Help me figure out what to order!

[jerd31]

Hey guys, long time lurker here and former gsbb member that finally signed up.  
 

So after a near 15 year hiatus from hockey, I got back into playing last June.  My previous set of equipment, my beloved Smith 5000’s, were beat up and smelled like they’d be rotting in my grandmothers moth-filled basement for a decade.  So I needed a new set of gear and went with a Warrior G5 Sr set.  I used those for several months and while I enjoyed them, I felt they were a bit too soft for my liking and had constant pop outs with the catcher.  So I moved to a set of Brian’s Optik 9.0’s (their Sr set) and have been pretty happy with them overall.  The pads are noticeably stiffer than the Warriors, and no more pop outs from the catcher.  
 

I told myself I’d order a full custom set when I’ve been back on the ice for long enough and know what I want.  Problem is trying to figure out exactly what I want now though.  I plan to call my local Pure Hockey and see what they have in store, but iirc my local one doesn’t carry much goal equipment.

For reference, I wear my pads pretty loose- my strapping setup is: knee wing removed, loose knee strap down to calf wrap.  Calf wrap slightly tighter than knee.  No boot strap, pro laces for toe ties.  Never used a professor strap or any iteration that various companies offer, not sure if it’s something I’d use but I’d be open to trying as long as it’s removable in the instance it’s not for me.  

 I’ve got a few options I’ve been looking at and would love some thoughts/comments. 
 

-Brian’s Optik 2/Gnetik V.  Honestly not sure which of these two would be a better fit.  From what I understand, my Optik 9.0’s are a blend of both the Optik and Gnetik lines in a sr level pad.  I think what’d work best for me is a soft boot and stiff thighrise.  Seems like I can customize either to fit the bill.  Primo surface seems to get good reviews, but I’ve heard other sliding surfaces are better.  Glove and blocker I’d imagine would be pretty similar to the 9.0 I have today.  Not sure how I feel about the Boa system tbh.  I love the graphics and color choices on either, and would definitely do a solid base with some funky colors in there.  Wait time seems to be the longest at 22-26 weeks currently.
 

-Bauer Supreme Mach’s.  From what I’ve read these would be the stiffest, but again I can customize and get a soft boot.  I’ve heard Bauers slide great and better than Brian’s primo material.  I’m a noob when it comes to glove breaks- 580, 590, 60*, 90*- I know Brian’s measures differently and not sure how that compares to the Mach.  Bauer seems to have the shortest lead time at 12-16 weeks IIRC.  
 

-Vaughn SLR 3.  I always thought of Vaughns as being a softer pad but apparently the SLR’s are much stiffer than the V’s.  I’ve heard Vaughns sliding surface is great- I believe it was HockeyReviews on YT that said the SLR 3’s are the best sliding pad he’s used.  Not familiar with Vaughn gloves and how they’d compare to what I’ve used in the past.  Lead time seems to be around 16 weeks currently.  
 

I’m open to other suggestions as well- True, CCM, whatever.   
 

Thanks in advance 

Edited May 24, 2022 by jerd31

[ser33]

Brians and Vaughn use the same slide material. and this material is the second after Bauer.

Gnetik will definitely be softer than Optics and judging by your preferences, you will not like it. after owning the Opt1k, which I consider to be one of the best pads in the class, I switched to Bauer looking for more rigidity and now there is no other manufacturer for me.

as for gloves, again, in my experience, Bauer will be nicer than Lefevre regardless of his manufacturer (True or CCM)

[keeperton]

I do not have enough experience with Bauer after the 2X to say much about the pad to compare here.

 

I have now had the last 3 GNetik lines, and play with two people who use Optik 2s with MAX cores.

For GNetiks, you can get them decently stiff. I've now gone from AKT (Ankle, Knee, Thigh) flex profiles of 5-3-2 (GN3tik), to 4-3-1 (GNetikIV), to 4-2-1 (GNetikV). The V's are by far the stiffest with carbon in the thigh and I got rid of the outer roll cut in the knee, it's a stiff pad through and through, which is how I wanted it to feel. I would say it's comparable to the MAX core pads I got to fuss with, overall, but obviously the GNetiks are made to have more torsional flex around the core and that does come through (if that's desired is up to you). What you described as your desire would most closely resemble a MAX core or the 4-2-1, but you can get that feel from any manufacturer you listed. See if you can get your hands on some to feel and maybe then form your opinion, knowing that you can customize the ever-loving-hell out of them.

I absolutely love having a professor strap on it and would not go back, but I love a connected feel to my pad.

I imagine the Optik 2 gloves are like your 9.0s. I used Optik 1 gloves, but moved to the GNetik catcher series because I like the flatter finger-to-thumb feel (close to a 590) it gives compared to the Optik's curled finger-to-thumbmeat (I think this is like the Brian's take on the 600). They feel oddly similar in ways, but I found the Optik break less intuitive to my hand, it held my thumb in a way I'm less used to.

I have found I prefer the Optik blockers still with their more open-cuff design and the tapering on the board, though I will say I think the balance on the GNetikV blocker is incredible and its sidewall is more rigid. My Optik 2 blocker has a Bricore composite insert in it that I custom ordered to give it more pop and I'm really liking it. I used a Hyperlite blocker about a dozen times and found its sweet spot to be relatively small and the unit to feel bulky in the hand, but still a recommendable piece of equipment.

 

With regards to the SLR3s: I really liked how the SLR2s strapped up the time I got to demo them. I've never been a fan of Vaughn gloves (mostly due to fit reasons), and I love how the Velocity blocker feels on the hand.

 

I could probably offer more thoughts, but I think I'm rambling.

[johncho]

One thing I've wondered is how stiff is too stiff? As in how would a pad that's too stiff be detrimental to someone?

I'm guessing if the pads don't have a curve, it would be hard for someone with a narrow flare to close the 5 hole? Or is it more about the feeling of disconnect to the pads?

[jerd31]

11 hours ago, ser33 said:

Brians and Vaughn use the same slide material. and this material is the second after Bauer.

Gnetik will definitely be softer than Optics and judging by your preferences, you will not like it. after owning the Opt1k, which I consider to be one of the best pads in the class, I switched to Bauer looking for more rigidity and now there is no other manufacturer for me.

as for gloves, again, in my experience, Bauer will be nicer than Lefevre regardless of his manufacturer (True or CCM)

Appreciate it- didn't know Brian's and Vaughn use the same material!  I think the Optik 2's would probably be the easiest transition for me.

8 hours ago, keeperton said:

I do not have enough experience with Bauer after the 2X to say much about the pad to compare here.

 

I have now had the last 3 GNetik lines, and play with two people who use Optik 2s with MAX cores.

For GNetiks, you can get them decently stiff. I've now gone from AKT (Ankle, Knee, Thigh) flex profiles of 5-3-2 (GN3tik), to 4-3-1 (GNetikIV), to 4-2-1 (GNetikV). The V's are by far the stiffest with carbon in the thigh and I got rid of the outer roll cut in the knee, it's a stiff pad through and through, which is how I wanted it to feel. I would say it's comparable to the MAX core pads I got to fuss with, overall, but obviously the GNetiks are made to have more torsional flex around the core and that does come through (if that's desired is up to you). What you described as your desire would most closely resemble a MAX core or the 4-2-1, but you can get that feel from any manufacturer you listed. See if you can get your hands on some to feel and maybe then form your opinion, knowing that you can customize the ever-loving-hell out of them.

I absolutely love having a professor strap on it and would not go back, but I love a connected feel to my pad.

I imagine the Optik 2 gloves are like your 9.0s. I used Optik 1 gloves, but moved to the GNetik catcher series because I like the flatter finger-to-thumb feel (close to a 590) it gives compared to the Optik's curled finger-to-thumbmeat (I think this is like the Brian's take on the 600). They feel oddly similar in ways, but I found the Optik break less intuitive to my hand, it held my thumb in a way I'm less used to.

I have found I prefer the Optik blockers still with their more open-cuff design and the tapering on the board, though I will say I think the balance on the GNetikV blocker is incredible and its sidewall is more rigid. My Optik 2 blocker has a Bricore composite insert in it that I custom ordered to give it more pop and I'm really liking it. I used a Hyperlite blocker about a dozen times and found its sweet spot to be relatively small and the unit to feel bulky in the hand, but still a recommendable piece of equipment.

 

With regards to the SLR3s: I really liked how the SLR2s strapped up the time I got to demo them. I've never been a fan of Vaughn gloves (mostly due to fit reasons), and I love how the Velocity blocker feels on the hand.

 

I could probably offer more thoughts, but I think I'm rambling.

Appreciate it, and please ramble on haha.  Good point on the torsional flex- I have a fair amount of this on my Sr. Optik's and don't really mind it, but quite frankly, I'm not sure how that factors into my play and preferences.  I know I definitely play better in the Brian's vs. the Warriors, but some of that may also be due to just getting on the ice more and getting back into playing.  

4 hours ago, johncho said:

One thing I've wondered is how stiff is too stiff? As in how would a pad that's too stiff be detrimental to someone?

I'm guessing if the pads don't have a curve, it would be hard for someone with a narrow flare to close the 5 hole? Or is it more about the feeling of disconnect to the pads?

Good point- as I mentioned I definitely like the Optik 9.0's being more stiff than the Warrior's I had previously.  I'm thinking I'd want something slightly stiffer, but again with at least a little flex in the boot.  I have a pretty wide flare on my butterfly and wouldn't feel the need for something that caters towards a narrower bfly.  

[johncho]

Yeah the stiffness question was half-personal. I'm in the same boat where I'm in the market for a new pad (SR level though). I didn't want to hijack your thread.

I'm currently in a SubZero, I've borrowed and used a G4 a few times and I like it way way more (mainly lightness). And so I was thinking about a G6, but maybe it might be too stiff? Also looking at a 3X as I hear that might be softer.

Edited May 25, 2022 by johncho

[jerd31]

25 minutes ago, johncho said:

Yeah the stiffness question was half-personal. I'm in the same boat where I'm in the market for a new pad (SR level though). I didn't want to hijack your thread.

I'm currently in a SubZero, I've borrowed and used a G4 a few times and I like it way way more (mainly lightness). And so I was thinking about a G6, but maybe it might be too stiff? Also looking at a 3X as I hear that might be softer.

I'm not sure about the G6's but from my experience, the G5 Sr's were definitely a little too soft for my liking.  I had given some consideration to the G6's but they're pretty much the same price as Brian's and, I've preferred my Optik Sr's.  But the slide plate on the G6 is intriguing- I use a similar setup on my Brian's and sliding is great on them.

[jerd31]

Circling back on this, I decided to go with a Gnetik V set that’s 4-3-1.  After really paying attention to how my Optik 9.0’s behave, I realized that I like the torsional flex and want a softer boot, with a stiff thigh.  After talking to Jay @ TGC, the Gnetik’s should be a bit stiffer in the thigh than the 9.0’s, with similar flex down low.  
 

Pads will pretty much be stock- 34”+2”, professor strap, no boot strap, full primo boot channel, 3” added to knee and calf straps to accommodate my thicc thighs.  Pro palm in glove, other than that stock glove and blocker.  
 

Should have them early (hopefully) September.  First time working with TGC, Jay has been great help thus far.  
 

Edited June 2, 2022 by jerd31

[keeperton]

1 hour ago, jerd31 said:

Circling back on this, I decided to go with a Gnetik V set that’s 4-3-1.  After really paying attention to how my Optik 9.0’s behave, I realized that I like the torsional flex and want a softer boot, with a stiff thigh.  After talking to Jay @ TGC, the Gnetik’s should be a bit stiffer in the thigh than the 9.0’s, with similar flex down low.  
 

Pads will pretty much be stock- 34”+2”, professor strap, no boot strap, full primo boot channel, 3” added to knee and calf straps to accommodate my thicc thighs.  Pro palm in glove, other than that stock glove and blocker.  
 

Should have them early (hopefully) September.  First time working with TGC, Jay has been great help thus far.  
 

Nice and good luck. Any reason you went with the stock flex in the knee/didn't get rid of the break in the outer roll?

It's a much better pad than the IV, my favorites in order being V>3>IV (could expand on this in another thread if desired). The only complaint I have with my Vs is something that happened on my IVs and that's the inner flap occasionally catches on my skate when I extend my foot really wide (happens less with the V since it's a stiffer flap).

Edited June 2, 2022 by keeperton

[jerd31]

25 minutes ago, keeperton said:

Nice and good luck. Any reason you went with the stock flex in the knee/didn't get rid of the break in the outer roll?

It's a much better pad than the IV, my favorites in order being V>3>IV (could expand on this in another thread if desired). The only complaint I have with my Vs is something that happened on my IVs and that's the inner flap occasionally catches on my skate when I extend my foot really wide (happens less with the V since it's a stiffer flap).

Yeah I talked to Jay about doing 4-2-1 or no break on outer roll but he suggested sticking with 4-3-1 as it will still be stiffer than what I’m in now.  

[keeperton]

16 minutes ago, jerd31 said:

Yeah I talked to Jay about doing 4-2-1 or no break on outer roll but he suggested sticking with 4-3-1 as it will still be stiffer than what I’m in now.  

Yeah, I suppose so. If anything, keeping it at 3 instead of 2 will give you more torsional flex since there's only about an inch or two of space between the knee landing and the calf landing on the pad for it to be able to flex. The main things this will have an effect on for you are the pad flexing when a puck hits it, RVH, and overall feel when moving around or leaning idly. That's the reason I left it at 2 instead of going to 1 on the knee, I wanted some give while moving around.