Bauer Supreme M5 Pro/Mach wrist strap mod

[seagoal]

I finally decided to try to remedy the wrist strap situation on my M5 Pro/Mach glove.  (These gloves have the same build when stock so this is relevant to either level of the glove, M5 or Mach.)   The lack of wrist strap on these gloves has caused many conversations and complaints on here, including from myself.  This was my first set of gear outside of Vaughn in my life and overall I really love the set with no complaints other than the wrist strap situation.   So rather than bite the bullet and spend $625 on a Pro Custom Mach glove with a wrist strap I wanted to try to mod my current glove first, so here we go. 

Just for the record, these gloves have no traditional wrist strap when stock built, so there is no downward pressure on the wrist. This is marketed as a way to maximize mobility and flexibility in the wrist when wearing the glove.  However, my two problems with that are 1) that was never a wish or need on for me and I chalk that up to Bauer inventing a problem and solving it when in fact, for me anyway, it was not a problem to begin with; 2) late in games when sweaty and wet, the glove just feels like it is going to fly off constantly and there is not enough pressure over the hand or fingers or throuhg the pinky/thumb loops to make the glove feel tight and secure.  

I've already added little slider clasps to the thumb and pinky loops which helped tighten the glove and keep it secure, but it still wasn't enough without a wrist strap  Here are those clasps.  This little mod is really effective and this would work on any glove from any brand with traditional loops.  Highly recommended. 

On to the wrist strap mod.

I was looking at all my old gear and parts and scraps and thinking there must be a solution to this problem with all this stuff.  I took out my old Vaughn glove and just looked at the details of how wrist straps are designed and built, and the number one problem was going to be anchoring a strap on the side opposite the loops in the glove.  So here is how I got around that problem.

Here is the glove stock before the mod

Step 1.  Cut out an old thumb pillow from a blocker

Step 2. Cut off the wrist strap off the same old blocker

Step 3. Cut a small slit in the wrist cuff of the glove on the side opposite the loops, just below the velcro base for the wrist cuff attachment area

Step 4. Run the blocker wrist strap through the slit and attach to the velcro base on the cuff

Step 5. Slide the blocker thumb pillow onto the strap

So this is the end of the mod build, this is essentially how the glove will be when not playing

Step 6 Put the glove on and run the strap crosswise through the inner loop closest to the fingers

Step 7.  Run the stock strap crosswise through the outer loop closest to the wrist and cynch it down pretty tight to engage the mod build and put downward pressure on the wrist

Step 8. Close the cuff and close the final velcro strap and make any adustments as needed to be comfortable

It now feels tight and secure and much more traditional with really good downward pressure on the wrist and because of the nature of the blocker thumb pillow, it's super comfy and snug and feels very natural and soft.  The pressure is distributed very nicely.  

I'm excited to give this a go in my two games this week, but so far so good.

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by seagoal

[ser33]

great idea and implementation

[seagoal]

6 minutes ago, ser33 said:

great idea and implementation

Thanks.  Pretty happy so far.  Game 1 of our winter season is tomorrow.  

[coopaloop1234]

14 hours ago, seagoal said:

This is marketed as a way to maximize mobility and flexibility in the wrist when wearing the glove.  However, my two problems with that are 1) that was never a wish or need on for me and I chalk that up to Bauer inventing a problem and solving it when in fact, for me anyway, it was not a problem to begin with;

 

Excuse me while I fangirl a bit.

Pretty sure Warrior recognized the problem back in 2014. Warrior's wristless set up is hands down the best one out there and I'd argue better than any other brands entire glove set up. 

In defense of Bauer, Warrior didn't nail the wristless setup on their first try with the G2, but it was relatively close to what we have now on the G6. They refined it over the last decade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxcqzdbBBB4 Look at how unnecessarily convoluted the G2 Velcro system was. 

Bauer tried and just fell short on mimicking what Warrior was able to implement and it's mostly due to 2 things: 

1. Velcro attachment point is too high, or too low. (thus why some of us did the zip tie mod).
2. Unable to adjust the attachment points on the thumb side. 

having a single adjustment point really limited what they were trying to accomplish. 

 

That being said, digging the mod, though I'm surprised you did it in a criss cross fashion. I figured you'd go more for a traditional set up with one lower, and one higher. 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by coopaloop1234

[ThatCarGuy]

6 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Excuse me while I fangirl a bit.

Pretty sure Warrior recognized the problem back in 2014. Warrior's wristless set up is hands down the best one out there and I'd argue better than any other brands entire glove set up. 

In defense of Bauer, Warrior didn't nail the wristless setup on their first try with the G2, but it was relatively close to what we have now on the G6. They refined it over the last decade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxcqzdbBBB4 Look at how unnecessarily convoluted the G2 Velcro system was. 

Bauer tried and just fell short on mimicking what Warrior was able to implement and it's mostly due to 2 things: 

1. Velcro attachment point is too high, or too low. (thus why some of us did the zip tie mod).
2. Unable to adjust the attachment points on the thumb side. 

having a single adjustment point really limited what they were trying to accomplish. 

 

That being said, digging the mod, though I'm surprised you did it in a criss cross fashion. I figured you'd go more for a traditional set up with one lower, and one higher. 

 

 

 Completely agree. The only gloves to come close has been ccm 581 and 591. Their strapping system is very nice and comfy but unfortunately has been attached to an awful glove. Hopefully XF fixes that

[seagoal]

19 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Excuse me while I fangirl a bit.

Pretty sure Warrior recognized the problem back in 2014. Warrior's wristless set up is hands down the best one out there and I'd argue better than any other brands entire glove set up. 

In defense of Bauer, Warrior didn't nail the wristless setup on their first try with the G2, but it was relatively close to what we have now on the G6. They refined it over the last decade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxcqzdbBBB4 Look at how unnecessarily convoluted the G2 Velcro system was. 

Bauer tried and just fell short on mimicking what Warrior was able to implement and it's mostly due to 2 things: 

1. Velcro attachment point is too high, or too low. (thus why some of us did the zip tie mod).
2. Unable to adjust the attachment points on the thumb side. 

having a single adjustment point really limited what they were trying to accomplish. 

 

That being said, digging the mod, though I'm surprised you did it in a criss cross fashion. I figured you'd go more for a traditional set up with one lower, and one higher. 

 

 

Thanks buddy.   I know you love the Warrior setup, I just have not really been able to try it myself.  Starting to see more Warrior gear around here now that we have 2 good shops in town, but I'm honestly not sure which versions they have.  Outside of sticks and knee pads, Warrior gear has not gained my attention much.

Funny you mention the criss cross.  I originally tried running the straps straight across with the mod in the outer loop and the stock in the inner loop, but because the mod strap is not securely anchored on the right side and only attached to the flexible cuff piece, when I run the strap straight across it pulls the cuff piece in and bends it too much.  So it distorts the cuff piece way too much.  I can solve this problem by running the straps criss cross because then I don't need to crank the mod down too much, bending the cuff, and just use the stock strap to exert pressure down on the mod strap.  Criss cross makes the whole setup work as a cohesive unit.

I will say though, I did think of @ArdeFIN when I was doing this and wishing I had the same skills, or, I was in Finland.

[coopaloop1234]

3 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Funny you mention the criss cross.  I originally tried running the straps straight across with the mod in the outer loop and the stock in the inner loop, but because the mod strap is not securely anchored on the right side and only attached to the flexible cuff piece, when I run the strap straight across it pulls the cuff piece in and bends it too much.  So it distorts the cuff piece way too much.  I can solve this problem by running the straps criss cross because then I don't need to crank the mod down too much, bending the cuff, and just use the stock strap to exert pressure down on the mod strap.  Criss cross makes the whole setup work as a cohesive unit.

I figured there was a reason you decided to make it convoluted. Well, let us know how the mod goes. It looks like a lot of pressure on one area, so I'm curious how that holds up over a game. 

[seagoal]

8 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

I figured there was a reason you decided to make it convoluted. Well, let us know how the mod goes. It looks like a lot of pressure on one area, so I'm curious how that holds up over a game. 

The ideal solution would be to anchor the mod strap here somehow, but that goes way beyond my ability.  Then I could run both the straps straight across.  Velcro to cuff was the best hack I could come up with. 

Edited September 25, 2023 by seagoal

[seagoal]

Got to use my modded glove tonight and it was a huge success. Super happy with the added wrist strap and how it made the glove feel tight and snug.  It made me realize how little confidence I had in the glove itself as a piece of gear because I was always too aware of how precarious it felt, especially late in games.  I didn't have to think about it once or worry about it flying off or sliding up my hand.  

One thing I need to do now is loosen my pinky loop which is locked in place with the slider clasps.  I think the wrist strap changed the way my fingers rest and move in the glove and I was getting some pinching on my pinky.  Gonna loosen that clasp a bit and should be good to go for my game tomorrow night.  

So far this mod is a win.  Oh, and we won our game tonight so 1-0 on the new season. 

[coopaloop1234]

6 hours ago, seagoal said:

  It made me realize how little confidence I had in the glove itself as a piece of gear because I was always too aware of how precarious it felt, especially late in games.  I didn't have to think about it once or worry about it flying off or sliding up my hand.  

Glad the mod was an immediate success. The sip tie method was my way of combating the precarious feeling you mentioned. 

Didn't solve it, but definitely helped. 

 

[seagoal]

35 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Glad the mod was an immediate success. The sip tie method was my way of combating the precarious feeling you mentioned. 

Didn't solve it, but definitely helped. 

 

I tried zip ties at home, just didn't feel right. I wanted more cushion and the blocker thumb pillow was perfect.

[coopaloop1234]

3 minutes ago, seagoal said:

I tried zip ties at home, just didn't feel right. I wanted more cushion and the blocker thumb pillow was perfect.

I wanted more connection too, so I just bought Warrior instead. 

I used to be very confident in my glove hand until my Mach. With it I was 'okay', but since going back to my beloved I'm catching damn near everything. 

[seagoal]

29 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

I wanted more connection too, so I just bought Warrior instead. 

I used to be very confident in my glove hand until my Mach. With it I was 'okay', but since going back to my beloved I'm catching damn near everything. 

I totally get that. 

In warmups last night I said out loud "this feels like home" for the glove.  It's interesting how doubt in gear can creep in to our fragile minds.

[seagoal]

Quick little adjustment to this mod.

In my game Wednesday I had to scramble before the game to help my buddy get our roster to the scorekeeper and had to grab my phone.  I didn't get my glove back on properly and the added red thumb pillow got pushed out from beneath the straps and it all became loose and stock-like again.

So I needed a way to lock the thumb pillow in place to preven this from happening again and thankully there was already the velcro strip sewed onto it.  So, I took the stock toe ties from my pads, made a quick snip, and just stuck it on over the strap, locking it in place. As an aesthetic bonus, it now says Bauer on the mod so it looks relatively legit.  Nice little bonus to the eye.