Brown 2400 Chest & Arms Protector review

[SaveByRichter35]

As far as I know, the Russian Spec has either thicker padding or thicker plastics all around(I forget which), extra padding on the bicep, segmented shoulder floater.  I know what you mean about feeling confident not having to think about getting hurt, that is how I feel in mine.  The extra cushioning is the soft foam on the backside of the c/a that sits against your chest.  I actually have it and I wouldn't recommend it.  I wouldn't get it again if I ever ordered another.

[Rayzilla]

On 8/8/2021 at 2:27 PM, Chenner29 said:

Pretty sure it's just a cushier interior

Thanks Chenner. I wonder if this is something that the 2400 model already has a sufficient amount of in stock form. I'll try writing to them to ask this.

[Rayzilla]

On 8/8/2021 at 7:49 PM, SaveByRichter35 said:

As far as I know, the Russian Spec has either thicker padding or thicker plastics all around(I forget which), extra padding on the bicep, segmented shoulder floater.  I know what you mean about feeling confident not having to think about getting hurt, that is how I feel in mine.  The extra cushioning is the soft foam on the backside of the c/a that sits against your chest.  I actually have it and I wouldn't recommend it.  I wouldn't get it again if I ever ordered another.

Thanks! This is very helpful. I am leaning towards going for the Russian Spec. It sounds like the extras that I want.

[Rayzilla]

On 8/8/2021 at 10:31 AM, WillyGrips13 said:

I think Brown does a summer shutdown around August. At least they have in years past. This may affect your production time. 

Back in 2006 when I ordered mine, I wanted the built-in collar. The shop that I bought from actually sent one without. I had to send it back and they sent one with one. I wanted my shipping money back because it was their mistake. I never heard back from them. The shop went out of business shortly thereafter. Pretty sure no hockey shops carry Brown unless it’s old inventory. I know as recently as three years ago when I lived in Connecticut, Wesco in Brookfield had a few 2100 units. Now dealing directly with Brown you’re going to get something built specifically for you. 

Roughly a year ago, I removed the integrated throat guard from my 2100 and started to use the Maltese throat guard I use with my Vaughn 8800 Epic C/A. I found the integrated one had a gap in protection. It’s just a ring of foam attached with fabric. No padding in the connecting fabric. Every now and then a puck would sneak in there. And I do wear a dangler. Now the Maltese throat guard and C/A together cover with no gaps. 

Aside from the upper arm addition, I’m not sure if Russian spec includes anything else. 

No idea what extra cushioning entails. 

Extra rib protection might be for units that don’t have the part that is standard on the 2400. 

It seems that many components are interchangeable between models. It’s possible telling them which components you like vs the ones you don’t will help them choose the right model to build off of. As with most things regarding their products, asking them directly will get you the most accurate response. My price list may be outdated by now, too. 

Thanks Willy!!! You have outdone yourself again. Thanks for the details in your response; much appreciated.

It will be unfortunate if he is going to be shut down this month. Not sure when I will get a chance to do this again. 

By the way, do they give the chest arm in a box that my wife can count as a luggage on her return flight back to Hong Kong?

I have one of those early version Maltese collars too. I haven't used it since my first game here in HK but maybe I'll put it back in service should I get a no-collar chesty. The rinks here are not as cold as the cement ice boxes in Toronto because just about every rink here is in a shopping mall. I am so lucky that one just got built in new little mall that is a 10 minute walk from my home. I didn't even have that good in Toronto. 

I will contact them as soon as I can to see what they can do within the time frame that my wife will be in Toronto. And I think it is at least an hour drive from Toronto?

Thanks again!

[SaveByRichter35]

How'd you end up in Hong Kong if you don't mind me asking?  @Rayzilla

[Chenner29]

48 minutes ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

How'd you end up in Hong Kong if you don't mind me asking?  @Rayzilla

Probably an airplane, dummy

[SaveByRichter35]

2 minutes ago, Chenner29 said:

Probably an airplane, dummy

 I hate you lol 

[Chenner29]

2 minutes ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

 I hate you lol 

More than that other guy? Promise?

[Rayzilla]

2 hours ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

How'd you end up in Hong Kong if you don't mind me asking?  @Rayzilla

I have no problem with the question. I was born, educated, married, and started my family in Toronto. Then my wife got an offer with her employer to do a 3-5 year relocation to her firm's office in Hong Kong. Up until that time, I had lived all of my life in Toronto and I thought to myself, "never in a million years would I ever want to move away from Toronto!" But I found out that there was hockey in Hong Kong and I thought it would be a great opportunity for our kids to experience life there so we opened our mind to trying it without much risk since she can always choose to go back. Well, about twelve years later and a change in my career, I have no urgency to move back and the opportunities for my wife will not be the same if we were to go back now. Life is very comfortable and convenient here and there are a lot of opportunities to accumulate a nice retirement fund here so that is probably what we will do. Then when our kids grow up and decide where they want to live, it may sway us to do whatever knowing that we have a retirement fund to fall back on.

There's much more but I have a Zoom meeting to get to now and then I need to start getting in touch with Brown.

[bunnyman666]

11 hours ago, Rayzilla said:

Thanks! This is very helpful. I am leaning towards going for the Russian Spec. It sounds like the extras that I want.

Some people think it’s overkill. I tend to be of the school that says that chesties not only provide protection by their actual construction, but also by placebo. By no means is the Russian Spec placebo by any stretch, but knowing that you will likely feel few shots gives you the faith to play your heart out without worry that a puck will catch you “the wrong way”. That extra protection translates into a feeling of security. My first chesty, a Vaughn LT80, was great until it wasn’t. When I caught the shot that made my arm go numb, then sear in pain, I played more tentatively until I got my Warrior RG1. I am actually quite satisfied with my Vapor 1X and my Rbk P2 (modded by Factory Mad), but JB has been on my radar for years, and I imagine that a Russian Spec will be what I ride into the sunset wearing when I get around to buying one.
 

End of the story is that I can let myself go and play whilst wearing a good chesty, and you will, as well when you get your Brown. 

[Rayzilla]

3 hours ago, bunnyman666 said:

Some people think it’s overkill. I tend to be of the school that says that chesties not only provide protection by their actual construction, but also by placebo. By no means is the Russian Spec placebo by any stretch, but knowing that you will likely feel few shots gives you the faith to play your heart out without worry that a puck will catch you “the wrong way”. That extra protection translates into a feeling of security. My first chesty, a Vaughn LT80, was great until it wasn’t. When I caught the shot that made my arm go numb, then sear in pain, I played more tentatively until I got my Warrior RG1. I am actually quite satisfied with my Vapor 1X and my Rbk P2 (modded by Factory Mad), but JB has been on my radar for years, and I imagine that a Russian Spec will be what I ride into the sunset wearing when I get around to buying one.
 

End of the story is that I can let myself go and play whilst wearing a good chesty, and you will, as well when you get your Brown. 

This is exactly my same thoughts. I think differently from those guys that think bags with wheels are for gentle people and that if you don't want to put up with big bruises for the sake of 'feeling' the puck. To me, those are just their opinions and I am entitled to my own that is dependent on how I personally feel. Just wait until they reach my age and have bad backs and broken collar bones, etc. Ok, sorry for the rant.

I've been so busy today, I still haven't had a chance to write to Brown yet. Let me try now to get the puck sliding.

Anyone else with more comments or experiences with the 2400 or dealing with Brown, please feel free to continue posting. TIA.

[bildeer]

2 hours ago, Rayzilla said:

This is exactly my same thoughts. I think differently from those guys that think bags with wheels are for gentle people and that if you don't want to put up with big bruises for the sake of 'feeling' the puck. To me, those are just their opinions and I am entitled to my own that is dependent on how I personally feel. Just wait until they reach my age and have bad backs and broken collar bones, etc. Ok, sorry for the rant.

I've been so busy today, I still haven't had a chance to write to Brown yet. Let me try now to get the puck sliding.

Anyone else with more comments or experiences with the 2400 or dealing with Brown, please feel free to continue posting. TIA.

Hi, I have been using a 2400 russian spec since november of 2020. If you go this route, I suggest making sure that you have pants that are wide enough to fit the rib protection in if you do happen to tuck. Mobility is good once you run it through a few hot showers and move everything around.

If you are sensitive to heat and weight, this may not be the best option, as mine (somewhere in between a medium and a large) weighs a little over 9 pounds dry, but that is something that you may be able to adjust to, as is the same deal with the heat that this thing retains.

I like mine a lot more than the vaughn ve8 that I was previously using and it looks like it will hold up for about 20 years at the rate that I am using it.

[ArdeFIN]

@Rayzilla Keep this thread updated or even start your own as I'm also dreaming about a new Brown while I'm really happy with my modified one too. At times you just have to get something new to replace the existing gear...

[Teezle]

Mine is incredibly protective and surprisingly mobile for its bulk, but was way too hot for the summer heat in Texas. I'll break it out again when the weather cools down some; for now I'm using a beefed up Hyperlite.

[SaveByRichter35]

15 hours ago, Rayzilla said:

I have no problem with the question. I was born, educated, married, and started my family in Toronto. Then my wife got an offer with her employer to do a 3-5 year relocation to her firm's office in Hong Kong. Up until that time, I had lived all of my life in Toronto and I thought to myself, "never in a million years would I ever want to move away from Toronto!" But I found out that there was hockey in Hong Kong and I thought it would be a great opportunity for our kids to experience life there so we opened our mind to trying it without much risk since she can always choose to go back. Well, about twelve years later and a change in my career, I have no urgency to move back and the opportunities for my wife will not be the same if we were to go back now. Life is very comfortable and convenient here and there are a lot of opportunities to accumulate a nice retirement fund here so that is probably what we will do. Then when our kids grow up and decide where they want to live, it may sway us to do whatever knowing that we have a retirement fund to fall back on.

There's much more but I have a Zoom meeting to get to now and then I need to start getting in touch with Brown.

I hope you didn't feel like you had to defend yourself.  I wasn't attacking or anything.  Just curious that's all.  Life brings us to all different kinds of places.

[SaveByRichter35]

9 hours ago, bunnyman666 said:

Some people think it’s overkill. I tend to be of the school that says that chesties not only provide protection by their actual construction, but also by placebo. By no means is the Russian Spec placebo by any stretch, but knowing that you will likely feel few shots gives you the faith to play your heart out without worry that a puck will catch you “the wrong way”. That extra protection translates into a feeling of security. My first chesty, a Vaughn LT80, was great until it wasn’t. When I caught the shot that made my arm go numb, then sear in pain, I played more tentatively until I got my Warrior RG1. I am actually quite satisfied with my Vapor 1X and my Rbk P2 (modded by Factory Mad), but JB has been on my radar for years, and I imagine that a Russian Spec will be what I ride into the sunset wearing when I get around to buying one.
 

End of the story is that I can let myself go and play whilst wearing a good chesty, and you will, as well when you get your Brown. 

This is exactly why I love my Brown so much.  I never flinch anymore.  I do not care who is lining up to take a shot on me, I know I am not going to feel pain no matter where it gets me.  That is something you can't take for granted.

[bunnyman666]

15 minutes ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

This is exactly why I love my Brown so much.  I never flinch anymore.  I do not care who is lining up to take a shot on me, I know I am not going to feel pain no matter where it gets me.  That is something you can't take for granted.

I have had those flinching occasions. It was such a tell that guys would act like they were going for those areas! Wish I were kidding!

[Rayzilla]

4 hours ago, ArdeFIN said:

@Rayzilla Keep this thread updated or even start your own as I'm also dreaming about a new Brown while I'm really happy with my modified one too. At times you just have to get something new to replace the existing gear...

Sure. I will either just continue posting on this thread or if I do start a new one, I'll add a notification/link post on this thread.

Which one do you have and how is it modified?

[Rayzilla]

3 hours ago, bunnyman666 said:

I have had those flinching occasions. It was such a tell that guys would act like they were going for those areas! Wish I were kidding!

You may not realise it but they can probably see the flinch when they wind up so they actually may pepper a few with everything they have to get you off of your game. Get the Brown and be done with flinching.

[ArdeFIN]

14 hours ago, Rayzilla said:

Sure. I will either just continue posting on this thread or if I do start a new one, I'll add a notification/link post on this thread.

Which one do you have and how is it modified?

I have a JB2000 from about 2015 maybe. I've made a thread about the modding process under the "mods" -topic.

 

 

Edited August 11, 2021 by ArdeFIN
Added link.

[Rayzilla]

On 8/10/2021 at 1:40 PM, bildeer said:

Hi, I have been using a 2400 russian spec since november of 2020. If you go this route, I suggest making sure that you have pants that are wide enough to fit the rib protection in if you do happen to tuck. Mobility is good once you run it through a few hot showers and move everything around.

If you are sensitive to heat and weight, this may not be the best option, as mine (somewhere in between a medium and a large) weighs a little over 9 pounds dry, but that is something that you may be able to adjust to, as is the same deal with the heat that this thing retains.

I like mine a lot more than the vaughn ve8 that I was previously using and it looks like it will hold up for about 20 years at the rate that I am using it.

Thanks bildeer. I am almost sure that I will get the Russian Spec if I can get the Brown made on time. And I'll do that hot shower trick but what do you mean by move everything around?

If I pay this kind of money for the chesty, I will battle through the heat to make it work. It will be quite a change in weight though because I am coming from a Warrior RG2 Pro, which is probably one of the lightest on the market. And like I said, the rinks here are all in shopping malls so they are no where near as cold as the cement hockey arenas that I used to play in in Toronto. Maybe if I start a thread, I'll post up some pics of some of the rinks I've played in here in Hong Kong.

[Rayzilla]

19 hours ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

I hope you didn't feel like you had to defend yourself.  I wasn't attacking or anything.  Just curious that's all.  Life brings us to all different kinds of places.

No worries. I did not feel at all like you were attacking me. It was a decision that we made 12 years ago and we have no regrets. We've made some good financial decisions, my wife is having more success here than she could ever achieve in Canada, and I've made a career change that I am loving. And we've never really gone into any real lockdown here and we've been at zero cases for the last couple of months now I think. I can't wait to travel to countries like Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and hopefully a few new ones to play in hockey tournaments again. It's so much fun traveling with my friends to play hockey.

[Rayzilla]

2 hours ago, ArdeFIN said:

I have a JB2000 from about 2015 maybe. I've made a thread about the modding process under the "mods" -topic.

 

 

Cool. Thanks for the link. I'm kind of new on here but I'll give that a look tomorrow. I've got to shut down here to get to sleep and back to work tomorrow. Still need to send off that email to Brown.

[Rayzilla]

On 8/7/2021 at 10:31 PM, WillyGrips13 said:

I think Brown does a summer shutdown around August. At least they have in years past. This may affect your production time. 

Back in 2006 when I ordered mine, I wanted the built-in collar. The shop that I bought from actually sent one without. I had to send it back and they sent one with one. I wanted my shipping money back because it was their mistake. I never heard back from them. The shop went out of business shortly thereafter. Pretty sure no hockey shops carry Brown unless it’s old inventory. I know as recently as three years ago when I lived in Connecticut, Wesco in Brookfield had a few 2100 units. Now dealing directly with Brown you’re going to get something built specifically for you. 

Roughly a year ago, I removed the integrated throat guard from my 2100 and started to use the Maltese throat guard I use with my Vaughn 8800 Epic C/A. I found the integrated one had a gap in protection. It’s just a ring of foam attached with fabric. No padding in the connecting fabric. Every now and then a puck would sneak in there. And I do wear a dangler. Now the Maltese throat guard and C/A together cover with no gaps. 

Aside from the upper arm addition, I’m not sure if Russian spec includes anything else. 

No idea what extra cushioning entails. 

Extra rib protection might be for units that don’t have the part that is standard on the 2400. 

It seems that many components are interchangeable between models. It’s possible telling them which components you like vs the ones you don’t will help them choose the right model to build off of. As with most things regarding their products, asking them directly will get you the most accurate response. My price list may be outdated by now, too. 

I hope they are not doing the August shut down anymore but I worry that they might be with the possible slow down in orders due to Covid-19. 

I had written a response earlier today but I guess I forgot to submit it and so I'm rewriting this again.

When I played my first game here in Hong Kong, I wore my Maltese collar but after that game, I stopped wearing it because of the heat. As I mentioned, the rinks here in Hong Kong are all in shopping malls so they are not as cold as the arenas in Toronto where I grew up. I may have to take it out again if I need the neck/throat protection. I wear a dangler too.

I was on the Brown site now filling in the options and measurements but I haven't come across the option for Russian Spec yet. I will need to complete the form tomorrow when I go to the rink to measure my current chest protector.

[Rayzilla]

Some quick questions about some options. I am thinking about adding:
1) Extra Bicep protection;

2) Raised Shoulder Lifts (but worried about mobility with the chin of mask and dangler);

3) Extra Rib Protection;

4) Shoulder Wing Extension (maximum 1.5");

5) Solid Raised Edges (Not Legal) and Heavy Plastic;

6) I currently tuck out with my current but I have also tucked in the past. Not sure what I want to do going forward but likely not tuck.

 

Comments?