My own Smith pad evolution mods

[RichMan]

Something came over me, like a possession of sorts, I had lost control and didn't know how to get back to myself...

Ok, ok, a little drastic I know, but it had been sooooo long since I took knives or scissors to my gear that it took everything for me to make the first cut, but then it was off to the races lolll.

Since I'm slowly replacing my gear one piece at a time due to budget (just pulled the trigger on a Warrior SR GT blocker), it's gonna be some months still until I get my GT pads, so I decided to attack my 10+ year old Smith 1000 pads to accommodate my game.

I've recently bought the Bauer 1X knee pads and even though I left my knee lock undone, I just wasn't happy with the rotation and lack of space.

I can't tell you how often I stared at that cradle trying to figure out an easy way to do this with little to no major surgery. Well I guess I got tired of waiting, and I had remembered that I did own some V1s a while back on which I had done the exact same procedure and lived to tell the tale. And behold the end result...

It's not pretty or fancy I know, but it kinda reminds me of, oh lets see, the GT pads I want to get!! The knee elastic is obviously absent and it's something I'll look into at a later date should I feel the need for one, the kind that will run down to the calf wrap.

After I finished this, well heck, my creative juices just started to flow again and I came up with another idea, another brilliant, wonderful idea! I figured by reflecting on the bad pad rotation I was getting, not to mention the stress I've been feeling in my hips, knees and ankles this season - you might of noticed the absence of a calf wedge. I thought I wouldn't need one, but I was young foolish and more flexible then. I found a spare block of foam I kept for exercises and went to work. Measure the length and width needed to match, then how thick I wanted them, pen marks and lines here and there - it was time to cut. Now given that I'm not equipped like Brian's backstore wall of gadgets, I went digging into my cutlery. My weapons of choice were a very sharp mini-hatchet, a bread knife and a paring knife. Looked like a scene out of Chainsaw Massacre but what the heck. The following pics should be fairly self-explanatory. I have to say that I felt the same pride and joy in my work just like when I was 12 years old, turning an old CCM trapper with Esposito basket into a newer T pocket, or when I installed some calf wings for protection on my son's D&R LG31s I got him to play in the backyard with.

My heart grew 3 sizes today

 

[Pauly35or00]

I really like this. I know it probably wasn't expensive and hopefully, you have more foam. I can see the straps pulling through the foam very quickly. Might wanna cover the foam in something a little sturdier like duct tape. Maybe only around the edges just to save a little weight.

[RichMan]

Tried my pads tonight and it was a success! Plenty of knee room for my knee pads, and I'm sure the wedges helped as i felt less strain on my ankles. They could use maybe a 1/4" more thickness, something I can try doing at a later date. And @Pauly35or00, the foam didn't budge under my 190lbs, so I'm happy with that

[Punisher Goalie]

This is an interesting mod and certainly a good DIY, but I’m curious about the theory behind it because I thought the common wisdom was that one can reduce joint pain by elevating the knee, not the lower legs. It seems like elevating the lower leg would result in a harder attack angle for pushes and more strain on the knee. Curious to hear your thoughts. 

[RichMan]

In essence, that is true, but other than the high discomfort of a RVH due to the forced angle in the opposite direction, the initial trigger to my knee and hip pain stemmed from my ankles or rather skates. Seeing that my lower leg won't rotate comfortably in the b-fly when my foot is flat on its side, I need to have the toes pointing more downwards instead of outwards to alleviate the strain on my knee joints, which then transfer to my hips. I to was convinced of the opposite until I figured it out and actually tried it last night. My knees are still slightly higher off the ice than my lower leg so I simply took some of the pressure off and allowed my natural yet limited movement of the lower joints.