ArdeFIN

Game ready with 3DO and classic 590 break so it's a basic off the shelf glove if a game ready is? I think it is but maybe not that common palm compared to pro palm. Jenpro is in good condition except for the heel where there is a bit of wear. And the lip of the T is shattered on the finger side. The perimeter is a mere 110cm once again, 4cm missing from the limit. I'll extend the T as I have to repair it anyway. Used for some years probably and atleast the thumb plastic is broken. As it was already in the glove weight topic this glove is 1077g in its original state.

Interesting feature in this glove is that the inside fabric that is against palm or fingers is actually jenpro upsidedown. It's not the most comfortable material but should be long lasting atleast. Still hopefully they have upgraded to suregrip or suede or what ever softer material there are available. I don't know if it's from jenpro that the glove is feeling quite stiff no matter what I've tried. Or it just might come from the minor changes I made to the break area. Jenpro used in multiple layers in the glove (outside - padding - inside) is problematic as it does not offer a lot of flexibility or stretch. And to say it out it's not stiff like CCM on the shop shelf not at all. Just stiff enough that I don't find it very useable for myself as I have a lot of gloves that are like warm butter. So it's not bad glove, and it feels a bit different on hand compared to original CCM 590 Premier. Not much but different. A lot of the details tell that this model was really humble copy of an existing and known glove. To see how much there is the same with the forementioned CCM it'll be my next project. I didn't have a lot of pictures to put here so this is about it. Not a bad glove but just doesn't offer anything special. On the picture above you can see the small twist through the break which might have some influence to the stiffness of the glove. Now that the glove is fixed and almost like new it'll have a lot of life left in it. And will most probably become soft to use with some -eh- use. Now lets move to the comparable CCM Premier glove.

As some of you might have noticed in the "new gear" -topic I bought a pair of used G5 sr+ pads recently and have used them three times now. The thigh rises seemd to be a bit soft regarding to reviews showing they should be pretty stiff. Well the thigh rise itself is stiff but the non existent break above the knee where there is this profile lock tab, the core is cut through on both pads. The thigh rise isn't completely sloppy and I can play with the pads but just knowing them to be cut isn't what I want to have on my legs. The seller told me that he had played in them for a season, 3-4 times per week se there is some use already in them but not that much. And then again the overall shape of the pads is really good, there are only minor wear in the "normal" areas like boot and thigh rise corners so no evidence of any sort of abuse. There is no stitches missing or any other sign of wear on the outside. Only worn parts on pads were the original boot and toe straps which is kind of expected. I did send a message to Warrior Europe through their website but ain't looking for quick reply. @Kirk3190 hasn't been with us in a long time but I can still leave him a note here I also sent a message to Varusteverstas asking for core repair or replacement possibilities. I assume they are in some relation to Warrior as they are making different Warrior projects all the time. Thoughts, input?

It's sad that the game is like this now. Pastrnak hits Raanta's head with hand and doesn't even try to hide it. And what did he get, 2min penalty? There seems to be a lack of respect to other players at the moment. And this should be the most professional hockey there is. It's not really lifting the value of the NHL that some of the teams are to play with 3rd goalie in the playoffs. Not to say they aren't good enough but something isn't right in the game.

Bought it used from I think second owner here in Finland who told me that he is having connections to M4G also and offered me services if I got interested to buy some gear from M4G. This glove is old already so it really doesn't tell how M4G is making their gloves today. It should be pretty easy to change some obvious details to look different and still retain that CCM feeling if that is what they are after. And as kohula noted M4G have improved their design so propably it's getting even better. And also the quality propably has gone up. This Venture isn't bad glove by any means, just that it isn't really their own design and looking really much as a copy of a CCM.

My new Warrior G5 SR+ pads in 34+1,5" to try and see if like it with them. Watching the G6 video I felt happy I went with these as these are a bit soft already, but I've never had any problem with my GT being soft in any way. The G6 might be too stiff for my liking. Used yes, and the worst wear spot is on the left pads toe. There are a few other too from which one would think these pads were used on roller hockey or something like that. But no, should be only ice hockey. Time will tell if they evolve or just are there. The curvature is from carton box which was too small and the box was like a balloon when I received it. Comparison picture with block under the pads so that they are "standing" on the pillows at the boot. G5 in 34+1,5 and GT 33+1,5. G5 is a bit more curved but not much. For some optical reason the thigh rise on GT looks twisted but IRL doesn't look as such. Same comparison from behind, this time no block under and both pads standing on the edge of the boot so they should show the size difference with that bit of curvature difference. The right G5 pad has it's boot softened and twisted a bit which I only now notice so that makes a margin of error here too. Yes, the G5 toe strap and boot strap already left the building and the toe strap will be elastic lace with some sort of small add-on piece to the edge of the pad. If someone is guessing, the toe strap on GT pad is Kova T-flex.

One more picture of the finger plastic before it got some heat and pressure and got back to more straight shape. There was actually some bend or stretch marks around the lace holes where the plastic was curved so it was getting destroyed. Hopefully it stopped here and the plastic will last to the future. Here you can also see that the plastic only sewn to the jenpro and not to the felt as it usually is done on other manufacturers gloves. Then I decided that there has to be the narrow plastic sheet to support the break area so I made a piece from 2mm thick PE. A bit rough on the edges still, have to clean them up. The palm side of the glove with some re-sewn spots and a slice of jenpro on the edge. Few things about this design that almost all manufacturers use. Why is made of so many pieces instead of one big? You could still add the graphics with slices sewn onto. Why is there at the finger area this separate piece of material? Is it for the lines sewn to the material and easier to hide the U-turns? What is the purpose of these lines sewn here, they basically do nothing. Just a heck lot of extra work for seemingly nothing to gain.

And even more interesting question is, which of the other Manufacturers follow the plastic route and implement their own way to add plastic on sliding surface. I'd like to see some sort of sewn-in design for this issue and not just an add-on plates. Bauer already has the plastic structure inside the knee blocks.

Plastic sliding plate does. Try it. Constant slide from almost fresh ice to a snow castle. Only on fresh and fully frozen ice the plastic plates are not stellar. If there is a bit of water still on ice the plastics fly.

Weighted some parts of the glove to get an idea what is the heavy part and where there is no weight. Double T with all nylon webbing 180g Backhand protection and cuff 188g Plastic of thumb-cuff and thumb protector 181g Palm/thumb felt and finger plastic 152g One piece glove jenpro and some lacing but not all of it 319g And the whole glove measured before dismantling 1063g Few notes after washing and parts hanging and drying. The finger plastic is terribly curled in at over 90 degrees. Luckily the felt is not sewn as usual but less to the plastic which helps a lot when heating the plastic to straighten it. The binding is not very professionally sewn in on the wrist strapping. Not that it has any effect on performance but more of a poor craftmanship. There was one other spot too but I didn't catch it in a picture. Would expect this from a China etc made cheap things but M4G isn't really cheap. New plastic is to be made and already started with that. Classically broken for a 590 clone. They all excel in copy process... There are some "hand made" elements visible on the original plastic.

The following are all used cathcer gloves but appear original with no modifications. M4G Venture 1063g CCM Premier 1077g CCM Eflex 3.9 1087g Brians Gnetik IV 1045g Brians Opt1k 9.0 1018g

So the next patient on the line is M4G Venture which is a Czech manufacturer for hockey gear or atleast goalie gear. For the first pictures you can quickly tell that there is not a lot of their own design but more of a copy from bigger players of the industry. Interesting to see how deep the copying goes and is there any improvements to the design. Glove is about 2018 build regarding the previous owner who bought this used few years ago. So it is already oldish and has been on ice for a lot but still in many details looks like it hasn't been used for that much. Normal wear and some sewings are worn out but nothing really broken found in a visual inspection. Small slice of jenpro is needed to cover the finger side edge but that is the worst area and is one of them easier spots to fix. Backhand has nothing to tell either, normal muddy looking white nylon but no major issues. Velcroes might need a new soft side pieces. The palm of the glove reveals some problem with the break once again. It doesn't seem normal that the break is so narrow and only bending on one line actually. But still I could bend the break area at about 20mm wide section which doesn't usually happen as there is a plastic sheet at the middle of the break. The glove is pretty stiff and I'm not able to close the glove completely with my hand in the glove. Part of that is definitely the T which seems to be very stiff as seen with CCM and others too. And then a bit later found this from the insides. There is a pouch for the break plastic but there isn't anything in... Thumb side plastic seems to need a replace too.

Measured the resulting weight for this C/A after some modifications and I think that I added more padding than removed anything. So the result of 3191 grams is pretty amazing. Not lightweight in any means and if it is as protective as it feels then it's very acceptable. I still have to fit the C/A together with the pants and add all of the necessary strapping but I should be able to get this one to real world test before summer break. Only two months left

Yesterday yes. I don't know if it was the players giving me a good impression of my glove or was just the glove. Not my hand anyways But as I said earlier the feel of this glove is amazing. It's a plain pleasure to put your hand in and how the glove feels well balanced and not just an extension hanging there. Catching was almost perfect with maybe 98% of the shots went right into the pocket. This is from one icetime only so there is a huge chance for luck too but definitely the Ultra Sonic is a keeper for me. And from earlier experience with 1X Vapor glove this explains a lot of it. With 1X I got a lot of the shots to my thumb area instead of pocket. With the Ultra Sonic having a different angle and shape the pucks hit the pocket. This effect was mentioned in some article of Vaughn gloves explaining the differences between their at that time current models and how you should choose the right model from where the puck hits your glove. Seems to be right but at the same time might be pretty expensive to first try 1X and from that experience change to Supreme. Or 600 on CCM and then go to 590 or 580

This - glove - simply - rules !

After some testing and building the other sleeve to a copy of the first one this is the result. I had to move the elastic velcroes lower on the side plates to get the elbow floater to stay higher and in front of elbow and not forearm. As that wasn't enough I also added two nylon loops to the sides and routed the lower strap of the elbow floater through them. Now the floaters stay on right height and still have enough space to move around. The elastics were a pain to sew to the side plates in an angle and position I wanted so after getting them fixed I shortened them to length with a few sews. Finally I have everything done for the first phase and the unit is ready for a test run. I already did a loop to the back of the pants where I can attach the rear "suspender", the front is ready on the C/A side but I'll have to add something to the pants too. Atleast the elastic cord to have some elasticity and some to connect the buckle. And when someone complained that a Warrior GT is too bulky. Get outta here. This monster of a C/A is bulky. I thought I overdid the FrankenCCM chesty with double shoulder cups and all. But so little I knew about a massive bulky chesty before this one. And there is no added width by me as it's all original.

I've been happy with my GT SR pads in 33+1,5" with only wishing they had some extra to their thigh rise. Like 33+2,5" might be a bit too much already. But still with my GT I always feel having my skate exposed when stretching out and still having a bit too much opening in the 5hole when trying to close in. I lately got into RBK XLT28 33+2" pads that were renewed and updated with elastic straps etc. They are better sizingvise than the GT, close the 5hole better and skates are hold in better. Which all are inevitable considering the bigger size. Still while the pads are updated to todays terms and the body was glued and fixed they feel kind of "old" even compared to the GT pads. Just to note I like playing in the RBK pads anyway but with splitting a few hairs they just aren't what I want from my pads. So then it happens that I ran upon a pair of 34+1,5" G5 SR+ pads in nice condition and not badly priced and I pulled the trigger after a short thinking. They are that 0,5" higher on knee block but that shouldn't be a huge problem as on GT I land dead center or even at 3/5 on the block. That 0,5" would take me down to 2/5 so still very much on block. The other 0,5" on thighrise should help me just enough with my 5hole problem. After reading through a lot of topics here and reviews that I could find I'm still a bit confused about how the G5 would play compared to GT? Ofcourse to be honest this is just some swimming in the sea of buyers regret that I'll get over as soon as the package arrives and I'll get upon the new to me pads to compare them side by side with the GT.

Bauer Ultra Sonic repaired. Extended T, new plastic on thumb side, some padding. 1094g

One picture of the closure. Just a minor touch short on the thumb side as the T is leaning to 580 style which I wouldn't need at all here. Comparison picture from pre to now. Tried to take this one in a similar angle but only reference was the first picture in my mind. Pretty close photo success considering the preparation for this one. I can't tell if in the now picture the glove is more open or is it just that the plastics are so much differentöy shaped. Last but not least. It is heavy weighting in 1094 grams. Some weight could be shaved off by removing the added Jenpro from the T and the "useless" Curv from the wrist area but that wouldn't make much. I'll have to remember this issue when I dig into the 1X I have on shelves waiting, scale the skin only and padding and then scale some other glove for skin and padding separated. Extra 100g in a catcher means some physical mass slowness to hand movements.

So this glove project was brought to ready state in a "gotta do it now" mentality. Not much in pictorial story but then again the putting together part of the project was just a basic lace everything through as it was already pre-laced to see that everything fits in properly. Takes an hour of extra time to do the pre-setup but might save a lot of hours if some problem was found and fixed before the final setup. The flap on the cuff seems to be of no problem @ser33 as I did sew the flap to above the cuff and not inside as it is originally made. Now it is pointing upwards as is and when I tried the glove on it did not interfere at all. I'd say there is a huge room for C/A forearm paddings. But sure is that the truth will be revealed on sunday when I'll take this one to realworld test. Closure against floor, eh... ice is secure and tight even without pressing the glove down at all. Comparing to the beginning the backhand finger protection looks to be workin again and is not stretched over finger tips area. The padding is really thin here and wouldn't be surpriced if someone would complain about getting their fingertips beaten. One thing I have to add back is some sort of elastic strap or lacing between the cuff and finger protector flap. I removed the elastic strap that went far under the finger protector but for the design of the cuff it now wants to come out and get stuck against the edge. All it needs is four holes and some elastic lace so not a big deal and easy to do without any dismantling. Cuff flap is pointing out really nicely with the glove wide open. And last but not least is the glove wide open. Oh well not wide open but anyways. It's soft enough that you can open it more than in the picture without pushing the T in. The break area is flat and the bends when closing the glove are pretty much lined up with the palm layers lines. The midlane lacing is too tight to my likin and maybe needs some attention in the near future. This is because the new setup is with the two spines more separated from each other than they originally were. And I did the lacing a bit too dense too, which consumes extra lace. I might add a few pictures of the closure and some details, and also fire up my quality scale to measure the weight. This glove doesn't feel really light actually so it's interesting to see the actual numbers. One note about the feel of the glove. I don't know if Ultra Sonic should be a 600 style as the Hyperlite is pointed to 590. But I can't really feel any relation to 600 style. Actually more so is this towards the 590 but not as pronounced outlook. The closure is a bit like finger to base of thumb. Feels nice though but comparing to VE8 (which I really like a lot) there is a lot in similar.

I have some curiosity to it too, it looks a lot like the 590 but with side by side inspection there is actually quite a lot of difference. I'll compare it to all of the 590 I have in my possession, like Premier, VE8, 1X, ... Might take some time to get into it though.

It's getting ready step by step. This process would've taken a day if I had the time in one continuous stretch. Shortened the Ultra Long wrist strap to a loop, easier to pull it tight too. Note also the thumb loop ties. Easiest way to do it that I know of. One picture of the glove with perimeter and body laces done. Looking good and feeling good too. The perimeter length was extended to about 113cm and there was a bit of a mishap as I made the holes ready for the thumb side first and the started to fit the break of T to work with the glove. And couldn't pull the T out from the finger side no more than 10mm and closer to none actually. Othervise the T break would leap too much to the finger side. Don't know exactly what happened here and why there is such a big change in alignment but it might have something to do with fixed break lining. One of the pocket sections done already. I used the old laces which are dirty but in good shape and will do for long time. The mid lane might need a new lace as the original one is really short from the spines being very close to each other in the original setup. Now there is a noticeable gap in between.

Not yet my being used -gear. But will get a try out after refurbish. M4G Venture - Brian's Opt1k 9.0 - Brian's Gnetik IV

And playing with custom options you get your Kova just as you want it. Or atleast just as you order it. Protection is proven in NHL and KHL level. I had one too, but the basic model wasn't what I need. Maybe I'll return to Kova with custom model. Not saying that I don't like my Warrior X3 Pro, it's a good piece too but hasn't proven the protection yet while I'm not looking for that to happen either.

While having too much to do and some lacking in motivational side of life, some progress has been made. New main plastic. It is very rough getting started -shape, but once again you can notice the straigth break line. Other than that the original shape of the plastic was very good and with only minimal sizing changes I tried to copy it. The optical look will change a lot after the molding to the final shapes. No after pictures was taken, sorry! One comparison picture of the original plastic straightening out. The polystyrene is pretty much form proof and only breaks into pieces. I tried to mold the new plastic to the shape of the polystyrene the best I could. And it feels good in that shape. Kudos to Bauer for that. One picture of the mis-alignment at the break area. Red line implies the alignment of the second holes and the needle is through the other holes. Blue lines mimic the break lines of the Poron padding on the palm side as well as the plastic quided break on the outer (or is it inner?) shell. The padding with plastics is tied to the shell with cord (holes between blue lines). The pocket perimeter has to be aligned with these to work well. As we can tell from this picture here is a huge problem in this glove. And matching these holes affects some holes right next to them on the perimeter to correct the alignment as a whole. Then some testing with the new extended T to see how it will work if at all. This really isn't giving almost any realization here as you can tell from the clipped positions. It seemed like the T was moved a lot towards fingerside as the break of the T was almost off in this picture and the thumb side is already some 20mm pulled out. But that was fixed later on. One thing I have to mention about Bauer catchers here is that they are extremely comfy to hand. Like if I took my skiing mitts made by Hestra. Those are comfortable and warm and feel nice. And then I take the Bauer catcher, let it be this US or 1X Vapor or Total One. These just add an extra level of comfort over the Hestra mitts. It's kind of unbelieveable how nice these gloves feel.