Inline Skates
Ice Skates
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Sizing Guide
Short Track Ice Speed Skates.
Bont Skates was founded producing short track ice speed skates. We have a long and distinguished history of building long and short track skates. Bont was the first skate company to use materials such as fiberglass, kevlar, and carbon fiber in short track skate manufacturing.
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OUR CORE TECHNOLOGY
Bont is famous for pioneering every major boot advancement adopted by other boot manufacturers in the short track industry today. Bont was the first footwear manufacturer to use materials like fiberglass in 1974, Kevlar in 1986 and Carbon Fiber in 1989, and the first to use heat moldable resins and thermoplastics. Bont invented heat moldable boots and was the first company to make skates where the blade and frame could be adjusted on the boot. Bont was the first short track skate company to use lace covers, velcro, and aluminum strengtheners in short track and long track speed skating boots. We push the limits of technology to help you perform at your best.
CARBON FIBER
We source our ice speed skate carbon exclusively from the world's #1 carbon manufacturer, Toray of Japan. The carbon base of Bont short track and long track boots is made by hand by sandwiching different types of carbon. The fibers are hand laid in the matrix according to the strain they will have to bear. The carbon is embedded with epoxy thermosetting resin.
FOAM PADDING
Unlike most brands of short track skates, Bont exclusively uses closed cell memory foam. Most brands of boots use open-cell foam which is cheaper and absorbs water. Closed-cell foam does not absorb your sweat or water that you may skate through on the ice.
RESIN DEVELOPMENT
Formulating a resin for ice speed skates that is super stiff, yet becomes moldable at low temperatures and has a fast cure time is critical for our unique requirement which is why we are probably the only short track or long track skate manufacturer who develops our own resins in-house. Our resin becomes soft at just 60°C (140°F) which is the lowest in the industry. Once you heat the resin, mold the boot, and let it set, it is permanently set without the need to remold. You can also reheat the resin as many times as you like. The temperature of the air and the amount of humidity are critical in determining the amount of hardener that needs to be added to the resin. That is why we have a computer that mixes the resin and hardener together and dispenses the resin after measuring the air temperature and humidity. Most manufacturers use a process known in the industry as pre-preg. This is where the resin is "pre-impregnated" into the carbon fiber. In virtually all applications, the resin is chosen by the carbon fiber manufacturer, not by the skate manufacturer. The shoe manufacturer has no way of altering the resin to meet the heat moldability requirements of modern shoes and that is why they require very high temperatures to make the shoes slightly heat moldable.
ONE PIECE SKATE CONSTRUCTION
Bont Skate's method of producing our high-end inline skates and inline speed skates a method we call One-Piece Construction. This process is far more skill-intensive, time-consuming and thus resulting in far greater costs than the current mainstream inline speed skate construction method, but one that allows the Bont range of inline skates to lead the market in performance. A two-piece boot is made when the base is pre-made and then the liner and outer skin are glued onto the base. Much of the stitching on a two-piece inline skate boot is purely cosmetic. A two-piece inline skate boot can have nicer looking stitching because the stitching is done before the boot is made and it serves no purpose. Bont high end and mid-range inline skate boots are all made using the one-piece construction as well as some of the entry-level skates. Using the one-piece construction method, the outer skin of the inline skate boot is stitched to the anti-stretch material that has been bonded into the carbon. This ensures your inline skates or inline speed skates do not stretch over time. This process was pioneered in the production of Bont custom speed skates.
SKATE APPAREL
Our roller derby, quad, short track, long track and inline skate apparel consists of: inline racing suits, warmup jackets, compression tights, caps, hats and t-shirts.
SHORT TRACK ICE SPEED SKATING BLADES
Bont Skates is a pioneer in the production of ice short track speed skating blades. Bont Skates invented the adjustable short track blade in 1975. Bont Skates also invented the pre-bent blade where the steel is cut into the tube on a curve and Bont Skates pioneered the use of K390 powder metal tool steel, the fastest short track blade material. Bont also produces a range of cut-proof gloves, sharpening stones, sharpening jigs and short track accessories such as corner belts. We do not use bi-metal as we do not feel that it is a good enough material for short track speed skating.
HISTORY
Bont Skates was founded in Sydney in 1975 when Inze Bont, a recreational short track ice speed skater decided to fiberglass the back of his leather speed skates to gain more support. Bont quickly became the world's largest producer of ice speed skates and then branched out into inline speed skates, quad speed skates, roller derby skates, and long track speed skates. Bont was the first footwear manufacturer to use exotic material like fiberglass in 1974, Kevlar in 1986 and Carbon Fiber in 1989, and the first to use heat moldable resins and thermoplastics. Bont was also the first company to use adjustable ice blades and remains the world's largest producer of speed skates and custom speed skates.
LIGHTER. STRONGER. FASTER.
We push the limits of technology to help you perform at your best.