Packing your bag

[Scott]

On 2017-11-26 at 6:31 PM, Punisher Goalie said:

Get a Grit goalie tower. Best decision I’ve made. Everything stays perfectly organized and it’s ventilated so you just open it up to get airflow. It has hooks and elastic to attach the leg pads to the outside too. 

I used to have one but they’re really heavy and hard to fit in your car..I switched to s pro style carry bag

[IPv6Freely]

32 minutes ago, Scott said:

I used to have one but they’re really heavy and hard to fit in your car..I switched to s pro style carry bag

I had a carry bag for a single skate. First time I ever put my pads on was at a pickup. Got home that night and ordered the Grit. LOL. Screw that.

[Punisher Goalie]

47 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

I had a carry bag for a single skate. First time I ever put my pads on was at a pickup. Got home that night and ordered the Grit. LOL. Screw that.

Yeah the benefits of organization, the locker-style setup in the dressing room, and the rolling outweighed the difficulty of getting in and out of the car for me. 

[SaveByRichter35]

On 11/26/2017 at 8:35 PM, IPv6Freely said:

I usually just wear athletic shorts and T-shirt to games, and wear that home. Makes no sense to me to leave home at 9pm wearing the same clothes I wore all day.

 It’s only about 30 mins home for me so it’s not bad. No different from coming home from the gym or whatever.  

I just shower in the other bathroom. 

This is kinda what I do.  I have a hockey "uniform".  Summer time its just mesh shorts and a t shirt, winter is sweats and a hoodie.  I don't wear any of my regular clothes when I play.  I have different socks to play in and I don't wear anything under my Under Armor compression pants and shirt.  I always shower after my games but that's because none of our rinks have a problem with hot water.  One does have pretty shitty water pressure though.  If there is no hot water I would probably just say fuck it and shower at home as well.  its not as if I have to sit in wet sweaty clothes for my ride home. 

[SaveByRichter35]

Just now, Punisher Goalie said:

Yeah the benefits of organization, the locker-style setup in the dressing room, and the rolling outweighed the difficulty of getting in and out of the car for me. 

Did you press enter like 6 times in your quoted message?  Why is there such a large blank space in there? 

[Punisher Goalie]

41 minutes ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

Did you press enter like 6 times in your quoted message?  Why is there such a large blank space in there? 

Haha no clue. 

[coopaloop1234]

CCM Pro carry style bag. Pads on the outside. Load my bag the same.

C/A and Pants go over top.

[IPv6Freely]

For those who carry pads on the outside.... how? Back in the days of toe buckles and boot straps I could see connecting them and carrying them over the shoulder, but with modern pads I don't know how I'd even attempt to do it that way. 

[coopaloop1234]

21 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

For those who carry pads on the outside.... how? Back in the days of toe buckles and boot straps I could see connecting them and carrying them over the shoulder, but with modern pads I don't know how I'd even attempt to do it that way. 

I've seen people use bungie cords.

I just use the male buckle that's attached to one knee stack and attach it to a female buckle I keep on the other pad solely for the use of carrying my pads. Doesn't but strain on any of the elastics or clips and doesn't bounce around as it's a nylon strap holding it my shoulder.

[IPv6Freely]

18 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

I've seen people use bungie cords.

I just use the male buckle that's attached to one knee stack and attach it to a female buckle I keep on the other pad solely for the use of carrying my pads. Doesn't but strain on any of the elastics or clips and doesn't bounce around as it's a nylon strap holding it my shoulder.

I don't have any buckles... heh.

Though, I do use a leather strap through the cords on the thigh rise to hang the pads on my Grit bag. I was concerned about straining them but once the front strap is locked in there's not much strain from them hanging. 

[coopaloop1234]

11 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

I don't have any buckles... heh.

Though, I do use a leather strap through the cords on the thigh rise to hang the pads on my Grit bag. I was concerned about straining them but once the front strap is locked in there's not much strain from them hanging. 

That's an interesting way to do it. Never would have occurred to me in a million years to do it that way.

[Punisher Goalie]

I use a bungee cord with carabiner-type clips. I attach the clips to the unused boot strap holder thing since I don’t use a bootstrap then hang them upside down. 

[IPv6Freely]

Passau vs Grit

[stackem30]

Here's my packing breakdown, which I've developed over the years. It's not impressive, but I've put a lot of thought into it. Consistency is key, and once you have your setup nailed down, it's almost difficult to forget anything. The basic strategy behind my packing setup is a two-fold:

• I pack the bag so that I can take things out of it in the order that I put them on (more or less)
• I pack the bag to protect the equipment inside

Note that I use an old-school canvas bag (player-size) with interior pockets on both sides. One pocket contains a small drawstring bag with tape, screws, odds and ends, and my water bottle. The opposite pocket is wear I put my socks, long-johns, t-shirt, and socks. Note that I keep my clothes away from my water bottle (one learns from accidents), and that one pocket is harder stuff, and the other is softer stuff -- I'll get back to that later. I am a pads-on-the-outside guy.

1. Chest protector, jersey, and neck guard on the bottom. They are among the last things I put on, and they lie pretty flat on the bottom of the bag (I have the chest protector face-down). More importantly, they are not fragile, so I don't have to think twice about plopping my bag down on the parking lot while I fumble for my keys.

2. The next layer is comprised of "the goods". My (bagged) mask is on one side of the bag, near the pocket with the soft goods. My glove and blocker are in the middle, providing the mask with 360 degrees of padding. On the other side of my gloves are my skates, which are next to the pocket with the 'harder' stuff. I told you I put too much thought into this...

3. The final layer is the get-started layer: pants, knee guards, and jock. I often place the knee guards and jock inside the pants to make everything compact (I also want to keep it away from anything that goes near my face!). I am very disciplined about spraying my gear and airing it out when I get home, so breathing room inside the bag is not so much of a concern. 

So when all is said and done, I plop my bag down, and grab my under-clothes from the side pocket. Then I have my jock, pants, and knee guards (I put on my skates before my knee guards, but it's no issue to place the knee guards aside for a minute). I buckle up my pads after that, and then I just have my C/A, neck guard, jersey, gloves, and mask waiting for me at the bottom of the bag. Pretty efficient!

As for packing a towel and shower supplies, I've been fortunate to play at locations that are very close to wear I live for the last few years (~7 minutes away), so I generally do not shower at the rink. It's just not worth the hassle or cold-water discomfort when a hot shower at home is only a few minutes away. Our bathroom is not next to our master bedroom, so my wife doesn't mind me showering at 1am. 

 

EDIT: For those asking about how we pads-on-the outside people carry our pads, I simply loop my two top straps and throw them over my shoulder. I have an "old-school" leather strap setup, and the new pads that I ordered do too.

Edited November 28, 2017 by stackem30

[SaveByRichter35]

I have a Brian's carry bag, I don't like wheeled bags.  I don't pack my pads into it, I carry them.  I specifically asked for removable thigh straps when I ordered my pads for this reason.  I keep them in to carry them and remove them to play.  Anyways, on to the bag...

• Skates go in the skate pockets at each end of the bag with a few pairs of socks so I always have extra.  I put my water bottle, always filled with room temp water from my Britta pitcher, in one of the skates to ensure it always stays upright.
• My goal shorts always go to the left side of the bag with my mask, in its mask bag, tucked inside the shorts to save room and provide extra protection for the mask.  My Eagle jock also gets tucked into the opening of the shorts as well, again to save space.
• My c/a is laid down at the bottom of the right side of the bag.  Rib pads folded in, back plate neatly placed on top of them, and finally arms on top of that.  
• Blocker fits perfectly in the neck opening area of the c/a, palm down.  
• Glove is tucked in the opposite end of the c/a, gloved closed, with my Ziploc containing my bar soap and travel size shampoo bottle in the pocket.
• Maltese is placed with the clav pad facing down between the side of the shorts and the side of the c/a.
• I have a small socket set and my extra set of pro laces in the utility pocket of the bag.
• I have two sets of wrist sweat bands, my blade stone, and a small double sided screw driver from my Nest thermostats in the small hanging netting pocket of the bag.
• Finally I just throw my jersey, my towel, and Under Armor pants and shirt on top of everything else.

I make sure I pack it this way every time so that I don't forget anything.

 

[BadAngle41]

On 11/26/2017 at 6:21 PM, TheGoalNet said:

I have done pads outside the bag my whole life 

I use Bio Steel instead of Gatorade. I get the powdered version and keep it the bag, I mix it in my bottle before I skate and use rink water 

Love that your protecting your investment 

Pads outside the bag here as well, linked together by boot straps and over the shoulder. As for my bag, I have a pro stock Connecticut Whale bag (which probably could fit my pads as well.) Creature of habit/routine/OCD... but as I mentally pack my bag now...

• Right side are my pants with knee guards and jock tucked inside
• Middle portion has my toiletry/ pre-game consumables (tape, stone, extra laces, etc), emergency bag (extra cup, extra tape, spare leather straps, etc.), laundry bag (towel, padded shirt, compression pants, socks, Shock Doctor cup), rolling stick (roll out IT band etc after stretching), water bottle, and shower sandals.
• Far left side is blocker (inside facing up), mask (in it's bag w/ spare sweat bands), neck guard on top of mask bag tucker underneath glove (which has been dampened and tied shut.)
• Back to the middle, skates, C/A, and lastly team jersey if its a league game. 

I second the Bio Steel... used to use the single serve packets I mixed at the rink... but now just have the bulk canister and mix before I head out.

 

Edited November 28, 2017 by BadAngle41

[Taco]

I use the John Brown 2200...holds pads and everything else, fits through doorway. It was around 150$ or so like 5 years ago and is still going strong. I put the washables and other items in the side zip in their own ziploc baggie.

[TheGoalNet]

@IPv6Freely @coopaloop1234 - I carry an extra skate lace in my bag. The GNetik and 1S both had tabs or holes somewhere for optional straps that I looped the lace through. It was usually in the calf area somewhere. Optik has an extra loop specifically for this function next to the toe bridge. 

[TheGoalNet]

On 11/28/2017 at 11:16 AM, IPv6Freely said:

Passau vs Grit

Do you have a preference between the two?

[coopaloop1234]

11 minutes ago, TheGoalNet said:

@IPv6Freely @coopaloop1234 - I carry an extra skate lace in my bag. The GNetik and 1S both had tabs or holes somewhere for optional straps that I looped the lace through. It was usually in the calf area somewhere. Optik has an extra loop specifically for this function next to the toe bridge. 

Warriors have available holes as well in the toe bridge and through the heel or toe loop that the ARS straps clip on to.

I just use the buckle as it's just simple.

[TheGoalNet]

You use the laces through the buckle or the elastic straps connected to each other?

[IPv6Freely]

23 minutes ago, TheGoalNet said:

Do you have a preference between the two?

Grit, but I needed something to take on planes. 

[coopaloop1234]

19 minutes ago, TheGoalNet said:

You use the laces through the buckle or the elastic straps connected to each other?

That comment was for other options to what I do.

I've tried to circle what I do.

As I strap down to my calf, I removed the knee wing and buckle. I've left one of the female buckles on. I use the knee block strap from the other pad and buckle it into the female end.

Hopefully that makes sense.

Edited November 28, 2017 by coopaloop1234

[TheGoalNet]

Is the neoprene going to stretch? 

[coopaloop1234]

20 minutes ago, TheGoalNet said:

Is the neoprene going to stretch? 

All the tension is on the nylon strap.

If I take a picture of it, it'll make sense. I feel like I'm making it sound more complicated than it actually is.

Edited November 28, 2017 by coopaloop1234