however echo @Cosmic statement about the negative space in the toe cap. I currently wear SVH's, so that was a bit of a eye opener feeling just how much space was in the toe box. I would definitely want to feel them with Powerfoot inserts.

Also, they're STIFF. They might be the stiffest skate I've ever tried on.

I do think they did very well on the fit of their first skate, but I was kind of disappointed in the looks of it in-person. On our display, next to a Vizion or a FUSE, it just doesn't pop. It almost looks cheap. And at that price tag I do think it's going to be a tough sell. Would have been a great chance to come in at let's say a 1099 price point and try to get people on the fence in the boot, but I just worry people won't go for it because a boot from Bauer or CCM is more proven at the same price point.

Just my .02 from trying them on.

[flip12 748]

Only slightly related, but the latest gear from Warrior is very underwhelming. Their shins look chunky now, and the removal of the ribs means less protection per ounce. The black and gold looks like some kind of lingerie line, mildly erotic for some reason...maybe it's all the hockey romance trend taking over?

My favorite look from the Alpha skates was the electrostatic prototype. They should have leaned into that aesthetic. The looks in today's skates are severely suspect all around though. 

[EBondo 243]

6 hours ago, flip12 said:

Only slightly related, but the latest gear from Warrior is very underwhelming. Their shins look chunky now, and the removal of the ribs means less protection per ounce. The black and gold looks like some kind of lingerie line, mildly erotic for some reason...maybe it's all the hockey romance trend taking over?

My favorite look from the Alpha skates was the electrostatic prototype. They should have leaned into that aesthetic. The looks in today's skates are severely suspect all around though. 

Not to derail, I didn’t care much for the shins, especially as a knee brace-wearer. But I loved everything else, especially the shoulder pads. The caps on them were the best fitting caps I’ve seen in a long time. Perfectly shaped the shoulder. Think they’re going to be a big seller. 

[Cosmic 179]

@EBondogree the shoulders are amazing!! But they only go up to Large and I need an XL (6'2/ 250). The Large felt amazing on every level, I just needed a size up and it would be perfect but no XL!!!

@flip12 I actually like the black and gold. I mean I like women in hot lingerie- usually I prefer pink on a woman and do not really associate black and gold with lingerie, but either way I like the aesthetic. I do think the skate prototype color scheme was better though (replace the gold with the silver/ grey) 

UPDATE on the skates- played pickup today and was sliding around like crazy/ could not find my outside edge. The sharpen was 1/2 inch. I talked to a guy I skate with who demoed the skates and he said he had the same problem and it is an issue with the holders being moved in a half inch. He suggested I get the skates profiled to mud which will give me more bite on turns and I plan to get it done tomorrow. 

Edited Thursday at 05:10 AM by Cosmic

[Westside 274]

1/2 was not enough bite?! Eesh. I was at 3/4 and felt like I was getting just a little too much bite (felt like 5/8). Goes to show how personal hollow preferences are 

[Cosmic 179]

I could not even find the bite with 1/2. The rink I play at has notoriously hard ice though FWIW. I put a quad profile on today, so we will see if I can find the outside edge with this. 

[Cove 39]

On 6/10/2026 at 2:07 PM, flip12 said:

Only slightly related, but the latest gear from Warrior is very underwhelming. Their shins look chunky now, and the removal of the ribs means less protection per ounce. The black and gold looks like some kind of lingerie line, mildly erotic for some reason...maybe it's all the hockey romance trend taking over?

My favorite look from the Alpha skates was the electrostatic prototype. They should have leaned into that aesthetic. The looks in today's skates are severely suspect all around though. 

LOL so the company that had sticks like the kronik, and that one shocker related color way is shocking u with their juvenile color choices? 

[flip12 748]

12 hours ago, Cove said:

LOL so the company that had sticks like the kronik, and that one shocker related color way is shocking u with their juvenile color choices? 

Juvenile? I was thinking more on the other end of the maturity spectrum, but I guess that's subjective, especially in the post-Epstein era.

[Westside 274]

I don’t hate the black and gold colors for protective. Curious to try out the shins if they offer similar protection compared to Tacks but are more streamlined 

[Sniper9 569]

1 hour ago, Westside said:

I don’t hate the black and gold colors for protective. Curious to try out the shins if they offer similar protection compared to Tacks but are more streamlined 

The warrior protective intrigues me, especially the shoulders.  But the shins being just straight up and down is a no go for me since I need the anatomical curved shape that ccm offers. I just got the xf non pro and they feel very protective. Coming off of the ft6 pro which was a joke in terms of protection, the xf is a huge upgrade. Will need to get used to the feel of it but overall they're very nice. Ok sorry back on topic. 

[Cosmic 179]

3 hours ago, Westside said:

I don’t hate the black and gold colors for protective. Curious to try out the shins if they offer similar protection compared to Tacks but are more streamlined 

I have pretty big calves/ ankles (nothing special about my upper legs or quads but the lower is kinda big). I tried on the new Warrior shins in store. I have bee in Reebok 20K Pro for the past 12 years. There is really no comparison. The new Warrior shins felt like they literally grabbed onto my shin, but they were so thin that I did not feel like I had the comprehensive wrap that the Reebok K Pro/ Tacks line offers. I do take a lot of pucks off of the sides of my lower legs and the 20K Pros were always there to catch the force. I would not trust the Warriors to do this (or any other shin other than the K Pro/ Tacks lines which seem to have that anatomical/ extra material for guys with some volume down there below the knees. 

1 hour ago, Sniper9 said:

The warrior protective intrigues me, especially the shoulders.  But the shins being just straight up and down is a no go for me since I need the anatomical curved shape that ccm offers. I just got the xf non pro and they feel very protective. Coming off of the ft6 pro which was a joke in terms of protection, the xf is a huge upgrade. Will need to get used to the feel of it but overall they're very nice. Ok sorry back on topic. 

To go back off topic, I have tried on a lot of the Tacks lines as I have been in the Reebok 20K pro, and I do not see them as being much different. Sure, they have that orange substance in them (I forget what it is called but I think CCM is going to Zote foam now anyway?) but I am not sold on that orange stuff being better than HD foam with a plastic insert which is what I have on the wings that wrap around the outer lower leg from shin to calf (and has always done it's job taking puck impacts when I have gotten hit there). And I agree that the Jetspeed/ FT line of shins is just not it (unless the player has super small calves, perhaps?)

Edited Saturday at 05:45 PM by Cosmic