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Prolaces Thread


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...and I will elaborate!

Good, stiff elastics. High quality construction. The pads get re-centred quickly. Super cute Brianne McLaughlin using them helped make my decision, and she's a pretty damned good goalie, to boot. 

The additional toe bridge can be a pain, I admit. The lack of adjustability and replaceable parts could be bad, as well. But then again- if one part of the system fails, probably another part of the whole works would end up going, anyway.

The best part? The cat that owns this company has his shit together!

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I love mine too! Hassle free, I can't see the velcro coming apart during a game ever and like bunny said, the pads get re-centered quickly. I don't/didn't find the additional toe bridge to be a pain but the long screws that come with it definitely are. I've put duct tape over them so my cowlings don't get gouged to shreds. Just until I get a chance to get shorter screws.

I also used longer t-nuts than what came with them. I have about 10,000 of them from when I bought a bunch of mask shells and find it was a lot easier to attach the screws to. I haven't need loctite as of yet.

My only complaint is that I wish they were longer and/or adjustable. They're just a little too short for my taste. But when they wear out I'll just make my own.

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I have never had a problem with any kind of hip, knee, or ankle pain due to stress from toe ties.  I had a good enough amount of slack in them that I was able to get my blades to the ice without strain and I have always been fairly flexible.  The obvious drawback to having that slack in the toe ties was the pad not being securely strapped to my feet thus causing them to be "sloppy".  They are all over the place if you know what I mean.  Currently in Vaughn V6 2000 pads, I strap the knee lock and calf lock pretty snug.  I strap both of my calf straps moderately, neither tight nor loose.  I think the 6th hole from the inside end of each strap leaving 5 open holes before the buckle.  I used to strap my bootstrap on the 3rd hole leaving 2 holes of slack, again, not tight nor loose.  

Since I started using the Pro Laces the play of the pads have increased so much.  The pads are now kept tight to the skate and I still have the same, if not more, ability to get my blades to the ice.  On top of that, all of the sloppiness has been removed from the pad.  They're either firmly in place or return right back firmly in place once I am off my knees again.  The other positive is I have been able to remove the boot strap all together.  This gives my feet that much more flexibility in getting my blades to the ice in the butterfly and also saves me a few seconds getting dressed/undressed.  I am not exaggerating when I say these things have been right up there with the swap to One80 cowlings and step steel as far as improving my push game when down in the butterfly.

I will agree with bunny that the one negative I have found with Pro Laces is the need for the extra attachment piece and the screws, more so the screws.  I have noticed 2 of them, one of each foot, back about halfway out from the t-nut throughout gameplay.  Thankfully they haven't backed out all the way.  Loctite should fix this, I just keep forgetting to get some to apply to the screws.  I just make sure I always check them and screw them back in before putting my pads on.

I think this product would be pretty flawless if it was sold in a toe bridge.  Obviously that would drive the cost up though.  I am contemplating making my own in a spare set of toe bridges that I have or just sending my spares to him for use in a new set.  Option one being cheaper, option 2 better quality as I have no idea how to use a sewing machine, nor do I have one haha.  Either way my current set will be for sale eventually.

Edited by SaveByRichter35
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So my son has been using his prolaces for two weeks know - his only comment was that it allows him to put his pads on quicker?

I will try to take a better look at his set up this weekend he has two games coming up!

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22 minutes ago, Big2 said:

So my son has been using his prolaces for two weeks know - his only comment was that it allows him to put his pads on quicker?

I will try to take a better look at his set up this weekend he has two games coming up!

I mean, I do agree with him.  It's not like tying toe ties takes long to do but Pro Laces are definitely quicker lol.  Have you been making sure he checks his screws every game?

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13 hours ago, Big2 said:

So my son has been using his prolaces for two weeks know - his only comment was that it allows him to put his pads on quicker?

I will try to take a better look at his set up this weekend he has two games coming up!

For me- the most important part of these elasic/velcro closure systems IS getting dressed quicker. Since I came to the goalie game late in life, I never could get traditional toe ties right. They were terrible for me. I went to toe straps and buckles before I did elastics!  I thought I was going to screw up my knees and ankles with toe ties. Then the Brian's Smart Toe came along. Whilst not sticking with them, they were a world changer for me. 

They do recentre the pad quicker, but for me only nominally. I only got my regular toe lace on correctly 30% of the time, and  then I'd end up cutting them with my skate half of time overall. I would have to get helped to the bench to fix my pads. If nothing else- the elastics helped me get dressed faster AND prevent untimely equipment malfunctions. 

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50 minutes ago, Big2 said:

SBR I used Loctite on the screws so hopefully will not be an issue - I will tell him to do so this week!

Thanks for the heads up!

Yea man no worries.  I keep forgetting to pick some up myself.  I just make sure I check the screws before I suit up.

29 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

For me- the most important part of these elasic/velcro closure systems IS getting dressed quicker. Since I came to the goalie game late in life, I never could get traditional toe ties right. They were terrible for me. I went to toe straps and buckles before I did elastics!  I thought I was going to screw up my knees and ankles with toe ties. Then the Brian's Smart Toe came along. Whilst not sticking with them, they were a world changer for me. 

They do recentre the pad quicker, but for me only nominally. I only got my regular toe lace on correctly 30% of the time, and  then I'd end up cutting them with my skate half of time overall. I would have to get helped to the bench to fix my pads. If nothing else- the elastics helped me get dressed faster AND prevent untimely equipment malfunctions. 

How did you manage to cut them so much lol?  They're not difficult to do.

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5 minutes ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

That's actually how I came across the GSBB.  I googled how to tie toe ties and it was one of the first links that popped up.

I should have done that!

I ended up using toe straps and buckles for a little while until I got my Brian's toe straps. I actually liked the toe straps. 

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4 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

I should have done that!

I ended up using toe straps and buckles for a little while until I got my Brian's toe straps. I actually liked the toe straps. 

Couldn't imagine playing with toe traps/buckles these days.  Even back when I was younger and those were standard I never used them.  

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I ended up shelving mine. They were just too short for my liking. I had to really pull on them to velcro them together and they ended up putting pressure on my knees. The screws never came out or loosened though. I went to Canadian Tire, bought some bungee cord and made my own. Love it!

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30 minutes ago, parebele said:

I ended up shelving mine. They were just too short for my liking. I had to really pull on them to velcro them together and they ended up putting pressure on my knees. The screws never came out or loosened though. I went to Canadian Tire, bought some bungee cord and made my own. Love it!

Interesting. I am going to have smart toes modified shorter and do a shoot out out of what is better

For some reason, I like the idea of the flat elastic. 

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On 2017-04-05 at 0:38 PM, TheGoalNet said:

For some reason, I like the idea of the flat elastic. 

I prefer the flat elastic too. The guy who owned my pads before me made his own version of Smart Straps using flat elastic he got from Fabricland. The only reason I took them out was because they weren't durable enough; the elastic was ripping even though he doubled them. There was very little resistance to them and that's what I got used to and why I found the pro laces to be too short. Too much tension.

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3 hours ago, parebele said:

I prefer the flat elastic too. The guy who owned my pads before me made his own version of Smart Straps using flat elastic he got from Fabricland. The only reason I took them out was because they weren't durable enough; the elastic was ripping even though he doubled them. There was very little resistance to them and that's what I got used to and why I found the pro laces to be too short. Too much tension.

The Pro Laces are really good and the cord elastic is way easier to put on. 

With that said, I'm going to have my smart toes shortened and I'm going to have the two pieces of elastic stitched together so they are easier to put on. 

if nothing else, i figured it'd give @bunnyman666 and I something to chat about in the Mod section 

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4 hours ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

I never thought to lace them in like that!  Interesting. 

That's how the smart straps come, just a tie and no metal hardware 

i figured that I'd just carrying it over. The lace is long enough to loop through all the holes twice. There was never an issue with the Brian's and I don't anticipate this being an issue here either. That's what I trying to show you before i took pictures of the smart straps. The lace would probably eleaviate all your hardware issues 

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On 4/6/2017 at 9:43 PM, TheGoalNet said:

That's how the smart straps come, just a tie and no metal hardware 

i figured that I'd just carrying it over. The lace is long enough to loop through all the holes twice. There was never an issue with the Brian's and I don't anticipate this being an issue here either. That's what I trying to show you before i took pictures of the smart straps. The lace would probably eleaviate all your hardware issues 

Yea I must not have picked it up last time you showed me.  The screws haven't backed out all the way yet so that's good.  My last few skates I've only had trouble with one of them so that's also an improvement.  I just need to remember to buy some damn loctite next time I am at Home Depot.  

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2 hours ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

Yea I must not have picked it up last time you showed me.  The screws haven't backed out all the way yet so that's good.  My last few skates I've only had trouble with one of them so that's also an improvement.  I just need to remember to buy some damn loctite next time I am at Home Depot.  

Married or live in GF? Use nail polish. My aunt flips houses. It's a trick she gave me that works well on like old loose cabinet handles. It's just strong enough to keep it together, but the seal breaks if you need it to

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