Bauer Supreme UltraSonic Skates
More Power In Your Stride
Wow... there's a ton of ground to cover with Bauer's latest skate launch. The Supreme UltraSonic skate features a major design overhaul while also kicking off an entirely new fit system for Bauer skates. Now, Vapor and Supreme come in three distinct fits and the Nexus family has been dropped. Life moves fast but Nexus fans don't need to panic as the fit the Nexus fit has been "absorbed" into their new Performance Skate Fit System.
Bauer's goal was to define the unique performance characteristics of Supreme and Vapor skates more clearly.
- The Vapor collection is designed for players who put a premium on agility and lateral movement.
- The Supreme collection is engineered for players who value straight away speed and powerful acceleration.
Let's have a closer look.
Performance Skate Fit System
This is a game changer. Bauer's Performance Skate Fit System is a revolutionary new way to fit skates. Your traditional D and EE widths have now been replaced by Fit 1, 2, and 3. At first this might sound a bit confusing, but our skate fitters are super excited about the added fit options this is going to offer. Typically, you used to make your skate purchase decision around the sub-brand that fit you the best – a narrower volume foot worked best in Vapor, mid-volume feet fit Supreme best and Nexus was the best match for high-volume and "wider" feet.
The Vapor collection is designed for players who put a premium on agility and lateral movement. The Supreme collection is engineered for players who value straight away speed and powerful acceleration. Now each collection is available in three distinct fits, so your unique foot shape is covered.
Bauer has captured over 800,000 foot scans on Bauer 3D Scanners across the globe, and this presented them with a ton of fit data that drove the decision to rethink the way skates get fit. You can now choose the style of skate that fits your game best.
Fit 1 = Low Volume, Narrow Width (closest aligned to the Vapor fit profile)
Fit 2 = Medium Volume, Medium Width (closest aligned to the Supreme fit profile)
Fit 3 = High Volume, Wide Width (closest aligned to the Nexus fit profile)
Click here to learn more about Bauer's Performance Skate Fit System
New Curv Composite Design
Bauer continues to utilize their 3-D lasted Curv composite. Curv is an amazing material that allows the skate to be extremely light, while giving an enhanced stiffness level for maximum power transfer during skating. Curv composite provides exceptional comfort due to its thermoforable nature and allows for the skate to be more responsive as well. What's new for the UltraSonic skate is a unibody sole that extends up the heel of the boot and wraps to additionally stiffen the lower portion of the boot.
Asymmetrical Toe Cap
Making its debut on a Supreme skate after a successful launch on Vapor, this low volume toe cap was also designed based on the data collected from the Bauer 3D scanner. The reduced volume results in improved fit and translates to enhanced push off on every skate stride.
Traditional eyelets
A return to traditional eyelets offers an increased wrap for better foot stability and support. As a fan of traditional eyelets, I'm excited about this change. I've found that traditional eyelets just wrap better and allow you to dial in the fit of your skate better.
Improved Mobility
There's been a consistent trend driven by skating instructors looking to increase a skater's range of motion to increase stride length for a more powerful stride. Up until now this was achieved by dropping an eyelet when lacing up the skate. The UltraSonic skate has been engineered to allow a deeper knee bend and we're big fans of this direction here at the shop.
The Reflex Tendon Guard, Reflex Pro tongue, and Symmetrical Taper work together to improve range of motion, increasing every stride's length and level of power. The new ReFlex tongue is a huge improvement over the Supreme 2S Pro tongue, which was too thick and bulky for a lot of players. It features a dual injected insert for protection and has a new comfort liner inside that has an amazing feel.
ReFlex Tendon Guard
The ReFlex Tendon Guard has also been redesigned from the 2S Pro. The adjustable insert has been removed for a simpler design and it allows a lot of mobility without being too flexible or too stiff.
Symmetrical Taper
The Symmetrical Taper creates more wrap over top of the foot. This new boot cut allows for a deeper forward flex while loading energy in your stride.
There's been a consistent trend driven by skating instructors looking to increase a skater's range of motion to increase stride length for a more powerful stride. Up until now this was achieved by dropping an eyelet when lacing up the skate. The UltraSonic skate has been engineered to allow a deeper knee bend and we're big fans of this direction here at the shop.
LS Pulse TI Steel
The UltraSonic features the Tuuk LS Pulse TI, Bauer's new ultimate performance steel. A titanium coating gives it better edge retention and grip, providing more consistency during use, while maintaining speed. This new taller blade also comes with Bauer's Power Profile out of the box, which helps maintain speed and a more powerful stride.
Bauer's Power Profile is a 4 Zoned Radii, known as a Quad profile. The blade shape is designed with 4 zones uniquely placed and designed for specific performance improvements during all types of edge work.
The first zone, found near the toe of the runner, is shaped to maximize acceleration. As the player begins their stride, the weight shifts over the top of your toes for the initial drive into the ice, utilizing a 6-foot radius.
The second zone, known as the transition zone, sits on a 9-foot radius, which helps transition the players stride from rapid acceleration to measured, longer striding. The center of gravity shifts slightly back from the Acceleration stride.
The third zone, located toward the heel, is the speed zone. Leveraging an 11-foot radius, the player is now maximizing their blade to ice contact for an efficient power transfer and straight-line speed.
The final zone, found at the heel of the blade, is the stability zone. This area holds a 13-foot radius to provide balance as players shift between their edges when pivoting and absorbing contact.
New Intermediate Sizing
Traditionally, senior skates have started at size 6 but a new intermediate size has been introduced for 2020. This is going to be an advantage for players who are size 6 or 6.5 as the price point will be a lot more appealing. The stiffness level has also been adjusted to accommodate the proper flex for intermediate sizing.
Available Sizes
- Senior $1149.99 CAD
- 7-12 full and half sizes / FIT 1, FIT 2, FIT 3 (FIT 3 available 7-10.5 full and half sizes)
- Intermediate $899.99 CAD
- 4-6.5 full and half sizes / FIT 1, FIT 2, FIT 3
Final Thoughts
For a pro level skate, the UltraSonic is surprisingly comfortable. I'm a huge fan of the improved range of motion it offers and think that elite level skaters are going to love how it performs. There's a lot of impressive new tech and spec but the new fit options might be the thing that pleasantly surprised me the most. Our skate fitting team has been able to test the new fits and everybody agrees you can pretty much dial in a custom fit without having to go custom. On top of all of it all, it's simply a great looking skate without any gimmicky features. As always, if you're in the market for new skates, drop by and visit one of our Pro-Formance Fit Certified skate fit pros to find which skate is the perfect fit for your game. Make sure to follow us on social media, by Liking us on Facebook, and following us on Instagram and Twitter!
Written By: Chad Purdy
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