PRO'S CORNER: FLEX FORCE ADVANTAGE

In 2013 engineering student – and hockey player – from the University of Waterloo, Jeff Azzolin, realized that the only major technology changes to hockey skates were in the boots. No matter if you got OEM or after market steel, the steel was essentially the same. Jeff set out to change that.

Through research and prototypes, he first developed a spring-loaded hockey blade. The concept was to reduce impact, increase blade contact with the ice, and transfer more energy through each stride. This lead to the development of Flex Force Advantage by BladeTech.

The rigorously lab tested*, game approved steel has been proven to increase performance with increases of force per stride up to 25% and an average of 5.5% increase in speed over traditional non-flexible steel.

So, how does it work?

BladeTech steel flexes in the front third of the blade, allowing the steel to cushion or flex up into the blade holder and whips back, similar to the concept of stick flex. The cushioning into the holder allows the blade to contact the ice longer and increase stride length by letting the skater get a little farther forward on their toes before stride completion. The whip effect of the blade snapping back out helps to recover vertical energy that is normally lost during each stride with a non-flexible steel blade. More energy with less effort equals improved performance.

At Binnie’s, we carry a full line of BladeTech replacement skate steel for Bauer, CCM, Graf, True, and BladeTech sled hockey runners. If you’re looking for the best on-ice advantage trust BladeTech and Binnie’s.

*Performance testing overview and results from BladeTechHockey.com: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BEcrACtM7U5XjLur3S7N-5kucgbeXmMp/view