Goalie demo day pads

[Jonathon v]

I just did a goalie demo day thing and I tried 3 pads. The  premier 2 pads, the gnetik 4 and the Eflex 4 in that order. Ice was pretty fresh I got on about 15 minutes into it and the premier 2 pads slid very well. They also had an incredible seal. I did however feel they were sloppy on my leg and I had everything as tight as it goes. Then after like 20 minutes oh the ice I went off, took them off and put on the gnetik 4 pads and I was super hyped for these pads. They felt good on my leg and were tight to my leg. The seal was good, but I think still left a little tiny gap for 5 hole. These also slid very well. Both of these pads slid differently, however. I honestly don’t know how they slid differently but I felt like they did. I really can’t tell which one slid better, also as the ice was a bit more chopped up because this was about 30 minutes after I got off the ice. They did feel more comfortable though because of the fit and they were not practically falling off my leg. Next I wore the Eflex 4 which I thought would be amazing because it has speedskin and ccm seal, combined with being a softer pad with a bit tighter fit. Oh boy was I wrong. These pads were disgustingly stiffer than the premiers , and slid like shit. Worse than a plain jenpro with binding would slide on an couple years older pad  I would dare to say. I don’t know what was up with that but I hated those lol. Just wanted to get thoughts on why I couldn’t tell which one slid better and why the Eflex 4 sucks. Oh and also I used the gnetik 4 mitts and let me say this. My optik glove closes better than that gnetik glove when not strapped on. But when I strap my glove (I make it as humanly tight as possible for max control) I can’t even fully close my optik. I make the gnetik 4 as tight as possible And I am still fully closing it with relative ease, and it is definitely more padded than my optik. I didn’t like the gnetik 4 blocker, it felt very weird and uncomfortable and my optik blocker gets better pop in my opinion 

[Jonathon v]

Also I’m not sure if the P2’s or gnetik 4 slid better, but I was curious as to if there’s a way to get a more connected feel in them. They felt sloppy compared to the gnetik 4 and I think they had the tight fit strap I’m not sure about that though

[BadAngle41]

On 5/11/2019 at 8:34 PM, Jonathon v said:

I just did a goalie demo day thing and I tried 3 pads. The  premier 2 pads, the gnetik 4 and the Eflex 4 in that order. Ice was pretty fresh I got on about 15 minutes into it and the premier 2 pads slid very well. They also had an incredible seal. I did however feel they were sloppy on my leg and I had everything as tight as it goes. Then after like 20 minutes oh the ice I went off, took them off and put on the gnetik 4 pads and I was super hyped for these pads. They felt good on my leg and were tight to my leg. The seal was good, but I think still left a little tiny gap for 5 hole. These also slid very well. Both of these pads slid differently, however. I honestly don’t know how they slid differently but I felt like they did. I really can’t tell which one slid better, also as the ice was a bit more chopped up because this was about 30 minutes after I got off the ice. They did feel more comfortable though because of the fit and they were not practically falling off my leg. Next I wore the Eflex 4 which I thought would be amazing because it has speedskin and ccm seal, combined with being a softer pad with a bit tighter fit. Oh boy was I wrong. These pads were disgustingly stiffer than the premiers , and slid like shit. Worse than a plain jenpro with binding would slide on an couple years older pad  I would dare to say. I don’t know what was up with that but I hated those lol. Just wanted to get thoughts on why I couldn’t tell which one slid better and why the Eflex 4 sucks. 

Interesting thoughts on the P2 vs. EF4. P2 set may have been around the block with demos and softened up a touch more than a fresh set of EF4... but I'd find it hard to believe that the EF4 is actually more stiff in either the thigh or the boot than a P2. For reference though... what did you feel was stiff on the EF4s... thigh rise/ boot break/ both? 

Obviously the stock leg channels are set up differently and while both use the same materials perhaps how they seal to the ice affected how they slid for you?

[TheGoalNet]

9 minutes ago, BadAngle41 said:

Interesting thoughts on the P2 vs. EF4. P2 set may have been around the block with demos and softened up a touch more than a fresh set of EF4... but I'd find it hard to believe that the EF4 is actually more stiff in either the thigh or the boot than a P2. For reference though... what did you feel was stiff on the EF4s... thigh rise/ boot break/ both? 

Obviously the stock leg channels are set up differently and while both use the same materials perhaps how they seal to the ice affected how they slid for you?

I'd agree with the notion of broken in vs fresh out of box being the difference. If you like P2, but the strapping felt loose, get a tight fit via custom order. Then it will basically have the same strapping as EF4 and should be feel snug

[coopaloop1234]

1 hour ago, BadAngle41 said:

Interesting thoughts on the P2 vs. EF4. P2 set may have been around the block with demos and softened up a touch more than a fresh set of EF4... but I'd find it hard to believe that the EF4 is actually more stiff in either the thigh or the boot than a P2. For reference though... what did you feel was stiff on the EF4s... thigh rise/ boot break/ both? 

Obviously the stock leg channels are set up differently and while both use the same materials perhaps how they seal to the ice affected how they slid for you?

I can't remember the exact specifics of it, but Hills said in one of his videos that he suffered the same fate of one pad not sliding anywhere near as well as the other. I can't remember which pad it was that slid worse, but it was in the same CCM family.

I'm going to see if I can try to find it.

Edit: Found it. https://youtu.be/fCIUcLwJRHM?t=550

He had an issue with the P2's not sliding well in comparison to the Eflex's. So the exact opposite issue.

[BadAngle41]

4 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Edit: Found it. https://youtu.be/fCIUcLwJRHM?t=550

He had an issue with the P2's not sliding well in comparison to the Eflex's. So the exact opposite issue.

If the issue is equal but opposite... I’m pretty sure that nets a non-issue.  Ha 

[coopaloop1234]

2 hours ago, BadAngle41 said:

If the issue is equal but opposite... I’m pretty sure that nets a non-issue.  Ha 

Or maybe CCM is deliberately messing with consumers.

[BadAngle41]

9 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Or maybe CCM is deliberately messing with consumers.

Much more likely actually. By keeping general consumers in a fog if their product is even decent... stock order numbers will stay down... allowing them to make room in the production schedule for shortest custom lead times in the industry. Crafty... very crafty. 

[coopaloop1234]

49 minutes ago, BadAngle41 said:

Much more likely actually. By keeping general consumers in a fog if their product is even decent... stock order numbers will stay down... allowing them to make room in the production schedule for shortest custom lead times in the industry. Crafty... very crafty. 

[Jonathon v]

19 hours ago, BadAngle41 said:

Interesting thoughts on the P2 vs. EF4. P2 set may have been around the block with demos and softened up a touch more than a fresh set of EF4... but I'd find it hard to believe that the EF4 is actually more stiff in either the thigh or the boot than a P2. For reference though... what did you feel was stiff on the EF4s... thigh rise/ boot break/ both? 

Obviously the stock leg channels are set up differently and while both use the same materials perhaps how they seal to the ice affected how they slid for you?

I didn’t pay attention to the boot flex on any pads they all felt good to me. It the entire Eflex 4 pad, most noticeable probably from the knee up ( so ya the thigh)

[Jonathon v]

18 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

I can't remember the exact specifics of it, but Hills said in one of his videos that he suffered the same fate of one pad not sliding anywhere near as well as the other. I can't remember which pad it was that slid worse, but it was in the same CCM family.

I'm going to see if I can try to find it.

Edit: Found it. https://youtu.be/fCIUcLwJRHM?t=550

He had an issue with the P2's not sliding well in comparison to the Eflex's. So the exact opposite issue.

Did his premiers have a tight fit maybe a tight fit doesn’t move because the Eflex 4 has stock tight fit

[coopaloop1234]

5 minutes ago, Jonathon v said:

Did his premiers have a tight fit maybe a tight fit doesn’t move because the Eflex 4 has stock tight fit

He wears 'em loose.

[Jonathon v]

1 minute ago, coopaloop1234 said:

He wears 'em loose.

Do you think if I ever got P2’s would I have this issue. I want my pars to seal and slide like the P2’s  but I’m loyal to Brian’s. Honestly didn’t know what slid best between P2’s and gnetik 4

[coopaloop1234]

6 minutes ago, Jonathon v said:

Do you think if I ever got P2’s would I have this issue. I want my pars to seal and slide like the P2’s  but I’m loyal to Brian’s. Honestly didn’t know what slid best between P2’s and gnetik 4

Why not go for a FLY Optik if you're looking for a stiff pad from Brians?

[BadAngle41]

25 minutes ago, Jonathon v said:

I didn’t pay attention to the boot flex on any pads they all felt good to me. It the entire Eflex 4 pad, most noticeable probably from the knee up ( so ya the thigh)

Gotcha... and what are you in now so I understand your relative baseline for stiffness? I have heard that the EF4 thigh is stiffer than previous versions (keeping up with the Joneses to some degree) but still very surprised that even a broken in P2 felt so soft to you. 

As a side note... I have EF1 Retroflexes now and after years of beating on them they are pretty darn soft in the shin and thigh. Having demoed 1X and 2S sets (through GoalieMonkey) I've decided to try some different from my usual Lefevre gear and get custom 2X. Significant departure from what I have worn in the past but I liked stiffness and rebounds they provided. 

IMO though, even the week I had with the sets as part of the GoalieMonkey demo program wasn't enough to get either set really dialed in. It gave me enough time to figure out if the core components of the pad worked for me or not... but as for the fine tuning of strapping etc... it just wasn't enough. While both sets of CCM you had on pretty much have the same strapping that is uncomplicated... it can still take some time to find the right tensions to get a pad to behave how you want it to. I can't imagine 15-20 minutes really being enough in any pad though

9 minutes ago, Jonathon v said:

Do you think if I ever got P2’s would I have this issue. I want my pars to seal and slide like the P2’s  but I’m loyal to Brian’s. Honestly didn’t know what slid best between P2’s and gnetik 4

You'd have to play with it and find what works. From what I know of SpeedSkin... it slides well... but users have mentioned a more noticeable coefficient of static friction to overcome than you have with Brain's OptiSlide... or in other words... Speedskin slides well once you get it moving. I'm still a strong proponent of utilizing good strong technique over reliance on a material to get you from point A to point B. Don't get me wrong how a pad slides in important... but never have I had a situation in which I feel a goal went in because I had jenpro on my sliding surface.

[Jonathon v]

4 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Why not go for a FLY Optik if you're looking for a stiff pad from Brians?

Well I saw someone in optiks and they had bad seal a lot of pull in the thigh rise. Also I’m beginning to fall for the round sliding surface on the premiers they don’t do that in other brands

[coopaloop1234]

5 minutes ago, Jonathon v said:

Well I saw someone in optiks and they had bad seal a lot of pull in the thigh rise. Also I’m beginning to fall for the round sliding surface on the premiers they don’t do that in other brands

Optiks have great seal. Don't use a brief visual of another player as any real type of metric to base your pad purchase off of.

[Jonathon v]

3 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Optiks have great seal. Don't use a brief visual of another player as any real type of metric to base your pad purchase off of.

Could I get the rounded sliding surface on Brian’s as a custom order? Would that make it a bit better even

[coopaloop1234]

2 minutes ago, Jonathon v said:

Could I get the rounded sliding surface on Brian’s as a custom order? Would that make it a bit better even

Probably not.

1. Why do you like Brian's so much?
2. Why do you think the outer round roll of the Premier pads are for you?
3. What pads are you currently in? What do you like/not like about them?

[Jonathon v]

1 hour ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Probably not.

1. Why do you like Brian's so much?
2. Why do you think the outer round roll of the Premier pads are for you?
3. What pads are you currently in? What do you like/not like about them?

1) I didn’t like Brian’s until the optiks came out. I love the primo it’s looks so good and is supposed to be so good. Also they can do almost any mod or unreal graphic for you. I was most excited because I heard at first you slide way too much with opti slide that’s how good it slides. Also I have an optik blocker and it’s super light and amazing and the glove closes really well and the gnetik 4 is even better. 2) I love the feel and texture (a very dumb reason) but the round part might make it slide better. Also because it is round and sticks out of the pad they have no way of not sealing amazingly. 3) I got the gnetik 3 pads. I like how comfortable I am in them, they are flexible and they slide wel and don’t over rotate. I don’t like the seal, it’s not bad but it could be a bit better at 5 hole. I also think they slide well, but I’m sure the optiks or speedskin would slide better once broken in. I also don’t like how I feel the rebounds go in corners a lot, but because the pad is so soft it breaks down quickly. I do want a stiffer pad because it’ll slide a bit better but I think my rebounds Will be fast and go straight to their sticks

[TheGoalNet]

4 hours ago, Jonathon v said:

Could I get the rounded sliding surface on Brian’s as a custom order? Would that make it a bit better even

Brian's will probably do anything for cost, but I don't think you need it. IMO, The primo sliding works as well as any at sliding, if not the best. Did the Primers seal slightly better than Brian's? yes a little, but that's only 1 attribute of a pad and that's P2s biggest strength. You are not getting into a car without a seat belt here. Each pad model will have it's strengths and weaknesses. For reference, this is BAD seal. You will not get this in either Brian's model.

If you are really that concerned with seal, get an extra sheet of HD in the face of the pad of that will limit the face twisting. That's what I have on TGN Spec X GNetik IV.

[coopaloop1234]

20 minutes ago, TheGoalNet said:

 You will not get this in either Brian's model.

Or any pad made after 2016

[seagoal]

1 hour ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Or any pad made after 2016

not made of cotton candy.

[Doc1200]

Why so obsessed with the nuances of a seal when in all truth if you want a better seal you actually need to work on technique versus assuming a pad will do all the work for you. All of the pads mentioned do a adequate job of rotating and sealing, the rest is up to you and your techniques.  

[Jonathon v]

19 hours ago, Doc1200 said:

Why so obsessed with the nuances of a seal when in all truth if you want a better seal you actually need to work on technique versus assuming a pad will do all the work for you. All of the pads mentioned do a adequate job of rotating and sealing, the rest is up to you and your techniques.  

I am just a nerd for pads and like thegoalnet I also just want custom-ish pads so I can find what I like in pads and help others when Im older enough to get a job. Also just saying I extremely rarely get beat 5 hole, but that one shot every other practice that squeaks 5 hole