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Senior gear thread (non-pro)


RichMan

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I`m starting this thread cause going into each brand to say the same thing or comparing brand within another brand just seemed stupid so, here it is.

I want to use this space to talk about non-pro level gear, the pros and cons, the good, the bad and the ugly. The past 2 years it seems like senior level gear has stepped up a grade and is no longer considered just a price point market. Warrior kicked off this campaign with their G/GT senior lines that were for the most part, as close as it gets to pro level gear in terms of performance and protection minus the price tag.

Now for 2021 you have Bauer that has the 3X line that could be a close rival if not equal to Warrior for the same reasons. All this is in talking about the pads, gloves, pants and chest protector.

My personal experience has been with the senior GT gloves. Quite better than I had ever expected. I would love to see if the GT2 is as good if not better. I`ve been reading a lot about the new Bauer 3X line and according to InGoal Mag vlogs, they have brought it up a notch and even have some colour customization available for a slight up-charge.

I cannot speak of Brian`s or CCM or Vaughn as I have not had the chance to see and try anything and have not read reviews yet either as they haven`t caught my attention much so far.

This has gotten me to wonder if downgrading my gear would be a smart move for new gear given the lower prices. For example, although I own a pro GT2 c/a, I do find it massive and was maybe considering the Bauer Senior Elite model. Would it be crazy of me to do so? Not sure but the more streamline Bauer model has my attention and the reviews seem positive so far. After all, unless I get a chance at becoming an EBUG at the young age of 52, I am pretty sure my Beer League status and the few playing years I have left might not necessarily need pro level gear anymore.

So what have you tried lately at the senior level that you think is worth mentioning or bragging about? Keep it civil please! We all have our opinions and should respect others.

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I used Brian's Gnetik 5.0 pads for 3 seasons of beer league before I started working at the local hockey shop to support my gear whore tendencies.  For the price I paid and the level I was playing at those pads were an absolutely PHENOMENAL value.   The only place I'd be totally unwilling to compromise would be catch gloves.  Pricepoint gloves always feel like crap compared to the pro level stuff.  Otherwise, there's pretty much no reason for the average beer leaguer JV high school kid or house leaguer  to pay $3000 for a full pro set up every couple years.    Drop down to the mid-tier pads and blocker and invest the money you save into a better mask and better skates.

The bottom price point stuff is pretty bad though.  I'm talking CCM's .5 series,  Bauer GSX, etc....   The gloves are paper thin and the knee stacks are made of open cell packing foam.  I do my level best to steer people away from those unless it's clear they have a strict budget and MUST have new stuff.  Those people frustrate me, but they'll be happy with the gear for a month or two after buying it, so I guess good for them...

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Good topic.. my Itech 4.8 X Wing catcher white navy sliver is worth mentioning here .. I've had more protective gloves  but this glove is light and closes really good too. Probably because it has less beef in it.  The occasional stinger is expected and will happen sooner or later but really hasn't been a problem from the harder shots.  Always preferred double t's and it has that too. They're cheap and can still be found lightly used or brand new if you're lucky. The one I have now was brand new when I got it a few months back.  

Itech started making them with single t's which kind of sucks because I know where a brand new one is right now but it's an X WIng Prodigy X Factor or whatever they started calling them with a single T for $50. 

20210609_091116.jpg

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Warrior G3 Set for 3 seasons. 

No issues aside from the fact my pads were too big. Still using the gloves, and  beauty of warrior gloves is the removable palm, so honestly i'm just replacing the palms as the foams have not worn down at all. 

However i'm interested in the Sr. Pad market now. Torn between 3X/E5.9 with the GSX closely behind as I am currently extremely broke, and need to pay for 3 team fees (and have no pads). 

 

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@Kayen if you are in the US you could look up Pure Hockey as they have the Sezzle payment program which I have used here in Canada through The Hockey Shop. It is broken down in 4 even payments done every 2nd week. A lot easier to swallow and gives you room to stay on top of your other responsibilities. Hopefully that can help. 

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Great topic!  I’ve switched to Sr.  gear for my last two sets and have been generally pleased.  1st set was Warrior G3 and I thought every piece was shockingly high quality.  Even the glove was more protective than I figured it would be.  I moved to Vaughn V8 because of the custom program and a desire to go back to my first equipment love.  Pads are great, glove performs great, but the palm of the glove leaves a little to be desired.  I should have gone with their extra padded option.  Blocker finger protection seems lacking, too, but it kinda seems that way on their Pro Carbon stuff, too. 
 

Durability of the gear seems more than adequate for someone who only plays a 1-2 times per week.  Both sets seem like they could last for years at that clip.  The one thing I noticed is that the Warrior set squeaked on the ice all the time.  My teammates teased me about it constantly.  I think they had a different material in the G3 vs current Gen, but I could be wrong. 
 

I also have been wearing Warrior G2 Sr. Chest protector for several years.  It’s been a solid piece of equipment and has provided great protection against even harder shooters.  I upgraded to a G5 Sr.+ recently and it seems like it will be even more protective.  I am sure there is a quality of materials step down, but the G2 has held up really well.  
 

Warrior’s Sr pants and the CR 2 and RM 1 sticks have provided me many, many games of service.  The pants have some fraying issues, but nothing terrible. The sticks are rock stars, and only post-goal abuse from me have limited their lives.  I know the higher priced stuff is lighter, but they feel pretty darn light as is.  I think the feature set (slide grip and such) is identical to their more expensive versions, aside from the weight. 
 

I’m looking at the 3X custom program at the moment.  It seems like that offering is almost too good to be true.  I saw them in store last week.  You can tell the difference in the material as the 3X uses Jenpro except on the landing gear, and the graphics are all heat transfer, there’s also a little weight difference, but aside from that it seems like it’s feature for feature.  The gloves, particularly the blocker, feel great as well.  I’d say the catcher seems a bit more beefy in the palm than my Vaughn.  

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26 minutes ago, sescaro said:

I’m looking at the 3X custom program at the moment.  It seems like that offering is almost too good to be true.  I saw them in store last week.  You can tell the difference in the material as the 3X uses Jenpro except on the landing gear, and the graphics are all heat transfer, there’s also a little weight difference, but aside from that it seems like it’s feature for feature.  The gloves, particularly the blocker, feel great as well.  I’d say the catcher seems a bit more beefy in the palm than my Vaughn.  

When I saw this thread, this is the first thing that came to mind.

3X is, IMO, much superior to 3S because Bauer brought the the Stabiliflex knee block from Hyperlite down to 3X, whereas 3S had a traditional knee block system instead of Stabilislide.

Were I shopping for a SR-level pad, I think these offer the most bang-for-buck.

$50-ish upcharge over retail pricing is a pretty good deal for custom SR-level gear IMO, even if you can only get custom colors and embroidery.

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11 hours ago, RichMan said:

@Kayen if you are in the US you could look up Pure Hockey as they have the Sezzle payment program which I have used here in Canada through The Hockey Shop. It is broken down in 4 even payments done every 2nd week. A lot easier to swallow and gives you room to stay on top of your other responsibilities. Hopefully that can help. 

I am not - I am in Canada 

 

9 hours ago, ZeroGravitas said:

When I saw this thread, this is the first thing that came to mind.

3X is, IMO, much superior to 3S because Bauer brought the the Stabiliflex knee block from Hyperlite down to 3X, whereas 3S had a traditional knee block system instead of Stabilislide.

Were I shopping for a SR-level pad, I think these offer the most bang-for-buck.

$50-ish upcharge over retail pricing is a pretty good deal for custom SR-level gear IMO, even if you can only get custom colors and embroidery.

Looking at them in person the value is insane, the stabiliflex knee block is very impressive, and to have that kind of offering at that price point is fantastic. Realistically the Cortech (whatever variant it is on now) on the landing gear is all that's needed to get the most performance out of the pad, while the jenpro on the face will have that traditional durability. 

Also the addition of whatever their professor strap iteration is called makes it a very nice pad with great strapping, weight, and sliding. 

 

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  • 1 year later...
26 minutes ago, johncho said:

It's finally here and they look almost brand new. 

I just have to find some ice time now, I'm currently fully booked with life.

301964936_3377798155882307_9163055994216932058_n.jpg

I can feed you some connections if you're looking to pic and choose when you can play. PM/DM me if interested. All in Ottawa. I'm hurt and I appreciate that they keep looking me up for updates, but in the meantime, you know...

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2 hours ago, RichMan said:

I can feed you some connections if you're looking to pic and choose when you can play. PM/DM me if interested. All in Ottawa. I'm hurt and I appreciate that they keep looking me up for updates, but in the meantime, you know...

Maybe I should try and get a work assignment in Ottawa, ha.  Wife and kids stay home and I play hockey and make travel wages. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Uh so I finally got to try the 3X pads on the ice last night and even though I didn't do so well after such a long pause, the pads felt amazing. I highly recommend it.

YMMV of course, and I didn't play very high level, nor can I really vocalize what I feel well so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Compared to my old SubZero they are miles ahead in every aspect, the weight, the comfort, and others, but they main two things are how well they slide consistently and how confusingly well they felt connected to my legs.

With care and work, I could get my SubZero to slide very well (I used to prep by using a hydrophobic spray the night before each time) but I would have a hard time dialling in the amount of push that I needed over the course of the night as the ice conditions changed. It also took me a long while to get the straps just right on my SubZero and added a professor strap. But the 3X felt right from the get go, and felt nice and loose on my legs yet well connected, which is definitely an odd sensation. They are the first pads that I feel connected well enough to strap the knee straps down to the calf.

The other comparison I have are Eflex 4.9 and Warrior G4/G5s that I've borrowed for a time. They both felt comfy, and I feel like the G5s might have even felt lighter on my legs, but not enough to say one way or the other. Also something to note is that my legs and my knees don't feel sore this morning like they used to.

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