New C&A advice

[Phil1p33]

Hey everyone, I'm currently in a CCM Shield 2.9 that's been decent for my lower level games but as I've progressed into faster more skilled games, it's definitely not giving me a whole lot of confidence. I recently snagged a Premier pro but ended up selling it as elbow floaters were sagging too far down the forearms and causing a lot of interference with my glove and blocker, I've chalked it up to the age of the unit and the condition of the elastic on the elbow floaters but I wasn't sure if that was a common theme with that chest protector.

I'd love to get some feedback on a few of the units I've got in mind.

EF5 - I feel like this will probably be the closest to my Shield 2.9 but I have read some things stating the protection for a "pro" level unit was questionable.

Axis - I've tried this unit a while back and liked the fit but haven't found any sort of long term use reviews.

Premier - Now that I know what to look for with the elbow floaters I've debated trying to find one in better condition because I did like the feel.

CCM Pro - I've got my eyes on one but it's a large body. It does have regular arms which I do believe will work for me but I'm in a medium now so I question whether it would fit correctly. 

 

I appreciate any feedback!

[coopaloop1234]

Any reason why you want to solely stick with CCM units? 

Warrior, Bauer, Vaughn, and Brians all make great chest protectors and they all have different feels. If you're able to (and you haven't yet), I'd highly recommend trying on a ton of stuff at your local hockey shop to see what you like best. 

[Chenner29]

2 hours ago, Phil1p33 said:

Hey everyone, I'm currently in a CCM Shield 2.9 that's been decent for my lower level games but as I've progressed into faster more skilled games, it's definitely not giving me a whole lot of confidence. I recently snagged a Premier pro but ended up selling it as elbow floaters were sagging too far down the forearms and causing a lot of interference with my glove and blocker, I've chalked it up to the age of the unit and the condition of the elastic on the elbow floaters but I wasn't sure if that was a common theme with that chest protector.

I'd love to get some feedback on a few of the units I've got in mind.

EF5 - I feel like this will probably be the closest to my Shield 2.9 but I have read some things stating the protection for a "pro" level unit was questionable.

Axis - I've tried this unit a while back and liked the fit but haven't found any sort of long term use reviews.

Premier - Now that I know what to look for with the elbow floaters I've debated trying to find one in better condition because I did like the feel.

CCM Pro - I've got my eyes on one but it's a large body. It does have regular arms which I do believe will work for me but I'm in a medium now so I question whether it would fit correctly. 

 

I appreciate any feedback!

CCM AB18Pro all the way.

Retail stock CCM units are junk.  These are NHL issued.  You can find them on Sideline Swap

[Phil1p33]

14 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Any reason why you want to solely stick with CCM units? 

Warrior, Bauer, Vaughn, and Brians all make great chest protectors and they all have different feels. If you're able to (and you haven't yet), I'd highly recommend trying on a ton of stuff at your local hockey shop to see what you like best. 

I'm not opposed to them but I do like the way the retail CCM units have the belt loops that work with the buckles on the CCM pants. There also tends to be a whole lot more CCM on the used market than the others. I've tried on Warrior, Bauer, and Vaughn. The warriors felt a bit too bulky for me but I did like the Bauers and Vaughns, probably need to spend some time looking at both of those brands again and seeing if I can try them on again.

[Phil1p33]

12 minutes ago, Chenner29 said:

CCM AB18Pro all the way.

Retail stock CCM units are junk.  These are NHL issued.  You can find them on Sideline Swap

I actually saw your review on this right after I posted mine. How did you find the sizing of this one vs other chest protectors you've had? I'm currently in a medium CCM but the one i'm looking at is a Large with regular arms so I'm a bit hesitant on pulling the trigger. 

[Chenner29]

2 hours ago, Phil1p33 said:

I actually saw your review on this right after I posted mine. How did you find the sizing of this one vs other chest protectors you've had? I'm currently in a medium CCM but the one i'm looking at is a Large with regular arms so I'm a bit hesitant on pulling the trigger. 

I've seen them come in 3 different fit profiles, Fit 2, Fit 3, and Fit 4.  Haven't noticed a huge difference between Fit 2 and 3.  Pick up one of those and you should be golden

[A.YOUNGoalie13]

About to be on my second Brians chest. Still in my optik 1 for now. IMO the mobility and protection combination is unmatched.

[GOALIESTOREBB]

On 8/16/2022 at 6:29 PM, Phil1p33 said:

I'm not opposed to them but I do like the way the retail CCM units have the belt loops that work with the buckles on the CCM pants. There also tends to be a whole lot more CCM on the used market than the others. I've tried on Warrior, Bauer, and Vaughn. The warriors felt a bit too bulky for me but I did like the Bauers and Vaughns, probably need to spend some time looking at both of those brands again and seeing if I can try them on again.

Boss, these loops to work with CCM pants can be added at any furniture repair, an auto upholstery shop, or a shoe repair for the price of a case of beer. Just saying. Maybe find a CA that you like? You can also add those yourself, use dental floss to last longer. Just a thought. Did not read all the responses if I am repeating. Sorry MODs.  

[Phil1p33]

Wanted to pop back in here and try to revive this. I ended up picking up a CCM Premier back in September and it's been pretty solid. I've only really had two issues. One, the elbow floaters, the elastic holding them to the arms was starting to give and causing them to fall down and gave me a lot of interference issues with my glove. I solved this by picking up a set of the CCM Pro arms and building a little frankenchesty.

Ultimately the biggest issue I'm having is really in the size of the Premier. I came from an Eflex Shield 2.9 so the protection is a whole lot better but the floaters and shoulder wings are just so massive and I really don't feel as mobile as I once was. I've been looking at maybe making a switch and I wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts on the following units:

CCM EF5 - I've tried this one on and it felt quite comparable to my Shield which I liked, my only issue/concern was that for a "Pro" level chest protector the arms were a bit questionable to me. Now, this really isn't too big of an issue as I could easily throw the CCM Pro arms on but even the belly pad seemed a bit light. Would love to know if anyone's got experience with this one.

Vaughn V9 Pro Carbon - I feel like this is a logical choice as I'm looking to get back into a more mobile unit but I don't have a whole lot of experience with Vaughn or their chest protectors. The only Vaughn chest I've been able to try on was an SLR3 Pro and I was not too impressed.

Other ones I've looked at include the Hyperlite, which I liked but the arms felt way too long and I don't really want to go a custom route, Axis 2, felt less bulky than the Premier but rib protection felt lacking.

I'm keeping my eyes out for a full CCM AB18Pro in a fit 2 or 3 but they're seeming to be a bit rare these days.

Appreciate any advice.

[Phil1p33]

On 9/24/2022 at 8:31 PM, GOALIESTOREBB said:

Boss, these loops to work with CCM pants can be added at any furniture repair, an auto upholstery shop, or a shoe repair for the price of a case of beer. Just saying. Maybe find a CA that you like? You can also add those yourself, use dental floss to last longer. Just a thought. Did not read all the responses if I am repeating. Sorry MODs.  

I gotta be honest and admit that I didn't even think about that LOL. Since I picked up the Premier I stopped tucking and using those loops.

[turbototts]

Just sharing my experience on my recent chesty adventure. I'm 5'10 and wear 33+2 pads, all the chestys worked well with my bauer pro pants. no problems tucking or overlap. I am keeping the V9 in hopes it breaks in and settles down the arms and floaters are still pretty stiff but not nearly as stiff as my hyperlight was. I would say a retail hyperlight is more than enough. Those CCM pro units look sorta like the best of both worlds. 

• Have had a V6 ProCarbon until the plates and foam started bursting through the aeromesh and had to replace it.
• Hyperlight
  • Medium size. beefed up arms, floaters, and 20mm off the cuffs. 
  • bulky and pretty warm but very protective arms were still long for me
• V9 Pro 
  • not at all like the my old V6 or the V8 units so be careful, the medium I got fits more like a large
  • more mobile and cooler than the hyperlight. the arms are beefier than older vaughn units so are the floaters 
  • velcro arms are meh. the back strap rides higher on the back, if you look a lot of pro units dont use this back style they use older v8-v6 styles with the buckle

[Phil1p33]

36 minutes ago, turbototts said:

Just sharing my experience on my recent chesty adventure. I'm 5'10 and wear 33+2 pads, all the chestys worked well with my bauer pro pants. no problems tucking or overlap. I am keeping the V9 in hopes it breaks in and settles down the arms and floaters are still pretty stiff but not nearly as stiff as my hyperlight was. I would say a retail hyperlight is more than enough. Those CCM pro units look sorta like the best of both worlds. 

• Have had a V6 ProCarbon until the plates and foam started bursting through the aeromesh and had to replace it.
• Hyperlight
  • Medium size. beefed up arms, floaters, and 20mm off the cuffs. 
  • bulky and pretty warm but very protective arms were still long for me
• V9 Pro 
  • not at all like the my old V6 or the V8 units so be careful, the medium I got fits more like a large
  • more mobile and cooler than the hyperlight. the arms are beefier than older vaughn units so are the floaters 
  • velcro arms are meh. the back strap rides higher on the back, if you look a lot of pro units dont use this back style they use older v8-v6 styles with the buckle

Appreciate the info! Any reason you went with the V9 pro vs pro carbon?

[Rogie]

On 8/16/2022 at 4:17 PM, Chenner29 said:

CCM AB18Pro all the way.

Retail stock CCM units are junk.  These are NHL issued.  You can find them on Sideline Swap

100% agree.

I found one of these at a San Jose Sharks end-of-season sale last year and it's night-and-day better than retail units. Once you find/use one, you can never go back.  The unit is all nylon (no "airfoam" or knit material which wear out and get holes quickly), the plastics and foams are thicker and the adjustability is outstanding. Mobility is also outstanding as you'd expect.  One of the nifty/unique features is it uses no buckles for the elastic strap around your waist, just velcro, to avoid them getting broken by pucks.  If you can find, one, it's worth owning at (almost) any price if you're playing at a high level and keep getting bruises.  Of course, you'll need to be 5'11 or taller (likely) as just about every goalie in the NHL now is 6' or taller. My unit fits like a retail "large" but it's not uncommon for guys to have these made with a shorter/longer arm to fit their proportions.

[ThatCarGuy]

3 minutes ago, Rogie said:

100% agree.

I found one of these at a San Jose Sharks end-of-season sale last year and it's night-and-day better than retail units. Once you find/use one, you can never go back.  The unit is all nylon (no "airfoam" or knit material which wear out and get holes quickly), the plastics and foams are thicker and the adjustability is outstanding. Mobility is also outstanding as you'd expect.  One of the nifty/unique features is it uses no buckles for the elastic strap around your waist, just velcro, to avoid them getting broken by pucks.  If you can find, one, it's worth owning at (almost) any price if you're playing at a high level and keep getting bruises.  Of course, you'll need to be 5'11 or taller (likely) as just about every goalie in the NHL now is 6' or taller. My unit fits like a retail "large" but it's not uncommon for guys to have these made with a shorter/longer arm to fit their proportions.

Any idea what fit yours is? The Fit 4 I picked up and now have for sale was enormous

[Rogie]

BTW: the best alternate I found was a Hyperlite custom ordered with Mach/Ultrasonic arms, beefed up in floaters, forearm and biceps, with the arms cut 20 mm shorter than stock.  Super pricey though and I think it was slightly heavier and a little more bulky than the CCM AB18Pro, but protection was good.

[Phil1p33]

Thanks @Rogie I appreciate the info. I've got the arms and I can definitely tell the quality difference between those and retail, especially my premier arms, and they're just so adjustable. The only issue I have with them so far is that they're a little long but since they were pretty cheap I've got a few ideas on shortening them up. I'm about 5'9 so I doubt the body is going to fit me perfectly but I'm keeping my eyes open for a fit 2. I actually pulled the trigger today on a used EF5 at about half the cost of new and I'm thinking the EF5 body with the pro arms should get me pretty close to what I'm looking for. If that doesn't work I'll probably just end up going custom. That hyperlite set up was pretty much exactly what I was thinking but yeah, it's quite pricey.

[Rogie]

8 minutes ago, Phil1p33 said:

Thanks @Rogie I appreciate the info. I've got the arms and I can definitely tell the quality difference between those and retail, especially my premier arms, and they're just so adjustable. The only issue I have with them so far is that they're a little long but since they were pretty cheap I've got a few ideas on shortening them up. I'm about 5'9 so I doubt the body is going to fit me perfectly but I'm keeping my eyes open for a fit 2. I actually pulled the trigger today on a used EF5 at about half the cost of new and I'm thinking the EF5 body with the pro arms should get me pretty close to what I'm looking for. If that doesn't work I'll probably just end up going custom. That hyperlite set up was pretty much exactly what I was thinking but yeah, it's quite pricey.

I think if you can get a good fit on the chesty, you'll be okay. Most of the magic is in the arms.  You can't really wear a padded shirt to make up the difference in the arms but you can make up for a thin chesty with a padded shirt + padded neck/collar from Aegis or Warrior or the like.  If you've got the arms sorted out, then I think you'll 95-99% of the way home.  

One of the tricks you can pull on the shortening the arms is to remove the velcro at the wrists. I don't find the velcro does must functionally, (except get in the way of rotating my wrist within the cuff of the gloves lol) so that's another way to buy back about another inch or so.  On previous units, I've also messed with the attachment at the top of the arm to shoulder to shorten things up there too.  This area is covered by the floater so you can get away with removing some of the padding if needed.   Ultimately, you're just looking for the elbows to be locked into the elbow cap. Without that, the arms will always be falling or shifting or twisting whenever you move..

[Rogie]

47 minutes ago, ThatCarGuy said:

Any idea what fit yours is? The Fit 4 I picked up and now have for sale was enormous

I can't find any indicator of "fit 1", "Fit 2", etc.  There no marking on the chest.  But the arms clearly say "Regular" and I've seen other that say "long".  I typically wear a size Large chesty (I'm 5'11, 34" sleeves on a dress shirt) and the arms on this one are perfect length for me.

For others who may be reading this and don't know about these units. The arms are super easily swapped. There's just a piece of velcro strapping at the top of each arm and a loop in the shoulder it fits through, so you can move the arms up and down (by 3-4" at least) or swap them out in about 10 seconds.  I've read some posts in various places where goalies have used this chest with Kennesky PP1 arms and vice versa too. As I mentioned previously, tons of adjustability.  

For what it's worth I measured the distance from the bottom of the chesty to the top of the padded collar (from the front) and it is about 20" (about 19" to the base of the collar).

[ThatCarGuy]

Weird my fit 4 measured in at 20.5in. Wonder if it’s more width based than length

[Chenner29]

1 hour ago, Rogie said:

I can't find any indicator of "fit 1", "Fit 2", etc.  There no marking on the chest. 

Sometimes there's a tag on the backside of the backplate - the underside of where the fight strap attaches

Quote

But the arms clearly say "Regular" and I've seen other that say "long".  I typically wear a size Large chesty (I'm 5'11, 34" sleeves on a dress shirt) and the arms on this one are perfect length for me.

Mine say "-1"

1 hour ago, Rogie said:

BTW: the best alternate I found was a Hyperlite custom ordered with Mach/Ultrasonic arms, beefed up in floaters, forearm and biceps, with the arms cut 20 mm shorter than stock.  Super pricey though and I think it was slightly heavier and a little more bulky than the CCM AB18Pro, but protection was good.

These are close, but protection IMO isn't quite there.  Took quite a few arm stingers/bruises in the two weeks I had the Bauer. 
I'd be very surprised if the CCM isn't the most used unit at the pro level

 

On 1/12/2023 at 12:47 PM, Phil1p33 said:

Wanted to pop back in here and try to revive this. I ended up picking up a CCM Premier back in September and it's been pretty solid. I've only really had two issues. One, the elbow floaters, the elastic holding them to the arms was starting to give and causing them to fall down and gave me a lot of interference issues with my glove. I solved this by picking up a set of the CCM Pro arms and building a little frankenchesty.

Ultimately the biggest issue I'm having is really in the size of the Premier. I came from an Eflex Shield 2.9 so the protection is a whole lot better but the floaters and shoulder wings are just so massive and I really don't feel as mobile as I once was. I've been looking at maybe making a switch and I wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts on the following units:

CCM EF5 - I've tried this one on and it felt quite comparable to my Shield which I liked, my only issue/concern was that for a "Pro" level chest protector the arms were a bit questionable to me. Now, this really isn't too big of an issue as I could easily throw the CCM Pro arms on but even the belly pad seemed a bit light. Would love to know if anyone's got experience with this one.

Vaughn V9 Pro Carbon - I feel like this is a logical choice as I'm looking to get back into a more mobile unit but I don't have a whole lot of experience with Vaughn or their chest protectors. The only Vaughn chest I've been able to try on was an SLR3 Pro and I was not too impressed.

Other ones I've looked at include the Hyperlite, which I liked but the arms felt way too long and I don't really want to go a custom route, Axis 2, felt less bulky than the Premier but rib protection felt lacking.

I'm keeping my eyes out for a full CCM AB18Pro in a fit 2 or 3 but they're seeming to be a bit rare these days.

Appreciate any advice.

IMO, any time I make a purchase for anything "second best" - my first choice becomes available within a week

Just be patient and wait for an AB18Pro.  Rest of these options are poor substitutes

[Rogie]

44 minutes ago, Chenner29 said:

Sometimes there's a tag on the backside of the backplate - the underside of where the fight strap attaches

I just checked again and there's no markings at all. Sorry I can't be more helpful on the sizing.