Rotational Issues

[kyledjean]

Just got a pair of S29's off of sideline swap. Using skate lace for toe ties. The velcro has basically been totally worn off of the outside knee stack to the point that it literally wont stick, so I had to drop it Price style. Waiting for more funds to get some knee pads. Question is how to fix the pad not rotating back after a butterfly? When I recover to my stance the pads are at 30-45 degrees (if normal is 0 and completely sideways would be 90). Short of moving the pads back with my hands after each recovery they do not bounce back. I tried straping tight and loose. Is this related to strapping the knee strap to the calf? I emailed bauer customer service and they had me email another person at bauer and I am awaiting their reply to see if I can get replacements. Would switching to elastic toes fix this? My instincts say it would make it worse but I have never used elastic toes. Oh and I do not knot the toes, so they are as tight as I can get them. Really want to get these to work as they are literally 1/3 of the weight of my epics. Really need some help here.

[Teezle]

Elastic toe ties would definitely help. They let you keep the toe of the pad tight to the front of your skate when standing up, and then stretch to let it rotate when you go down. The stored energy in the elastic from that stretch then pulls the pad back into place when you recover into your stance. This seems like exactly what you would want. There are a lot of brands that make elastic toe ties - I am currently using ProLaces and am very happy with them.

[seagoal]

I too think elastic toe ties would help and I also wear Pro Laces TGN spec, which are awesome. 

What do you wear on your legs? Knit socks, modern silky socks, something else?  It could help to reduce the amount of friction in the leg channel, with knit socks having the most friction. So an upgrade there could help.

Also, are you using a boot strap and if so, how tight? If it's too tight it could be locking your pads in place when you bounce up off of your knees.

[kyledjean]

Wearing a cheaper version of a regular compression underarmor, so silky smooth. No boot strap. I will have to try and check out a video on how to replace the laces with elastic as the toe box doesn't have any exposed knots, all seem to be inside the pad and the toe box is a little loose. So elastic will help with the rotation back compared to a tight skate lace with no stretch?

[seagoal]

All you need to install elastic bungee toe ties is two holes in your toe bridge and then you simply run the cord or lace for your ties through. 

Elastic should help.  What is potentially happening for you is that your pad is being locked in place with no give, especially since you tie your laces tight.  When you drop down to your butterfly the force of you legs driving down is strong enough to overcome the force of your toe ties locking your pad on your skate in your upright stance, so your pad is rotating out when you butterfly.  However, when you get up again and back to your feet there is no force pulling the pads back that can overcome the force of your toe ties locking your pads in place. 

That's what is potentially happening, it seems to me. 

Elastic ties will provide some force when you pop up to your feet and that's what allows them to bring your pad back to your shins facing forward.  They work due to the increased mobility and flexibility in combination with the force bringing them back to neutral...which is why a lot of us ditch boot straps when switching to elastic toe ties. 

It's possible too your pad strapping is just too tight, which would make any issues related to your toe ties worse.  You asked about the knee strap down to the calf.  I personally don't know if that affects rotation back and forth at all, but I don't suspect it does too much.  If anything I would say having it down rather than across improves rotation, especially when wearing knee pads.

[kyledjean]

10 minutes ago, seagoal said:

All you need to install elastic bungee toe ties is two holes in your toe bridge and then you simply run the cord or lace for your ties through. 

Thanks, much appreciated. I will give the elastic a try in the coming weeks. I hope to get knee pads as well when funds allow. Definitely different going from 12 to 11 inch pads with an incredibly harder knee block. My knees and hips really felt it last night and this morning. Appreciate the input guys. Love this forum!

[seagoal]

2 minutes ago, kyledjean said:

Thanks, much appreciated. I will give the elastic a try in the coming weeks. I hope to get knee pads as well when funds allow. Definitely different going from 12 to 11 inch pads with an incredibly harder knee block. My knees and hips really felt it last night and this morning. Appreciate the input guys. Love this forum!

Yup.  You'll need some adjustment time, for sure.  And then more time with knee pads. 

How old are you?

[kyledjean]

7 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Yup.  You'll need some adjustment time, for sure.  And then more time with knee pads. 

How old are you?

32. Just started playing again this summer after taking 14 years off. Went to a FHL tryout over the weekend, did pretty well (asked to be emergency backup). but after 2 practices and 4 games between thurs-sun, and then a game mon and weds my right hip is definitely feeling it. Luckily for everything except last nights game I wore my old gear which is a lot more forgiving to the joints. Crazily my 36 epics are barely an inch taller than the s29 smalls. The s29s felt soooo incredibly weird. felt like i wasn't even really wearing anything, especially since the only elastic really was just around the bottom half of my calf.

[seagoal]

3 minutes ago, kyledjean said:

32. Just started playing again this summer after taking 14 years off. Went to a FHL tryout over the weekend, did pretty well (asked to be emergency backup). but after 2 practices and 4 games between thurs-sun, and then a game mon and weds my right hip is definitely feeling it. Luckily for everything except last nights game I wore my old gear which is a lot more forgiving to the joints. Crazily my 36 epics are barely an inch taller than the s29 smalls. The s29s felt soooo incredibly weird. felt like i wasn't even really wearing anything, especially since the only elastic really was just around the bottom half of my calf.

Ah, nice.  Well cheers to you for starting up again.

[BadAngle41]

@kyledjean I have a couple pairs of Monster HALs laying around... (1) used for 2 skates... and (1) other unopened. DM me know if you'd like me to get them in the mail to you.

[kyledjean]

Anyone know where you can get extra bauer supreme straps. Also is there a way to move the toe ties from a offset position to the normal middle. While the hal straps helped, they did not eliminate the issues I am having. I believe a) the straps I have are two small, being that I have "large" calves. b) I believe the offset two isn't creating enough tension and that is pulls it back to a "front" position that is still off by at least 30 degrees. Bauer told me that they currently didn't have any extra straps or outside knee cradle attachments. I checked perani's, source for sports, and goaliemonkey online, and no one seems to offer the supreme straps. I did try playing with only the lower strap, outside strap, and knee strap in price angel, but the pads practically fell off. 

Or should I give up on the supremes, and just save up for a new pair of pro vapors with regularly positioned toes?

I am kinda inbetween small and medium heights, would like to order mediums, the s29's are smalls.

[kyledjean]

Shout out to BadAngle41 for hooking me up with not one but 2 sets of hall straps. Truly appreciate it!

[kyledjean]

So the hal straps helped but did not solve the issue, Bauer originally said they didn't have any more straps so I purchased a used pair of x700's. The day those arrived bauer contacted me and said "hey we found one last pair of large crs straps". Tried the s29's with the hal straps and large crs straps. I don't know how anyone can feel comfortable in the supremes. I had to wear them so loose to get it to rotate back that they felt so sloppy. One time during a scramble the pad actually rotated fully around my leg to that my shin and knee was exposed until I could pull the pad back around. There was also so much play in my ankle that I sprained it slightly. So I am looking at unloading the s29's.

That being said, the x700's felt like they were made just for me. They are beyond perfect for me. I absolutely love them. I am hoping they will last a year or two so that I can upgrade to 2x's when they go on sale. The first time I tried the x700's was a game that I was subbing for in one of the more advanced leagues in the area. Took about 2 minutes in the game to become comfortable. By the end of the 1st period I felt like I had worn the pads for years. The monster hal straps that @BadAngle41 hooked me up with work amazing with the x700s.Hoping I can save up enough money for a 2x glove and blocker by spring.

On a side note, does anyone know of a helmet similar to the NXI Stealth? Tried doing some research but I am finding it hard to find any comparable helmets to it. Not sure of the Sportsmask Mage is similar or not? Unfortunately I have a fairly large head.