David Myers

Have heard from an anonymous pro goalie (ahl) that he believes the cons outweigh the pros of them. He said he believed they took away from some energy transfer when on ice sliding from one point to another. Had to push down a little bit more due to the ankle flex in order to get the same push causing a slight delay in the pushes and slower overall. I wonder what other peoples thoughts are on this. I personally have only tried them on unbaked and never wore them on ice. 

1 hour ago, Chenner29 said:

It's here and it's very pretty.

Going to be doing a write up on this unit as I get some skates in

Initial post will be reviewing initial thoughts etc

Initial pics, courtesy of The Goalie Crease

I ran the order through Rance at the Goalie Crease, we spent a little bit of time reviewing the arms and comparing them to my CCM AB18Pro.

Settled on the following build.  Note Bauer did NOT attach a set of Machs to the unit and I am extremely upset and have sent my mom to talk to their manager

I am pretty pleased with how this unit came out.

I had to make some further adjustment to the arm length, which is easy to do with the system they have in place.  There's a lot of excess material between the arm and the body, but you can adjust length with the provided velcro/nylon strap:

The inner arm material is lined with air knit.  The elbow area is very soft and cushy, feels kind of like a wetsuit material.  Also very well padded with something that feels like memory foam.  Guessing it's Poron. 

After moving around in it a bit with the warm weather we're having today in Socal, it loosened up a bit.
I also adjusted the cord in the arm hinge system as I felt that was part of the reason why it felt so tight

Unit feels extremely sturdy and solid.  Definitely on par with the AB18Pro
Shoulder floaters measure 1" thick, I'm guessing stock unit is .5"
Arms feel plenty beefy
I feel a lot of similarity in the arms with my CCM unit, you get that player shinpad feel in the front.

With the new NHL sizing restrictions, AB units can no longer be fully rounded at the upper bicep.  This creates a liability zone where manufacturers have opted to split the upper bicep into three parts, the main middle portion and an outer and inner ridge closest to your ribcage.  Other manufacturers like CCM opted to square it off to avoid any gaps, and it Bauer has followed suit this year with the Mach arms.

The Bauer actually has a nice soft rounded inner layer in the upper arm (below, yellow arrows) to help support the "dead zone" where the front bicep piece folds over (below, green arrows).  Note these pics were both taken of the right arm which is why the arrows are pointing towards each other

The upper outside bicep and elbow hinge area are all 1" thick, plenty of protection for those chicken wing saves

Mobility wise, I can palm the top of my head with minimal effort.
I can also touch same side shoulder and opposite shoulder on both sides

Very happy overall so far.  I will update later with post skate impressions.
Meanwhile ask away with any questions

 

I’m about to order something very similar, except with mach all the way through most likely. I was originally nervous about the arms because I previously had an ultrasonic and the as the sliding system slid up it would get caught on the shoulder flap if that makes any sense. It would basically hinder mobility and not let your arm slide all the way up. Just tried on the mach in store and had no issues with it what so ever. Protection was also lacking on the ultrasonic. Most likely going to go medium mach body and arms, beef up shoulders/bicep/forearms, and then make the forearms slightly shorter. Just tried on every chest protector in my local hockey shop and they had all of the latest models of every brand in my size (somehow). Mach was easily the most mobile and comfortable chest protector I tried on. We’ll see where it goes

On 7/8/2022 at 6:41 PM, keeperton said:

How has the arm protection been to you thus far?

Wondering the same thing

On 6/24/2022 at 11:31 AM, ilyazhito said:

Do you have video of yourself playing? This will help me better understand your technique. Maybe the Mach pads require different techniques than other pads. 

Sorry, just seeing this! Let me try and get a video of me just sliding. 

22 minutes ago, ilyazhito said:

What did you do to get the sliding to improve?

Honestly I felt just using them more or even possibly adapting the way my body weight was on the pads may have changed as well to allow them to slide better if that makes sense. Just due to the sliding surface shape being so different I feel as though I had to kinda alter my weight on it and it naturally happened. Not sure how accurate that is but it’s what my current thoughts are. 

8 hours ago, ZeroGravitas said:

Skated in the Machs with 3M tape on the knee and calf landing. Was getting more slide than my Ultrasonics on fresh ice. IMO, this points to the skin being the difference for sliding.

Honestly I feel as though the more I use them, the better the sliding gets. Or maybe it’s just the way in sliding on them that’s getting better. Not really sure. I’ve had 5 skates with them so far. First skate was brutal using them but after the 5th skate sliding feels a lot better. Still adjusting to them though because I came from 2x pros. Wish I could have gone custom with these and chosen a softer boot flex and 100 degree rather than 120 but had to get stock because my 2x were falling apart. Overall pretty happy with them so far. Strapping was weird at first but liking it a lot more now that I got the strapping on them down. 

6 hours ago, Puckstopper said:

Where are you at?   I'll check my storage unit and see if I have any to spare.  

I am located in Boston, MA currently 

3 hours ago, Chenner29 said:

I think you PMed me about those Dostal sticks I'm selling on SLS! 

Good luck with your search.  I can post more pics on here of the curve here if you wanna see them, can't do that in the app.

Edit, found some Axis sticks in in 26" with Crawford curve.  Kinda close.

https://www.goaliemonkey.com/equipment/sticks/sr-goalie-sticks/ccm-goalie-stick-axis-sr.html

Yeah that was me. I can get the axis locally but I’ve just used the eflex 4 soft flex and I don’t wanna change it because I know it’ll mess up my passing. 

If anyone can help me find or purchase a eflex 4/5 in a 26inch Crawford curve that would be much appreciated. I have checked everywhere online, used and new as well as in every local hockey shop of mine and can’t find any in the pro model. I recently broke two eflex 4s in three skates and need replacements. Thanks. 

9 hours ago, Dave said:

Any feedback on Coveted 905 pro sell on Goalie Monkey website?

I have the 906 certified from his website with the pro carbon upgrade which just adds carbon fiber to the mask. I believe the one on the goalie monkey website is just the standard version. As well as I’m not sure how different the 906 and 905 are. I have nothing but good things to say about the company and mask protection though. Occasionally get ears wringing but I feel like you expect that with any mask. Never had a luck truly hurt though. The one complaint I do have is on the actual cage. The integrity of it is very poor and I have gone through 5 of the straight bar cages due to the actual welding breaking apart. I recently replaced it with a bauer cat eye and so far have no problems. Although Ron did have amazing customer service and gave me all of the cages for free, I just had to pay shipping due to the cage being under a warranty. Protection of the actual helmet is amazing and comfort is superior to any other mask I’ve tried on. Especially if you do it through the actual company as they will have you send in pictures of your face and they will custom fit the padding to your face( at least this is what they for me about three years back) 

Thank you

10 hours ago, maxtm30 said:

Spring 2022 release

Thank you

Anyone know around when these will come out? Definitely due for a new set but not sure if I should wait and order custom for these or settle for ultrasonics. Thanks!