Since E.W. Bushnell invented the steel blade skate in 1850, nothing much has changed in the hockey skate design. Sure, today’s skates are fancier, lighter and perhaps more robust than before, but hockey players of 150 years ago could still a modern skate as a steel blade attached to a boot.
This is about to change, however. A new high-tech, heated-blade skate is about to make it’s entrance on the market. Why a heated blade? Because it cuts the friction between the blade and the ice by 50%. This lowers the energy expenditure of the skater by 10 to 15%, a significant amount even for the amateur level. At the elite level, less energy wasted on friction means more of it left for playing hockey, and longer shifts for the best players.
If the hot blade is so great, why has no one done it before? Probably because it is not as easy as it sounds. First, there’s the problem of powering a heat source for extended periods of time. The company developing the product, Therma Blade Inc. of Calgary, Canada, has made used of the most recent lightweight battery technology to power an electronic circuit that regulates the blade temperature. The heat is channeled inside and along the blade by a high-thermal conductivity copper insert.
The product has been tested several times directly on athletes, and preliminary results are encouraging. Tory Webber, the inventor and developer of the Therma Blade, says the new skate could significantly improve the game of hockey, both at the NHL and amateur levels.
So expect this new product to appear at a sport store near you sometimes soon!
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