Strapping your pads discussion

[RichMan]

Couldn't find a thread so here goes.

If you're going to ask about, make sure to mention brand/model/size and which part(s) are you talking about (knee/calf/boot/toe-ties or a combination).

I'm wearing Warrior GT2 in 35+1.5. They fit fine. I strap them like Chris Dudo does (nylon strap across the knee, neoprene strap below to calf and of course the large calf wrap). My toe-ties is as pictured below. 

My question is: how can guys/gals wear their toe-ties with so much slack and not have your pads ride lower than normal? They seem to stay in place still. I don't have skinny calves by any means. I put back in my boot straps (mind you loosely) to prevent the pads from sliding down too much and risk landing too high on my knee block when dropping. Is there a trick I've yet to be aware of?

 

[CPage]

Hey @RichMan

I’m in a pair of Warrior rG/Ts somewhat similar to yours and had been asking myself the same question; and more specifically how do people manage to have loose toe-ties without using a boot strap and not have their pads dragging on the ice??!

I came to the conclusion that the « trick » is the use of an frs or professor strap to anchor the pad to the top of the calf; allowing it to remain connected to the leg even with a lot of slack in the toe ties. Yours and my « older » iterations of the Warrior pads aren’t built like this… our calf wraps are too loose and too low to be able to really anchor the pad to our leg, and if you wear your knee cradle open like I do, with no boot strap, you need tension in the toe ties to keep the pad anchored to your leg. It seems that Warrior has begun including a professor-type strap on the newer models (I believe starting with G6?).

If you’re interested, I could share some pics of a very basic mod I did to my rG/T pads; adding a Bauer Tunefit+ strap to serve as an anchor point across the top of the calf (I used tiewraps to attach the tunefit to the pad… very ghetto! But it works!) This has allowed  me to switch from bungees back to skate lace toe-ties with a good 2.5’’ of slack, while keeping the pad anchored to my leg and therefore not dragging on the ice at the toes. The Tunefit does affect pad rotation if attached too tight, so it takes some tweaking to get it dialed in just right; but after about 10 skates I’m quite happy with the result.

[RichMan]

@CPage I'd be curious to see that.  What knee pads do you use and doesn't that affect the professor strap, or vice versa?

[indykrap]

@RichMan how tight do you keep your calf wrap? I'm in G5s and had better results having it tighter than I thought I needed it, and I've got big calves as well. 

[DL42]

The problem is when all the little kids back in 2010 thought the less straps u have the cooler u r , the mfg took them off, but forgot  how pad works.

The upper calf straps kept the pads from sliding down, they took it off and reinvented it and called it prof strap yes i know ben.

That is what kept the pad up and not needing a boot strap.

In conjunction with that, they forgot the pressure  that kept the leg in was the strapping going to the outside edge of pad instead of inside, that why maf still use straps, control in the down motion.

Relating to warrior pads having the g2,3,4,5, and soon 6 models:

Use the boot strap and crank it above the skate behind and above the lundy loop , strap shoul have some tension not tight and secure it to the front to loop not heel loop.

Dont u the calf slot holes in the back of heel on the pads.

other alternative - take the sling , disconnect it from knee and feed it bt the calf and pad, velcro to calf so its next to leg.  one of the members have a pict of that in the middle and drag the pad up connect it to the othe side velcro.

 

[coopaloop1234]

46 minutes ago, DL42 said:

The problem is when all the little kids back in 2010 thought the less straps u have the cooler u r , the mfg took them off, but forgot  how pad works.

The upper calf straps kept the pads from sliding down, they took it off and reinvented it and called it prof strap yes i know ben.

That is what kept the pad up and not needing a boot strap.

In conjunction with that, they forgot the pressure  that kept the leg in was the strapping going to the outside edge of pad instead of inside, that why maf still use straps, control in the down motion.

Ehhh, I'm going to disagree. 

In 2010 the theory behind leg pad strapping was wildly different. Strapping the knee block down to the calf wasn't a thing and leg channels were all super tight unless you were using a RBK Premier pad. Even in Premier pads, the best way to wear them was very, very loose. The only thing that was keeping it on your leg was strapping behind the knee and your toe ties/boot strap. 

The change from behind the knee, down to the calf, is probably the largest contributor to what you're saying. 

All pads in 2010 still had a plethora of leather straps. The strap reduction really only started with the Gnetik1 (2012) and G2 (2013) leg pads, at the time these two lines were a massive shake up to how leg pads were strapped. Who knew that using Velcro would be so revolutionary? 

 

Edited March 13 by coopaloop1234

[RichMan]

First pic is how I wear mine.

Second pic is Bones (the popular EBUG) in his Trues. His toe-ties has more slack then mine I believe, his pads are loose and he has no professor strap that I know, and yet his knee blocks remain level no matter how he moves or when he drops. I don't get it.

@DL42 I agree about how the industry thinks sometimes. They try to be the next best thing instead of doing the smart thing. I think Warrior realized this and why they went back to a more conventional strapping on the G7 line.

 

Edited March 13 by RichMan

[RichMan]

@coopaloop1234 I hear what you're saying. Anchor points are what keeps things where they should. If I had rubber joints, I wouldn't need slack on the toe-ties as I wouldn't need to have my toes pointing down in the ice to be comfortable and tear the shit out of my ligaments. 

I might just go back to my Pro-Laces at this stage.

[coopaloop1234]

17 minutes ago, RichMan said:

First pic is how I wear mine.

Second pic is Bones (the popular EBUG) in his Trues. His toe-ties has more slack then mine I believe, his pads are loose and he has no professor strap that I know, and yet his knee blocks remain level no matter how he moves or when he drops. I don't get it.

@DL42 I agree about how the industry thinks sometimes. They try to be the next best thing instead of doing the smart thing. I think Warrior realized this and why they went back to a more conventional strapping on the G7 line.

 

True pads have what they call a Fast Rotation System. It's essentially a professor strap for your calf. Kind of like Bauer's Tune Fit+ system and what CCM does as well. 

It's starting to become popular and for a good reason. Holds your leg in there, doesn't interfere with knee pads or skates, and is highly customizable. 

 

6 minutes ago, RichMan said:

@coopaloop1234 I hear what you're saying. Anchor points are what keeps things where they should. If I had rubber joints, I wouldn't need slack on the toe-ties as I wouldn't need to have my toes pointing down in the ice to be comfortable and tear the shit out of my ligaments. 

I might just go back to my Pro-Laces at this stage.

Clearly you just need sliding toe bridges. lol

I know all the rage right now is to go back to laces because "post integration is better!", but I say fuck that. 

Objectively, it's correct, but the feel and ease of bungees are fantastic and lord knows I'm never going to have enough time to effectively practice my toe bridge on post integration to the point where it's automatic. The sole benefit of lace is almost lost on me. 

Especially as I've got rubber enough hips that skate on post and a hard lean (even in Ultrasonics) is relatively easy for me. 

 

[RichMan]

8 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

True pads have what they call a Fast Rotation System. It's essentially a professor strap for your calf. Kind of like Bauer's Tune Fit+ system and what CCM does as well. 

It's starting to become popular and for a good reason. Holds your leg in there, doesn't interfere with knee pads or skates, and is highly customizable. 

 

Clearly you just need sliding toe bridges. lol

I know all the rage right now is to go back to laces because "post integration is better!", but I say fuck that. 

Objectively, it's correct, but the feel and ease of bungees are fantastic and lord knows I'm never going to have enough time to effectively practice my toe bridge on post integration to the point where it's automatic. The sole benefit of lace is almost lost on me. 

Especially as I've got rubber enough hips that skate on post and a hard lean (even in Ultrasonics) is relatively easy for me. 

 

Haven't worn sliding bridges since I sold my Smith pads 5 years ago or so. Not interested  

With my lack of hip internal rotation and my bad ankle from my work injury, my RVH is as crude as it gets and my current priority over post/toe integration is seeing the shot come at me from the point and not miss it completely lolll Friggin ageing  

So wearing my GTs a la Patrick Lalime is not the way. I don't want to lose my rotation either. 

[CPage]

1 hour ago, RichMan said:

First pic is how I wear mine.

Second pic is Bones (the popular EBUG) in his Trues. His toe-ties has more slack then mine I believe, his pads are loose and he has no professor strap that I know, and yet his knee blocks remain level no matter how he moves or when he drops. I don't get it.

@DL42 I agree about how the industry thinks sometimes. They try to be the next best thing instead of doing the smart thing. I think Warrior realized this and why they went back to a more conventional strapping on the G7 line.

 

Looking at the Bones pic, it looks to me like he has the FRS top strap resting firmly across the top of his calf (dark blue elastic strap behind the white leather strap coming from the knee block).

 

[CPage]

14 hours ago, RichMan said:

@CPage I'd be curious to see that.  What knee pads do you use and doesn't that affect the professor strap, or vice versa?

I wear the warrior knee pads that came with the rG/Ts. I think they may be less bulky than some other brands/models but I’ve never had issues with protection and there is no interference with the tunefit+ in my case. I will try to snap some pics and post tonight.

[RichMan]

@CPage same knee pads here 

[CPage]

Here are the pics I promised.

General view with calf wrap opened.

 

Tunefit+ (black) and added white velcro tab for attachment across the calf (also by Bauer; I could have also used the knee tabs that came with the Warriors but I like these Bauers because there’s more velcro on the surface).

 

Closeup of tunefit+ attachment point. Tie-wraps are looped through the blue pad laces and the velcro attachment straps of the tunefit are passed through the tie-wraps.

 

Closeup of the velcro tab attachment. I used the plastic clips that came with the Warrior pads for attaching the outer knee tab. Attached them to the blue pad lace:

 

General view with everything closed up. The tunefit+ is pretty well concealed as you can see!

[RichMan]

Decided to go back to my Pro-Laces for tomorrow night's game. Tired of the torque on my right ankle. Will report later.

[creasecollector]

On 3/14/2024 at 6:51 PM, RichMan said:

Decided to go back to my Pro-Laces for tomorrow night's game. Tired of the torque on my right ankle. Will report later.

How did it go?

[creasecollector]

I just use a Lundy loop. Doesn't ride as high as some, but that's okay.

[FIFTY-SIX]

On 3/13/2024 at 2:21 PM, coopaloop1234 said:

True pads have what they call a Fast Rotation System. It's essentially a professor strap for your calf. Kind of like Bauer's Tune Fit+ system and what CCM does as well. 

It's starting to become popular and for a good reason. Holds your leg in there, doesn't interfere with knee pads or skates, and is highly customizable. 

 

Clearly you just need sliding toe bridges. lol

I know all the rage right now is to go back to laces because "post integration is better!", but I say fuck that. 

Objectively, it's correct, but the feel and ease of bungees are fantastic and lord knows I'm never going to have enough time to effectively practice my toe bridge on post integration to the point where it's automatic. The sole benefit of lace is almost lost on me. 

Especially as I've got rubber enough hips that skate on post and a hard lean (even in Ultrasonics) is relatively easy for me. 

 

"Especially as I've got rubber enough hips that skate on post and a hard lean (even in Ultrasonics) is relatively easy for me."

Lucky.

56

[FIFTY-SIX]

On 3/13/2024 at 1:54 PM, RichMan said:

First pic is how I wear mine.

Second pic is Bones (the popular EBUG) in his Trues. His toe-ties has more slack then mine I believe, his pads are loose and he has no professor strap that I know, and yet his knee blocks remain level no matter how he moves or when he drops. I don't get it.

@DL42 I agree about how the industry thinks sometimes. They try to be the next best thing instead of doing the smart thing. I think Warrior realized this and why they went back to a more conventional strapping on the G7 line.

 

@RichMan I guess you're considering that top red strap a "behind the knee strap" (i.e., not an above the calf strap/professor strap) and since you're concerned about keeping the pad up, you must be wearing it loose so as not to undermine pad rotation.  Do I have that right?

56

[creasecollector]

I also recently gathered some Bauer Vapor elastic straps (which I modded with a needle and thread) to put on my CCM Premier 1 pads. 

I have since removed them since the straps length turned out to be a little too short and thus too tight (maybe I just need to break the elastics in more and I wasn’t used to the tightness yet), but it’s something a may go back to. I have since switched back to my white CCM elastic straps that came with the pads since were in the playoffs now.

During the one shinny skate I used these in, this setup provided me with more pad lift due to the shorter, tighter elastic strapping in the calf area. (Plus I like the look of the blue straps)

 

[RichMan]

28 minutes ago, FIFTY-SIX said:

@RichMan I guess you're considering that top red strap a "behind the knee strap" (i.e., not an above the calf strap/professor strap) and since you're concerned about keeping the pad up, you must be wearing it loose so as not to undermine pad rotation.  Do I have that right?

56

Something like that, yes. I've become accustomed to a looser pad with playing butterfly more the past 10 years

[RichMan]

4 hours ago, creasecollector said:

How did it go?

I used the original Pro-Lace I first bought and although I didn't feel the tweak in my ankle, the elastic on these are very "stiff?" for lack of a better word. 

I'm going to install my Trav edition ones next for the Monday game. They have a little more give which will give me a more relaxed feel at the boot area.

I will report again after this one...

[creasecollector]

15 minutes ago, RichMan said:

I used the original Pro-Lace I first bought and although I didn't feel the tweak in my ankle, the elastic on these are very "stiff?" for lack of a better word. 

I'm going to install my Trav edition ones next for the Monday game. They have a little more give which will give me a more relaxed feel at the boot area.

I will report again after this one...

To give yourself some distance between you and the stiff elastics, you can add some slack like I did with my Pro Laces.

 

[FIFTY-SIX]

5 hours ago, RichMan said:

Something like that, yes. I've become accustomed to a looser pad with playing butterfly more the past 10 years

In my Brian's SZ2s, I installed a nylon professor strap just below the knee cradle (just below where your red behind the knee strap sits).  I wear this somewhat tight.  Then, loose elastic knee to calf strap, loose elastic  calf wrap, loose leather boot strap and loose toe ties.  My pads may ride a little low for some but I still land in the center of the knee stacks.

When I get back from LTIR in August 2024 (another total hip), I plan to experiment with a slightly tighter boot strap and switch from loose skate lace toe ties to even looser elastic toe ties.  For me, while I cannot bring myself to ditch toe ties altogether, toe tie length and material are now more about ankle-health preservation and less about pad-sit/pad attachment. 

How the knee pad strapping, professor strap and knee pad/knee cradle interact is critical to proper rotation and different for everyone depending on personal preference/make and model of all of the above/your anatomy/etc.  Trial and error...

56

[RichMan]

9 hours ago, creasecollector said:

To give yourself some distance between you and the stiff elastics, you can add some slack like I did with my Pro Laces.

 

I kinda did something similar but with the Trav set. I'll consider your idea. I'll post later.