Added a Professor Strap and Now Knee is Less Centered?

[CelestialBurden]

I need to say I am new to hockey and bought my first leg pads this summer, but I've been having a hell of a time finding the "right" leg pad size.

I bought some Bauer GSX in Large, but they felt too tall in the thigh. So I bought some Bauer Vapor 3X in Medium, and the height feels so much better. There is only a 1" difference in total height, but the knee block height is very similar and in both pads, my knee lands on the block. So, I kept the mediums and have been playing well.

However, even though my knee still lands on the block, I noticed that it lands in the upper half of the block. I wanted to get my knee more centered (and get better 5 hole coverage) by getting the pad to sit higher, so I added a professor strap. However, I think it had the opposite effect. I'm now consistently landing on the top 25% of the knee block and my knee guard hangs off of it. Note that I still land on the block, just towards the edge and not in the center. I've never landed on the ground, always the block.

Why would this happen? I'm guessing my pads normally slide up a bit when I go into the butterfly, and keeping them tighter with a professor strap prevents this, cause my knee to land higher on the block?

More importantly, is any of this a problem? When people say they fall "off" the knee block, do they mean literally off?

TLDR: I plan to remove the professor strap because it worsens the issue and creates a bigger 5 hole, but I know my knee will still not be in the center of the block, and I'm not sure if this is a problem as long as I still always land on the block.

Edited November 8, 2023 by CelestialBurden

[seagoal]

2 hours ago, CelestialBurden said:

I need to say I am new to hockey and bought my first leg pads this summer, but I've been having a hell of a time finding the "right" leg pad size.

I bought some Bauer GSX in Large, but they felt too tall in the thigh. So I bought some Bauer Vapor 3X in Medium, and the height feels so much better. There is only a 1" difference in total height, but the knee block height is very similar and in both pads, my knee lands on the block. So, I kept the mediums and have been playing well.

However, even though my knee still lands on the block, I noticed that it lands in the upper half of the block. I wanted to get my knee more centered (and get better 5 hole coverage) by getting the pad to sit higher, so I added a professor strap. However, I think it had the opposite effect. I'm now consistently landing on the top 25% of the knee block and my knee guard hangs off of it. Note that I still land on the block, just towards the edge and not in the center. I've never landed on the ground, always the block.

Why would this happen? I'm guessing my pads normally slide up a bit when I go into the butterfly, and keeping them tighter with a professor strap prevents this, cause my knee to land higher on the block?

More importantly, is any of this a problem? When people say they fall "off" the knee block, do they mean literally off?

TLDR: I plan to remove the professor strap because it worsens the issue and creates a bigger 5 hole, but I know my knee will still not be in the center of the block, and I'm not sure if this is a problem as long as I still always land on the block.

There's so much to unpack here and many of us can help, but first, can you post pics of the leg channels so we can see how the strap was installed and how it looks both open and closed as it would be on your leg?

To answer one of your questions: yes, some people literally land off the knee block, knee to ice.  This can happen if pads are too big, too small, or too loose.

Edited November 8, 2023 by seagoal

[Puckstopper]

Landing on the upper portion of the block is a good thing.   Unless the pads are custom fit and custom made to your exact spec you're very unlikely to land dead center anyway, and landing high on the block pushes the pad tip into the ice, where landing low pulls it upwards.    Granted, you probably don't want to be landing as high as you describe after your mod, but it sounds like pre-mod you were landing exactly where you needed to.    

You'll do better to refine your technique to get the extra .5" of coverage that moving your pad up your leg would do, but if you want to experiment with it anyway, try building a riser in the boot area to force the pad to sit higher.   You'll probably find that it's cumbersome and your pads don't move as well as you'd like, but try a few different iterations before giving up.  If nothing else you'll gain a better understanding of how different mods effect how pads play, kind of like you did with the calf strap.  Keep tinkering, it's fun to have a set of gear that's uniquely yours, and by gaining understanding you'll have a better idea of what to order if you ever go full custom.

[IpaddyTECH]

Did you measure your FTK? I'd start there if you haven't yet.

I also added a professor strap to a pad. Itt had only a small effect on my knee landing, but I loved the responsiveness it provided so I have stuck with it. How tight do you have it? Mine is so tight it angles upward as I stand, tightly wrapped around my calf, thus lifting my pads slightly and keeping them from sagging as much. As far as I understand, the purpose of the professor strap is to reduce the pad's normal tendency to sag downwards when you're standing which increases your thigh rise (as well as create a more connected to the leg feel without interfering with pad rotation, theoretically). So your pads might slide up a little in a b-fly, but essentially they should already be higher to begin with if that makes sense? Correct me if I'm wrong on this fellas.

Do you have a tight boot strap keeping the pad anchored low? I also only have a lundy loop strap for the boot, and centered toe bungees. 

Overall keep playing with it until you get the feel and performance you're looking for. That's kind of the golden rule of pad mods, do more of what works, less of what don't.  

[CelestialBurden]

4 hours ago, seagoal said:

There's so much to unpack here and many of us can help, but first, can you post pics of the leg channels so we can see how the strap was installed and how it looks both open and closed as it would be on your leg?

To answer one of your questions: yes, some people literally land off the knee block, knee to ice.  This can happen if pads are too big, too small, or too loose.

Is this helpful at all?

https://imgur.com/a/hP9eFhs

3 hours ago, Puckstopper said:

Landing on the upper portion of the block is a good thing.   Unless the pads are custom fit and custom made to your exact spec you're very unlikely to land dead center anyway, and landing high on the block pushes the pad tip into the ice, where landing low pulls it upwards.    Granted, you probably don't want to be landing as high as you describe after your mod, but it sounds like pre-mod you were landing exactly where you needed to.    

You'll do better to refine your technique to get the extra .5" of coverage that moving your pad up your leg would do, but if you want to experiment with it anyway, try building a riser in the boot area to force the pad to sit higher.   You'll probably find that it's cumbersome and your pads don't move as well as you'd like, but try a few different iterations before giving up.  If nothing else you'll gain a better understanding of how different mods effect how pads play, kind of like you did with the calf strap.  Keep tinkering, it's fun to have a set of gear that's uniquely yours, and by gaining understanding you'll have a better idea of what to order if you ever go full custom.

Thank you. I was mostly concerned with getting the pad to sit higher so that I was landing "dead center," which is what everyone says in regards to a pad fitting properly. I can close the 5 hole pretty well when I squeeze my knees together or flare harder. But if I do a "typical" quick reaction butterfly, there's usually a slight gap (pads don't touch) when I land.

3 hours ago, IpaddyTECH said:

Did you measure your FTK? I'd start there if you haven't yet.

I also added a professor strap to a pad. Itt had only a small effect on my knee landing, but I loved the responsiveness it provided so I have stuck with it. How tight do you have it? Mine is so tight it angles upward as I stand, tightly wrapped around my calf, thus lifting my pads slightly and keeping them from sagging as much. As far as I understand, the purpose of the professor strap is to reduce the pad's normal tendency to sag downwards when you're standing which increases your thigh rise (as well as create a more connected to the leg feel without interfering with pad rotation, theoretically). So your pads might slide up a little in a b-fly, but essentially they should already be higher to begin with if that makes sense? Correct me if I'm wrong on this fellas.

Do you have a tight boot strap keeping the pad anchored low? I also only have a lundy loop strap for the boot, and centered toe bungees. 

Overall keep playing with it until you get the feel and performance you're looking for. That's kind of the golden rule of pad mods, do more of what works, less of what don't.  

Yes, I measured FTK and it comes up as Large for Bauer. However, they felt really clunky (thigh rise really high, lots of overlap while in the stance position, etc.). So I bought a Medium and they felt better in terms of overall size. I measured 1" difference in total height, and only 0.25" difference in knee block height. I emailed some pictures to The Hockey Shop trying to reach Cam, who I discover on YouTube. I got someone else, but without me biasing them, they suggested the Large looked too big and that I'd be better off with Medium so long as I was still landing on the knee block.

I'm not using a boot strap or lundy loop. I keep the toe tie relatively tight, though, because when I don't, the pads don't always rotate back when I stand up from the butterfly.

Edited November 8, 2023 by CelestialBurden

[coopaloop1234]

9 minutes ago, CelestialBurden said:

Is this helpful at all?

https://imgur.com/a/hP9eFhs

To start, you have the strap installed backwards. Swap the pieces so the long piece is on the inside:

Shouldn't matter too much, but best to install them correctly. 

Quote

Thank you. I was mostly concerned with getting the pad to sit higher so that I was landing "dead center," which is what everyone says in regards to a pad fitting properly. I can close the 5 hole pretty well when I squeeze my knees together or flare harder. But if I do a "typical" quick reaction butterfly, there's usually a slight gap (pads don't touch) when I land.

Since you're new, a lot of that is going to be technique related. As you get more practice in the position, you'll learn to flare more consistently, and/or bring your knees together better. 

Quote

Yes, I measured FTK and it comes up as Large for Bauer. However, they felt really clunky (thigh rise really high, lots of overlap while in the stance position, etc.). So I bought a Medium and they felt better in terms of overall size. I measured 1" difference in total height, and only 0.25" difference in knee block height. I emailed some pictures to The Hockey Shop trying to reach Cam, who I discover on YouTube. I got someone else, but without me biasing them, they suggested the Large looked too big and that I'd be better off with Medium so long as I was still landing on the knee block.

I'm not using a boot strap or lundy loop. I keep the toe tie relatively tight, though, because when I don't, the pads don't always rotate back when I stand up from the butterfly.

As long as your knee is landing within 75% of the landing pad (so no out the outer parts), you'll be fine. Your main goal is to aim for the middle, but depending on brand, individual measurements, and how you wear the pads, this can all vary a bit. 

I would be curious to see you do a butterfly for the camera. It can help us better diagnose what's going on with strapping as there's generally a pretty obvious set of answers for certain issues. 

 

[CelestialBurden]

2 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

To start, you have the strap installed backwards. Swap the pieces so the long piece is on the inside:

Shouldn't matter too much, but best to install them correctly.

Since you're new, a lot of that is going to be technique related. As you get more practice in the position, you'll learn to flare more consistently, and/or bring your knees together better. 

As long as your knee is landing within 75% of the landing pad (so no out the outer parts), you'll be fine. Your main goal is to aim for the middle, but depending on brand, individual measurements, and how you wear the pads, this can all vary a bit. 

I would be curious to see you do a butterfly for the camera. It can help us better diagnose what's going on with strapping as there's generally a pretty obvious set of answers for certain issues. 

 

Regarding the strap being backwards, I thought so... I put it on correctly but wasn't positive so I ended up asking on Reddit and it was suggested to install them like this instead. I'll go back to the way you described and try again.

What do you mean by "landing within 75% of the landing pad (so no out the outer parts)"? That 75% of my knee is on the block?

I have a ball hockey game tomorrow night and could probably take a video of the butterfly.

[coopaloop1234]

21 minutes ago, CelestialBurden said:

Regarding the strap being backwards, I thought so... I put it on correctly but wasn't positive so I ended up asking on Reddit and it was suggested to install them like this instead. I'll go back to the way you described and try again.

What do you mean by "landing within 75% of the landing pad (so no out the outer parts)"? That 75% of my knee is on the block?

I have a ball hockey game tomorrow night and could probably take a video of the butterfly.

I think I saw your post on there. 

The goalie sub reddit is, well, a bit inexperienced with things. Guys there mean well but there isn't a lot of expertise or vets that post there. 

It's a good area for new goalies to congregate, but there are gaps that come with it. 

I mean 75% from the center out. Plainly speaking, as long as you're not landing in the outer edges of your knee block, you'll mostly be fine. 

You should absolutely strive to hit center, but do allow a bit of leeway. 

[Puckstopper]

Dead center also doesn't mean a millimeter thin line in the center of the knee block.   Personally I defined it as a 1.5" zone, with .5" below dead center and 1" above.  If I'm hitting there, it's going to as close to perfect as anyone not playing pro hockey needs.