Should I Get Custom or Stock Gear?

[Awgoalie164]

Because of my choice to play high school hockey and skip bantams I have always wanted to have custom pads while at the same time not spending a massive amount of money. I found the Bauer Vapor X900’s to be perfect for me. They were stiff and gave me the perfect sliding and I fell in love with them. The only problem is I want to get custom while at the same time I don’t want to wait to get them. I can get custom with the X900’s but I am not sure the pros and cons of sticking with stock or going custom. If you have an feedback please let me know as soon as possible as I will be ordering whatever I choose in less than a week.

[creasecollector]

Personally, I would wait until you are a little bit older before ordering a custom set. Go stock for now to figure out what you like about a set long-term, then order a custom set once you've stopped growing and are a young adult. 

Custom sets are awesome (just ordered my first custom set last year), but I know this gear compliments my game, and I know the fit is right for me and they will last me a long time because I've stopped growing.

If I bought custom gear in high school, I would have been really disappointed in the fit long-term due to me growing. Stock pads are just as good for what you need right now i would think, and you can easily upgrade to your very own custom set once you've fully grown and can put money towards your very own personalized set of goalie gear. 

If money was no object, I would have had a custom set every year I played growing up, but instead I waited and waited until I knew I could sink money into a set I could get many years of use out of. It's more practical that way. Just my 2 cents here. 

You can do whatever you like, and I'm sure your custom set would look sweet instead of stock gear, but you need to think about the changes you body will be going through first before thinking about a full custom set, in my opinion. 

 Best of luck man ! 

[HockeyBum]

I agree with waiting for custom pads right now. You can try and modify some of the strapping, maybe adding a K strap, things like that to see what you like and don't like on stock pads for now. I would say you could get a custom glove now since that should last you.

[cwarnar]

Read @Hills posts about custom Bauer... So many better options out there.