The other little guys

[RichMan]

I've noticed reading through the many threads that there's very little mention about Mckenney, Boddam and Simmons, all three small yet very good quality lines of gear. Passau have their place made already. I see Simmons post on facebook every so often, so I kinda know what they're up to. Boddam posts a little less and hasn't come out with any bombs lately. Mckenney on the other hand, a brand I like quite a bit that I've worn for over a decade, has not done much of anything in the ways of marketing or information or product pics since mid-summer. It kills me 'cause I think they make great stuff but aren't very media minded.

Does anyone know of any updates for either Mckenney or Boddam? Any cool new products coming out that you saw or heard about?

If there are enough replies, maybe we can start their own threads.

[IPv6Freely]

They've done it to themselves with no participation in social media. Passau was built through word of mouth. You'll occasionally see people posting their new gear from the smaller guys but its so rare, and with no reps available to answer questions they just don't get any press. 

I personally wouldn't even consider one of these other brands because I know absolutely nothing about them. 

[itis121]

 Mckenney has a new line coming out soon (I was told spring). I was told it was a next gen 895 set. They currently have a prototype on display at a local hockey shop. 

[IPv6Freely]

5 minutes ago, itis121 said:

 Mckenney has a new line coming out soon (I was told spring). I was told it was a next gen 895 set. They currently have a prototype on display at a local hockey shop. 

Would love to see it. But likely it will be forgotten because they don't participate in social media. If you're not a retail brand, and you don't care about word of mouth, then how do you expect to get noticed?

[itis121]

1 minute ago, IPv6Freely said:

Would love to see it. But likely it will be forgotten because they don't participate in social media. If you're not a retail brand, and you don't care about word of mouth, then how do you expect to get noticed?

I'll take pictures when I go get my skates sharpened. I got the heads up form someone on a Facebook. The local shop is called Crows Sports in Oshawa, Ontario. They also get a big shipments of Mckenney gear. Possibly a good chunk of their stocked gear is Mckenney.

But I agree with you besides word of mouth, I don't see much if their gear being promoted 

[bunnyman666]

Maybe McKenney is where they want to be. They may be at the capacity that they desire/need. Nothing is more annoying for the customer when demand mushrooms from social media. The uninitiated small comoany’s reputation becomes mud because they simply can’t meet demand. If you are not ready for it, social media can KILL your business easier than BUILD it. 

I have known a fair few small manufacturers who have what they want after many years of building their business very slowly. They maintain a low profile on social media and merely maintain a website. Sure, they would not mind gaining a customer here or there, but they have enough business for them to thrive and they see social media as a place for more potential losses than gains. Social media has been around long enough that these established companies are more than likely AVOIDING it.   

 

[IPv6Freely]

Hey if they’re happy being one of the “little guys” that nobody pays attention to, then I guess they’re doing a great job.

[bunnyman666]

3 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

Hey if they’re happy being one of the “little guys” that nobody pays attention to, then I guess they’re doing a great job.

They may be! Weirdly enough, many do business like this. Neither wrong nor right, they usually snap out of it when they realise that their customer base has dwindled (if it has).   

[RichMan]

1 hour ago, bunnyman666 said:

Maybe McKenney is where they want to be. They may be at the capacity that they desire/need. Nothing is more annoying for the customer when demand mushrooms from social media. The uninitiated small comoany’s reputation becomes mud because they simply can’t meet demand. If you are not ready for it, social media can KILL your business easier than BUILD it. 

I have known a fair few small manufacturers who have what they want after many years of building their business very slowly. They maintain a low profile on social media and merely maintain a website. Sure, they would not mind gaining a customer here or there, but they have enough business for them to thrive and they see social media as a place for more potential losses than gains. Social media has been around long enough that these established companies are more than likely AVOIDING it.   

 

Unlike Passau, Battram, Boddam...Mckenney not only does custom work but they also sell to retail, so I'm guessing that the time frames and production quotas must be higher to feed the need, yet as pointed out, they have near zero PR which leaves them in some kind of "nowhere" land. They are well known to locals and a band of us veterans. It still just urks me! The fact that they did some work for Simmons and got noticed by GoaliePro in Europe says quite a bit about their quality and craftsmanship.I can understand that they might not be interested in being as large as the big brands as that would mess with time frames and more spending than necessary.

It's definitely a special kinda world this goalie business stuff

[daffy]

Spoke to Jason Boddam recently. Big order from the NLL so a lot of his focus is on Lacrosse. I think that's their bread and butter. Hockey doesn't always get as much attention.

[RichMan]

46 minutes ago, daffy said:

Spoke to Jason Boddam recently. Big order from the NLL so a lot of his focus is on Lacrosse. I think that's their bread and butter. Hockey doesn't always get as much attention.

Very true. I think he's the main supplier for North America, right?

[Chenner29]

IMO the best thing Passau did to grow their brand is have Tim McCarthy @Tim_TRUEHockey rep for them.

Dude is seriously one of the best folks I have had the pleasure of talking to.  Infinitely patient and a solid dude.

Having him work the old GSBB, GGSU, and our little home here to represent the company and answer customer questions directly is a huge advantage for a "little manufacturer."

• before that, nobody ran a "dedicated rep" (it's actually a part time job for us) to work social media channels
• on GSBB, you'd see occasional posts from Vaughn (Dennis, Jorg, Mike) or Brian's (Joswiak); Battram would post sometimes and so would Simmons but they were nowhere near as consistent and "on it" as Tim is.

[TheGoalNet]

@bunnyman666 makes a very good point. 

Not every company wants to regarded as the biggest or wants the headaches of NHL clients... For small companies that are family owned businesses, it's about stability, committing to what they are comfortable producing, and staying in business long term. Dennis at Factory Mad directly told me this during one of our chats and it's in the article on the site. 

With that said any small company not using social media is crazy. They are dieing a slow death and may not realize it yet. Unless you are buying stock, I can't rationalize why anyone would pick McKenney over Passau. Passau is also a more well known company in 2017... 

[bunnyman666]

8 minutes ago, TheGoalNet said:

@bunnyman666 makes a very good point. 

Not every company wants to regarded as the biggest or wants the headaches of NHL clients... For small companies that are family owned businesses, it's about stability, committing to what they are comfortable producing, and staying in business long term. Dennis at Factory Mad directly told me this during one of our chats and it's in the article on the site. 

With that said any small company not using social media is crazy. They are dieing a slow death and may not realize it yet. Unless you are buying stock, I can't rationalize why anyone would pick McKenney over Passau. Passau is also a more well known company in 2017... 

I don’t disagree one bit with your last statement of dying a slow death without realising it. I have a funny feeling as the retail landscape changes with more direct sales and fewer independent shoppes, these little guys will change their business models a fair bit. 

I will give a personal example about not wanting too big, too fast: my sharpening service is something that will most likely get a few social media pushes, but I still don’t want to get too big, too fast. Working two jobs kind of limits how much I can do. Too big of a presence could end up making this more than I want or need. My growth path, for example, is to grow this into retirement for a good part time job I can do and not tax the hell out of my body and mind. The mortgage business has made me a lot more aggressive and hair dressing has burnt out my head and body. I can’t see me doing either too far into my 70s. 

[Hills]

McKenney does a lot of orders for team gear as well locally. Like team pants and shells for player gear so they could be happy where they are. I see their stuff around ever so often and for a small shop like that doing that many orders it isn't too bad.

[IPv6Freely]

9 hours ago, Chenner29 said:

Infinitely patient and a solid dude.

Oh, I dunno... I think I found his finite limit for patience  LOL

[Chenner29]

9 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

Oh, I dunno... I think I found his finite limit for patience  LOL

I think I'm pushing it a bit today with him. LOL

[itis121]

As I got home I realized I forgot to take pictures of the set together and front of the pads. And the ones I took where terrible.

The pads have a brian's like smart strap. A Velcro strap to secure the calf landing in place. It also has room for two optional leatherer straps. 

The catcher has suregrip material inside the glove. 

[RichMan]

Oh! Some pics with the set on would be cool, just to see how it looks in action. 

[ULTIMA]

Thanks for the pictures @itis121 If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for your set?

[itis121]

9 hours ago, ULTIMA said:

Thanks for the pictures @itis121 If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for your set?

LOL. Not my set. I've been told they are going to be released spring 2018. I found a picture of the front of the pads on Twitter as well. 

[Wayne]

On 11/6/2017 at 6:15 PM, itis121 said:

 Mckenney has a new line coming out soon (I was told spring). I was told it was a next gen 895 set. They currently have a prototype on display at a local hockey shop. 

The last couple of  months I've been looking for some new pads to replace my older McKenneys. When I contacted Trevor he sent me these pictures and description. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please find attached two photos of our new strapping system for our goal pads.

 

The nylon and/or leather straps can be removed and then you would just use the elastic/velcro straps that go around your knee and calf to secure the goal pad to your leg.

 

Best regards,

 

Trevor 

McKenney Custom Sports

605 Middlefield Road, Unit 10

Scarborough, Ontario, M1V 5B9

T: 416-292-5240

[SaveByRichter35]

That's a little too much Velcro for my liking.

[TitanG]

On 11/15/2017 at 4:12 PM, itis121 said:

As I got home I realized I forgot to take pictures of the set together and front of the pads. And the ones I took where terrible.

The pads have a brian's like smart strap. A Velcro strap to secure the calf landing in place. It also has room for two optional leatherer straps. 

The catcher has suregrip material inside the glove. 

Those pads look quite light. Can you comment on the weight?

[ULTIMA]

I'v been to Trevor Mckenney's shop there in Scarbra, played around with a few of his pads. They're not ultra light like some of the other ones but the weight on his is pretty good too. He likes to stay competitive with the big guys as best he can. I'd bet you could probably call him up and he'd tell you the weight of his pads @TitanG