CJ Boiss

I mean, 15 minutes to clear the room means we can theoretically use the shower, but practically speaking? No. Especially if they're limiting it to one person at a time. I know that I'll be arriving and going home half-dressed, and using my own shower, because I hate racing against a clock to get my gear off.

I'd go for the bottom look

Hockey is returning to Calgary as of June 19th. I got ice booked for that evening. These are the guidelines I got from the arena operator:

Global manufacturing and supply chains are all kinds of messed up right now.

I would drop-kick a small child for that ice.

It's excellent. I love a good sour, so refreshing; disappointingly hard to find.

Sweet Kentucky Brown, from the Marda Loop Brewery. Also got a growler of Tangerine Sour I'm going to crack tomorrow. [Edit] Fuck tomorrow, live for today

If Bauer didn't half-ass their stock graphic option, and then charge people through the nose to get a custom print, I wouldn't have anything bad to say about their looks. But they did, and they are, so yeah, I'm going to call it like I see it. I'm not trashing anyone's decision to get Bauer gear - your money, do what you want with it, no judgement here - but I'm not going to pretend like Bauer is being oh so munificent for giving everyone three whole colour zones with a digitally printed pad graphic that could have had literally hundreds with little to no effort on Bauer's part. Hell, they could have four, or five, or ten different stock graphics for people to choose from; legacy graphics, NHL graphics, the options are nearly endless. But, no, all they're giving customers is three colour zones, and if you want anything else you better pony up. It's corporate greed, plain and simple, and I'm not going to praise it.

Not just their chesties, Passau has put a lot of equipment on sale and clearance, pads and gloves included: https://passauhockey.com/en/product-category/equipements/

Not the experience I've had.

They also have the non-Pro customizer, if you want senior-level Bauer pads that don't look like crap. Though they'll charge you through the nose for it, and you'll probably end up spending as much as you would for custom Pro pads from another manufacturer. Only if you're willing to shell out a bunch of extra cash. Over 3K USD for a set of Vapor 2X Pro with custom graphics (over $4300 CAD right now). I could get a custom set of Warrior gear and save a thousand bucks. Custom sets from Mckenney and Passau are ~$2500 CAD. And honestly? I have serious doubts about the durability of Bauer gear these days. Four grand just to get a custom graphic on some pads that will probably last me half as long as a set from Warrior, Mckenney, or Passau? Not a chance.

I hate companies that try to manipulate their customers into spending more by withholding product improvements that cost them nothing. Toxic business practices. And the graphics they have look like crap. Can't do anything interesting with them.

Digitally printed graphics, and all they give on the face of the pad is three colour zones. I don't know who thought that was a good idea, but it wasn't.

Just an internal belt. Never felt comfortable wearing suspenders, or lacing my pants into my chestie.

Goalie Monkey doesn't have the G5 senior pads listed on their site yet, but they have the GT2 leg pads on for $799.99, the glove for $249.99, and the blocker for $229.99, for a total of ~$1280. GT2 custom Pro set costs $2229.99, so a senior set is about 60% as much as a custom Pro set, about $950 USD less. The difference between senior and custom Pro GT2 will probably be similar to the difference between senior and custom Pro G5, though that's speculation on my part.

Warrior senior level pads/gloves uses the same internals as their pro level gear from the previous line (G4 senior uses G3 internals, etc.). Good route, if you're looking at senior gear.

Yup. That's a great look

Switch the black and purple colour-ways on #5.

Spring season is almost definitely going to get wiped out by everything going on, and winter might be hamstrung as well, which would leave me some extra cash for these beauts. *sigh* "If I had a million dollars..."

My brother took this one of me last summer, so I'm wearing my old gear This one was from this summer. Bit of a shorter cut.

Respect the Flow.

Probably more structurally sound. A projectile striking a concave surface will transmit more force to it than if it were to strike a convex surface. Pucks are less likely to strike the back of the paddle, so this reduces the weight without sacrificing the durability of a convex face.

Wiggling your glove around will work on lower-skill players, sometimes, but anyone that's gone pro or semi-pro will probably just exploit that.

It helps me a lot. Really gets my hands moving, my head turning to track the puck. Not sure how it'll work for you, though.

Oof. I was stretching during warm-up last week and heard a *pop* from my right-side gracilis. Played a few games since and it feels better every day, but groin injuries are nerve wracking. Never quite sure how long it's going to take to heal, what movements might aggravate it. Not fun.