Currently using some older Vaughn pads that were bought used a number of years ago. Based on where my knees land they're too tall, but they're broken down enough that I seem to get along with them okay on the ice. Somewhat of a narrow butterfly and don't have great butterfly technique, anyways; tend to be a bit of a flopper at times so I'm guessing the softness of the pads makes them more forgiving of my technical shortcomings.
Thinking of trying a used, "modern" pad, perhaps along the lines of Bauer Vapor 2x/3x or Warrior GT/GT2. By the sizing charts am likely 33" in either. No local store where I can try pads, but did recently visit a relative who had a local store nearby, and was able to try some of the new Bauer Vapor x5s in both 33" and 34". Only had my street/tennis shoes and no knee pads (usually wear Warriors), and couldn't get the toes to tie/anchor down, so basically was only able to test-butterfly on the floor without the pads/toes tethered to my feet.
In both sizes knees landed on knee blocks. When on the floor in a butterfly I tried moving my legs along the leg channel to see if my knees could be easily forced off the blocks, and in the 33s they could be moved to the very top edge, but did stay on. Neither seemed to move off the bottom edge because the calf wraps and knee strap seemed to prevent that. The 34s seemed to "naturally" close the 5-hole when dropping to the floor in a butterfly. The 33s could be made to do so after I was in the butterfly and consciously placed/moved my knees lower on the blocks.
Since in skates I'd be able to bend my ankles with the toes tethered to the pads by the bungee straps, I can't decide if that would more nearly approximate the untethered 33s in street shoes, or the 34s. Would a tethered skate toe with bent ankles pull the pads lower, higher, or equal compared to the way I was able to try them? With the additional stiffness of modern pads compared to what I'm using now and how it might affect my mobility, I don't want to just assume the 34s are a more natural fit and then find out they're too tall. But by the same token don't want to have problems with closing the 5-hole.
Would appreciate any insight on the matter. Thanks!