Building My New Set

[coopaloop1234]

32 minutes ago, maxtm30 said:

I don't think my setup is that hideous.

Buddy, don't take me too seriously.

[oncogene]

On 4/9/2018 at 7:17 PM, maxtm30 said:

For the skates I have TRUE's 2 piece and I honestly recommend these before anything else, they are by far the best fitting and after many uses (twice a week since mid-December), and the performance is out of this world!

Also, I am switching to Bauer 2S pro this year. As a retail advisor, I'm not worried about durability, which is why I waited to switch from 2016 to now actually! The color options are pretty much the same as the 1s/1x, with one more two tone option, but the detail is that good that a simple all white set looks amazing. But they are launching a completely custom system in the fall if you want crazy colored setup, you can if you wait!

Here's the white demo pair I had in january. 

All those colors! 

[dstew29]

So I'm thinking my next gear purchase(s) will be:

 - chestie

- pants

- knee pads

My LHS didn't have the best selection so of the latest, slimmed down offerings I could only try on the VE8 pro. First impressions were really positive. Felt very mobile when I had the unit on. Seemed fully protected too but didn't seem too bulky or restrictive, especially in the shoulder/upper arm area. I had also tried on the Premier senior and RG4 senior, both of which I couldn't quite get personally comfortable with.

The pants selection was less impressive. The only pro model pant they had in my size was the Premier. I actually really liked these save for the bulkiness. The interior belt was something I'd probably look for regardless of what brand I end up with. Really liked that.

From other posts I was thinking about going CCM Shield II or Optik for chestie and pants. Jury is still out on knee pads. The shop only had prior gen CCMs and Rituals. Interested in trying on the new Optiks, Vaughns and Bauers from what I've read here.

Any suggestions? Part of the issue is not being able to try some of this stuff on so I know that is the preferred route but just not possible for now. I was looking for full reviews on Shield II and Optik Chestie/Pants but haven't see any posted yet. Maybe I missed it.

[dstew29]

Almost ready to close this thread out, but thought I'd recount my adventures in rebuilding my setup since its been about 5 months in the making. Couple last items to get but here's where I'm at today:

Mask - Refurbed Promasque Classique w/ pro cat eye - from my old set/ work performed by Promasque

Skates - Graf DM1080 - from this board

Neck guard - Koho revolution - from my old set

Pads - Eflex 3 pro / 33+1 Saros pro return - from Sideline Swap

Glove/Blocker - Eflex 3 pro Varlamov pro return - from Sideline Swap

Pants - CCM Shield 2 pro - from LHS

Knee pads - Bauer 1S  - from LHS

Bag - Brown 2400B - from John Brown

Jock - Vaughn V7 pro carbon - from LHS

Suspenders - A&R suspenders - from my old set

Jersey - Old college club jersey from my old bag

C&A - N/A - Looking at a few options right now - Passau gen2 is in the lead...

Stick - N/A - Think I want to go with CCM P2 w/ Price curve 25". Any luck getting a good deal on these? Crazy expensive but loved the feel of it in the store...

Anything else I'm missing? Man, I can almost feel those stingers now!!!

[BadAngle41]

On 3/27/2018 at 9:52 AM, dstew29 said:

Just received my new (to me) Eflex 3 Saros pro returns. First impressions are very good. Great quality, super light weight and good flex throughout. Thigh rise is a lot taller than anything I’ve played in, so interested  to see how that plays on the ice. 

Very simplified strapping and pro laces are a huge plus. Here are a few pics:

Oddly enough I also received my Graf dm1080s the same day (shoutout @Murray ) and very impressed with the quality. Will have to get these baked this weekend and my own review up soon.

My old Promasque is also in the mail so have some triage to perform once that’s in.

Slowly but surely piecing this thing together...

That's a healthy NHL legal thigh rise for sure. Any chance you can post a few more pics of the strapping? Also maybe snap a couple of whatever is going on at the bottom of the outer calf wrap?

[dstew29]

2 hours ago, BadAngle41 said:

That's a healthy NHL legal thigh rise for sure. Any chance you can post a few more pics of the strapping? Also maybe snap a couple of whatever is going on at the bottom of the outer calf wrap?

Yeah, will snap some more pics this weekend and post. The strapping is EXTREMELY minimal - almost to the point where I was wondering how the heck these guys keep them on and in place. I should preface all of that with the fact I am coming from the old school, wholesale leather strapping system every quarter inch. This will obviously take some getting used to for sure but hopefully I'll like the change.

That said, this was my initial reaction when seeing the strapping first hand...

[BadAngle41]

8 minutes ago, dstew29 said:

Yeah, will snap some more pics this weekend and post. The strapping is EXTREMELY minimal - almost to the point where I was wondering how the heck these guys keep them on and in place. I should preface all of that with the fact I am coming from the old school, wholesale leather strapping system every quarter inch. This will obviously take some getting used to for sure but hopefully I'll like the change.

That said, this was my initial reaction when seeing the strapping first hand...

Ha... my interest is because mine is pretty similar. Elastics are nearly identical (I think.) He has two leathers... one through the knee... one top of calf. I have two leathers... one top of calf... one at the boot.