Testing an Oversized Holder: First Impressions

After writing about the oversized holders showing up on CCM Vision skates, I wanted to test the idea for myself.

I found a good deal on a used pair of True Custom skates in size 9. A stock True skate in this size would normally use a 280 mm holder, but these came equipped with CCM holders and 287 mm STEP steel. That gave me a chance to test what adding more blade length actually feels like on the ice.

For comparison, my normal skates are Bauer Vapor Hyperlite 2s with 272 mm holders and coated steel. I skate on an SSM Natural Curve matched to the 272 mm blade and a very shallow 1.25" radius of hollow.

For the True skates, I used the Natural Curve template matched to the larger 287 mm steel. This is effectively one Natural Curve size larger than my normal setup.

The first thing I noticed was speed.

It was noticeable on the very first stride. I wasn't slower getting started, but once moving, the skates seemed to produce more speed from the same effort. Straight-line skating had an effortless feeling that was noticeably different from my normal setup.

That part of the test immediately got my attention.

The grip was also noticeably different. Inside-edge stops and punch turns felt like the entire blade wanted to bite harder into the ice. That makes sense: the larger Natural Curve and longer steel create more blade contact, while I was still using my normal 1.25" hollow. For another test, I may need to move to an even shallower hollow to balance out that additional contact.

The stability test, however, will have to wait.

The skates felt wrong during one-foot skating and crossovers almost immediately. After getting off the ice, I found the problem: one of the holder rivets was extremely loose and the holder could visibly wiggle against the boot.

That makes it impossible to draw any useful conclusions about crossover stability or confidence from this first skate.

So Test #1 answered one question and created another.

The oversized setup produced an immediate and surprisingly noticeable improvement in straight-line efficiency. Now I need to repair the holder and get back on the ice to answer the bigger question:

Can the longer holder provide that extra glide and speed while also improving stability—without making the skate feel too long or sacrificing agility?

That's what I'll be looking for in Test #2.