Brian's Optik Core comparison HANDS ON

[mufforz]

So I’ve been fortunate enough to have different people ship various sets of gear through me and the timing of this latest additional set it was just to good to pass up a comparison of all 3 Brian’s cores for the optik line. At the time of this post I have only used the Brian’s optik 1 fly set but will be following up once I get the Brian’s optik 2 max with pro thigh on the ice. So I’ll start with top to bottom in the photos. 

Description of the sets. 
-Claw marks(left)- 33+1 flx, not owner, intermediate palms

-eyes/sock (middle) 33+1.5 fly, I own, intermediate palms, soft boot, subzero strapping, removed boot strap and outer knee flap, Kenesky toe ties

-Beast with eyes (right) 33+1 max with pro thigh rise, I own, intermediate palms, intermediate, removed boot strap, stock toe ties(Kenesky for back up), 90 degree boot angle (84 stock), professor strap(I forget what Brian’s calls it)

Pads

-Flx/Fly measure from the top of the knee block to the top of the pad at 9.5 inches

-Max measure from the top of the knee block to the top of the pad at 9inches

-I found Brian’s catalog to be pretty accurate in terms of looking at the natural shape of the pads  there is a noticeable difference in the flex of the pad as their should be with different cores

-I don’t have a scale but weight feels similar with the max being a bit heavier  which again makes sense that it’s denser foam

Gloves

-so I haven’t seen a difference in from a spec sheet but I think the flx glove is different then my stock Max glove.  I'm waiting on the details from the owner.

-o1 Fly/ o2 Max gloves have a different feel in terms of closeness of the palm of the glove to your hand.  I think Brian's nailed it with switching to a single break angle and sewing it down.  I love a tight feel on the glove and just by putting the glove on and not tightening the boa i can feel the glove pressing into my palm.  I always felt I had to crank the bank hand BOA down on the O1 to get the feeling I wanted.  With the O2 I wont have to crank it as tight. 

-Initial feeling is that it feels like a completely different glove but the break angle is the same (40 degree) for me

 

Blockers

-So my favorite piece to look at in Max set.

-O2/ Flx/Max are the exact same in feel

-O1 brand new felt extremely tight, especially when I went to grab my stick.  I ended up removing the thumb padding and with time the palm stretched a bit and feels perfect

-O2 out of the box feel perfect and I have had no issues picking up a stick on dry land

-O1/O2 the board is quite a bit flatter in the O2 as well as the side wall being stiffer.  Now when I say stiffer I mean the foam itself is stronger.  Best comparison I can make is think how softer pads flex compared to stiff pads.  That's how the sidewalls are.  The O1 board flexes more then the O2.

-O2 board still pushes in as a solid piece pretty easy

 

Long story short I can't wait to get these on the ice

 

Ask away

[Bmats30]

if you stand up the Left max core pad next to the R pad of another set (flex or fly), how do the knee stacks line up?

I was at my local shop the other day and they have a 33+1 fly and 34+1 max optik 2 set, and when lined up the knee stacks are the same. I'm looking to upgrade pads, most likely used as I don't have a lot of spare change and its an expensive experiment to guess haha. 

[Mazze]

Thank you for review!

I can't find any photo with all 3 spec together to make right choice.
What about on ice experience?