saitagoalie

When I moved from Canada back to Finland in 2013 I also looked in to shipping my stuff back to Europe.. at least back then it made no sense to do that. 

If you ship your stuff, you have to declare everything for customs. If you take your gear with you on the plane, no need to worry about customs. Also I've heard that right now shipping is very slow and expensive due to the pandemic. Heard this from guys who buy gear from North America and then get it shipped to Finland.

As for the plane changes.. You're not able to check in your luggage all the way to the final destination? Do you have to change airports of something between flights? 

I once almost lost my suit case in Beijing, because I had to change airports and I thought my bag was checked in all the way to Ningbo. Ha. Turns out it wasn't. I was dumb.

On 11/2/2020 at 4:23 PM, Sid said:

I have a Brown 2200, no neck  collar (pics another day), and I've worn it 5 times. I'm having an issue with seeing my pads, feet area when in a butterfly. My neck piece on my mask is hitting the breast plate, for lack of a better word. I've never had this happen before. I really don't want to take the resonator plate off that protects upper chest and clavicle. Any suggestions? Thank you. Mask does not have a long throat protection, and I do not wear a dangler, and my custom throat guard does not interfere. Been playing for long time and never had this issue with any C/A. (53). I've worn other Brown, Passau, Vaughn, etc..and I do love my Brown C/A.

Thanks gents,

Sid

 

I had the same issue when my Brown was still new and stiff. Took about 10 ice times to get somewhat comfortable and now after a year of use it is finally getting really flexible.

Ha, I used to dislike the Revoke graphic when they first came out.

Thanks to this thread the graphic is slowly growing on me. Keep em coming.

19 hours ago, dreadlocked1 said:

Agreed.  It also looks hot.  Like very warm to wear.  Looking forward to a review.

I wear a Kova neck guard. I'd say it's probably one of the cooler neck guards that are available. It's reeaallly stiff so compared to other neck guards, it doesn't wrap around your neck so thightly so there is some air flow kinda. I found the stiffness very uncomfortable at first though, but got used to it quickly.

Maybe I should write a review  

13 hours ago, ArdeFIN said:

Ok, quickly checked the CAD EUR rate and got about 170 for the pants. The shipping is soo expensive these days, you'd think when there is not that much human traffic the product shipments would be the same but seems they've got a good extra to shipping prices.

That's counting up to quite a lot for pants so maybe I'll just go with my coming new Warriors. They're in a good old wide shape too.

Good that you got them fast for yourself as it seems the smaller sizes were sold out in a rush.

Well, I was considering Warriors and the other option was to order custom pants from Brown. Custom Brown's would cost around 400cdn I think and the Warrior quality seems to be not so good.. But I hope the Warriors work for you.

I want quality pants that are wide enough but not too long. I understood that with the CCMs only the width of the pant gets bigger when the pant size goes up. When the pant leg lenght increases, there is a marking +1" or +2". The ones I ordered are made in Asia, but the materials used should be good enough for NHL.. So they should be good enough for me

The shipping is pretty expensive and if I get hit with customs.. Well then the pants were expensive haha.

20 hours ago, ArdeFIN said:

Oh man I should've gotten a pair in the same order  How much did it cost in Euros with shipping? 

I considered asking people to join for a bulk order, but I wanted to snag a pair asap... Plus multiple pairs of pants need quite a big box. So I don't know if it would be that much cheaper to order together. 

The pants were 194e + shipping to Polar Express warehouse 16e. Polar Express will charge around 75e for the shipping from Canada to Finland. Last time I used Polar Express, there were no customs fees.

I also just ordered a pair from TGC. I was going to order Browns, but these price on these was just too good to pass. Went with Bakersfield Condors size 3.

I’m hoping that this works out

1 minute ago, WillyGrips13 said:

What features did you have on the 2400? Russian spec or any other structural extras?
The 2400 does look like a tank. I wonder if the 2200 is more slimmed down. 

I got the segmented shoulders for more mobility, that's all.

I don't know the exact differences between the 2400 and 2200. I guess the split breast plate and extra rib protection are the biggest differences one can see. If I were to order again, I'd go with the 2200 with split breast plate and segmented shoulders.

17 hours ago, WillyGrips13 said:

Played this afternoon and it was pouring out which made the inside of the rink humid and gross. These are the only times the extra weight and heat of the Brown are noticeable enough for me. Was the type of day where I may prefer my Vaughn 8800 Epic. It’s lighter and cooler, but I feel smaller in it. I feel the Brown makes me look bigger. 
Anyway, I was wondering those of you who’ve had the 2100 unit or similar@SaveByRichter35 @sebastiancp1 and gone to a more recent JB model, are they lighter and/or cooler? If I ever do get a new chest protector, I want something perhaps not quite as heavy or hot as the 2100. FYI, the unit had an integrated neck guard, but I removed it recently and use my Maltese instead. 

I had ArdeFIN's JB2000 and I got a new JB2400 custom made to replace it. The JB2400 is heavier and possibly even hotter than the 2000.

I don't think the models have changed over the years.. They're still like sweaters made of nylon, plastic and foam  

On 5/9/2020 at 5:29 AM, shak0goalie said:

So I just got a new Warrior Ritual G4 intermediate glove and I’m looking for a way to quickly break it in with involving pouring water inside the cuff of my glove. Additionally, I don’t really feel comfortable putting my glove in an oven, even if it’s not that hot and you turn it off. Is there anything else I could do, or am I stuck going old school?

Hot water (from the tap is hot enough) and tie the glove shut. Once it has cooled down, catch some pucks/balls with it. Just wear it. Then tape it shut again and allow it to dry. That should do the trick. Repeat if necessary.

On 4/25/2020 at 12:25 AM, DL42 said:

The roy spec brown is this.

back protector only like 7 " long in the upper back spin going down, rest is nylon webbing and same 2 straps.

the elbow sides have hard nylon plastic plates.

What roy modified is he took the soft foam on the sides off that wraps around, probably to get rid of the heat.

Ok, thanks for the clarification! Now that I think about it, I'm sure I've seen pictures of Roy spec Brown.. The back protection sounds like something I've seen before.

2 hours ago, RichMan said:

My 503 (AKA 1800) lasted me a decade and I had bought it lightly used as well. It seems heavy but not really, and for the amount of protection it has, it's nothing to worry about. I too had issues with the back plate. I almost did the Roy mod to it but instead simply cut off the lower wings that wrapped over/under the ribs off of the spine padding basically squaring it off, and I replaced the 2 straps with simply 1 larger one. Gave me a better rib wrap from the sides.

As for the arm straps, I simply did some stitching work to keep them in place.

Good choice. And as an ex GSBB myself, welcome to the new crib

I agree. The weight doesn't bother me, that is just something one has to sacrifice to get the durability & protection. But there are definitely lighter units available for those who value that.

What is the Roy mod? I think I will too just cut the wings off and change to one wider elastic strap.

For the arms I added small strips of black tape.. no more issues. Just annoying when you pay 700+ dollars for a chest protector and the bloody straps keep coming undone. Easy fix though

I was very sad when I noticed that the whole GSBB has disappeared from the internet.. Plenty of cool pictures of gear and information was over there. But I'm happy there is a new board and it's nice to notice all the familiar user names from the GSBB.

The bla-bla part

Lets begin with some background information on me; I'm a 27 year-old female goalie in Finland, who is no longer is playing at a competitive level. Nowadays I play with a bunch of guys 2 or 3 times a week. Difficult to describe what the level would be. Some guys can really shoot the puck and some not so much.  Anyways, when playing with women I preferred 2nd hand c/a's just because they're already broken in, cheap and well.. I didn't need that much protection. When I switched to playing with men, I realized it's time for a new c/a. I got tired of feeling the shots to my ribs & arms. Originally I had an CCM X-Pulse Pro, then I switched to I think Brian's SubZero 2. The SubZero was fine, only I wasn't happy with how short it was and how there wasn't enough rib protection. 

In February 2019 I was on a holiday in Canada and found an used Brown 2100 c/a at a 2nd hand sporting goods store. I bought it, tried it on ice when I got back home. Loved it, but it was slightly too big for me. Protection was superb though and I was really impressed with the quality. The c/a was nicely broken in and very flexible, but still very protective. I find that most chest protectors once they're "broken in" you start to feel the shots a lot. This wasn't really the case with the Brown. I finished the season with it, but I knew I needed to get something that fits. During the summer I was thinking what I should do: 

- Get a CCM or Bauer Pro unit (made in Asia, questionable durability) if I find one on sale

or

- Get a custom Brown or Passau.

I also considered McKenney, I had one in 2012 but I couldn't really find them online and the price seems to have gone up (used to be really good quality for the price). Also custom sizing was something I kind of wanted, as a woman its sometimes a bit difficult to get a good fit with gear off the shelf.

In late August I had made up my mind, I decided to get a Brown c/a.  I used to be a member on the GSBB and I remember Brown had a great reputation and was known to be the most protective c/a on the market and very durable. Their c/a's haven't changed that much since.. Some would say that they're stuck in the past, but I think they have a product that simply works. I guess I had always dreamed of getting a Brown unit for myself some day.  

The actual review

After some discussion with Mr. Brown, I decided to go with the 2400 model. I wanted to get protection, without going over the top (no Russian spec for me ). Custom options I went with; colour (all black) and segmented shoulders. The order form on the website is very nice, all the basic custom options are well described.

Originally Mr. Brown was thinking that I would fit in the intermediate sizes (I'm about 5'7, normal weight), but after all he was able to fit me in the smallest size of the 2400 model. Also, I wanted to get a quite long belly on the c/a, but he recommended not to, because it would cause mobility issues because I tuck my c/a to my pants. He was absolutely right. I followed his advice and I ended up with a well fitting c/a.

At first the c/a was veeeeery stiff, but luckily I had played with the 2nd hand Brown before. I knew that eventually the c/a would break in and feel a lot better... Mr. Brown also warned me of the stiffness in the beginning haha. First few times on ice were terrible, I couldn't move and I couldn't get the c/a to stay inside my pants etc.. I didn't do any special break-in stuff with the c/a (like shower with it or something). I just played with it. Took about 10 ice times to feel comfortable.

After the break-in period and a few adjustments the c/a is great to play with. At the beginning to get the c/a to feel right I had to use a carabiner clip to attach the back of the c/a to my pants. After the break-in period, the c/a stopped "riding up" and I could ditch the clip. The protection is great, shots to the chest I can barely feel. Shots to shoulders - no pain. Only shots to arms I can sometimes feel, but I think that's just something that a goalie has to live with. In the pictures you can see the adjustments I have made;

• Changed the straps wrapping around the body to elastic (I wear my c/a pretty tight around my body)
• Added a loop to the bottom of the stomach padding (the padding would sometimes fold, my current pants are slightly too small around the waist)
• I attach my suspenders to the shoulder floaters with velcro (my version of the TGN straps) and tie them together with skatelace

Pros

• Protection
• Good durability (no fancy materials, just plain jenpro & tough nylon)
• Sizing, custom options
• Short wait time
• Direct contact with the manufacturer

Cons

• Heavy
• Clips on the arm elastic straps come off without tape
• Back piece is too big, the design could be different 
• The unit is pretty hot to wear
• Prefer elastic on the back straps 

The list of cons is pretty long.. but my complaints about the non-elastic straps and the design of the back piece are just personal preference. I prefer to wear my c/a pretty tight, I don't like if my equipment feels too "loose". I changed to elastic straps just to be able to get that tight feel without sacrificing mobility. For the same reason I want to modify the c/a's back piece by making it a bit smaller. Now the back piece's "wings" feel too long, they wrap too far around. I'm still trying to decide if I'll do it myself or if I'll send the c/a to a repair shop. For sure the back piece works fine for most male goalies, for other smaller goalies like me -> maybe an issue yes. 

I personally wouldn't get any other c/a. The protection and quality with Brown are superb. I think I won't need a new unit for at least 5 years if I keep playing 2-3 times per week. Next time I'll probably go with the 2200 model, with 2400 breast plate and segmented shoulders. I don't think I need the 2400 model rib protection.  

And.. Is it expensive? Yes. Was it worth it in my opinion? Also yes.