If you want to buy any of the gear on this page, please check out Pure Goalie. Every purchase through that link helps me run this site and my YouTube channel! You can buy the CCM SuperTacks AS3 Pro goalie skate at Pure Goalie by clicking here.

The CCM SuperTacks AS3 Pro goalie skate is not a bad skate… in fact I would have no problems recommending it to anyone if it fits more comfortably than the competition. For skates I always suggest people buy the proper fitting skate before buying a skate for tech reasons. While the technology in skates matter, if you are in an improper fitting skate the negatives will mostly likely outweigh those tech benefits.

This is CCM’s second goalie skate featuring a cowlingless design, the first being the CCM Jetspeed FT2 goalie skates. I noticed a huge benefit on attack angle when I switched from a cowling to my cowlingless custom True skates. It took CCM a while to dip into this market (about 2 generations [4 years] of Bauer skates removed their cowlings before CCM did.

Since moving to a one piece boot design CCM has been advertising the advantages of better wrap and better energy transfer by removing materials and by increasing stiffness. CCM now also has a handy “Stiffness Performance Index” (SPI) in their catalogue that helps compare how stiff their different skate lines are from each other. For the goalie skates the SPI is identical at 195 for the Jetspeed FT2 and the SuperTacks AS3 Pro, comparatively the CCM SuperTacks AS3 Pro player skates SPI is 215 and the CCM Jetspeed FT2 players skate SPI is 195. The SuperTacks AS3 Pro goalie skate’s SPI more aligns with the SuperTacks AS3 player skate which has an Stiffness Performance Index of 190…

The similarities to the SuperTacks AS3 player skate and the AS3 Pro goalie skate don’t end there. Both skates use CCM’s RFM COMPOSITE (goalie skate is labeled as ROCKETFRAME) which is described as “NHL-caliber lightweight composite material,” both skates also have CCM’s TOTALDRI liner with DURAZONE abrasion protection, and finally both the AS3 player skate and AS3 Pro goalie skate have the same “Lightweight midsole.” Comparatively the CCM SuperTacks AS3 Pro player skate has a “Carbon Composite” construction with TOTALDRI+ liner and a “Lightweight composite midsole.” So it seems to me the CCM SuperTacks AS3 Pro goalie skate should really drop the Pro branding. Unfortunately for goalies CCM decided to add a price premium of $170 CAD ($220 USD) over the AS3 player skate.

CCM does have some difference and perhaps upgrades on the SuperTacks AS3 Pro goalie skate compared to the AS3 player skate. The goalie skate has the CCM’s XS1 Black steel which is supposed to help with longer edge life. My experiences still rate CCM’s stock steel as worse in the industry for stock steel on top priced skates, and unfortunately a free Step Steel upgrade isn’t available on the goalie skate compared to the player skate. The other major difference is the unique memory foam tongue that completely removes the tradition felt that is found on most skate tongues. I am a huge fan of this design as it feels more comfortable and the material seems like it would help reduce any wear on the skate liner as well. But I don’t believe those upgrades are even close to being worth the up charge.

I have a hard time talking about how this skate fits on my foot as no stores in Canada have an 8.5EE skate and it seems only one store in the US has that size in stock. I can’t really blame CCM for inventory issues with a global pandemic going on.

Again there is nothing wrong with the CCM SuperTacks AS3 Pro goalie skate, it will perform fine and if it fits you will be a solid option. My complaint with these skates is how they are priced compared to their comparable player skates. While they are cheaper than the CCM SuperTacks AS3 Pro player skates, they more line up with the AS3 player skates and have a premium added to them for what seems to be the sake of being goalie gear. If CCM put these skates at $100 CAD less than their retail price it would be an easy suggestion compared to the more expensive (by $50 CAD) Bauer Supreme Ultrasonics. But from a tech standpoint and compared to their player skate companions I have a hard time seeing the value in the CCM SuperTacks AS3 Pro goalie skates.

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