The Warrior Alpha Pro is a senior ice hockey skate, and the line around it is very short. HockeyMonkey lists exactly two models, the senior at $1,199.99 and the intermediate at $1,099.99, with nothing below them.
The interesting part is whose shoe this is. HockeyMonkey's copy calls it "Warrior's first entry in to the skate market" and says it "comes after years of research and synergy with New Balance, a global leader in footwear." That is not filler. New Balance obtained a controlling interest in Warrior in 2004, and the parts list reads like a footwear company's work. The boot is a Minimus Carbon 3 one piece shell and the tongue is a FuelCore tongue.
The shell is seamless, one piece and thermoformable, and the retailer says it molds precisely to the foot. Inside it is an Intuition liner, which HockeyMonkey describes as heat moldable with excellent memory and low shrinkage when heated. The holder is Warrior's XCL with a quick release mechanism for blade changes, and the runner is the XCL-D, DLC coated, which the same copy credits with next level edge retention and glide. The skate is sold in two widths, regular and wide.
Who is it for? Warrior has no fit reputation in skates to trade on, so the regular and wide split is the whole argument. Rather than ask you to trust one Warrior fit, it offers a regular and a wide in a shell that thermoforms to what you have. Anyone shopping at this price is already in a Bauer or CCM boot that fits, so the honest question is whether a moldable one piece shell in your exact volume beats the one you know.
Price is $1,199.99 senior and $1,099.99 intermediate at HockeyMonkey, while Sports Excellence lists the two in Canada at CA$1,449.99 and CA$1,249.99. Senior sizing runs skate 7 to 12 including half sizes, with the intermediate covering 4 to 6.5. HockeyMonkey lists a Warrior 45 day fit and satisfaction guarantee.
