Retiring C&A from 90's ... advice?

[PuckStoppa]

Hi Everyone.  37 yr old retired, now mens leauger.  Every piece of equipment from my glory days in the late 90's/early 00's has been replaced over the years except for my chest protector.  I have a Vaughn from probably 98/99 that I still wear.  The stingers are becoming more frequent, and pretty much held together by tape at this point.  Ive tried a few along the way (recent Warrior), and others ive tried just seem too bulky.  Im a hybrid/old school - not a blocking butterfly goalie - so my needs are a bit different than the current market.  I dont want huge shoulders that will take up net when Im down, I want something that allows me to be mobile and doesnt get in the way.  Any suggestions?  Do the big guys even make something like this, or am I better off going to a smaller Canadian company (Brown/Simmons/etc) to get the older style? 

[WillyGrips13]

I would guess smaller manufacturers would be best for your needs. In addition to Brown and Simmons, Passau would build especially for you. Maybe Kenesky's newest offerings would be sleek enough for you. Boddam and Battram are additional small manufacturers that build to the customer's needs. If you go on Brown's social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, you'll see all sorts of variations of their chest protectors, including stripped-down versions without all the extra padding plates.

[Wonder35]

I can't speak to the other manufacturers. In my mid 50's a whole new world of playing hockey opened up to me. The Local  Seniors Hockey Club was a 55+ team. My gear was OK, mainly Vaughn from the mid 90's.  I used this stuff for quite a few years. Like yourself I am a stand-up, double pad stacks sort of goalie.  Admittedly, I have learned much from the play on your knees style of goaltending.

Disclosure, I was born in 1949, been a goalie for most of those years.  But I never had gear that fitted me and my style of play. John Brown was not real keen to make me a set of streamlined goalie pants. John loves his pants big and bulky, most smart goalies do. Give the man credit, did a helluva job on those pants, perfect match for my BROWN pads, gloves and CA. I wanted a CA with short arms. The cuffs on my gloves cover a lot of forearm so I asked John to give me an abbreviated arm length, more mobility methinks .  Cash paying customer won that round too (sure did, I got more arm numbing stingers in those areas).  So all in all, I got what I wanted, (should've listened to Mr. Brown on a couple of things).

 

I am 5'7" on a good day, 160sh with a 12 year old "new" hip and fresh right knee-almost 3 years now.  I am not John's target market, but the man makes anything you want and works with you.

He's been in the business since the early 70's and is the person you deal with when ordering new gear. A whole whack of goalies would be surprised to learn how many KHL Goaltenders and many others playing for various European Pro Leagues wear BROWN gear, especially C/A's

 

I am not a paid employee of Brown Sports. Just give him a look.

 

Merry Christmas to my fellow 'tenders, or whatever the appropriate greeting should be in your culture, seriously.

[Puckstopper]

If you want something you can try before you buy the Bauer 2X is a pretty mobile unit once broken in.  I could be wrong, but I believe Vaughn will still cook up an older model C/A upon request the same way they will gloves.  Since that's what you're in now it might be worth reaching out to them and see if they can help.  Otherwise I think the Brown and Kenesky recommendations are really solid. 

[Quadzilla32]

What about just getting another Vaughn chesty? I’ve only tried one of but they are super mobile and aren’t overly giant. I would also second Simmons, I had the 996 which is pretty much the same thing as their current model and it was very mobile and wasn’t bulky. 
 

I have a passau pro pack now and it’s pretty beefy but very protective. They also make a standard chesty that looks a little smaller. 

[Chenner29]

Bauer Ultrasonic might be right up your alley.

Kenesky has a vintage chesty they offer that looks like it's based on the old Legacy C/A.

[creasecollector]

Great post, @Wonder35 ! Your Brown setup looks very nice.