How to Truely Buy Your Hockey Skates Online

When shopping for hockey equipment, no hockey player enjoys anything more than buying a new, kick-ass pair of hockey skates. There are so many choices out there from big-name hockey brands like Reebok, CCM, and Nike Bauer at tons of different price levels. The $500 skates look just like the $100 skates, and so the dilemma continues; which hockey skates are you going to buy?

I decided to write this blog for the true online hockey shoppers. It always makes me laugh when online hockey stores and other hockey informational websites write about how to choose a pair of hockey skates online. They always explain what to look for when you try them on as if you're able to try them on through the Internet. I guess you could go into your local hockey shop, try on some skates, waste their time, and then say audios as you whip out your laptop. But come on, that's not cool. So, below I've attempted to give you a quality guide to buying your hockey skates over the Internet.

Whether you are buying skates for yourself or your kids, choosing your hockey skates from an online catalog with some simple pictures and bullet points can be a stressful task. So, why not buy them in your local hockey shop? Well, because your local hockey shop's price is usually 30% more than the going online rate. So, I'd say we're stuck with the Internet because let's face it, the cheaper price always wins.

First of all, know your size! I realize it may sound stupid but this is one of the biggest pains when purchasing your ice hockey skates online. You obviously cannot try the skates on through the Internet, so it's important for you to know what size you need to order.

If you're an experienced hockey player, you've probably figured out your size already, but here's a tip for any hockey newbies out there. The golden rule of skate fitting is that you take your shoe size and you subtract a size and a half. So, if you wear a size 10 shoe, you will wear about an 8 ½ hockey skate. This applies to all the major brands including Nike Bauer, CCM, and Reebok. The only exception to this rule is Mission, but I have a feeling you aren't in the market for crappy ice hockey skates, so you'll probably stay away from Mission anyway.

As far as picking out the actual hockey skates you want, it's really a lot more simple than you'd think. Pick your favorite brand, and then decide how much you're willing to spend. The more you spend the better the skate will be, obviously. Each company has at least one line of hockey skates. The skates in that particular line all fit and look similar, but they come in about 5-7 different prices.

Most brands follow similar patterns as you go up in price. The cheapest skates are the flimsiest and the heaviest and as you go up in price, stronger, more durable materials are used to make the skates stiffer and lighter. With hockey skates stiffness and lightness are huge. Stiffness translates to support. This is how a skate really is measured. If it's flimsy, its cheap. The more stiff a skate is and the lighter it is, the more expensive it is. When you skate, you absolutely need ankle support and lightweight. Without it, skating wouldn't be the same.

Top of the line skates like Nike Bauer One95 Skates, Nike Bauer Vapor XXXX skates, CCM U+ Skates, and Rbk 9k Skates are all the stiffest these companies make. If you could actually try these skates on in the shop, you'd find that they really aren't that comfortable out of the box. Breaking them in is a pain, but once you do, they'll prove to give you the most support and will last the longest. They'll also be the lightest in weight. The only problem here is these skates are all priced in the $500-$600 price range.

Luckily, Nike Bauer, Reebok, and CCM all make all different levels of skates that fall between the $100 price level and the $600 price level. For more information on specifically the difference between the different hockey skate price levels check out our official hockey skates comparison page.

Here are the ice hockey skates we're featuring price comparisons for at our different price levels:

ChiZeapest Prices:
CCM V03 Senior Ice Hockey Skates
RBK 1k Senior Ice Hockey Skates - 2008
Nike Bauer Vapor XII Senior Ice Hockey Skates
Nike Bauer Supreme ONE05 Senior Ice Hockey Skates

Best Values:
CCM V04 Senior Ice Hockey Skates
RBK 3k Senior Ice Hockey Skates - 2008
Nike Bauer Vapor XVI Senior Ice Hockey Skates
Nike Bauer Supreme ONE35 Senior Ice Hockey Skates

CCM V06 Senior Ice Hockey Skates
RBK 5k Pump Senior Ice Hockey Skates - 2008
Nike Bauer Vapor XXII Senior Ice Hockey Skates
Nike Bauer Supreme ONE55 Senior Ice Hockey Skates

Mid-Level Pricing:
CCM V08 Senior Ice Hockey Skates
RBK 6k Pump Senior Ice Hockey Skates - 2008
Nike Bauer Vapor XXV Senior Ice Hockey Skates
Nike Bauer Supreme ONE75 Senior Ice Hockey Skates

Pro-Level Pricing:
CCM U+ Senior Ice Hockey Skates
RBK 9k Pump Senior Ice Hockey Skates - 2008
Nike Bauer Vapor XXXX Senior Ice Hockey Skates
Nike Bauer Supreme ONE95 Senior Ice Hockey Skates