Bought a Bauer Vapor 1X chesty

[bunnyman666]

I thought I had missed out on Monkey having them (as they only had small when I was looking at the time; now they magically have medium again; their practises ARE deceptive), but I saw a 1X unit at the local PIAS BRAND NEW for the price Monkey has them, so I jumped in with both feet. 

The unit is very mobile out of the box. I did not have to sit in a sauna to kill the stiffness. This may come to haunt me later. 

The arms have Curv. This is the only chesty I can fix with scotch tape, epoxy and graphite powder LOL. If I am worried about bouncy arm rebounds, I should have outright hated the Warrior arms! I did not have one shot go to the body when playing at this S&P I used this in on it’s maiden voyage, so I have no idea if the rebounds off the body shell are a concern or not. It felt ready to play and I moved well in it. I think the material to make reportedly make the body bouncy could make up for the lack of stiffness. I have never heard anyone complain of feeling shots. I will find out...

I did sew on a loop to accommodate a carabiner, as I have grown to require this since I learnt that yes, my breezers fit correctly; they were never intended for chesties to be tucked in! I used to tuck with these breezers (modded LT80) but can’t any longer; I grew into the correct size for these, something I hope changes with my new quest for fitness. I gained back almost every pound I lost from being ill, but that isn’t an awful thing, as I was incredibly weak from losing nearly 3 stone (40 pounds) as a result of UC and resultant surgeries,  being fatigued from carrying my gear bag. I can carry it now, thank you. Now I want to concentrate on losing about 1.5 stone (around 20 pounds). This unit would be perfect for tucking when I can get there. It works well not tucked, but certain aspects appear like it would do well as a tuck in chest protector. 

 

Edited January 15, 2020 by bunnyman666

[RichMan]

Keep losing stones and next thing you know, you'll be shitting bricks  

Lucky you. I've been scouring the web for a 1X at a basement price to try it out. Trav4Oilers has a good review about this unit on the web (Hockeyreviews). He's still wearing his as we speak.

Waiting for your feedback.

[bunnyman666]

11 minutes ago, RichMan said:

Keep losing stones and next thing you know, you'll be shitting bricks  

Lucky you. I've been scouring the web for a 1X at a basement price to try it out. Trav4Oilers has a good review about this unit on the web (Hockeyreviews). He's still wearing his as we speak.

Waiting for your feedback.

I have a good feeling about this unit. I feel almost as good about this one with the exception of the Warrior RG1, maybe even better since this is the first unit that fit me perfectly in the arms. It feels like a well-tailored suit jacket that way. Kinda lucky, too, as the arms are not adjustable. 

My last Brian’s unit was never quite right. Arms were thin (I felt shots from 70 year olds that weren’t shooting hard), and the tops are wearing. I paid money to get more padding installed. There is so much wrong with my SubZ 3. I made it livable, but not an extension of me. 

I know chesties are as personal preference as skates. All of it is, really. 
 

I am hoping to lose at least a stone. But with my lack of colon, the only way I’d shit a brick is if I OD’d on Immodium!  

[Telfo]

not gonna lie, the 1x was one of the worst chestys I have ever worn. Protection is good it's just the arms literally never break in

[bunnyman666]

2 minutes ago, Telfo said:

not gonna lie, the 1x was one of the worst chestys I have ever worn. Protection is good it's just the arms literally never break in

I may find it that way, as well. 

The arms are what I like, for now. Maybe the Warrior robot arms primed me for these. I dunno...

Again- I may either agree wholeheartedly or disagree vehemently; we will find out!

[wox33]

53 minutes ago, Telfo said:

not gonna lie, the 1x was one of the worst chestys I have ever worn. Protection is good it's just the arms literally never break in

I have to second this as well. I was tempted to grab another one when these first dropped in price since my original was a pro return so I wanted to see if there might be a difference but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Though I have seen plenty of good reviews on it so hopefully it works out for you bunny as I really wanted mine to work.

[bunnyman666]

38 minutes ago, wox33 said:

I have to second this as well. I was tempted to grab another one when these first dropped in price since my original was a pro return so I wanted to see if there might be a difference but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Though I have seen plenty of good reviews on it so hopefully it works out for you bunny as I really wanted mine to work.

Two bad reviews. 

Thanks for your input.

This either means one of two things:

1) I will end up hating it

2) I will end up loving it

We’ll see...

[Cruskater]

I tried a 1x on at my local Monkey sports but they didn't have my size. I like the size of the arm blocks coming from a big Brown 2200, but felt the arms could have been a bit more mobile. I found a great steal of a deal on a 2x pro on Ebay and love it. The arms are a bit more mobile (I am actually a little concerned with the size of the arm blocks) and the flex part of the shoulder floaters really make mobility much easier. The curv composite does throw hard rebounds but I haven't had an issue cradling many. There was one coming to my upper bicep that I deflected almost all the way into the corner. Definitely out of the danger area. I play a bit more of a blocking style these days and this works well. No protection issues thus far.

[bunnyman666]

1.5 years after buying this chesty, I still LOVE it. It has all that weird Bauer stuff going on, but in the end, it’s pretty solid. I have a brand new Reebok P2 that Factory Mad modded the belly padding that is waiting to be used. I just keep picking up the Bauer. 
 

It still gives SUPER bizarre bounces, even after sufficient break in. I have yet to have the chesty pass to a shooter and cause a goal. You do have to adapt to how this unit plays. It is different, plain different. The ability to cradle pucks in the bread basket is different. Pucks bounce weirdly off of the heart guard and floaters. Pucks will not die in front of you when hit in the arms, floaters or heart guard. I understand the ability to cradle the puck in the belly and a few other weird things was addressed in later iterations. 
 

I can feel point blank shots, but what chest protector FULLY guards against point blank? The chesty successfully takes those point blank shots and reduces the impact. As thin as the arms are, I feel shots (as in very aware), but no stingers. Coverage has been great, no stingers in this unit. I suspect the bouncy nature contributes as nothing fully compresses. I suspect I will be patching this unit over the years, only to add padding where movement breaks it down. 
 

I have detected a possible tear in the Curv on the bicep. This is nothing that household epoxy and “liquid” graphite can’t fix. Part of me wants to add Kemmler gel to those areas, but that could hide problems. I will monitor this...
 

If you can find one of these NOS and are willing to overlook some weird play characteristics, this is a fine chesty. It is ready to play in, and after this much use, it still is VERY protective. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but worth looking into if you’re looking for something different.