2x pro pads. Deja vu

[ser33]

Hello again

the experience of using the 1S Od1n pads after their repair was generally very positive and made me take a closer look at the new lines of Bauer pads. the only thing I couldn’t get used to with the 1S was the fit and feel. I felt them as alien. I have been looking closely at the Vapor line for a long time, but there were few proposals for an acceptable combination of price / condition. and here again, quite by accident, I came across 2X PRO at a good price with little problems.

photo from the seller

the pads were only two years old, but used in the conditions of the Major Hockey League (analogous to the North American AHL)

the main drawbacks were the skin tears in the fold of the boot

 

there were also minor cosmetic flaws that I discovered already upon the arrival of the pads. from my experience of working with new generation Bauer pads, I knew that, most likely, it would not be limited to one skin tear

otherwise the pads were in excellent condition.

they cost $ 340 including shipping

Upon closer inspection, I was surprised by two things: the lower leg and knee sliding surfaces were Jenpro, not CORTECH (mistakenly). and the knee block did not have a 45-degree cut, like the stock 2X

its cover was also nylon, not of the material Quadro-something there

knee block original

my knee block

pad weight 2X Pro

1S OD1N

continuation soon

 

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by ser33

[Puckstopper]

Those look like 2X, not 2X Pro.

[ser33]

25 minutes ago, Puckstopper said:

Those look like 2X, not 2X Pro.

CORTECH Skin on the outside, 2X pro logo, label on the inside say otherwise

[ArdeFIN]

Knee blocks have been changed for some reason? They are different size to each other too. The slide surface seems to have the 45deg cut on it.

Custom ordered with Jenpro slide surfaces?

[Puckstopper]

Only if they were for a former pro, which is starting to look more likely.   Is the previous owner the original purchaser or did he get them secondhand as well?

[ser33]

12 hours ago, ArdeFIN said:

Knee blocks have been changed for some reason? They are different size to each other too. The slide surface seems to have the 45deg cut on it.

Custom ordered with Jenpro slide surfaces?

I'm sorry, my mistake misled everyone. I really had never held the second generation in my hands, especially the new one, and did not know all of its individual differences

and the face and sliding surfaces are covered with CORTech. only it has a different texture and color.

This is especially noticeable on used white pads

the skin on the face turns yellow over time, and the phone camera further emphasizes this difference in shades, although live it is not so noticeable

the texture of CORTech ST in the second generation is rough and looks more like an embossing of genuine leather

at the same time, the skin on the face is "rough", and on the flaps of the knee and lower leg it is more "smooth"

on the first generation Od1n the skin was smooth

as for the knee block you are right, the outer flap does have an angle of 45 and it has not changed - all the factory seams are intact. there are also Velcro residues on the 45-degree bevel, indicating that the unit itself was replaced at a later date

I found out that Bauer was offering optional custom straight knee blocks

now about "my" block

I found it to be very loose, this was a problem in the first generation and Bauer was gradually solving it. when i split the block parts i saw this

the block is tied to the pad with a ridge cord, which is clearly not done by Bauer

and the increased looseness was explained very simply - the block was replaced after purchase without disassembling the pad and was tied not to the core, as was done in the original, but to the inner lining

at the same time, the block had a classic design of three parts with an inner and outer flap, fastened together with Velcro

The main problem with this design is that the knee elastic tries to "tear" the inner flap from the block by its tension. over time, the Velcro stops holding

it can be fixed very simply - a loop is made on the knee block, through which the elastic is passed, thereby relieving the load on the inner flap and Velcro

I turned the pocket of the knee block inside out, marked and cut the holes for the "loop"

turned it back and passed the elastic through the loop

to Bauer's credit, this problem was solved in a similar manner on a standard knee block. the more I learn about their products, the more respect I am imbued with this company - they do not hide their shortcomings, but constantly work to eliminate them in each generation, offering an ever more improved product

According to the descriptions I found, the 2X knee block was redesigned with new, less rigid foam for a more comfortable landing. also the knee block has become slightly thinner, increasing the knee canal. which made it possible to use more massive knee pads

I don’t know about the original, but my knee block had a sandwich of three foams of different densities. two layers of very stiffness foam and one medium density foam

for comparison foam 1S

the foam at the top has come off

and was glued back

I also found that the pocket under the block had a headroom and added another layer of soft foam on the landing side of the knee

to be continued

sorry for the very poor photo quality as i still use a very old phone

 

 

[ser33]

I would like to say a few words about "Bauer quality". after the appearance of the 1S line of pads, I read a lot that "the quality of the Bauer leaves much to be desired ... after moving the assembly overseas ... blah blah"

I do not quite agree with this position. I believe that it is necessary to separate the concepts of "quality" and "durability"

The main problems with the 1S were the tearing of the CORTech skin, especially in the fold of the boot, for literally one season. I understand why this is happening - this skin is 2-3 times thinner than jenpro and does not resist constant bending / unbending poorly. that is, it is not an issue of "quality" of its workmanship, but namely of "durability", which Bauer began to address with the release of the second generation of the ST skin.

this

durability problem

for me, "quality" is, first of all, the quality of sewing and assembly

crooked seams, protruding threads, not matching holes for lacing, "thanks" to which, when pulled together, parts are deformed and the glove (for example) does not close well, and the like

Based on my experience in disassembling and repairing different gears, I can say that the "quality" of assembly and sewing is practically the same for all manufacturers, regardless of the place of production

and now about the "quality" of my pads

"wrinkling" of the skin at the top

crooked seams and protruding threads were also present in them. and there was this

soft foam rubber has a length exceeding its seat. "superfluous" is even marked with a marker. but never cut off

this foam rubber is also very crookedly glued, completely out of place of the leg channel

at the same time, the foam rubber covers the holes in the lacing core

and when tightening the lacing, it does not allow all parts of the pad to be tightly pulled together into one piece

this leads to looseness of the entire structure and, above all, to looseness of the outer shin flap

what does it threaten? to this flap are attached all the elastic bands that tie the leg to the pad. being too loose (as with the knee block) reduces the responsiveness of the pad, which ultimately affects the playing

the foam was torn off, cut and glued in its correct place

black HD foam on the boot is also crookedly glued to the foam (white) core

this, in my understanding, is "quality". yes, it is not ideal, but it happens with all manufacturers and on this basis, I would not blame only Bauer. it depends on the accuracy and responsibility of each individual employee, regardless of which country the production is located in

postscript I found a funny photo of Vasya in Ingoalmag for an article on the review of 2x pro pads, which shows the same gap in the bend of the boot. lol

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by ser33

[ser33]

As I said earlier, knowing the design of the pads of the new line on the example of my 1S, I believed (and was not mistaken) that tearing the skin on the face would not be the only problem

inner side of the skin

In this picture, you can see that Bauer was very careful about the durability of his products and made improvements to the design, reinforcing the bend of the boot with additional material that was absent on the 1S

It should also be noted that already with the 1X model, Bauer has changed both the material and the way of attaching the side skin reinforcements at the bend of the boot.

earlier they were glued thin patches made of material similar to CORTech

now these are pieces of jenpro sewn to the skin

but on the sliding side, the seam is still subject to abrasion and destruction

the photo below shows that custom pads have this double seam

everything is simple here, I restored the seam

further, I took up the tearing of the skin

glued reinforcing nylon flaps on the inside and sewed the fold

and on the outside I glued the skin at the fold with super glue. this will only slightly restrict mobility, but should prevent further destruction

to be continued...

 

[ser33]

since the pads no longer had any major defects, began assembly

first tied the outer edge of the knee block to the rear trim

then tied the inner edge to the skin through the core, as it should have been

then tied all parts of the pad with the main cord

life hack

do not tighten the cord until the pad is fully assembled, as this may skew all the parts and make stitching difficult, because often the holes on all parts do not line up

toe bridge was also very loose due to the stretched cord

and was tight

sewed the top, bottom and side parts that were cut

and only after that, did the final tightening of the main cord. another life hack before tightening, you can "rest" the core in the pad by tapping all sides of the pad on a hard surface and spreading the outer skin with your hands if required. then all the parts will fit perfectly into place

the last picture clearly shows how much "extra" cord was formed after a normal tightening

sewed the top and bottom binding, hiding the ends of the cord under it

I'm not a big fan of binders. especially if they are not needed, but on the upper and lower parts of the pad, I think they are really needed

these parts always experience friction against ice, posts, each other. and it is easier (and cheaper) to replace a worn binding than a part of the skin in the unbound pads (for example Opt1k below)

 

 

[ser33]

this work was finished about a month ago and I already had some ice with 2X. and it was amazing! I think I found the perfect pads for me. If С / A Vaughn is compared to an old comfortable sweater, then 2X for me has become something like my favorite jeans)

they perfectly sit on the leg without interfering at all and without giving a feeling of foreignness, repeating all my movements and working as I wanted. rebounds are not as hot as 1S but definitely better than Opt1ks. glide is also slightly weaker than 1S but still light and excellent on any ice. I guess I'll leave the search for new models for now and play 2X for a while

Edited December 22, 2021 by ser33

[ser33]

as an afterword.

the most interesting question for me "What's in the pad?"

Following the release of the 1S, Bauer refreshed the Vapor line with the 1X, which was expected to have a "hybrid style" pad. but that did not happen. according to reviews, 1X was not much "softer" 1S. this is easily explained if we compare the designs of the 1S and 1X cores

The 1X had the same core as the 1S except for the boot angle (but it was just as stiff) and a thinner outer

1X

at the same time, the 1X core also had an increased size of the CURV composite insert at the hip rise, extending beyond the bend over the knee

what made it impossible in principle to bend it over the knee

with the release of 2X, Bauer reworked the core that now had the name

according to reviews, the pad had a double internal break allowing it to flex well above and below the knee more in line with the concept of a "hybrid style"

in fact, this is not entirely true: the 2X core has only one internal break under the knee (like my 1S and 1X)

and the ability to bend over the knee is due to the softer black HD foam (relative to 1S) since the white polystyrene foam remains the same in terms of thickness. and by density

By the way, this also affected rebounds, which in 2X are slightly weaker than in 1S

Also, the greater softness above the knees was influenced by the change in the size of the CURV composite in the hip lift, which became 2X smaller and located as in 1S

1S

2X

but the main change of 2X over 1X is the absolutely soft boot

This was achieved by a very simple constructive solution - the addition of soft foam rubber between the hard parts of the boot and the main core

but the excessive softness of the used foam rubber eventually leads to its rupture

actually as in the case of a hard boot

to make an ideal pad in terms of durability again failed ...

but in terms of performance, the 2X pad is simply unrivaled in its aggregate qualities. this is my favorite pad at the moment

also credit should be given to Bauer for his commitment to correcting design errors and working to increase the durability of his products.

Bauer is attentive to user feedback and makes changes during the development of new products. so in the 2X core there were places for reinforcing the bend of the boot (black material in the photo below)

hope this information was helpful.

Thank you for your attention

[bunnyman666]

@ser33 I absolutely love your post mortem of the Bauer pads, as well as everything else you’ve done. Being a fellow gear geek myself, I love delving into how pads are built. The very first pad I had disassembled was shocking, to say the least, and even the Warriors that I have recently modded (with purposeful outboard stitching to invoke the days of old) show some interesting details. 
 
Pad tech is evolving, but slower than it appears. Some quite old Brian’s pads that I  have had essentially the same construction methods as these Bauers in the core, yet performance wise, are light years ahead. Polystyrene foam for the sides of the pad has been around for a long time, and definitely is lighter than hair, kapok or foam worms and holds its shape. Yet it keeps evolving.

Keep up the great work!