CWDetroit

I already owned a Quest 2, so I picked up a set of mounts. I have to say, this is fantastic. It is a great replacement for real ice time. I can pop my gear on at any time and face some complex situations. The more I wear my gear and train with it, the more natural it feels. It's well worth the monthly subscription. I ordered a HockeyShot G1 Extreme Large slide board but it hasn't arrived yet. Should be a good off-ice training tool when paired with Sense Arena.

For me, I went the other way. I used the Warrior Ritual RX3E+ knee pads and found that my knees were always bruised down to what felt like the bone. I bought CCM KP 1.9 pads and liked them, but the odd knee cup was a bit too bulky. I bought CCM KP Pro knee pads and found my ideal knee protection. They are bigger in the thigh, but with my SLR2 Pro pads, the knee protectors feel perfect.

I am making the transition from roller to ice. A bit of background: I started playing goal on the street in Detroit in the late 90's. Using the Franklin, Itech, and Mission gear without skates. Bought Mission skates and loved roller goalie. Joined an outdoor league, and eventually an indoor league. In 2010, I tore my adductors playing roller goalie and took a 11 year break. When I left, I was a hybrid goalie. When I came back this September, I made the transition to full butterfly goalie. I bought a used set of Warrior RG3 classic pro (pads 34" + 1.5", catch, blocker) for $350 (US) and played a few games with them. They never felt comfortable to me, so I picked up a used set of Vaughn SLR Pro (pads (34" + 2", blocker) for $300 (I bought a new SLR2 Pro catch glove). The Vaughn's just felt better. Rotation seemed smoother and more predictable. Once I decided I liked the Vaughn SLR Pro pads (34" + 2"), I bought a brand new set of SLR2 leg pads and blocker. I ended up with a full set of SLR Pro pads, SLR 2 Pro pads, and Warrior pads before I found what I liked. I may still try Brians and CCM, but I think that after spending way over my budget for my reentry to hockey, I am taking a little break from buying stuff. A word of advice, if possible, try not to "cheap" out on protective items. I bought a Warrior RX3E chesty thinking that a $300 chest protector should be fine and I was wrong. Even in roller hockey (the puck is lighter), I was getting bruised ribs using that chest protector. I used the Warrior RX3E+ knee pads and they were terrible. My knees were always completely bruised from driving into the butterfly. My Warrior pants sucked (too bulky, and the buttons for suspenders fell off after about 4 games, leaving those sharp pins sticking out the back). I bit the bullet and bought CCM Eflex 5.9 chesty, CCM Pro Pants, CCM KP Pro knee pads, and a CCM GP Pro jock, and CCM did an amazing job on these. The pants are amazing, the chesty is perfect, and the knee pads cradle my 46-year old knees very well. No more bruising, and a LOT more confidence in the crease because I am not subconsciously thinking about every decent shot bruising my ribs (or even breaking one). For me, Warrior quality has fallen off so much that I won't even consider Warrior as an option for anything other than my twigs.

After taking quite a few stingers (I thought I broke ribs on a couple shots), I ditched my Warrior RX3 E C/A and Warrior RX2 pants for a CCM Eflex 5.9 C/A and CCM Pro pants. The integration is exactly what I wanted. Incidentally, my Warrior pants lost the rear buttons for suspenders after about my 3rd or 4th game I bought them new from Perani's on Sep 3rd of this year. It just left the sharp points sticking out. I didn't even know the buttons had fallen off until I went to put my pants on the hanger after a game, grabbed them from my bag and pushed one of those pins into my palm.