Vaughn V5 vs V8

[pattremblay00]

Good morning!

I was just wondering if there is a noticeable difference in weight going from Vaughn V5 Pro gear to let's say Vaughn V8 Pro carbon stuff?

I have looked at numerous reviews on newer Vaughn equipment but not sure what it translates to vs older equipment like mine. 

My V5 equipment is still in very good condition but except changing for newer gear, is there any advantage doing so? 

Just curious.

[seagoal]

1 hour ago, pattremblay00 said:

Good morning!

I was just wondering if there is a noticeable difference in weight going from Vaughn V5 Pro gear to let's say Vaughn V8 Pro carbon stuff?

I have looked at numerous reviews on newer Vaughn equipment but not sure what it translates to vs older equipment like mine. 

My V5 equipment is still in very good condition but except changing for newer gear, is there any advantage doing so? 

Just curious.

The short answer is Yes, absolutely, there is going to be a massive difference V5 to V8 or V9.  Massive.

I'll explain more in a bit.

@pattremblay00 first off welcome to the forum.  Glad to have you.

I've been using Vaughn gear for over 25 years so I have a bit of experience and enthusiasm for their stuff.  I currently own a full set of both V(E)8 and V9 Pro Carbon gear so if you have any specific questions or want to look at anything in particular on either, let me know.  I'm happy to help.

You may or may not know, but Vaughn is generally slow to change and their gear evolves very minimally from one generation to the next.  Their leg pads are generally softer than other brands and they flex more. So even if we can say V9s are stiff (mine are, they were custom ordered Extra Stiff), that says nothing about how they'll compare to Bauers, for example, which are way more stiff than any stiff Vaughns.

That said, the build and stiffness of Vaughn pads have for sure changed over the years and they've slowly grown to make stiffer pads than in years past.  The big jump for them was V5 --> V6, V6 being the (if I remember correctly) the first generation of pro carbon and using more solid internal foams to prevent pad shrinkage and mis-shaping over time.  This is something that was a big problem for Vaughn: you buy a 35 V4 and a year later they are magically 34s.  This problem was corrected at V6 onward.

If you are considering buying brand new Pro Carbon Vaughn gear, you are going to have a much easier time finding V9s right now than V8s. The good news is if you can find V8s, they will probably be discounted as they are being moved out of stock.

Here is my summary for you of how a V8 or especially V9 will be different than your V5s.  I'll try to list this in order of relevance to performance and from more obvious to less obvious.  V8/V9 pads will:

-have modern elastic strapping only with a choice of putting the knee strap across or down to the calf and a tight inside "professor strap" to anchor the pads to your leg tightly.  No leather straps, no thigh straps, no thigh guards.

-have elastic toe ties stock.  no skate lace.  Vaughn elastic toe ties suck big time in my view. they use these plastic clips that are in my opinion garbage.  I recommend cutting them off immediately and upgrading to something like Pro Laces which you can read A LOT about on here.

-have an elastic, removable boot strap.  boot straps are becoming more rare these days and with bungee toe ties and professor straps are basically obsolete in terms of legit functionality.

-be thinner and lighter weight.  I can't say by how much for sure, but if you want me to weigh my 34.5 in either V8 or V9, let me know.

-be generally firmer and stiffer and not flex or twist (torsionally) as much, especially V9s.  They will be more supportive on your knees and give hotter rebounds (again, relative to within the world of Vaughn. This has nothing to do with Bauers, etc.)

-one final thing:  if you have the option of V8 or V9, get V9, hands down.  As the owner and user of both, V9s are far superior and for no other reason than the inside sliding material they use called Quick Slide.  That material is worth every penny you will spend on the difference in price.  It makes doing goalie things on your knees effortless and will offer major improvements to your technical game down on your knees.  If you are a stand up goalie, then that might mean nothing to you and that's fine.  if you butterfly and move laterally on your knees, Quick Slide will change your game for the better.    Plus, V8s have those stupid, pointless magnet straps that do nothing.  So you'll save some time by buying V9s from not having to cut off those straps

Let me know your thoughts and if you have questions, shoot.

 

Edited September 30, 2021 by seagoal

[seagoal]

Bump for feedback on my additional comments.... I had to walk my dogs

[A.YOUNGoalie13]

21 hours ago, seagoal said:

Bump for feedback on my additional comments.... I had to walk my dogs

I think you might have scared him off with all that info… now he’s buying hyperlites

[coopaloop1234]

23 hours ago, seagoal said:

That said, the build and stiffness of Vaughn pads have for sure changed over the years and they've slowly grown to make stiffer pads than in years past.  The big jump for them was V5 --> V6, V6 being the (if I remember correctly) the first generation of pro carbon and using more solid internal foams to prevent pad shrinkage and mis-shaping over time.  This is something that was a big problem for Vaughn: you buy a 35 V4 and a year later they are magically 34s.  This problem was corrected at V6 onward.

V6 was the first to introduce the carbon sheet that boosted up stiffness and rebounds, but Vaughn addressed the shrinkage issue with the V4.

V4 was the first velocity pad to not be made with shredded foam and used a more modern layered foam sheets we see in every pad today.

My V4's didn't shrink at all. The boot settled, but I don't consider that shrinkage as they're designed around a soft conforming boot.

Edited October 1, 2021 by coopaloop1234

[pattremblay00]

Wow! Thanks seagoal for all of that info.

I remember reading that older Vaughn pads used to settle a bit and V6 pads and newer don't do that anymore.

 

[seagoal]

28 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

V6 was the first to introduce the carbon sheet that boosted up stiffness and rebounds, but Vaughn addressed the shrinkage issue with the V4.

V4 was the first velocity pad to not be made with shredded foam and used a more modern layered foam sheets we see in every pad today.

My V4's didn't shrink at all. The boot settled, but I don't consider that shrinkage as they're designed around a soft conforming boot.

 

24 minutes ago, pattremblay00 said:

Wow! Thanks seagoal for all of that info.

I remember reading that older Vaughn pads used to settle a bit and V6 pads and newer don't do that anymore.

 

It's true and @coopaloop1234 made a good clarification.  The shrinkage or settling had a lot to do with the shredded foam fragments inside the pads.  That issue is gone.

But still, on stock Vaughn pads, they are still pretty soft and flexible overall, especially in the boot and thighrise. The bottoms of Vaughn pads can flex and wrap down around skates, which you can see here on my VE8s which are stock. Any photo ever of Jonathan Quick shows this too

That alone will cause a bit or shrinkage over time. 

In the thigh rise, here is my stock blue VE8 vs custom red extra stiff V9

These are the exact same size but the blue ones play and feel and look smaller due to differences in stiffness.

Interesting though, the blue feel lighter in weight than the red ones.  I guess more stuff increase stiffness means more weight?

[bildeer]

You could just do what I did an buy another pair of V4/V5's if you absolutely love that model. They will still make them, my last pair came in February.

It all depends on what you like, or what you think you will like.

[pattremblay00]

So I tried some V8 single break pads last night (my V5's are double break) with the matching blocker and glove...with knee pads. I did not feel very comfortable on the ice. I had a V8 pro carbon chest protector as well. I think I am gonna keep my V5 gear...The blocker and glove + the chest protector felt lighter than my V5 equipment though but I do not see how I would get used to knee pads. I felt stuck...I guess it's all about what you are used to!

Edited October 9, 2021 by pattremblay00

[seagoal]

1 hour ago, pattremblay00 said:

So I tried some V8 single break pads last night (my V5's are double break) with the matching blocker and glove...with knee pads. I did not feel very comfortable on the ice. I had a V8 pro carbon chest protector as well. I think I am gonna keep my V5 gear...The blocker and glove + the chest protector felt lighter than my V5 equipment though but I do not see how I would get used to knee pads. I felt stuck...I guess it's all about what you are used to!

Can you elaborate on what you didn't like or feel comfortable with?

It is indeed about what you're used to, but that doesn't mean that gear you dislike after only one skate isn't good or beneficial for you.  Just throwing that out there.  Any new gear takes like a half dozen or so skates to adjust to and start to feel comfortable.

[pattremblay00]

Yep, you're right, I know one skate is not enough...I just feel like the knee pads are always touching each other and it is hard to move around...just does not feel right. I know they are no longer around but I have been using the Vaughn thighboards for several years...so moving to single break pads with knee pads feels quite a bit different...I like to be able to move my knees and I feel like I can't move as well with knee pads. Not sure if that makes sense or not.

Edited October 9, 2021 by pattremblay00

[seagoal]

19 minutes ago, pattremblay00 said:

Yep, you're right, I know one skate is not enough...I just feel like the knee pads are always touching each other and it is hard to move around...just does not feel right. I know they are no longer around but I have been using the Vaughn thighboards for several years...so moving to single break pads with knee pads feels quite a bit different...I like to be able to move my knees and I feel like I can't move as well with knee pads. Not sure if that makes sense or not.

Well if it's knee pads you dislike and not the leg pads themselves, that's different.  I can understand feeling weird wearing knee pads of you're used to having none and using thigh boards or guards.  That is just a matter of giving it time.  If you ever want to buy new pads again you'll have to ditch the thigh protection on pads and get used to knee pads.

There are very different styles of knee pads out there.  Maybe the ones you tried aren't for you.

Some benefits of knee pads vs thigh boards/guards:

-more cushion on your knees when you drop

-slightly taller down on your knees

-better pad : pants integration

-better left pad : right pad integration in a symmetrical butterfly 

-better leg mobility 

What you're saying makes sense for knee pads but not quite for deciding you don't like single break V8 pads.  

[keeperton]

I've got it put it pretty blunt and say thigh boards in retrospect are horrible compared to knee pads. The knee pads will take some time to get used to but perform significantly better.

 

Basically, I implore you to give them a few more shots or even try different knee pads. You'll not be able to get anything new with thigh boards and your knees will thank you when a puck does not sneak through.

Edited October 13, 2021 by keeperton

[seagoal]

16 hours ago, keeperton said:

I've got it put it pretty blunt and say thigh boards in retrospect are horrible compared to knee pads. The knee pads will take some time to get used to but perform significantly better.

 

Basically, I implore you to give them a few more shots or even try different knee pads. You'll not be able to get anything new with thigh boards and your knees will thank you when a puck does not sneak through.

Truth.

Of all the gear to try for the first time.....knee pads are probably the weirdest.

[pattremblay00]

I just got some Bauer gsx knee pads since they are not too bulky. We'll see how it goes...

[chile57]

I'll chime in here as a fellow soft pad enthusiast (Reactor 3 -> V3 -> V5 -> Reactor 6000's -> Simmons UL9's) and one time knee pad swear-er off-er...

I totally get it. Putting on knee pads gives your pad a completely different feel off your leg. I tried many, many, many iterations of them before I was a convert (I was rocking neither boards nor pads at the time). I finally settled on Warrior juniors (yes - you read that right) as they were the least bulkiest option and the one I felt articulated the most like one's knee. I tried Bauers, Maltese KTPs, (the much hyped) Paw iterations... etc. 

To each their own but to echo what everyone else is saying - ultimately big benefits to knee pads (assuming you can force yourself to get onboard with them in the first place). Good luck.

Edited October 14, 2021 by chile57

[pattremblay00]

The Bauer GSX felt better than the Vaughn Knee pads...way less bulky and restrictive.

Did you settle on the Warrior ritual x2 knee pads?

They look comfortable 

[chile57]

Yes - Ritual X2. Haven't looked back since (and haven't dug up any of the countless iterations I bought and hated). 

7 hours ago, pattremblay00 said:

The Bauer GSX felt better than the Vaughn Knee pads...way less bulky and restrictive.

Did you settle on the Warrior ritual x2 knee pads?

They look comfortable 

 

[SaveByRichter35]

Or you can do what I do and not wear knee pads at all lol.  Well, actually I kinda do now.  I wear those McDavid knee sleeves but I do it more for inside knee cushioning due to the landing pads on my V6 pads deteriorating.  I rotate the honeycomb padding inboard.

[southpawtendy48]

2 hours ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

Or you can do what I do and not wear knee pads at all lol.  Well, actually I kinda do now.  I wear those McDavid knee sleeves but I do it more for inside knee cushioning due to the landing pads on my V6 pads deteriorating.  I rotate the honeycomb padding inboard.

I wear those bauer elite knee sleeves under my paw knee pads but they don’t make them anymore, would you say the mcdavids are relatively comfortable, and did you have to go a size up? weird question I know but I ended up having to do that for the bauers because the smalls squeeze my legs 

Edited October 20, 2021 by southpawtendy48

[coopaloop1234]

13 hours ago, SaveByRichter35 said:

Or you can do what I do and not wear knee pads at all lol.  Well, actually I kinda do now.  I wear those McDavid knee sleeves but I do it more for inside knee cushioning due to the landing pads on my V6 pads deteriorating.  I rotate the honeycomb padding inboard.

I still can't fathom how your knees survive. Any day I expect you to start a "Any tips for starting sledge hockey?" thread.

[seagoal]

2 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

I still can't fathom how your knees survive. Any day I expect you to start a "Any tips for starting sledge hockey?" thread.

Or a "What should I do in my leave of absence from work - injury?" thread

Edited October 20, 2021 by seagoal

[coopaloop1234]

6 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Or a "What should I do in my leave of absence from work - injury?" thread

"Custom Cane Thread - Used my old goalie stick!"

[seagoal]

6 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

"Custom Cane Thread - Used my old goalie stick!"

"Why My Knees Wobble: a hockey memoir by SBR"

[coopaloop1234]

4 minutes ago, seagoal said:

"Why My Knees Wobble: a hockey memoir by SBR"

"Learn from my mistake! - Reflections of a cripple"