Goalie Pad Sizing mystery

[TommyWD40]

Hello everyone! Longtime lurker, first time poster!

I had a question in regards to pad sizing. I currently own two sets of pads. One is a V4 pro spec set (was a goaltending prospect for Boston once upon a time) and a regular s29 set.

Now the Vaughns fit great, and I love them but I wanted to try a single break leg. I ended up ordering online the Bauer pads and I am excited to try them out next season. 

Now my question is in regards to sizing. I was worried the bauers would be far too small for me, as the Vaughn's are listed as 38 inch! I'm guessing this means they're closer to 36+2 if they used modern style of sizing.

Now the Bauers are XL, and Bauer lists them as 36+1... however as in the attached image they are identical in size! I was pleasantly surprised!

My question for everyone here is what exactly could cause this discrepancy? I've read that Vaughns sometimes shrink due to age, but the goalie that had these pads before was even shorter than I am, and his ATK was shorter. 

 

Thanks again if anyone can help answering this mystery!

[bunnyman666]

Hello! Love your handle, BTW.

Vaughn pads of that build spec settle as they are stuffed pads and don’t use a core. Without seeing measurements and such, the thigh drop could be anywhere from 10-14” as thigh rises weren’t capped at that time, so for all intents and purposes, they could be 34+4” for all we know.

The boots have become shorter to accommodate the ability to wear the pad higher on the calf with the assistance of a Lundy loop and professor strap so a taller thigh rise can be made legal. The way pads are measured these days are vastly different than just ten years ago, and you’re comparing custom pads to stock. You can give the same sets of measurements to three manufacturers and have three different sizes of pads! For example: I am a 31+1” in CCM, but a 32+1” in Factory Mad and 33+1” in PAW and they feel identical on the leg where my parts land!
 
Bauer has led the way in fit ranges going back to the Supreme pads and Reactor 6000 series. Surprisingly enough, they pretty well hit it on the nose for size averages.

[chile57]

First - welcome to the the forum.

Second - when you are speaking in terms of pro returns - off the shelf sizing doesn't necessarily translate (and as you mentioned what is listed might be the overall height (not taking into account the placement of the knee)). I also think some of what you are seeing size-wise is because the Bauers look to have a more severe boot angle. V4 vintage Vaughns (custom changes notwithstanding) tend to have a flatter boot (closer to 90-ish degrees or even into the acute angle realm).

Hope some of this is helpful. Enjoy the new pillows when you get a chance to take them for a spin!

[TommyWD40]

3 hours ago, bunnyman666 said:

Hello! Love your handle, BTW.

Vaughn pads of that build spec settle as they are stuffed pads and don’t use a core. Without seeing measurements and such, the thigh drop could be anywhere from 10-14” as thigh rises weren’t capped at that time, so for all intents and purposes, they could be 34+4” for all we know.

The boots have become shorter to accommodate the ability to wear the pad higher on the calf with the assistance of a Lundy loop and professor strap so a taller thigh rise can be made legal. The way pads are measured these days are vastly different than just ten years ago, and you’re comparing custom pads to stock. You can give the same sets of measurements to three manufacturers and have three different sizes of pads! For example: I am a 31+1” in CCM, but a 32+1” in Factory Mad and 33+1” in PAW and they feel identical on the leg where my parts land!
 
Bauer has led the way in fit ranges going back to the Supreme pads and Reactor 6000 series. Surprisingly enough, they pretty well hit it on the nose for size averages.

Thank you for this informative post. I've actually emailed Vaughn this morning as well to see if they had any information regarding this spec that was made. Hopefully they get back to me!

For what it's worth, the Vaughns have less total inches from the top of the knee landing/knee blocks to the top of the pad than the Bauers do... about 8 inches vs 9. I hope that the Bauers won't be too big as a result!

[bunnyman666]

6 minutes ago, TommyWD40 said:

Thank you for this informative post. I've actually emailed Vaughn this morning as well to see if they had any information regarding this spec that was made. Hopefully they get back to me!

For what it's worth, the Vaughns have less total inches from the top of the knee landing/knee blocks to the top of the pad than the Bauers do... about 8 inches vs 9. I hope that the Bauers won't be too big as a result!

If the boot is soft enough, you probably could wear the pad lower on the leg and you would be good. 

[TommyWD40]

3 hours ago, chile57 said:

First - welcome to the the forum.

Second - when you are speaking in terms of pro returns - off the shelf sizing doesn't necessarily translate (and as you mentioned what is listed might be the overall height (not taking into account the placement of the knee)). I also think some of what you are seeing size-wise is because the Bauers look to have a more severe boot angle. V4 vintage Vaughns (custom changes notwithstanding) tend to have a flatter boot (closer to 90-ish degrees or even into the acute angle realm).

Hope some of this is helpful. Enjoy the new pillows when you get a chance to take them for a spin!

This is great information as well. It's crazy how these pads I have are considered vintage already, even though they're not even that old!

[TommyWD40]

2 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

If the boot is soft enough, you probably could wear the pad lower on the leg and you would be good. 

I currently run a lundy loop with a really really loose leather strap on the Vaughns. Would you suggest no strap, or even a loose lundy like I am currently running?

[chile57]

9 minutes ago, TommyWD40 said:

I currently run a lundy loop with a really really loose leather strap on the Vaughns. Would you suggest no strap, or even a loose lundy like I am currently running?

I don't claim to know the lay of Bauer's current offering of boots but - if I were you and you are accustomed to slim to no boot strap tension - I'd stick with your current strapping style (through the Lundy Loop and loose). I'm guessing the Bauer will have a stiffer/taller boot as mentioned (where @bunnyman666 hit on stuffed pad versus solid core based pads) so if you feel like they are playing too tall or sit too far off your leg for your liking only then would I entertain tightening up that boot strap (whether it be traditionally placed or through a Lundy Loop). Good luck.

[seagoal]

Welcome aboard @TommyWD40 and thanks for joining. 

These guys helped you out really good already.  I wanted to chime in and just say that V4s are very squishy pads and with that double break they are even squishier. They are not going to translate well at all to any modern generation stiffer pad.

Even a V9 ordered without breaks and built stiff (to mimic a Bauer pad) in the exact same size as those V4s are going to fit and feel VERY different at that would be within the same line of Vaughn pads.

[ZeroGravitas]

The pads definitely break down and/or sizing has changed. Had a customer come in with 36+x Vaughn V4 or V6 last year. He came in to make sure the fit hadn't changed because he wanted to do a custom order of V9s. We sized him into a 34" V9 and he's a happy camper.

Edited March 16, 2022 by ZeroGravitas

[TommyWD40]

7 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Welcome aboard @TommyWD40 and thanks for joining. 

These guys helped you out really good already.  I wanted to chime in and just say that V4s are very squishy pads and with that double break they are even squishier. They are not going to translate well at all to any modern generation stiffer pad.

Even a V9 ordered without breaks and built stiff (to mimic a Bauer pad) in the exact same size as those V4s are going to fit and feel VERY different at that would be within the same line of Vaughn pads.

Thank you for the warm welcome! 
I was half expecting that it would be significantly different. That's kind of why I invested in a new, more modern set to kind of experiment if that makes any sense? 
If I do end up hating them, then I can always use my V4's until I find something else I prefer. If I do end up hating them, I may look at finding a modern double break.

[TommyWD40]

2 minutes ago, ZeroGravitas said:

The pads definitely break down and/or sizing has changed. Had a customer come in with 36+x Vaughn V4 or V6 last year. He came in to make sure the fit hadn't changed because he wanted to do a custom order of V9s. We sized him into a 34" V9 and he's a happy camper.

Thank you for this information! 
I kind of assumed they would break in somewhat, but didn't know if it would be that significant of a change! I just get worried because I work on a tight budget, so I do end up having to do a lot of online ordering. Thankfully, being 6'4'' allows me to find a ton of gear for relatively cheap

[seagoal]

4 minutes ago, TommyWD40 said:

Thank you for the warm welcome! 
I was half expecting that it would be significantly different. That's kind of why I invested in a new, more modern set to kind of experiment if that makes any sense? 
If I do end up hating them, then I can always use my V4's until I find something else I prefer. If I do end up hating them, I may look at finding a modern double break.

A transition from double break V4s to current Bauers is going to be so. damn. awkward, haha.  Give it a good 6 skates though, don't just give up too quick.  If you find yourself saying or thinking anything like "I don't like this because it's not like the V4s...." you might as well just not even try to transition at all.   If a new pad anything like those V4s is your goal, you're off to a bad start with those Bauers.

Being open to drastic change and being willing to adapt to something very new will be important for you if you want to learn to appreciate those Bauers.

[TommyWD40]

1 minute ago, seagoal said:

A transition from double break V4s to current Bauers is going to be so. damn. awkward, haha.  Give it a good 6 skates though, don't just give up too quick.  If you find yourself saying or thinking anything like "I don't like this because it's not like the V4s...." you might as well just not even try to transition at all.   If a new pad anything like those V4s is your goal, you're off to a bad start with those Bauers.

Being open to drastic change and being willing to adapt to something very new will be important for you if you want to learn to appreciate those Bauers.

It's been a long time coming... but the bauer's were at an absolutely ridiculous price that I couldn't say no to. Being budget oriented is really tough as a goalie... haha

[seagoal]

1 minute ago, TommyWD40 said:

It's been a long time coming... but the bauer's were at an absolutely ridiculous price that I couldn't say no to. Being budget oriented is really tough as a goalie... haha

Truth

[bunnyman666]

2 hours ago, TommyWD40 said:

I currently run a lundy loop with a really really loose leather strap on the Vaughns. Would you suggest no strap, or even a loose lundy like I am currently running?

You can try it. I just have a feeling that the Bauer isn’t going to be off by much and you’ll be in almost all of the same places when it’s all said and done.