PRO'S CORNER: BETTER STEEL, BETTER PERFORMANCE
You bought the skates, but why settle for just-good-enough factory steel? The same steel that is in the $200 pair of skates is in the $1200 pair of skates. If you want to elevate your game, you typically need to invest in the proper equipment and training.
Binnie’s Skate Sharpening & Equipment repair sells many different brands of high-performance replacement steel. Industry leading Step brand specializes in CCM products, but you can find older Step steel on closeout for Bauer, Graf, and True. Step uses a numerically controlled milling process for precision contours on all steel. The proprietary steel blanks are treated in a way that retains an edge longer and can take more abuse than most OEM steel.
Byonic steel is a precision laser cut replacement steel hailed as one of the lightest yet highly durable skate blades on the market. As a preferred steel of many professional Ice Cross racers, Byonic steel has been proven to be more durable for whatever your ice sport can dish out. Available in standard stainless, colored stainless steel to match your team, high polished stainless, and carbon coated black, the opportunities to enhance your agility, speed, and power in all three zones of the rink.
Flare Skate replacement steel is one of the two companies revolutionizing the way a skate blade looks and performs. With all the advancements in skate technology, the blade – the one thing that connects any player directly to the ice – has remained relatively unchanged for decades. Flare Skate blades widen through the vertical profile of the blade at 6 degree, increasing the relative attack angle of edges and generating more force per stride and resulting in up to 20% more retained glide speed.
The other game changer carried by Binnie’s is Bladetech. Bladetech replacement steel is designed with a special steel that flexes near the toe of the blade known as Flex Force. This flex point helps to keep more steel on the ice longer which creates a longer stride. On the finish of your stride, the snap-back of the flex point releases vertical energy back into each stride generating a 25% increase in force per stride and an average of 5.5% increase in speed.
Once you’ve chosen your steel, though, you need turn up your performance one more notch with the perfect sharpening and a profile for your skating style. In previous Pro’s Corner blogs we’ve talked about the different types and purposes of various sharpening and profile techniques. In talking with Brad Michalski at Premier Hockey Development, the cut of your skates can be just as important – if not more important – than the skate or the steel itself.
Brad recommends a slightly pitched forward steel profile for quicker transitions and tighter turns. By having your skates pitched forward, you will be more organically force onto the high drive portion of your steel which will generate more power per stride and the enhanced agility will allow you to maneuver around opponents with less effort. Less effort equals less fatigue and longer play. A proper hollow depth will assist with better weight transfer and balance, resulting in more retained speed during glides without sacrificing agility.
In a training session with Premier Hockey Development, you will find a perfectly balanced blade will let you train harder and longer with more positive improvements that directly transfer to game play time and time again.