Bauer vs CCM

Neither is better overall: both make every piece of gear from entry to pro level. Their skate and glove lines pair up (Bauer Vapor with CCM JetSpeed for agility, Supreme with Tacks for power), and both sell skates in narrow, regular and wide fits. Sticks pair up less neatly. The difference that matters is how each brand fits your foot, hand and head, so try both.

Prices right now

Median price of new, in-stock senior listings (any size for helmets) across the stores we track, Oct 13, 2026. Each median mixes entry and pro models, so it shows where most listings sit, not a like-for-like price.

Gear	Bauer listings	Bauer median	CCM listings	CCM median

Which lines match

Bauer	CCM	Why
Vapor	JetSpeed	The agility lines in skates and gloves. (In sticks, Vapor is low kick and JetSpeed hybrid.)^{1,7,5,6,18,11,14}
Supreme	Tacks	The power lines: skates with a stiff boot, mid-kick sticks, anatomical gloves.^{1,7,5,6,12,18}
Vapor sticks	Ribcor sticks	Both low kick for a quick release.^10,11,7
Bauer X	NEXT	The entry lines.^1,7

By category

Skates

Bauer: Vapor has a flexible lower boot for agility, Supreme a stiff lower boot for a powerful stride, and Bauer X is the comfortable entry line. Top models come in Fit 1, 2 and 3 (narrow to wide); lower models in D and EE.

CCM: JetSpeed is the speed and agility line, Tacks the power line, NEXT the comfortable, affordable line, and Vizion the newest. Skates come in Tapered, Regular and Wide, though not every model has all three.

Sizing by foot length is nearly identical: a senior 9 fits a 10.9-inch foot in both brands.
Bauer Fit 1 is closest to the old Vapor D; CCM Tapered is based on the old JetSpeed D.

^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9}

Sticks

Bauer: Vapor is low kick for a quick release; Supreme and Nexus are mid kick for control and velocity.

CCM: Ribcor is low kick for a quick release, JetSpeed hybrid kick, and Tacks mid kick for power.

Bauer has no hybrid-kick family; CCM's JetSpeed is its hybrid line.

^{10,11,12,13,7,14}

Helmets

Bauer: Its own model names (RE-AKT, 155, 90, 70, 55; youth Prodigy and Lil' Sport), sized S, M and L by head circumference.

CCM: Tacks helmets (such as the Tacks 720), shopped by level: elite, competitive and learn to play.

Both brands state that helmets can't prevent concussions.

^15,16,17,7

Gloves

Bauer: Vapor gloves are tapered (snug hand, open cuff for wrist movement), Supreme anatomical (snug to the wrist), and Pro Series a classic four-roll fit.

CCM: JetSpeed gloves are snug with an open cuff, Tacks anatomical from fingertips to cuff, and the classic four-roll cut is the wider fit.

Matching cuts: tapered is Vapor or JetSpeed; anatomical is Supreme or Tacks.

^18,19,20

Pads and pants

Bauer: Vapor pads and pants have a tapered fit for agility; Supreme has a low-profile, anatomical fit; Bauer X is the entry line.

CCM: Tacks is marketed for maximum protection, JetSpeed for mobility and breathability, NEXT for comfort and price.

These are marketing descriptions, not measured protection ratings.

^21,22,7

The companies

Bauer was founded in 1927 in Kitchener, Ontario, and made the first skate with the blade fixed to the boot in 1933.²³
Bauer's parent company, Peak Achievement Athletics, came under the control of Fairfax Financial in December 2024.^24,25
CCM began in 1899 as the Canada Cycle and Motor company, turning scrap bicycle steel into skate blades.²⁶
adidas sold CCM to Birch Hill Equity Partners in 2017, and Altor agreed to buy a majority stake in October 2024. CCM is headquartered in Montreal.^27,28

What do NHL players wear? See NHL gear today on the Rink Buddy Archive.

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