Toobs

I had no issues with getting ice seal. The glove also presents massively which is different from my other 580s (have used True, eflex 5, vapor90, and Vaughn 70 degree) that tend to have more of that banana shape look. It was also the most broken in glove out of the box I’ve ever used. Took basically zero work to get it nice and fappy.

So after another use, the eclipse glove might be my new favorite glove. It closes a bit differently than a leferve 580, but it’s very comfortable and still similar enough to a 580 that it feels familiar. The single thin offset T helps create a massive pocket that catches everything. It’s a puck vacuum. I generally haven’t loved brians gloves but this thing is incredible. Also super lightweight. The blocker is also very nice. It’s very light, comfortable, and well balanced on the hand. The only thing I don’t love is the index finger protection… the elastic connecting the finger guard seems like it’s a bit too long and doesn’t completely pull it sealed to the stick, so there’s a small gap that theoretically could see a puck hit and hit the index finger. Very small likelihood of that happening but it’s my one gripe.

I’ve got one skate with it so far and have another tomorrow night I’m gonna use it in. Will report back afterwards. What I’ll say for it so far is that it is by far the most snappy glove out of the box I’ve ever seen. Required essentially zero break in. Kudos to Brian’s for that.

The +2 thigh on a slr pad is about 0.5 inches higher than the +2 of an equivalent sized velocity pad, which explains why the new pads are slightly bigger overall. You can probably strap them up so they sit higher by tightening the top strap or using a Lundy loop or strapping the knee strap diagonally down to the calf.

Honestly the lower strap isn’t even really necessary imo. I’ve been playing with mine super loose, not even sure it’s doing anything.

Beauty set! Missed your earlier question… I like the integrated knee block. Not too stiff at all and gets the pads to the ice quick. Liking them so far, especially the glove. My only gripe I think with the set is just how chunky they are. Wish they’d thinned them out more. I agree the stock RRC straps are uncomfortable. You should try to get the V9 version from Vaughn, makes a big difference.

The backhand is quite plush, but the board is thicker and quite stiff. Decent amount of pop off it and I have noticed the issue you mentioned at all so far.

Have had the chance to get these on the ice a bit. Absolutely love the glove and blocker. Both are super comfortable to wear and very lightweight. Good pop off the blocker. Glove was broken in after the first skate and catches exceptionally. 70 degree break is awesome. Pads have been a bit of a mixed bag so far. They slide excellently, I contend that quickslide/primo is easily the best sliding material available currently. These and the iconiks I got a chance to demo were the best sliding pads I’ve used. Rebounds off these are mid range. Not soft but also not jumping off the pad like off bauers. These are also very stiff. I ordered them stock stiffness with a below knee break and a soft boot, but even with the soft boot the boot feels pretty stiff, and there’s not much flex at the knee break. The thigh is stiff which I like, but I do hope with a bit more use the boot and below knee break in a bit more. Compared to my PX3s they feel stiff as a board. But they seal the ice well and post integration is solid, but with the lack of flex I definitely noticed a bit more stress on my ankles and hips. The chest protector is a tank. I don’t feel anything playing with pro level shots. It absorbs shots well too and is easy to cradle rebounds. But it is noticeably heavier than my hyperlite 2 unit.

I can’t believe true or CCM haven’t come up with an equivalent for primo/quickslide yet

Iconiks should be here Thursday so I’ll let you know then. I actually ordered the stiff no break profile on the Iconik because I wanted the aggressive Z curve. So far with the slr4s the only thing I haven’t loved is how straight they are, I’m gonna try to work in a bit of a bend at the knee break.

Haha I’ll let you know which I like better

True made solid graphics with the 12.2 and the PX3, and threw out the garbage that is the hzrdus graphic. It’s so bad.

I had a vapor90 and am getting my eclipse delivered in a few days. I’ll let you know how they compare.

Hah that’s my pic and no not offended. Flat boots have become a thing for 2 reasons. First it allows for less interference between your skate and your pad. It allows the pad to rotate faster and more easily separate from your skate a bit for post integration. Secondly, it makes the pads fit a bit bigger as they sit higher on your skate. Personally I believe this is a way to combat size restrictions. You can have the same size pad but have it sit an inch higher for more 5 hole closure. The second point doesn’t apply to most of us beer leaguers, but personally I like the freeing feeling of not having a defined channel. However some people might not like the feeling of being disconnected from their pad. A lot of manufacturers are heading that direction with their pads though. Both true lines, both Vaughn lines, both Bauer lines all have flat boots. Brians optik line is flat, the Iconik has a slightly defined channel but is still pretty flat. I’m actually not sure there’s any current pads that have fully defined boot channels anymore. The SLR3 did but it obviously got changed with the 4.

I’d say the arm width is pretty comparable, no noticeable difference. The shoulder floaters I haven’t had any issue with my mask. Those options aren’t on the spec sheet for custom, but Vaughn is typically open to a lot so you could check with them.