Bauer M5 Pro Gear

[seagoal]

Hey everyone, 

just looking for some insights or info about experiences, impressions, understanding, or hearsay about Bauer's M5 Pro set (pads, mitts).  I am contemplating grabbing a set that I found in my team colors and my pad size, but, my reservation is that I am have not ever purchased a 2nd tier set of gear before and that alone is causing me to pause. 

For anyone who doesn't know me, I am a lifelong Vaughn user and have been in their top of the line Pro Carbon gear for many years now, currently in a V9 set. 

My goal for new gear is lighter weight overall plus increased stiffness and stability in the pads, as well as more pop for rebounds. 

I have not used Bauer gear before on the ice but have messed around with it in stores and have been very impressed and intrigued.  I've tinkered with both Mach and M5 gear and they both seem equally solid and of similar quality.  It's pretty rare I have put on another company's trapper and felt comfortable, but Bauer has won me over there, even without the traditional wrist strap.

I am aware that there are differences between the two lines of Bauer...the question is, will those difference matter to me?

In terms of general upgrading, obviously V9 to Mach is a step up, but V9 to M5 as well?

Thanks everyone. 

[Puckstopper]

It may not be a step UP, or even quite a lateral step, but I doubt you'll feel like you took a huge step DOWN either.   M5Pro has most of the tech that makes Bauer great, and based on the Mach reviews, not having that sliding surface may be a win.   

I have always caught best with Vaughn gloves, and agree that my Ultrasonic is the closest I've felt to comfortable since I sold a VE8 a couple years back.  It's still not my magical T3500, but I'm realizing that nothing ever will be.  As the evil little voice in the back of my head likes to remind me, when that glove was new I was 20+ years younger, could do the splits, was 50lbs lighter, etc....   Regardless, no experience with Mach or M5, but I've been extremely happy with my Bauer gear and the US/Mach break glove in particular.  

[coopaloop1234]

I'll reiterate a point that I made last time we were talking about this:

I'd have zero reservations going to SR route for pads/blocker, I'd heavily recommend at least going Pro for the catcher. 

[seagoal]

11 minutes ago, Puckstopper said:

It may not be a step UP, or even quite a lateral step, but I doubt you'll feel like you took a huge step DOWN either.   M5Pro has most of the tech that makes Bauer great, and based on the Mach reviews, not having that sliding surface may be a win.   

I have always caught best with Vaughn gloves, and agree that my Ultrasonic is the closest I've felt to comfortable since I sold a VE8 a couple years back.  It's still not my magical T3500, but I'm realizing that nothing ever will be.  As the evil little voice in the back of my head likes to remind me, when that glove was new I was 20+ years younger, could do the splits, was 50lbs lighter, etc....   Regardless, no experience with Mach or M5, but I've been extremely happy with my Bauer gear and the US/Mach break glove in particular.  

Thanks, this is helpful .  Can you list out what the precise difference are between Mach and M5?  I've seen conflicting information.

11 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

I'll reiterate a point that I made last time we were talking about this:

I'd have zero reservations going to SR route for pads/blocker, I'd heavily recommend at least going Pro for the catcher. 

Because of protection, right?  Stingers? 

I do get one every couple of months on my V9 PC, mostly in the very bottom of the palm when I don't cleanly snag a puck.  I suppose that is bound to happen regardless of what glove is being used.

[coopaloop1234]

4 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Thanks, this is helpful .  Can you list out what the precise difference are between Mach and M5?  I've seen conflicting information.

You won't get the calf bracket,
it uses Bauer's Coretech+ skin (Ultrasonic) and not their new 1337 Sl1d3r skin,
less stiff core than the Ultrasonic (mach is even stiffer)
M5 will have the same profile as the Ultrasonic (more S shape), Mach will be stiffer and straighter

I think that's mostly it. 

Quote

Because of protection, right?  Stingers? 

I do get one every couple of months on my V9 PC, mostly in the very bottom of the palm when I don't cleanly snag a puck.  I suppose that is bound to happen regardless of what glove is being used.

Yea, plus I always think it's a worthy investment on the catcher. It's the one piece that sees the biggest improvement from Sr-> Pro. 

I found most of the stingers to happen near the top of the hand, just below the pocket. Though, i've nailed down that it mostly only happens when the puck hits the crease flat. Most of the time, the thumb and finger portions are hit and there's almost zero issues. 

 

[Puckstopper]

17 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Thanks, this is helpful .  Can you list out what the precise difference are between Mach and M5?  I've seen conflicting information.

Because of protection, right?  Stingers? 

I do get one every couple of months on my V9 PC, mostly in the very bottom of the palm when I don't cleanly snag a puck.  I suppose that is bound to happen regardless of what glove is being used.

I agree that it's usually worth it to buy pro catch gloves.  Even if all materials were identical, you'd very likely be able to feel the difference, as the best craftsmen make the pro line.  Therefore they're more consistent from glove to glove.  I've felt poorly built pro gloves and well built Sr gloves when I worked at Peranis, but they were both extreme outliers.  Usually the pro stuff closed better and was more consistent.  Protectionwise you're giving up Curv protection and XRD foam, so the layer that distributes impact is less rigid allowing the impact to concentrate in a smaller area, and then the layer below it isn't as absorbent.   If you're feeling stingers with a pro level glove, it's a pretty safe bet you will not be a happy camper with Sr. level stuff.    

 

For the pads, it looks like CorTech is on the calf only, but using paint protection film has improved the sliding on my CCM EF6's, so it should be able to give you an improvement here as well, if needed. 

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by Puckstopper

[ZeroGravitas]

17 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Thanks, this is helpful .  Can you list out what the precise difference are between Mach and M5?  I've seen conflicting information.

This is straight from the catalog.

Biggest differences between M5 and Mach are the skin, calf plate, calf bracket, core, and flex. M5 Pro is more similar to US than it is to Mach, IMO.

Edited April 25, 2023 by ZeroGravitas

[seagoal]

30 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

 

I'd have zero reservations going to SR route for pads/blocker, I'd heavily recommend at least going Pro for the catcher. 

Is this a general sentiment or specifically for Bauer due to their quality?

[Puckstopper]

2 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Is this a general sentiment or specifically for Bauer due to their quality?

For me it's across the board.   I've never bought a non-pro catch glove and can't imagine a world where I would buy Sr.   For me, the catch glove is the hardest piece to dial in, and I don't want to wonder if I'm having issues because I cheaped out.  

Edited April 25, 2023 by Puckstopper

[coopaloop1234]

8 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Is this a general sentiment or specifically for Bauer due to their quality?

Nah, just generally what I'd do. 

But I haven't been in SR gear since GT1, so my opinion is mostly pointless lol 

[seagoal]

Sounds like the M5 pads are less rigid/stiff than Mach, but coming from Vaughn, M5 has got to be significantly more rigid/stiff.  I have handled and tried on M5 pads in stores and they seem like concrete slabs compared to my V9 pads, which is kinda what I'm going for....and ditto for the blocker on all fronts.  The M5 blocker is way different in feel and rigidity than my V9, which is great.

Edited April 25, 2023 by seagoal

[coopaloop1234]

7 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Sounds like the M5 pads are less rigid/stiff than Mach, but coming from Vaughn, M5 has got to be significantly more rigid/stiff.  I have handled and tried on M5 pads in stores and they seem like concrete slabs compared to my V9 pads, which is kinda what I'm going for....and ditto for the blocker on all fronts.  The M5 blocker is way different in feel and rigidity than my V9, which is great.

M5 will be the softest of the three (M5, US, Mach). But it's practically the same as the Ultrasonic. 

It's funny, first dew times I used a pair of 3S on the ice, they felt so damn stiff compared to what I was used to. After using the Mach's for a bit, my US feel very soft in comparison. 

It's all relative to what you're used to, but it was neat to see the change in opinion after using the Machs. Things are stupid stiff lol

[Puckstopper]

20 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

M5 will be the softest of the three (M5, US, Mach). But it's practically the same as the Ultrasonic. 

 

If it's similar to my Hyperlites (custom flex stiffer than HL stock and softer than US stock flexes) it's a really nice sweet spot.  It's stiff enough that I don't worry about squeakers but flexible enough to move well in.  I honestly was not sure about Bauer pads when I ordered them, and have been pleasantly surprised.   The only issue I have is that the landing block is really firm.  My knee is still sore after games (seeing the ortho to find out WTF is up with that given that surgery was 18 months ago) so I usually end up wearing my other set that has a softer landing area.   My point is make sure you've got good, comfortable kneepads.  You'll want them! 

[seagoal]

1 hour ago, Puckstopper said:

If it's similar to my Hyperlites (custom flex stiffer than HL stock and softer than US stock flexes) it's a really nice sweet spot.  It's stiff enough that I don't worry about squeakers but flexible enough to move well in.  I honestly was not sure about Bauer pads when I ordered them, and have been pleasantly surprised.   The only issue I have is that the landing block is really firm.  My knee is still sore after games (seeing the ortho to find out WTF is up with that given that surgery was 18 months ago) so I usually end up wearing my other set that has a softer landing area.   My point is make sure you've got good, comfortable kneepads.  You'll want them! 

Vaughn pads have pretty squishy knee pads, for sure.

I use Warrior Ritual Pro + and the landing area on these is thick and really supportive so I'm not concerned about the knees.  Honestly , the knee block upgrade is one of the major draws to Bauer gear for me.

 

[coopaloop1234]

15 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Vaughn pads have pretty squishy knee pads, for sure.

I use Warrior Ritual Pro + and the landing area on these is thick and really supportive so I'm not concerned about the knees.  Honestly , the knee block upgrade is one of the major draws to Bauer gear for me.

 

You'll be fine. I had issues with my 2S knee block being too hard. 

The 3S, US/Mach Stabilislide have had zero issues. Even in back to backs. I wear Warrior GT2 knee pads (same ones that every Warrior pad user has) 

The stabilislide is a very different feeling knee block. It almost feels like you're floating and less connected to the ice. Saying that, the seal and stability is unreal. 

 

Edited April 26, 2023 by coopaloop1234

[seagoal]

2 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

You'll be fine. I had issues with my 2S knee block being too hard. 

The 3S, US/Mach Stabilislide have had zero issues. Even in back to backs. I wear Warrior GT2 knee pads (same ones that every Warrior pad user has) 

The stabilislide is a very different feeling knee block. It almost feels like you're floating and less connected to the ice. Saying that, the seal and stability is unreal. 

 

Isn't it taller,  too? It seems so but maybe it's just the dense one piece construction.

[coopaloop1234]

5 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Isn't it taller,  too? It seems so but maybe it's just the dense one piece construction.

It is. Here's kind of a side by side of the knee stack of my GT2's and US.

It's not a massive difference, but you feel it. 

 

[xmikex32]

I know I’ve seen this posted somewhere here before but I can’t find it. I just noticed that the thicker 550 looking cord that runs the length of the boot and the back of pad is cut in the boot area. I’m guessing my skate kept rubbing it and eventually cut through. Is there anyway to fix it or is it an issue? I’m guessing just tie it off so it can’t keep coming out.