matthewmarleyWhenever you’re considering a new pair of skates, you’d be a fool if a handful of the models from the Bauer line-up didn’t feature in your selection. After all, they’ve been selling market-leading skates since 1927 to some of the best players in the business.
The Bauer Supreme 2S skates were a new addition for the 2019 season. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t a great choice if you’re looking for a high-quality, high-performance skate right now.
The Supreme 2S was highly anticipated after the success of the 2S, and with a host of hi-tech upgrades, we were excited to take them to the ice for ourselves, to see exactly how they measure up.
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Our test skates
With our hands on a set of 9D skates, weighing in at 810 grams, making them a true lightweight contender, we headed for the ice.
The 2S is designed for players who demand top-end performance, for year-round activity, with exceptional features, but are, shall we say, that little more price-conscious. That doesn’t mean these skates are ‘cheap’—quite the contrary—the Supreme 2S are explosive skates with masses of bang for your buck. They certainly won’t break the bank where some of the other models designed and sold to do the same job would.
First impressions
Putting the skates on, the first thing you notice is just how comfortable they are. There are a handful of reasons for this; it’s not just the build quality, but the combination of the components that add up to a complete pro-feel anatomical fit.
3D carbon Curv®
Bauer has introduced their 3D carbon Curv® composite to the 2S, which means this boot, despite being shaped to hug your foot right out of the box, is fully thermoformable. With little effort, you can customise your boot explicitly to your foot. This gives you the support you’ve learned to love from a top-end Bauer skate—just as you’d expect.
That said, the 3D-lasting process manufacture of the 2S is designed to follow the shape of the foot for an anatomically correct fit even before heat moulding. When you look at the outer shape of the boot, you can see just how it’s designed to fit your foot’s natural form, and when you put it on, you get to feel it too.
Technical features
Size tested: 9D
Weight: 810 grams
Heat Mouldable: Yes
Quarter Package: 3D-Lasted Carbon Curv™ Composite
Tendon Guard: Free Flex
Laces: Bauer Supreme Unwaxed White Laces
Liner: LockFit+ dual-zone grip liner
Tongue: Reflex Tongue
Footbed: Form-Fit+
Outsole: Lightweight Composite
Blade Holder: Tuuk LightSpeed Edge Holder
Runner: Tuuk LightSpeed LS3 Edge Runners
The Supreme 2S experience
Once on the ice, the whole set-up comes together to provide a stiff and responsive skate. It provides support and stability where the elite-level player needs it, delivering explosive power in every stride and incredible responsiveness for outstanding agility.
From the torsional stiffness supplied by the composite outsole to the comfort provided by the medium-density foam base of the Form-Fit+ footbed, the balance of comfort to power is bang on.
They don’t just perform well; they feel every inch of a much higher priced skate through every stride.
The details
The Reflex tongue appears to take inspiration from the Vapor line. It offers an asymmetrical 48oz 3-piece felt tongue, with an injected insert down the centre. This provides plenty of forward flex from what would have been a stiff build set-up in the past. It allows plenty of protection without impacting your ability to get right down into a deep stance. The build is pro-level thickness with satisfyingly thick injected foams, once again, giving a really comfortable feel throughout.
Further inside the boot, you’ll find anti-abrasion patches to reduce wear on the most likely areas. The Lock-Fit liner features dual-zone grip. Whether you can feel it immediately or not, is one of the nice extra details that help add up to the locked-in feel of this skate.
To complete the internals, Hydramax manages the moisture-wicking and durability in the upper and improved stability in the lower grip.
Then there’s the extra boost of power you’ll gain from the Free Flex tendon guard. It debuted in the top of the line MX3 skate, so it’s great to see Bauer feature it in the 2S. As well as its operational tendon protection, it’s flexibility allows you to reach your full stride extension, all the way through your toe snap, allowing you to squeeze every last bit of power from your stride.
Supreme blades
The Tuuk LightSpeed LS3 Edge Runners are a nice upgrade. They’re a higher-grade material than in previous models, which give better edge retention and skating performance.
The 3mm higher profile also offers a longer sharpening life and allows for more custom profile options. It also provides a more aggressive turning radius.
And of course, it makes sense to marry them to the Tuuk LightSpeed LS3 Holders. Their trigger system allows the runners to be switched in seconds. It’s no wonder that they’re now the most popular holder in the NHL, and it doesn’t take a genius to see why.
Overall
For those who have been following the Supreme line, you could rank the Supreme S2 as a hybrid of the S180 and the S190. It fits right in between those 2 models with its pricing too.
The S2 covers all the vital elements to maximising power and allowing players to hit a really aggressive style of skating right off the balls of their feet. They provide a much longer and uninhibited skating stride; something every elite-level player should be striving for.
This is a great value skate at its price point. The complete Supreme line fit profile lends itself to a medium volume skate. So, if you’re a standard heel, mid and forefoot, this is a skate that can provide all the game you need that a much higher priced skate would offer—it might even be the best of its kind.
There aren’t too many ice hockey skates that really offer so much more for quite a lot less. The Bauer Supreme 2S, however, delivers truly professional-level features at a price you wouldn’t expect.
