Brands
Every listing on PuckYard carries a brand, and on used gear the brand tells you more than it does in a shop. It says which fit family the item belongs to, roughly how old it is, and whether parts and replacements still exist. A stick from a company that stopped making hockey gear in 2016 is not a bad stick, but it is a ten-year-old stick, and the price should say so.
This page covers the brands in the Brand filter. It is about buying and selling second hand, not a ranking: there is no best brand, only the one that fits the foot, the hand and the budget in front of you.
The three you will see most
Bauer, CCM and True make most of the skates, sticks and protective gear on the second-hand market. Each one builds its range around foot and hand shapes rather than around price alone, which is why the line name matters as much as the model year.
| Brand | Lines | What separates them |
|---|---|---|
| Bauer | Vapor, Supreme, Nexus | Vapor is the low-volume, close-fitting last; Supreme sits in the middle; Nexus is the roomiest. Bauer also labels skates Fit 1, Fit 2 and Fit 3 for the same three volumes. |
| CCM | Jetspeed, Tacks, Ribcor | Jetspeed is the agility line, Tacks the anatomical and stiffer one, Ribcor the softer and more flexible feel. The same three names run across skates and sticks. |
| True | One range, built around fit | Grew out of custom skate making, and the boot is a one-piece thermoformed shell meant to be heat moulded to the foot. Also well known for gloves with a tapered, close fit. |
The line name is the fit, not the price. A four-year-old top Vapor and this season's entry Vapor are the same shape and a very different skate. Look for the model number after the line name, and ask what year it is if the listing does not say.
Warrior
Warrior makes sticks, gloves and protective gear, and no skates at all, so a Warrior listing is never footwear. The stick lines are Covert and Alpha, and the gloves have a following of their own for their roomy, squared-off fit. Warrior publishes no size chart in the same form as the other three, which is why the size guide works from Bauer and CCM numbers and treats Warrior separately.
Goalie specialists
Goalie gear is its own market with its own makers. Bauer and CCM both build full sets, but three names come up that make nothing else.
- Vaughn and Brian's build pads, blockers and catchers, both with long histories of custom work. Sizing runs by pad length in inches plus the thigh rise, so a listing should give both numbers.
- Sportmask makes masks. A mask is the one piece of goalie equipment worth being fussy about second hand: see the note below.
European and Nordic names
European rinks have never been a Bauer and CCM monoculture, and the second-hand market shows it. These names turn up constantly and are worth recognising.
| Brand | From | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Tackla | Finland | Pants above all. Tackla trousers are a fixture in Nordic clubs and last for years, which is why so many turn up used. |
| Graf | Switzerland | Skates with a distinctive last, often the answer for a foot that never felt right in Bauer or CCM. Devoted following, smaller supply. |
| Sherwood | Canada | Wooden sticks by reputation, composites today. Sensible prices and a favourite for a first proper stick. |
| Fischer | Austria | Sticks and skates, common across European clubs, rarer in North American listings. |
| Salming | Sweden | Sticks and protective gear, strong in Scandinavia. |
| Koho | Finland | A historic name in sticks and goalie gear. Anything Koho is likely to be old. |
| Jofa | Sweden | The helmets a whole generation grew up in. The brand was absorbed into Reebok and then CCM, so Jofa gear is vintage. Lovely to own, and see the helmet warning below before playing in one. |
Brands that stopped making hockey gear
These still appear in listings, and there is nothing wrong with the gear. What matters is the age it implies, because none of it has been made for years.
| Brand | What happened | So the gear is |
|---|---|---|
| Easton | Hockey business bought by Bauer in 2016. | At least a decade old. The Synergy and Stealth sticks were excellent and are now well used. |
| Reebok | Merged into CCM, and the Reebok name was retired from the ice. | Roughly a decade old or more. Many Reebok designs continued under CCM. |
| Mission | Absorbed by Bauer; the name lives on in roller hockey. | Ice gear is old. Roller gear may be current. |
| Nike | Owned Bauer until 2008, then left hockey equipment. | Nike Bauer skates are collector territory. Modern Nike hockey items are clothing. |
Old is not the same as worn out. A fifteen-year-old stick that was used for one season and then sat in a basement is a better buy than a two-year-old stick that played four times a week. Age sets the price; wear decides whether it is worth buying at all.
Value and smaller makers
- Winnwell makes affordable gear and complete starter sets. Common as a first kit, and exactly the sort of thing worth passing on when a child outgrows it.
- STX came to hockey from lacrosse and makes sticks and gloves. Smaller presence in Europe, so listings are occasional.
Tape, laces, bags and training
Several names in the filter make no skates or sticks at all. If you are searching for equipment and one of these appears, this is why.
- Howies and Renfrew: hockey tape, and the accessories around it.
- Elite: laces, waxed and unwaxed.
- A&R: care and maintenance, from skate guards to sharpening kit.
- Grit: bags, including the tower bags that stand open like a wardrobe.
- Green Biscuit: the off-ice training puck that slides on asphalt instead of bouncing.
- HockeyShot: shooting pads, synthetic ice tiles and training aids.
Training and accessory items sell well second hand because they wear slowly, and a shooting pad or a bag is the same product it was five years ago.
What to check, brand by brand
Most second-hand checks are the same whatever the label, but a few are worth knowing.
Helmets, and this one is not negotiable. A hockey helmet carries a certification mark and a date. Certification is time limited, the plastic hardens with age whatever the shell looks like, and a helmet that has taken a real impact is finished even if it looks fine. Clubs and federations can refuse a helmet that is out of date. Vintage Jofa and other old shells are wonderful objects and are not protective equipment any more. Check the date stamp inside before you buy, and if a listing does not show it, ask.
- Skates, any brand: press the sides of the boot. If it flexes easily the boot is broken down and no sharpening will fix it. Look at the rivets for rust and movement, and at the holder for cracks.
- True skates: built to be heat moulded, sometimes more than once, but a boot moulded hard to somebody else's foot may not come back to yours. Ask how many times it has been baked.
- Bauer and CCM skates: match the line to your foot before the price. A Vapor and a Nexus in the same size are different widths, and the wrong volume hurts at any price.
- Sticks: run a hand along the shaft and listen. A dull rattle or a soft spot means a crack under the finish. Check the blade heel, where repairs hide under fresh tape.
- Gloves: turn them inside out and look at the palms. Palms wear through first and can be replaced, but the cost is worth knowing before you offer.
- Goalie pads: the knee block and the inside straps take the beating. Foam that has gone soft cannot be restored.
Brand in a listing
Brand is a filter, not free text, so pick the closest match from the list when you post. If the maker is not there, choose Other and write the name in the title, for example "Sher-Wood Rekker senior 85 flex". That way a buyer searching for the name still finds it.
Put the model and the year in the title too. On used gear "Bauer Vapor" narrows very little, while "Bauer Vapor X3.7 2023 senior" tells a buyer almost everything before they open the listing. Sizes go in their own fields, and the size guide explains how each type is measured.
Last updated: 25 September 2026