Vaughn Ventus SLR2 Catcher or Vaughn Ventus SLR2-ST Catcher?

[OldSchoolGoalie]

I want to get either a Vaughn Ventus SLR2 Catcher or Vaughn Ventus SLR2-ST Cacher, but I have no idea which one I should get.

I tried on both at the shop and oddly enough the SLR2-ST closed way easier than the SLR2, not sure why as I thought they're pretty much the same glove other than the single / double cuff.

Which would be the best for someone who likes a 600 style break, and that baseball glove feel? I also noticed when I tried on the SLR2-ST my thumb would end right on the entrance of the thumb loop, it was a strange angle. I resorted to just putting my thumb in the pocket without going through the loop and not worrying about the loop which worked much better. I didn't notice the same issue with the SLR2 though.

My thumb wouldn't go into the loop and deep in the pocket but stuck here:

I'm also very active with the stick and play the puck so I'm not sure how these single cuffs work.

For reference the tip of my middle finger to my bottom palm is 6.5" (6 and 1/2 inches).

I've tried a bunch of other gloves, Brains I found it felt off, Warrior was too flimsy, CCM (break issues), Bauer was so so. Vaughn seemed like the only one I liked off the shelf.

If I get one of the Vaughn gloves above, what is the best method to break it in, and safely?

EDIT: Probably just going to get a SLR2-ST.

Edited December 1, 2022 by OldSchoolGoalie

[Puckstopper]

I'm a big advocate of the Vaughn T5500/CCM 600 break, and I found that the VE8 2 piece cuff glove was the closest to that break that I'd found in a long time.   It was also a great glove for puckhandling.  For me, the SLR gloves closed too far out in the fingers.   The one piece Ve gloves felt like 590's (which makes sense, they're a 590 clone) and I agree with you that Brians and Warrior just aren't quite right for my preference.    Bauer Ultrasonic felt a little weird at first, but is currently my favorite glove in terms of how it catches.    For reference, these are the gloves I've tried in the last 15 years chasing the right feel:

Brian's SubZero and Genetik II (lots of popouts with both if I didn't focus)

CCM EF4 590 single T, Axis 600 double T, EF5 600 single T.   (Couldn't catch COVID with the 590, the Axis 600 closes like crap but is the right break, the EF5 is pretty good)

Bauer Ultrasonic (solid catching glove, easy to play the puck in, wish I'd ordered without extra foam in the fingers as it's hard to close)

Vaughn Ve8 two piece cuff (best glove of the lot, wish I hadn't sold it to a buddy)

Warrior G4 75 degree, GT2 70 degree, G5 60 degree (the G4 wasn't my cup of tea, the G5 felt a little better with the 60 degree liner, but the GT2 with the sewn in 70 degree break was the star of this group.  If I'd ordered with a 60 degree, this would have been a contender for top 3)

So after all of that, my 3 favs are the Ve8 that I moved on from, followed by Ultrasonic with the CCM EF5 600 coming in third.   I may just have to bite the bullet and get an updated Vaughn T5500 at this point or just give up and quit chasing catch glove nirvana.  

 

 

 

[OldSchoolGoalie]

7 hours ago, Puckstopper said:

I'm a big advocate of the Vaughn T5500/CCM 600 break, and I found that the VE8 2 piece cuff glove was the closest to that break that I'd found in a long time.   It was also a great glove for puckhandling.  For me, the SLR gloves closed too far out in the fingers.   The one piece Ve gloves felt like 590's (which makes sense, they're a 590 clone) and I agree with you that Brians and Warrior just aren't quite right for my preference.    Bauer Ultrasonic felt a little weird at first, but is currently my favorite glove in terms of how it catches.    For reference, these are the gloves I've tried in the last 15 years chasing the right feel:

Brian's SubZero and Genetik II (lots of popouts with both if I didn't focus)

CCM EF4 590 single T, Axis 600 double T, EF5 600 single T.   (Couldn't catch COVID with the 590, the Axis 600 closes like crap but is the right break, the EF5 is pretty good)

Bauer Ultrasonic (solid catching glove, easy to play the puck in, wish I'd ordered without extra foam in the fingers as it's hard to close)

Vaughn Ve8 two piece cuff (best glove of the lot, wish I hadn't sold it to a buddy)

Warrior G4 75 degree, GT2 70 degree, G5 60 degree (the G4 wasn't my cup of tea, the G5 felt a little better with the 60 degree liner, but the GT2 with the sewn in 70 degree break was the star of this group.  If I'd ordered with a 60 degree, this would have been a contender for top 3)

So after all of that, my 3 favs are the Ve8 that I moved on from, followed by Ultrasonic with the CCM EF5 600 coming in third.   I may just have to bite the bullet and get an updated Vaughn T5500 at this point or just give up and quit chasing catch glove nirvana.  

 

 

 

I noticed a lot of the same! What I found odd about the Warrior G6 gloves is that they closed in a way that had my fingers slipping back, just a really odd glove for my hand. It also had the 75degree insert but didn't make a difference, still didn't like the internals.

I ended up getting the Vaughn SLR2-ST and played a game tonight with it. Extremely happy with it, also feels very at home for me coming from Heaton and Sherwood gloves that had close to what you would call a 600 break. Ended up retiring my CCM EFlex 600 break, just a piece of garbage even though I actually liked the internals and feel but couldn't close it, and the break in is just atrocious.

My new Vaughn SLR2-ST closes very easily just off the shelf with little effort, but I still need to break it in. Most likely will do it just the natural way even though they can be baked and molded.

I don't recall struggling 10 years ago getting a good catcher! Things have changed it seems.

I'm most likely going to swap in skate lace and have a floating T as well.  

Edited December 2, 2022 by OldSchoolGoalie

[ArdeFIN]

It is sort of positive thing that Vaughn is making the 1-piece and 2-piece gloves so much different in feel too. You basically have four different gloves to choose from. Ofcourse it's not an advantage if you don't have all of them available to try the feel side by side.

Aleast CCM/LeFebvre were doing the same thing, 2-piece EF3 was a whole different glove than EF3 1-piece.

I have a hold on a Brians Subzero 1-piece and 2-piece so I can make a comparison of those too.

Edited December 4, 2022 by ArdeFIN