Equipment Consultant Wanted (rant)

[aircanuck]

***Lost guy who just got back into hockey this year RANT***

Honest to Christ, how do you guys do it? I'm looking at getting all new gear next year and I am completely lost. Price is not a factor and I have no clue where to start. Every store I have been to so far has been a colossal failure. The workers just push what's popular and whatever brand seems to be their thing. Demos are hard to come by and getting good advice is nowhere in sight.

25 years ago, I'd walk into a specialty store, tell them my level, tell them my style, answer a few questions and I'd walk out a happy camper. I never returned a single piece of equipment. My last two purchases have gone like this: $500 worth of busted CCM sticks that lasted 1-2 months (never broke a stick previously), $650 skates that don't protect my feet and leave my feet frozen). So clearly what's been pushed on me isn't working and would like to avoid this on the rest of my gear. 

I read everyone's reviews, but it's such a personal thing it's tough to figure out what's what. Is there anyone out there who still delivers on that level of customer experience and satisfaction? I hear Kennesky might be a good one to talk to, since I am in southern ontario. Your thoughts are welcome.

Right now I am playing with Reebok Premier III pads and CCM Extreme Pro glove/blocker (for what it's worth)

[seagoal]

What exactly are you looking for?  Do you have your needs and priorities in your gear specified and directly laid out?  For example: do you want stiff pads or flexible pads?

It sounds a bit like you don't know what you want, yet you are seeking objectivity from others in your search for information and persuasion, which is tough.  I don't think you are going to find information or pitches free from bias.

[jayluv54]

Have you tried Goalie Monkey's demo program?  Chris Dudo is always happy to help and a great resource.  Otherwise, the best advice is to buy used.  It gives you the opportunity to try something out without getting killed on depreciation, hell I even make money on stuff I re-sell sometimes. 

[motowngoalie]

From others experience, it seems like Kenesky or @Tim_TRUEHockey and the guys at Passau offer a truly custom approach. 

[aircanuck]

1 hour ago, seagoal said:

What exactly are you looking for?  Do you have your needs and priorities in your gear specified and directly laid out?  For example: do you want stiff pads or flexible pads?

It sounds a bit like you don't know what you want, yet you are seeking objectivity from others in your search for information and persuasion, which is tough.  I don't think you are going to find information or pitches free from bias.

I am leaning more towards a flexible pad this time around, the Reeboks I have a fairly stiff and although I have adjusted to them, I miss having a bit more flexibility. The goalie monkey demo program is only available to the USA, unfortunately.  Kenesky has said they will let me demo some gear, it's a bit of a drive to get to them though. 

I think the toughest part of re-entering the game hasn't been the physical side, it's been wrapping my head around the new gear. I am grateful you all have been such a great resource.

Many thanks!

[seagoal]

I think it would be so fun to go to a legit gear demo day at a rink.  I know they have them around, but I've never been able to attend one.  I would go to Warrior first, for sure.

How old are you and how long were you not playing?

[aircanuck]

4 minutes ago, seagoal said:

I think it would be so fun to go to a legit gear demo day at a rink.  I know they have them around, but I've never been able to attend one.  I would go to Warrior first, for sure.

How old are you and how long were you not playing?

I would eat that demo day up. I'm 38 now and just returned 6 months ago after being gone for 21 years.  Now playing 2-5 games per week

[jeff da goalie]

1 hour ago, motowngoalie said:

From others experience, it seems like Kenesky or @Tim_TRUEHockey and the guys at Passau offer a truly custom approach. 

This isn't a rag on Kenesky, but very few people have been able to get their hands on their equipment.  one consumer has a pro spec chesty and the leg pads don't seem to be all that common either.  I think what people are reacting to is the plethora of pics on InstaFacebookGram that Kenesky is pushing out.  I'm sure they're pushing out good product, but they're not quite in line with the volume of people who have used Passau.  Also, they're a very small shop and are currently busy dealing with meeting the demand for pro's gear.  

Again, not a ding.  I just wouldn't put them on par with Passau just yet.

[ThatCarGuy]

I might have to try this "demo day". I'm pretty close to goalie monkey's Texas site. Anyways, Vaughn LT88 pads are pretty soft once you break them in. Those Premier IIIs are definitely a stiff pad. I haven't tried many other pads other than a set of Reebok XLTs. I'll hopefully be trying a set of Vaughn LT98 Ventus Carbon Pro pads within the next week. I'll try to get back to you on how those pads perform.

[coopaloop1234]

17 minutes ago, seagoal said:

I think it would be so fun to go to a legit gear demo day at a rink.  I know they have them around, but I've never been able to attend one.  I would go to Warrior first, for sure.

No idea if you have any demo days in your area, but if you ever want to make the trip up North.

http://goal.thehockeyshop.com/youre-invited-to-tendyfest-may-27-2018/

Been to the last two of these, haven't demod any gear but it's easily doable.

[seagoal]

Tendy Fest is the big one.  There are lots of YouTube videos on it.

[seagoal]

4 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

No idea if you have any demo days in your area, but if you ever want to make the trip up North.

http://goal.thehockeyshop.com/youre-invited-to-tendyfest-may-27-2018/

Been to the last two of these, haven't demod any gear but it's easily doable.

Jynx.

Do you play at Canlan?

[coopaloop1234]

13 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Jynx.

Do you play at Canlan?

Yes/No. I used to play out of there regularly, now I just sub. Great ice (on rinks 1-4) but the real crackdown on any type of body play really kills the fun for me.

and you can't jynx me 4 minutes after my post.

[seagoal]

Ha, noted. It was more simultaneous for me than the time stamps suggest. 

I almost drove up to Surrey to go to the Hockey Shop last Saturday.  I'm thinking of going this weekend.

[coopaloop1234]

2 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Ha, noted. It was more simultaneous for me than the time stamps suggest. 

I almost drove up to Surrey to go to the Hockey Shop last Saturday.  I'm thinking of going this weekend.

Don't bother. They're in the process of moving. They'll be reopening Monday.

[seagoal]

4 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Don't bother. They're in the process of moving. They'll be reopening Monday.

Again?  What happened to the Best Buy building?  Thank you for saving me 4 hours of wasted driving.  I was going to offer to buy you a beer up there.

[Colander]

2 hours ago, aircanuck said:

...25 years ago, I'd walk into a specialty store, tell them my level, tell them my style, answer a few questions and I'd walk out a happy camper. I never returned a single piece of equipment...

LOL, that’s because 25 years ago you didn’t really have much if any choice t least compared to today (speaking from experience).

Having come back to the position after a long hiatus, what I would recommend is to accept the fact you aren’t going to get it perfect 1st try. The best you can hope for is to do some research and take many comments, especially superlatives (“these are the best pads ever” or “you’ll never be able to use these pads if you are old because you won’t be flexible enough”) with a grain of salt.

Once you zero in on the general area of what you want, buy used if you can, because there is a good chance you will tweak your opinion once you’ve tried stuff for a while. This is not an absolute: to me equipment falls into two categories: the stuff that feels right and the stuff you have to try on the ice. Chest protectors, pants, knee pads, blocker, are things you can probably figure out off the ice. Is the CA so armoured that you can’t move your arms, or conversely do you think your checkered lumberjack shirt would afford you more protection? I bought my blocker new from 3000 miles away 6 years ago and still have it, because as most people will attest to, a blocker is a blocker.

Things like skates and leg pads, probably glove and mask you probably need to get on the ice with, so in that case as suggested before, do your research, make your most informed decision and then buy used if at all possible.

While the theory of going to custom manufacturers sounds good, without getting out, trying stuff and getting sme experience with styles of gear first, what custom specs would you ask for? Or to quote Belinda Stronach, “it’s important to know what you know and to know what you don’t know”

HIH

[coopaloop1234]

5 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Again?  What happened to the Best Buy building?  Thank you for saving me 4 hours of wasted driving.  I was going to offer to buy you a beer up there.

They've finished up the fix up of the store that caught fire. So they're moving back into their old location.

[jayluv54]

1 hour ago, aircanuck said:

I am leaning more towards a flexible pad this time around, the Reeboks I have a fairly stiff and although I have adjusted to them, I miss having a bit more flexibility. The goalie monkey demo program is only available to the USA, unfortunately.  Kenesky has said they will let me demo some gear, it's a bit of a drive to get to them though. 

I think the toughest part of re-entering the game hasn't been the physical side, it's been wrapping my head around the new gear. I am grateful you all have been such a great resource.

Many thanks!

I'll tell you one thing, once you start searching you may never stop.  I've probably had 8 or 9 different sets of gear in the last 2 years alone just for the sake of trying different stuff out.  5 or 6 masks, chestys and pairs of skates as well.  One thing I know is that I always go back to whats comfortable.  I don't really care about the latest greatest technology, If its uncomfortable or I feel like I am fighting it, I won't play well no matter how light, how much attack angle, sliding ability, rebound velocity, blah blah blah... 

I am 38 and these days find myself gravitating to the softer pads that are still available.  Currently wearing my first ever set of Vaughn gear in the V-Elite Carbons and I absolutely love them.  Just the right amount of newer features without going overboard and a comfortable old school feel.  This is after trying Eflex 3's, R/GT's and Gnetik 2 and 3's.  Like I said earlier, if you can't demo, buy used.  Just picked up a set of 2x pro return, so we'll see what those are like, but I doubt I will prefer them over the Vaughns. 

[Isles12]

I second those who've said buy used. Best way to try different stuff without breaking the bank, especially if you're in a good hockey market.

Also give yourself time to adjust to new stuff that you try you may not like it right away. I recently switched gloves and the closure angle was different than my old one. I hated it for the first few games and now I like it better than my old glove

[aircanuck]

All very good replies, I appreciate the insight. I'm hoping to connect with Kenesky / Brown for a demo set which I feel would lead us into a very customized order if all goes according to plan. Used gear isn't the greatest around here (Niagara), but I'll definitely keep my eyes peeled. 

[Mroy31]

If you're looking to just cast a wide net, I got a demo set of SLRs last year around this time by just emailing Vaughn through their website. A rep contacted me and basically just dropped the set off at my work. Seemed like a weird experience, didn't cost me anything, so YMMV, but I'm also in southern Ontario. 

The other demo set I got was Optiks through The Goalie Crease. You pay a deposit and they'll put it towards your purchase, so not the best demo program, but there's far worse places to get a set of Bauer, CCM, Brian's or Warrior from. 

[aircanuck]

6 hours ago, Mroy31 said:

If you're looking to just cast a wide net, I got a demo set of SLRs last year around this time by just emailing Vaughn through their website. A rep contacted me and basically just dropped the set off at my work. Seemed like a weird experience, didn't cost me anything, so YMMV, but I'm also in southern Ontario. 

The other demo set I got was Optiks through The Goalie Crease. You pay a deposit and they'll put it towards your purchase, so not the best demo program, but there's far worse places to get a set of Bauer, CCM, Brian's or Warrior from. 

I'd really love to try out the Vaughns. I'm definitely going to email them. It's a shame Simmons is only doing their own gear, they were my go-to guys way back in the day. They could get me anything I wanted and took really good care of me. I haven't heard great things about their gear though. 

[jayluv54]

17 hours ago, aircanuck said:

All very good replies, I appreciate the insight. I'm hoping to connect with Kenesky / Brown for a demo set which I feel would lead us into a very customized order if all goes according to plan. Used gear isn't the greatest around here (Niagara), but I'll definitely keep my eyes peeled. 

I get most of my used stuff from Facebook pages, sidelineswap and Ebay.  Not everyone is reasonable price wise, but I've gotten some steals and it's never been difficult to resell either.

[GoalieTimmy33]

@aircanuck - I completely feel your pain what you describe is precisely we choose to interface directly with yeah client.  Instead of you working through a retailer (who will have varying amounts of expertise) or ordering blindly online, each one of our clients works with a professional equipment expert on our staff to help select specs that best compliment their personal style and playing preferences.  New gear is too large of a decision (emotionally and financially) to not speak to an expert.

And if you every have any questions about products Passau does not offer, please feel free to reach out to me directly.  I'm always happy to lend my advise/expertise.

Tim McCarthy

Tim.McCarthy@PassauHockey.com