CCM Powerline 120 Skates – They only look like hockey skates
Written: Apr 08 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Comfy, Inexpensive and look like hockey skates
Cons: Inferior support, Weak holders and look like hockey skates
The Bottom Line: If you just want a pair of skates to mess around in, the Powerlines will do, but please don't play hockey in them
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| puckmugger's Full Review: CCM Powerline 120 Skates (Senior) |
Good Old Jim
Alright, there might be a few readers offended by the title. I hate to tell you that you’re skating in the wrong skates. It isn’t your fault though. You bought a pair of these at Jim’s Sporting Goods on Main Street in Anytown. Jim himself probably helped you and assured you that these were excellent hockey skates.
Hey, it really isn’t Jim’s fault either. Jim was the star fullback of the local high school football team. He also lettered in baseball, wrestling and basketball. But all of that was twenty three years ago and didn’t help Jim out at all in the world of hockey. Jim didn’t know any better when he told you these were good hockey skates. He probably saw the CCM brand on the side and figured he was doing you a solid. Unfortunately, they just aren’t hockey skates, not really anyway.
What the heck?
I know, you’re wondering what these might be if they aren’t hockey skates. Hold tight friend, I have the answer. Powerlines are recreational skates. Essentially the line between skate types is becoming more and more blurred as the years progress. When I was a kid it was simple, you bought hockey skates if you were a boy and figure skates if you were a girl. (We won’t get into why they made black figure skates . . . or for that matter we will ignore speed skates all together).
However, today’s skate market is expanding. When I bought my first skates Bauer made two models. Being a gear head even at age 12 I bought the more expensive of the two. Now Bauer makes closer to twelve models of skates. That is just one company’s growth. Industry wide there are more skate makers now than when I was a kid and more types of skate construction then ever before.
CCM’s Powerline skates are essentially a stopgap between rental skates and real hockey skates. Could you play hockey in them? Yes, and people often do. The issue is that you cannot play hockey in them well or expect them to last very long.
What is missing?
The boot of the Powerline is substantially less stiff than a true hockey skate. In a very short period of time they will go from offering a modicum of support to the floppiness of a year old pair of Converse Chuck Taylor high-tops. While you can skate like that, you are asking for trouble when you try to skate hard and turn quickly. Hockey is difficult enough when you have a good solid pair of skates that you can trust.
With no ankle support skaters attempting to play hockey in Powerlines will find their mobility hampered. Changing direction and skating explosively will be impossible for those with mortal ankle strength. Boot stiffness is one of the most important factors in translating your efforts to the blade and in turn to the ice. Why? The simple answer is that the stiffer the boot, the better the relationship between the bottom of your foot and the angle of the blade is. As you lose that relationship, you lose the feel for where your blade edge is in relationship to the ice. If you cannot find your edge you stumble a lot.
Actually I wanted a Recreational Skate, tell me more
The boot on the Powerline is a low grade Nylon. The Chuck Taylor comparison comes into play once again to best describe this boot. Imagine an old school Converse high-top on steroids and you pretty much have the fabric down. It appears to be a heavy canvas-like material, but I assure you it’s nylon.
CCM’s trademark heel wedge is on even this boot . . . sort of. The plastic strip that runs from the heel to the eye-stay is the low-end version of the heel wedge. The purpose of this is to lock the player’s heel in place. This is a very important part of any skate. If the forefoot moves it isn’t great, if the heel moves it is worthless. Any skate that doesn’t lock the heel in will be very difficult to skate in.
The trim on the boot is cheap synthetic leather. This is not at all the good synthetic leather that CCM uses in its more expensive skates. The Powerline’s synthetic leather will deteriorate much more quickly and frankly looks like cheap synthetic leather.
While fabric covered toecaps are rapidly becoming a thing of the past in hockey skates, the Powerline still sports one. This shouldn’t be a major issue in recreational skating. If you are getting slashed by sticks, struck with pucks and having other players step on your skates at a recreational skating session, you might have shown up at the wrong time or rink. The only real danger to the toecaps is the skater stepping on their own toes.
The tongue on the Powerline skates is a fairly thin felt tongue. There is a potential for lace bite with these skates. The combination of a rather soft boot and a thin tongue is always going to increase the likelihood of lace bite issues. Less stiff boots require tighter lacing. When the boots flex the laces might dig in through the tongue in a painful manner.
The holder on the Powerline is a rather substandard SLM holder. This was CCM’s holder before the Prolite replaced it. The prolite had problems, but it was still an improvement over the SLM. SLM holders feature non-replaceable carbon steel blades. This in itself is a negative for hockey players. Carbon steel is softer than the standard stainless steel blades. They don’t hold an edge as well and require more frequent sharpening. Once the steel is too short to sharpen the entire holders will have to be replaced. In the case of the Powerline skates the cost will exceed the price of the skates, running about $100.
The other deficiency with the SLM holders is simply strength. Again this will be more of an issue with hockey players than recreational skaters. However, the SLM is much more prone to breakage than most other holders on the market are. This is generally the result of being hit by a puck though, so no worries recreational skaters.
Do you have anything good to say about the Powerline 120?
Yes. Now that I have noted all the major reasons you shouldn’t play hockey in Powerline skates, let me tell you a little about what they are good for. As I mentioned the Powerline is a good skate for those who are tired of rentals but not planning on playing hockey. The biggest benefits of the Powerline are going to be price and comfort.
Where adult hockey skates will typically cost over $150, the Powerlines can be found for $75 or less. This is a pretty good price for someone who is only going to skate once or twice a month. The Powerline is a very good skate for the occasional skater. It is durable enough to last several years with this kind of use. The image conscious skater who wants to look like a hockey player rather than a moon-boot-skate wearing fool will find these more attractive than most of the skates in this price bracket as well. Perhaps the best thing about owning Powerlines is that no one will have to spray Lysol in them before you use them . . . unless you let fat Uncle Phil borrow them (his feet reek!)
Comfort is better on the Powerline than many of the higher priced skates. This might sound odd since you’re thinking about cars, But that fully loaded Benz was way more comfortable than the stripped down Toyota Pickup . . . With skates you pay for stiffness as they get more expensive. This doesn’t usually translate into comfort. In fact if you buy a pair that are too stiff for your size and skill level they will never be comfortable.
The Powerline skates are about as un-stiff as you can get. The result of this is a very short break in time. Don’t get me wrong, they won’t be comfortable right out of the box like some of the newer designs on the market. Still even a light skater will have little problem breaking these in. Which brings me to fit – unlike CCM’s hockey skates the Powerlines aren’t that wide. The Powerline is more of an average width and instep than CCM’s Tacks and Vectors. They have a rather universal fit and because of the lower stiffness, they are more adaptable to wider feet.
Final Thoughts
If you are looking for hockey skates, keep looking. I would suggest taking a look at my article on buying skates (linked below). There are in fact a lot of players in recreational hockey leagues using these. However, I haven’t seen a good player in any league using these. Kids are another story. Some small kids under about age 8 will be alright in this type of skate. The one thing to be aware of is that many children under age 8 will need more ankle support than the Powerline skates offer. Make sure they try them on and walk about. If their skates are tipping in, they will need to upgrade to something better.
If you’re looking for recreation skates to just mess around on, these might be a decent choice.
Some of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Hockey Skate buying demystified
Nike NDorfin Recreational Skates
Bauer Impact 75 Skates (Recreational)
Recommended:
Yes
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