The cheapest price level for hockey skates is great if you want a cool looking skate for recreational use. These hockey skates aren't really designed to be used in competitive hockey. You'll find these hockey skates lack the ankle support you need when you're playing hockey. However, they'll work great if you're looking to skate circles at the local rink or coach your son's hockey team.

It's great that now the major brands all make hockey skates in the mid-level pricing category. All of these skates look similar to the top of the line skates, and they'll work great for a limited amount of competitive hockey. With this price level, pick-up hockey players, adult-league hockey players, and in-house hockey players have the option of getting a great hockey skate at an affordable price.

These hockey skates will give you the support you require while playing hockey, however the only drawback is that the support will not last as long as higher-end models. If you skate on them everyday, they will breakdown and you'll be right back here buying a new pair. That's why these hockey skates are really only meant for hockey players that aren't skating as frequently.

If you play hockey at a level requiring you to play more than a couple times a week, you'll want to move on from our "Best Value" price level. The hockey skates here in the "Mid-Level" price level will work great for the competitive hockey player. If you play travel hockey, high school hockey, junior hockey, or professional, you won't want to go with anything lower than the hockey skates in this category. You'll find that these skates are all very reasonably priced for the stiffness, support, durability, lightness, and performance you'll get out of them.

Now, if you want a skate that offers the maximum amount of lightness, durability, protection, support, and performance, you'll want to go with one of these hockey skates. These skates won't feel comfortable right out of the box and the first few practices with them will hurt, but it'll be worth it. These hockey skates are the best on the market and they're all used in the NHL by the pros. If you have a chance to see an NHL game you'll see these hockey skates everywhere.

The pros work with the manufactures to create these hockey skates. They are made specifically for the pros and are meant to be used up to the highest of levels. There isn't really anything higher than what you see here as far as hockey skates go. For example, Alexander Ovechkin uses the CCM U+ hockey skates. Sydney Crosby uses the Rbk 9k Hockey Skates. Rick Nash uses the Nike Bauer Vapor XXXX Hockey Skates. Jordan Stall uses the Nike Bauer One95 hockey skates.