Bauer Supreme vs Vapor vs Nexus: which do NHL players use?
Vapor is the most worn Bauer skate in the NHL today. Of the 443 NHL skaters in Bauer skates, 285 wear Vapor (64%), 158 wear Supreme (36%) and 0 wear Nexus. Of the 280 with a Bauer stick, 140 use Vapor, 46 Nexus and 36 Supreme.
Today in the NHL
| Gear | Supreme | Vapor | Nexus | Bauer players |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skates | 36% (158) | 64% (285) | 0% (0) | 443 |
| Sticks | 13% (36) | 50% (140) | 16% (46) | 280 |
| Gloves | 28% (80) | 62% (176) | 0% (0) | 284 |
| Goalie sticks | 32% (10) | 68% (21) | 0% (0) | 31 |
| Catchers | 60% (12) | 40% (8) | 0% (0) | 20 |
| Blockers | 52% (11) | 48% (10) | 0% (0) | 21 |
Share of the current NHL players with that Bauer piece on record (goalies counted only for goalie gear). Other Bauer lines (Pulse, Proto, Pro Series) and items with no line stated make up the rest.
What Bauer says about each line
Vapor skates use more responsive, flexible materials in the lower boot, built for agility. Supreme skates use stiffer lower-boot materials, built for a more powerful stride.1
Fit is a separate choice from the line. Bauer lists Fit 1 (narrow, low volume), Fit 2 (medium) and Fit 3 (wide, high volume), plus D and EE widths, and recommends a 3D foot scan at an authorized Bauer FitLab retailer.1 For sizing help across brands, use the Gear Finder.
1. Bauer, The Ultimate Skate Buying Guide.
Skates
443 NHL skaters use Bauer skates
158 players, including Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, Thomas Chabot, Mika Zibanejad, Taylor Hall, Alexey Toropchenko. Models: Bauer Supreme Shadow (107) · Bauer Supreme Fuse (37) · Bauer Supreme Mach (11) · Bauer Supreme 2S Pro (2).
285 players, including Auston Matthews, Dylan Larkin, Patrick Kane, Josh Anderson, Rasmus Dahlin, Brock Nelson. Models: Bauer Vapor FlyLite (210) · Bauer Vapor HyperLite 2 (68) · Bauer Vapor 2X Pro (4) · Bauer Vapor HyperLite (2).
Nexus: 0. No current NHL skater has Bauer Nexus skates on record.
Sticks
280 NHL skaters use Bauer sticks
36 players, including Josh Anderson, Brock Nelson, Thomas Chabot, Steven Stamkos, A.J. Greer, Drake Batherson. Models: Bauer Supreme Fuse (35) · Bauer Supreme 2S Pro (1).
140 players, including Patrick Kane, Alexey Toropchenko, Jonathan Huberdeau, Chris Kreider, Ryan Pulock, Pavel Buchnevich. Models: Bauer Vapor FlyLite (128) · Bauer Vapor Adv One (7) · Bauer Vapor HyperLite 2 (4) · Bauer Vapor HyperLite (1).
46 players, including Nathan MacKinnon, Kirill Kaprizov, Victor Hedman, David Pastrnak, Jesper Boqvist, Alexander Wennberg. Models: Bauer Nexus Tracer (41) · Bauer Nexus Sync (3) · Bauer Nexus Geo (2).
The other 58 Bauer sticks: Pulse (48), Proto (10).
Gloves
284 NHL skaters use Bauer gloves
80 players, including Casey Mittelstadt, Thomas Chabot, Victor Olofsson, Mika Zibanejad, Alexey Toropchenko, Jakob Chychrun. Models: Bauer Supreme Mach (77) · Bauer Supreme UltraSonic (2) · Bauer Supreme 2S Pro (1).
176 players, including Auston Matthews, Evgeni Malkin, Nathan MacKinnon, Mats Zuccarello, Brock Nelson, Taylor Hall. Models: Bauer Vapor HyperLite (146) · Bauer Vapor FlyLite (25) · Bauer Vapor 2X Pro (4) · Bauer Vapor 1X (1).
Nexus: 0. No current NHL skater has Bauer Nexus gloves on record.
The other 28 Bauer gloves: Pro Series (28).
By position
| Position | Supreme skates | Vapor skates | Bauer skates | Supreme sticks | Vapor sticks | Nexus sticks | Bauer sticks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centers | 24% | 76% | 131 | 11% | 53% | 13% | 93 |
| Left wings | 39% | 61% | 79 | 13% | 51% | 13% | 45 |
| Right wings | 37% | 63% | 65 | 16% | 50% | 16% | 38 |
| Defensemen | 42% | 58% | 168 | 13% | 47% | 21% | 104 |
Share of each position's Bauer skates and Bauer sticks.
Players who mix lines
86 skaters use Vapor skates and a Vapor stick; 14 use Supreme for both.
Supreme skates, Vapor stick: 41 players. Alexey Toropchenko, Chris Kreider, Ryan Pulock, Pavel Buchnevich, Jake DeBrusk, John Marino, Nick Suzuki, Josh Morrissey
Supreme skates, Nexus stick: 12 players. Jordan Eberle, Cale Makar, Kaapo Kakko, Jack Eichel, Parker Kelly, Adam Fox, Jonah Gadjovich, Sean Monahan
Vapor skates, Supreme stick: 21 players. Josh Anderson, Brock Nelson, Steven Stamkos, Drake Batherson, Jamie Benn, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Brayden Schenn, Ryan McDonagh
Vapor skates, Nexus stick: 28 players. Kirill Kaprizov, David Pastrnak, Jesper Boqvist, Alexander Wennberg, Nikolaj Ehlers, Alex Vlasic, Artem Zub, Nick Foligno
By decade
| Decade | Supreme skates | Vapor skates | Nexus skates | Supreme sticks | Vapor sticks | Nexus sticks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 1990s | 12 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| The 2000s | 5 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 12 | 0 |
| The 2010s | 7 | 14 | 2 | 22 | 27 | 17 |
| The 2020s | 211 | 346 | 1 | 76 | 319 | 197 |
Players with each line on record in a dated record from their NHL years. Older decades rest on the records that survive, so they are a sample, and the 2020s include today's setups.
Quick answers
Do more NHL players use Bauer Supreme or Vapor skates?
Vapor. 285 NHL skaters wear Bauer Vapor skates and 158 wear Supreme, of the 443 in Bauer skates on record.
What is the difference between Bauer Supreme and Vapor skates?
Bauer says Vapor uses more responsive, flexible materials in the lower boot for agility, and Supreme uses stiffer materials there for a more powerful stride. Fit (width and volume) is a separate choice: Bauer lists Fit 1, Fit 2 and Fit 3, plus D and EE widths.
Which Bauer stick line is most used in the NHL?
Vapor. 140 of the 280 NHL skaters with a Bauer stick on record use Vapor (50%). Nexus has 46 and Supreme 36.
Do NHL players wear Bauer Nexus skates?
No current NHL skater has Bauer Nexus skates on record. Nexus shows up in the NHL as a stick line: 46 players use one.
Which Bauer gloves do NHL players wear most?
Vapor. Of the 284 NHL skaters in Bauer gloves, 176 wear Vapor and 80 Supreme.
Current setups as logged by GearGeek and Ice Warehouse pro player pages; decades from Rink Buddy's dated, sourced records. Pros often use pro-stock versions of retail models. Rink Buddy is not affiliated with Bauer.