CCM Pro Tacks: The top hockey skate maker bounces back from a bad year
Written: Apr 01 '04 (Updated Oct 05 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Almost light as Bauer's Vapor XX without sacrificing durability, best CCM yet
Cons: Prolite holders still have some minor flaws
The Bottom Line: CCM addressed problems in the prior models to make a fantastic skate. Despite minor flaws, the Pro Tack is among the best skates for 2003.
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| puckmugger's Full Review: CCM Pro Tacks Ice Hockey Skates |
2002 was a dismal year for CCM in respect to the quality of their skates. CCM has been the top selling brand of hockey skates for over half a century. But it would have only taken a few years of making skates as bad as their '02 line to change that. With Bauer’s touted '03 Vapor line and Nike finally getting a skate right, CCM might have lost a huge chunk of the market with another bad line for '03. Fortunately, CCM addressed every mistake they had made in '02, quietly putting out the best skate line they ever made.
The Year of Lightweight Skates
2003 was the year of lightweight skates. The Vapor XX with its tennis shoe like feel and bold silver color scheme garnered all the early attention. Graf came along with the truly weird, yet amazing, T-blade on their 735 midway through the season and CCM just plugged along with their Pro Tack.
While the Pro Tack didn’t rate the interest of the Vapor and the 735, it was certainly in the same weight division as either skate. There is no real simple comparison to say it was 5 grams heavier or lighter, the makers of the skates don’t often bother to mention the actual weight, and when they do, they don’t tell us what size skates they weighed. But handing any of the these skates will gather one response from most hockey players, “Wow, that’s light!” Just picking up the three skates, you can tell that Bauer’s Vapor is the lightest of the three. But there isn’t much weight difference in the CCM or Graf.
So why didn’t the Pro Tack turn heads like the Vapor and the 735? Simple, it still looks like a CCM skate. While Graf and Bauer put the equivalent of flashing neon on their lightweights, CCM left their contender in basic black. It still looks like a hockey skate should.
The Pro Tack Boot
The exterior of the Pro Tack is a high quality synthetic leather called Panama PU 2. It is both lighter and stronger than leather. Also the outer will not soak up water like a leather boot could. The material was at first shunned by CCM because the thought it looked cheap. In fact it does look cheap and is my only complaint about the look of the boot. Nonetheless, the PU 2 is a very high quality material that offers more stiffness and durability than ballistic nylon (the more common material that uppers are made from these days).
The interior of the boot is one of the best on the market. It is something of a hybrid between traditional boot and soft boot design. The foot section of the boot is a traditional fit, where the skater will have to break in the Panama PU 2 outer and the stiffeners inside the liner. However in the ankle area, there is a good deal of foam padding much like you would find in a soft boot. This offers a great deal more comfort than you would expect to find in a stiff, pro level skate.
The outsole is full carbon fiber construction and features rounded edges. Carbon fiber is the strongest material currently used in outsoles, providing a stiff platform for explosive skating. The rounded edges on the sole allow for more aggressive turning without the boot striking the ice. This simply means that you can turn more sharply before your boot causes your blade to lift and you fall. (i.e. It just might keep you from eating the boards).
The liner in the boot is a hydrophobic, anti-bacterial Clarino based material. Unlike normal Clarino linings that have a supple, almost suede like texture, the Pro Tack lining is a smooth shiny material. This is one of the most comfortable liners that I have ever felt. Clarino is a favorite of barefoot skaters and CCM has somehow improved it.
Unlike the previous models of CCM boots, the Pro Tack does have drain vents in the outsole. This is important, because with a hydrophobic liner the moisture from your feet has to have a place to escape the boot. The insoles are also perforated to help allow this needed drainage.
Other improvements from the dismal prior year’s skates include a reinforced tendon guard. These were issues in practically every CCM tack sold in 2002. I have not seen a single tendon guard break in the 2003 and newer Tacks.
The other issue that always disturbed me in the older Tacks was the heel wedge. While the wedge did a great job of locking a player’s heel in the boot, it was terribly difficult to lace up tight. For 2003 and newer Tacks models, CCM integrated the eyelet for the wedge into the eyestay with the other eyelets solving this problem.
The Prolite Holder and Steel
While I have never been a big fan of the Prolite holder that CCM puts on their Tacks line, it does have some serious advantages over Bauer’s Lightspeed TUUK found on the Vapor Series and Nike’s V series. It’s ironic that the standard TUUK is one of the best holders on the market, and Bauer’s “improved” version is among the worst. Perforated Lightspeed steel on the Vapor XX skates is a poor design and is more often bent on new skates than not. Even more amazing, despite this design being sold for more than a year, backorders on replacement parts are taking six months or more.
I was a bit worried when I noticed that CCM followed in the footsteps of Bauer by trimming some of the weight from their steel. However, CCM apparently put a bit more thought into the process. Instead of putting large fancy looking holes in the middle of their blade like Bauer, CCM put arches at the very top of their Prolite steel. This created a much more stable blade. While all blades bend from time to time, CCM’s Prolite does not seem to be any more prone to bending than any other brand, even with their lighter steel. Also, by putting the perforations at the very top of the steel, CCM assured that they will not reduce the sharpening life of the blade.
If you switch from Bauer skates to CCM, you will likely notice that the CCM skates don’t feel quite as responsive when turning. CCM uses an 11 foot rocker on their steel, while Bauer uses 9 feet. What is the rocker? Simply described, if you took a bunch of blades and laid them in a circle by the curve of the skating edge, the rocker would be the radius of that circle. The smaller the rocker, the quicker the turn is. Skates can be re-rockered, but it isn’t cheap. If the longer rocker bothers you, expect to pay at least $60 to have them changed.
The holder itself remains unchanged for the Pro Tack. The theory behind the Prolite is that the contact points of the holder translate to the balance points of the player’s feet - heel, ball of the foot and toes. Many CCM skaters do claim a better feel for the ice on Prolites, however there is a downside to them as well. The open design of the Prolite makes for a much less rigid platform than competitor’s skates. Larger players who skate aggressively will commonly run into problems with rivets coming our prematurely, and the carriers actually twisting as they skate. The stiffness of the Pro Tack’s soles will help compensate for this problem, but look for CCM to address the carriers on their Tacks in the next few years. They know their Prolite is not quite perfect.
The stance of the Prolite is neutral with no real sensation of being pitched either forward or backward. While some players might prefer a little more lean towards their toes, this is significantly better than the TUUK, which puts the skater on their heels. I always recommend a heel lift for TUUKs, on occasion a player might want one in CCM skates as well.
The hardware to attach the blades to the carrier is as good as any. The screws are easy to access and strong enough to get the job done. Unlike many other skates, the Prolite screws will take a Herculean effort to over-tighten.
Summary
The 2003 line put CCM back on top of their game. The Pro Tack is almost as light as the Bauer Vapor, but it will stand the test of time. While a Vapor XX might last a good player a season – probably less – the Pro Tack will give many years of good performance. Also, the Pro Tack is the same high performance skate that the NHL players are using. Bauer makes a better Vapor XX for the pros that they don’t normally sell to the public.
The fit of the Tacks hasn’t changed since the 2002 model and will still work best for people with fairly wide feet and no pronounced instep. If this describes you, I am pleased to say that I can once again highly recommend CCM as one the highest quality skate makers.
© Scott Noble – Unauthorized use prohibited
A few of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
General Buying Guide for Ice Hockey Skates
Easton Z-Air Comp SE
Graf 727 Cyberflex
Graf 735 with T-Blades
CCM 2002 Tacks line
CCM Vector Pro
Thanks to openroad for adding this item so I could review it.
Recommended:
Yes
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