For seasons, Supreme has been Bauer's protective for the player who wants security without sacrificing mobility. The new S26 collection refines that philosophy with three tiers — F40, F50 PRO, and FUSE — engineered around a streamlined fit and material technology that moves with the body, not against it. Here's the design thinking behind the line, how the technology layers across the three tiers, and how to pick the level that matches your game.
In This Guide
Supreme has always been Bauer's anatomical line — the protective family for the player who wants gear that follows the body's contours rather than sitting on top of them. For S26, that philosophy gets sharper. The new collection is built on a single design language: a streamlined, low-profile fit, paired with material engineering that absorbs impact without stealing mobility.
What's different this season is how that philosophy is delivered across three price tiers. F40 sits at the competitive level for players establishing their game. F50 PRO brings pro-inspired construction — the materials and systems you start seeing in higher-tier hockey. FUSE is the elite-level top of the line, with the same composite engineering you see at the highest levels of the sport.
This isn't three different products sharing a logo. It's one design philosophy, applied at three intensities. The shape is the same. The materials evolve.
Supreme S26 is built on three principles that show up in every piece of the collection — from the entry-level F40 elbow pad to the FUSE pant worn by professionals.
Protective gear gets in the way when it adds bulk where the body needs to move. Supreme cuts that bulk. Low-profile caps on the shoulder, elbow, and shin. Molded ribs that follow the torso instead of squaring around it. A pant cut closer to a girdle than a traditional shell. The result is a player who feels lighter on the ice without giving up coverage.
The pieces are shaped to your body, not the average. Molded sternum follows the chest's natural contour. 180° molded forearm wraps the arm rather than draping over it. ErgoDynamic knee cap sits deep enough that the patella locks in rather than slides. When the protective sits where it's supposed to, it does its job — and it doesn't migrate when you're skating hard.
Static protective is easy. Protective that absorbs heavy impact and moves with you is harder. Supreme S26 uses a layered approach — composite plates for impact zones, flexible foams between joints, hinged constructions at the bicep and shin cap where the body needs to bend. Every layer has a job. Nothing is along for the ride.
Most of the material vocabulary across Supreme S26 is shared, but the recipes change as you move up the tiers. Here's what's actually in the line, and where each technology shows up.
A self-reinforced polypropylene composite that delivers high impact resistance at a fraction of the weight of traditional plastics. In F50 PRO, you see CURV® in the shoulder pad sternum. In FUSE, it extends to the forearm of the elbow pad, the spine of the pant, and the calf guard of the shin guard. Same material, scaled across more of the body as you move up the line.
Pre-curved ribs combined with an integrated stretch gusset that lets the shoulder pad expand and contract with your breathing and rotation. Found in both F50 PRO and FUSE shoulder pads. The difference between protection that sits on you and protection that moves with you starts here.
FUSE-exclusive foam systems. 3-SHOX is a multi-density foam stack in the glove backhand — three layers tuned for progressive impact absorption. DEFENSE CLOUD TECH is a softer, more responsive foam used in the elbow cap and the inside of the FUSE shin guard knee. Together they handle heavy hits without the dead, brick-like feel of older foam constructions.
The bridge between entry-level foams and elite composites. F50 PRO uses HYPERLITE HD in the glove backhand and HYPERLITE foam in the shin guard calf guard. The trick: protection close to FUSE-level, at a price closer to F40. It's the material that defines what "pro-inspired" actually means at this tier.
Hinged constructions at the body's flex points. AMP FLEX Cuff on the gloves (F50 PRO and FUSE) lets the wrist bend without leaving it exposed. AMP Hinged Bicep on the FUSE elbow pad keeps the bicep covered through full elbow extension. AMP Split Biceps on the FUSE shoulder pad let each arm move independently through shooting and checking motions. Hinges where the body hinges.
Three liners that mark the tiers. THERMO MAX Sublimated in F40 — comfortable, soft, color-printed for durability through washes. THERMO MAX+ in F50 PRO — hydrophobic, wicks moisture, controls odor. THERMO CORE ZERO in FUSE — the elite-level liner with the most aggressive sweat and odor management Bauer makes. The liner is the part of the gear that touches your skin for sixty minutes. It matters more than the marketing usually suggests.
Material lists are easy to glaze past. Here's what these design choices actually do in real game situations.
CURV® composite in the sternum and spine plates does the work that matters most: spreading load across a wider surface so impact doesn't concentrate on a single rib or vertebra. You feel the contact. You don't feel it travel. That's the difference between standing up to the hit and being out of position on the next play.
A puck off the bicep is one of the most painful contacts in hockey — and the hardest to protect because the bicep needs to move so much. The AMP Hinged Bicep on the FUSE elbow pad keeps composite material covering the muscle through the full range of motion. On F50 PRO, the Floating Bicep does similar work with a different mechanism. Either way, the bicep is covered when it's flexed, when it's straight, and at every angle in between.
By the third period, the difference between a hydrophobic liner and a basic foam liner shows up as soaked padding pulling on your skin. THERMO MAX+ and THERMO CORE ZERO repel moisture instead of holding it. The pad weighs the same in period three as it did in warmups. Comfort is performance — the player who isn't fighting their gear has more left in the tank when it counts.
The FUSE pant's Forward-Flex Closure lets you lean further forward through the stride without the front of the pant binding at the hip flexor. Combined with the AEROLITE 2.0 hip guard — ultralight, mobile, but still protective — you get full power from the first push out of a stop. Pants that fight your stride cost you a tenth of a second on every transition. That math adds up.
F40, F50 PRO, and FUSE share the same anatomical foundation. The differences are in the materials, the strap systems, and how aggressively the line pursues weight reduction without giving up coverage.
| Line | Level | Sternum | Key Foam | Liner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUPREME F40 | Competitive | Molded PE | MD Foam | THERMO MAX |
| SUPREME F50 PRO | Pro-Inspired | CURV® Composite | HYPERLITE HD | THERMO MAX+ |
| SUPREME FUSE | Elite | CURV® Composite + ADAPTiV | 3-SHOX + DEFENSE CLOUD | THERMO CORE ZERO |
The competitive-level entry into Supreme. F40 gives you the anatomical fit, the molded protection, and the streamlined shape that defines the family — with materials tuned for the player establishing their game rather than the pro. Full-Coverage Caps, integrated molded sternum, X-FLEX Shield shin cap, SHOTBOOST fingers on the glove. THERMO MAX Sublimated Liner keeps it comfortable through long sessions. Four pieces: shoulder pad, elbow pad, glove, shin guard.
Where the pro materials start. CURV® composite in the sternum. ADAPTiV ribs with stretch gusset. HYPERLITE HD foams in the glove backhand and shin guard calf. AMP FLEX cuff on the glove, Floating Bicep on the elbow pad, hydrophobic THERMO MAX+ liner throughout. F50 PRO is built for the player who's in board battles, blocked shots, and corner duels — and who needs protective that handles physical play without slowing down the response. Four pieces: shoulder pad, elbow pad, glove, shin guard.
The elite-level top of the line. Every system that defines Supreme, at its most refined: CURV® composite in the sternum, forearm, spine, and calf. ADAPTiV ribs paired with Vent-SHIELD spine for airflow. 3-SHOX foam in the glove backhand, DEFENSE CLOUD TECH in the elbow cap and knee. AMP Hinged Bicep, AMP Split Biceps, HYPERFLEX Thumb. AEROLITE 2.0 hip guard in the FUSE pant — the only Supreme line that includes a pant at launch. THERMO CORE ZERO Liner. Available in senior sizing across the full kit, and in Youth sizing as well — five pieces including the pant. This is the gear you see in the world's top leagues.
Supreme runs anatomical — a tighter, body-following fit than Vapor or Mach. A few things to know before you size up.
FUSE is built for elite play. If you skate twice a week in beer league, F50 PRO gives you 90% of the technology at a meaningfully better price point — and the durability advantage that comes with fewer specialty composites in places that take everyday wear. F40 is the right choice for the player still developing — comfortable, fully protective, and not over-engineered for the game it's actually getting played in.
The instinct to size up "for safety" works against Supreme's design. A shoulder pad that's a size too big shifts on the body during play, leaving gaps the molded coverage was supposed to fill. The pad's protective system is engineered around a close fit. Measure your chest, shoulder width, and forearm length and follow the size chart — don't add a margin.
The FUSE pant has two adjustments most players underuse. Forward-Flex Closure: loosen it for skating stride, tighten for warmups or off-ice. Extension Fit: up to 2.5 cm of length adjustment built in. Buy the pant to your current size and use the extension to fine-tune — don't go up a full size for "room", which loses the anatomical hip and spine alignment.
Bauer Supreme S26 is one collection delivered at three intensities. The shape is anatomical. The fit is streamlined. The technology is layered across the tiers in a way that gives every player — from the developing competitive skater to the elite — a Supreme that actually matches their game.
The full Bauer Supreme Protective S26 collection — F40, F50 PRO, and FUSE, including Youth sizing in FUSE — is available now at MonkeySports.
F40, F50 PRO, and FUSE — the full Supreme Protective collection is available now at MonkeySports.
