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CHIN CUP vs CHIN SLING; Pros and Cons


RichMan

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The title speaks for itself. I'm not going to turn this into a poll as the majority of us would vote based purely on comfort.

I'm looking for intellectual debates, data if you want to nerd out, something that shows why one would factor over the other. This of course would exclude any goalie still playing in the minors.

Keep it clean people, we're all entitled to our personal experience and opinions.

Thanks

I myself have used both over the decades. I'm currently using a sling. I switched because I had a hard time getting the cup to sit right on my chin, and getting the mask on and off is easier with the sling. I'm not sure if either would protect me from lip or dental injury. I do feel that in the cup my bottom lip and chiklets did feel more exposed and at risk, then again, the sling lacks stability and gives the mask more wobble action in quick head movements and impact. I've gotten pucks to the chin with no damage so far, with both options. Who knows what could happen at any given game.

For the record, I've worn a Simmons VV, a Reidic, a Hackva and back into a Reidic the past decade. I'm leaning towards the Sportsmask 8X for next season.

That's my 2 cents.

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I have always preferred a chin cup in a mask and a helmet/cage combo. A chin cup articulates, offers easy adjustability, offers some degree of affixing the mask to my head, and, perhaps most importantly, a cup offers far more suspension than a sling has ever offered (me). I propose much of the sling or cup preference comes down to the shape or prominance of the user's facial features. 

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46 minutes ago, RichMan said:

I'm looking for intellectual debates

Here?

Can't say I've ever had the opportunity to wear a chin sling. With them being essentially custom and I've never encountered a time where replacing the foams in a helmet was a possibility.

At this point, I think I'd have a hard time making the switch. I've been using chin cups for almost ten years and find them comfortable (plus the performance/safety benefits). Why bother now?

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I had a sling in my Stacey Mach 10H... First it was a WlzHed Sling, then a Maltese.  Moved back into in a cup when I got my Sportmask.  The the fit and feeling of the Sportmask cup, and don't plan to move back to a sling anytime soon.

I'm not sure the pros who have had sling issues can be applied to us Beer League guys, we don't face NHL Caliber shooters plus, too many NHL guys have ill fitting masks.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't recall ever wearing a chin cup.  Even in my earliest street hockey masks, Mylec(plain white plastic mask) and Koho(black and yellow "Street Revolution"), I took them out.  My first real mask was an Itech of some sort, took the cup out of that.  After that was a Koho 580, or some derivative of that, and took the cup out of that as well.  After probably close to a decade of the Koho I went to an Eddy Custom LT and tried the sling for the first time and loved it.  It gave me the security without the feeling of my chin being stuck in a cup.  I've stayed with slings in my Pro's Choice and Protechsport masks as well.  

To make this relevant to the thread, While I never really loved the open feeling of not having a chin cup in my mask I never liked the feeling of my chin being suspended in the cups so I always removed them.  The sling was the perfect middle ground for me.  Felt secure but not stuck, I guess.  Sorry, no real data other than that.

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