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Broken Collarbone


Beezer201

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Hello All,

I was recommended to tell my story via the goalnet Instagram account. Back in October, I was using a Brown JB 2000 chest protector. It was a regular morning (medium talent level) private hockey skate. I was playing in net and went down early to stop a shot coming in behind a defensive screen off the wing. Next thing I knew, I felt a puck hit my collarbone and I heard a loud crack. The shot was a regular wrister, it wasn’t a hard shot, (it’s all on GoPro cam footage) but it hit me in the area right above the chest plate and below the attached Brown neckguard. After my right arm going completely numb, I knew something was wrong. Later in the day, I went to a medical facility and had an X-Ray taken, which I’ve attached below. Point is, the chest protector failed me and left me with a full double collar bone break.  I can only imagine what could have happened if it were a harder shot. I contacted Brown to notify them of their deficient product, they’ve yet to even come to a reasonable resolution. Point is, when you pay top end dollar for a supposed “top end product,” you expect actual protection, especially playing in net. Due to this injury, I’ve literally just laid around the house for over three months now. I’ve lost money opportunities as I can’t work, amongst other deficiencies that I won’t get into detail on a public forum. Point is, having a broken collar bone sucks. At one point it just hurt to breathe, let alone sleep, sit, go to the bathroom etc. 

So from one former Brown equipment user to a future potential buyer..stay away!!!! There are other better products on the market with better protection! I would never shit on a company, especially one that’s small owned but for them to not even acknowledge my story and situation which pertains to their own product, I have no other choice but to make their potential buyers aware of what their products may lead too. PAIN AND SUFFERING!

Enjoy your New Year folks! And stay safe out there!

- Beezer 

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Sucks about the injury. 

Would have a dangler saved your collarbone on that shot? (Not saying you should have had one or am blaming you for not) But just looking to help others so this doesn't happen. 

I have a Brown C/A also and took off the attached neck guard and am rocking a Maltese and dangler combo. 

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@Beezer201 thanks for coming on and sharing your story. 

I’m very sorry for injury and hope you’re recovering properly and will be able to get back out there. 

I was hoping you’d come share your story, potentially take some feedback about strapping suggestions, and maybe everyone can learn collectively. 

Hopefully this is a 2 way street and it can help you out weather you decide to stick with your Brown or get a new unit. 

Will you be playing hockey again in the future? 

Are you going to try and make adjustments / mods to this current unit or get a new one?

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If I ever get another chest protector it’d likely be another Brown. However, to your point, the neck guard does leave a dangerous gap. It is just unpadded material between the chest piece and padded neck ring. I did get a collarbone bruise due to this and I do wear a dangler. My other chest protector, Vaughn 8800, doesn’t have an integrated neck guard, so I got a Maltese to wear with that one. I haven’t gotten around to removing the neck guard from the Brown. At that point I’d wear the Maltese underneath. 

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1 minute ago, WillyGrips13 said:

If I ever get another chest protector it’d likely be another Brown. However, to your point, the neck guard does leave a dangerous gap. It is just unpadded material between the chest piece and padded neck ring. I did get a collarbone bruise due to this and I do wear a dangler. My other chest protector, Vaughn 8800, doesn’t have an integrated neck guard, so I got a Maltese to wear with that one. I haven’t gotten around to removing the neck guard from the Brown. At that point I’d wear the Maltese underneath. 

Great feedback 

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Freak accident is all it is, not because the chest protector failed. There is no 100% your not going to get hurt chest protector out there, never has and never will. Accidents/injuries happen in hockey all the the time, hence why every piece of hockey equipment comes with a tag attached saying so. When I tore all the ligaments in my ankle 5 years ago playing hockey, I didn't blame/ go after Bauer because there skates didn't prevent it from happening. 

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It sucks that you suffered an injury, BUT, as @SaveByRichter35 pointed out, blaming this entirely on a c/a that has been set as the gold standard in chest protectors, I'm not going to accept that either. Goaltending is a dangerous position to play and the weakest of shots at the right spot can produce an injury of any sort or magnitude.

I wore 2 Brown units in my life. My second one was the 503 (now 1800) that I wore for 10 years. I've taken plenty of bombs on it in every spot imaginable and have gotten at most a couple bruises towards the end. Maybe I was lucky, or maybe I was more than oft well positioned. You could of suffered this kind of injury in ANY other brand for that matter. Just sucks that it had to be now. Pros have the most beefed up units and they still can get hurt regardless. There's a reason that Brown units are called "bomb proof", but in hockey goaltending, there is never a "sure thing" when it comes to gear, no matter how much you paid or how customized/beefed up it is.

I'm sorry you got hurt, but it's not like you came on and said you were wearing a CCM 1.9 or whatever cheap model.

I hope you recover well, quickly and I hope Brown might at most feel empathy for your injury and offer adding more protection around the collar/clavicle area.

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Look, no matter how good a chest protector fits, it’s not gonna save you from all shots near the collarbone and neck area. Get a neck guard. I’m not at all saying it would’ve completely prevented your injury but it definitely would’ve not been as bad. I recently got hit in the collarbone from a pretty hard shot, this with my Maltese neckguard. it hurt pretty bad at first and had bruising for a few days, had I not been wearing anything I definitely would’ve broken something. 

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So I wear the 2100 model. I got it in 2006 and used it exclusively until 2010 when I got a Vaughn 8800 that I couldn’t pass up due to a great price and the desire to try the new spec. I wore that along with a Maltese until this past summer when I went back to the Brown for fun. Due to its age and use some of the elastic was stretched. I got a bruise on my shoulder while wearing this. I realized it was due to the stretched elastic causing the shoulder floaters to drift outward exposing the shoulders to only the softer padding. I decided to use this old leg pad strap to secure the floaters in place. I fed it all the way around the unit. It’s worked well. The unit feels more compact now and the shoulders are consistently covered. I also wonder if it also keeps the chest piece higher to protect the neck area. Knock on wood. 

Perhaps the OP’s unit needs to be mended or modded if it’s older and the elastic has stretched causing vital components to not integrate and protect properly. 

Also, despite being a fan and supporter of Brown, I do believe that the integrated neck guard does need a design update to include better padding on the connecting piece. Otherwise it shouldn’t be included and only their separate neck guard should be sold. That one does have adequate padding in the area that caused the OP’s injury. 

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4 hours ago, seagoal said:

@Beezer201 That sucks,  sorry to hear your story. but, you should provide more context details:

-what size is it?

-how tall are you?

-how much do you weigh?

-do you wear it loose or tight?

Sure,

Its a large, was fitted to my body during time of purchase. 

I’m 6’1, 188 lbs at time of injury. Weight and height hasn’t fluctuated since purchase. 

I wear it pretty snug. 

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On 1/6/2019 at 8:49 PM, 1C5 said:

Sucks about the injury. 

Would have a dangler saved your collarbone on that shot? (Not saying you should have had one or am blaming you for not) But just looking to help others so this doesn't happen. 

I have a Brown C/A also and took off the attached neck guard and am rocking a Maltese and dangler combo. 

I always wear a dangler, definitely wouldn’t have helped as my head tilted slightly to the left during point of contact. 

I haven’t tried the Maltese, I ended up ordering a custom neck/collar protector from PAW. I’m going to wear that underneath a new chest and arms from, most likely Vaughn once I get back on the ice. Hopefully

just from my own research, I was able to notice that the material paw uses is a bit thicker than a Maltese. Also gel...however I’m a strong advocate for Maltese padding in the mask. 

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4 hours ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

You’re gonna blame arguably the most protective c/a on the market for your broken clavicle?  Sorry not buying it.  I feel for your injury, man, that fucking blows.  This has to be due to  improper sizing or something though.  Was this custom sized to your body when you bought it? 

I respect your opinion but it was properly sized during purchase. I don’t take short cuts when it comes to protection in net. Therefor, I absolutely blame Brown for its lack of protection in specified areas. They are no longer the gold standard in chest protection amongst pro leagues for a reason. 

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4 hours ago, TheGoalNet said:

@Beezer201 thanks for coming on and sharing your story. 

I’m very sorry for injury and hope you’re recovering properly and will be able to get back out there. 

I was hoping you’d come share your story, potentially take some feedback about strapping suggestions, and maybe everyone can learn collectively. 

Hopefully this is a 2 way street and it can help you out weather you decide to stick with your Brown or get a new unit. 

Will you be playing hockey again in the future? 

Are you going to try and make adjustments / mods to this current unit or get a new one?

Absolutely and thank you for showcasing your platform to me. 

I will absolutely play hockey again, I’ve played my entire life. Both as a player and goalie. I’ve had many injuries in the past which resulted in surgeries, that never deterred me from straying away from the game. I’m just going to stay more aware of equipment, specifically as a goalie. 

Completely scrapping the Brown chestie and most likely leaning towards a Vaughn pro carbon ve8 I believe? 

There are so many deficiencies and design hiccups in the Brown model that I was using. I’ve had to stich so much materials back together because of normal wear and tear. It’s basically pretty new as well and required a lot of maintenance altogether. 

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4 hours ago, WillyGrips13 said:

If I ever get another chest protector it’d likely be another Brown. However, to your point, the neck guard does leave a dangerous gap. It is just unpadded material between the chest piece and padded neck ring. I did get a collarbone bruise due to this and I do wear a dangler. My other chest protector, Vaughn 8800, doesn’t have an integrated neck guard, so I got a Maltese to wear with that one. I haven’t gotten around to removing the neck guard from the Brown. At that point I’d wear the Maltese underneath. 

I’m glad you’ve also noticed the design hiccup in the Brown. After this experience, I’m always going to wear a separate collar protector beneath the actual chest protector.

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3 hours ago, Snowman30 said:

Freak accident is all it is, not because the chest protector failed. There is no 100% your not going to get hurt chest protector out there, never has and never will. Accidents/injuries happen in hockey all the the time, hence why every piece of hockey equipment comes with a tag attached saying so. When I tore all the ligaments in my ankle 5 years ago playing hockey, I didn't blame/ go after Bauer because there skates didn't prevent it from happening. 

Neither did I go after jofa/Reebok when I tore the ACL and MCL in both of my knees playing hockey as well. I also never went after or blamed Reebok for my dislocated shoulder which resulted in a rotator cuff surgery. And btw, I never bashed Bauer for when I took a shot off the ankle which put me in a cast for 6 months as well. 

Point is, this isn’t a freak accident...this was simply stopping a puck with something that is used to do exactly that, stop pucks. And along the way, protecting the bones and ligaments of the individual wearing the product. It failed. 

If I was wearing a Brown chest protector and I raised my hand to dunk a basketball and ended up breaking my collarbone, then I’d have no argument. See what I’m getting at?

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3 hours ago, RichMan said:

It sucks that you suffered an injury, BUT, as @SaveByRichter35 pointed out, blaming this entirely on a c/a that has been set as the gold standard in chest protectors, I'm not going to accept that either. Goaltending is a dangerous position to play and the weakest of shots at the right spot can produce an injury of any sort or magnitude.

I wore 2 Brown units in my life. My second one was the 503 (now 1800) that I wore for 10 years. I've taken plenty of bombs on it in every spot imaginable and have gotten at most a couple bruises towards the end. Maybe I was lucky, or maybe I was more than oft well positioned. You could of suffered this kind of injury in ANY other brand for that matter. Just sucks that it had to be now. Pros have the most beefed up units and they still can get hurt regardless. There's a reason that Brown units are called "bomb proof", but in hockey goaltending, there is never a "sure thing" when it comes to gear, no matter how much you paid or how customized/beefed up it is.

I'm sorry you got hurt, but it's not like you came on and said you were wearing a CCM 1.9 or whatever cheap model.

I hope you recover well, quickly and I hope Brown might at most feel empathy for your injury and offer adding more protection around the collar/clavicle area.

I appreciate your response, you’ve made some valid points however, I wouldn’t go as far as saying that Brown is the gold standard during today’s market. There’s a reason why the majority of NHL tendy’s wear Vaughn chesties. Brown may def have paved the way with a lot of goalie equipment but as composite sticks have progressed for players, Brown hasn’t advanced to keep up with the transition. And it shows with retail sales...

Brown has been dependent on the old school consumer that is familiar with the brand and therefor saves investing into their R&D department. They’ve tremendously regressed in leg pads and gloves, blockers. They’ve also fell behind when it comes to chest and arms protection. Look at the advancements Brian’s, CCM has made with their chesties. They’ve been able to add modern design to keep up with the advancement in stock technology. The puck flys off sticks quicker than they have before, it’s completely negligent for a GOALIE Equipment manufacturing company to put out mediocre products in order to conserve a few fucks....in expense within the welfare of the consumer. Truly disheartening.

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1 hour ago, WillyGrips13 said:

So I wear the 2100 model. I got it in 2006 and used it exclusively until 2010 when I got a Vaughn 8800 that I couldn’t pass up due to a great price and the desire to try the new spec. I wore that along with a Maltese until this past summer when I went back to the Brown for fun. Due to its age and use some of the elastic was stretched. I got a bruise on my shoulder while wearing this. I realized it was due to the stretched elastic causing the shoulder floaters to drift outward exposing the shoulders to only the softer padding. I decided to use this old leg pad strap to secure the floaters in place. I fed it all the way around the unit. It’s worked well. The unit feels more compact now and the shoulders are consistently covered. I also wonder if it also keeps the chest piece higher to protect the neck area. Knock on wood. 

Perhaps the OP’s unit needs to be mended or modded if it’s older and the elastic has stretched causing vital components to not integrate and protect properly. 

Also, despite being a fan and supporter of Brown, I do believe that the integrated neck guard does need a design update to include better padding on the connecting piece. Otherwise it shouldn’t be included and only their separate neck guard should be sold. That one does have adequate padding in the area that caused the OP’s injury. 

43B27C1D-12BD-4687-BF2A-876FD46523FF.jpeg

Well said. I agree with your analysis of elastic breakdowns. I thoroughly suggest you lay your Brown chestie to rest and continue with your Vaughn. The floating neckguard on the Brown is only eye candy. Adds absolutely zero value to actual protection. 

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Pros don't use BROWN anymore is because they get new c/a every year the durability is not there anymore, its all about lightweight protection and not durability.

Just like Pants, they get new ones every years.  Back in the days they use the same one forever and then they start stitching up additional protection or modifying it to meet their needs.

BROWN doesnt breakdown b/c they use plastic in the blocks not HD foams which once dented it is not good.  

Myself having a BROWN for over 13+ years had no major injuries, but any c/a u r going to get hurt somewhere, even the pros are bruised, even with the best c/a on the market.

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8 minutes ago, DL42 said:

Pros don't use BROWN anymore is because they get new c/a every year the durability is not there anymore, its all about lightweight protection and not durability.

Just like Pants, they get new ones every years.  Back in the days they use the same one forever and then they start stitching up additional protection or modifying it to meet their needs.

BROWN doesnt breakdown b/c they use plastic in the blocks not HD foams which once dented it is not good.  

Myself having a BROWN for over 13+ years had no major injuries, but any c/a u r going to get hurt somewhere, even the pros are bruised, even with the best c/a on the market.

Yes but also not because of durability. Brown isn’t in the NHL anymore because they stopped taking care of their licensing fee’s. Why? Because pros stopped requesting their equipment. Their inability to advance their product lead them to be turned away...

An NHL goalie will not sacrifice their health for weight. An NHL organization will not allow their goalie to sacrifice a few grams for protection. Specifically in the chest/arm area. Brown just simply got beat out by the competition.

I’m noticing a lot of Brown enthusiasts on here because they have sentimental attachment to their however many year old products. Some bias for sure lol!

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4 hours ago, Beezer201 said:

I appreciate your response, you’ve made some valid points however, I wouldn’t go as far as saying that Brown is the gold standard during today’s market. There’s a reason why the majority of NHL tendy’s wear Vaughn chesties. Brown may def have paved the way with a lot of goalie equipment but as composite sticks have progressed for players, Brown hasn’t advanced to keep up with the transition. And it shows with retail sales...

Brown has been dependent on the old school consumer that is familiar with the brand and therefor saves investing into their R&D department. They’ve tremendously regressed in leg pads and gloves, blockers. They’ve also fell behind when it comes to chest and arms protection. Look at the advancements Brian’s, CCM has made with their chesties. They’ve been able to add modern design to keep up with the advancement in stock technology. The puck flys off sticks quicker than they have before, it’s completely negligent for a GOALIE Equipment manufacturing company to put out mediocre products in order to conserve a few fucks....in expense within the welfare of the consumer. Truly disheartening.

I disagree wholeheartedly. Brown chest pads have progressed and followed the trend. They may not be in the show anymore, This guy pictured below, (sorry, his name escapes me at the moment) was probably the last to wear one, if he doesn't still. Brown chest pads are still prevalent in European pro leagues. Surely you've heard of the "Russian spec" model. Latest news was that John and his team were working on a new NHL spec model for those in prospect or trend followers.

You are upset, with reason, but for or towards the wrong reason.

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7 hours ago, Beezer201 said:

Absolutely and thank you for showcasing your platform to me. 

I will absolutely play hockey again, I’ve played my entire life. Both as a player and goalie. I’ve had many injuries in the past which resulted in surgeries, that never deterred me from straying away from the game. I’m just going to stay more aware of equipment, specifically as a goalie. 

Completely scrapping the Brown chestie and most likely leaning towards a Vaughn pro carbon ve8 I believe? 

There are so many deficiencies and design hiccups in the Brown model that I was using. I’ve had to stich so much materials back together because of normal wear and tear. It’s basically pretty new as well and required a lot of maintenance altogether. 

A stock retail VE8 will NOT be as beefy as your Brown overall. I wore a V6 Howard Pro Return and it was a solid unit. If you are looking at VE8, I would suggest going custom and ordering beefed up pro stock padding. Depening on your budget, you can also ask for double carbon. Some places, like Just Hockey, stock beefed up units already.

If you are open to another model, maybe look at Passau. They are custom like the Brown, but have lots of different options for beef ups. @GoalieTimmy33 is a rep for Passau if you need assistance there.

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1 hour ago, RichMan said:

I disagree wholeheartedly. Brown chest pads have progressed and followed the trend. They may not be in the show anymore, This guy pictured below, (sorry, his name escapes me at the moment) was probably the last to wear one, if he doesn't still. Brown chest pads are still prevalent in European pro leagues. Surely you've heard of the "Russian spec" model. Latest news was that John and his team were working on a new NHL spec model for those in prospect or trend followers.

You are upset, with reason, but for or towards the wrong reason.

image.png.87aacdeccdd8cb33fc27c2d64ac28904.png

@Beezer201 makes some good points here...

If you are grading the unit purely on how beefy or tank like it is, Brown is near the top or is the top of everyone's list.

If you are looking at design, evolution, or integrating the latest materials, Brown is severely behind.

FWIW, CCM is #1 in the NHL after the spec change. They have around 50%+ market share right now. CCM also has very tight budget and most guys are NOT getting paid to wear their gear. I figured some people might think it's an endorsement issue.

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