UCLALabrat

On 1/5/2024 at 11:13 AM, Fullright said:

I got Naz beat. I used a Vaughn T1000 (Vaughn's first catch glove) for about 20 years. Replaced that with a Passau 60 degrees 6 years ago. Suppose I do not fit in well here on the use of gear: I like my old stuff and repair it when needed until it cant be repaired. 

Wasn't that thing old 20 years ago? I bought a T2000 in like 1996? And it wasn't even a new line; the vision line came out about that time to supplement the legacy line.

On 5/9/2024 at 9:55 PM, ZeroGravitas said:

First skate in these today. These are probably the best sliding pads I've ever worn.

Blocker palm is annoying. The regular SR size is huge on my hand and makes gripping the stick very uncomfortable.

With my V9s I struggled to slide at first, even with quickslide. I dialed in my blade ROH down to 1/2", and with practice I was able to move around a bit. I said to hell with it and put vinyl film on my knee block just for shit n gigs, and the sliding was much improved.

The SLR4s I took out on the ice and no joke they slid light years better than even the V9s with the film. Pretty incredible. The V9s quickslide is smooth and glossy; the SLR4 is slightly more textured. But the difference is noticeable.

Bro theyre Bauer not Boeing

Those are gorgeous! 

You get a chance to put them on the ice? How the rebounds compare to the SLR4?

Is it safe to assume my current chesty has the same treatment? It's a pro-stock V8 with the K.

1 hour ago, Toobs said:

So I’d say the stiff flex iconiks are actually still a bit more flexy than the stock flex SLR4. The thigh is pretty similar in both, but the Iconik has more flex at the knee bend, despite the knee break I added on the SLR4. I also ordered the soft boot on the SLR4 but the boot on the Iconik is still significantly softer and more flexible.

The iconiks are also a bit thinner and lighter. 

I'll try and post more on my SLR4s to compare to yours. The thigh rise flexes maybe an inch or two and combined with the knee block/calf wrap they're very solid on the ice.

Theyre not quite surfboards like I mentioned previously but they're very stiff.

1 hour ago, Toobs said:

I’ve got a custom Slr4 unit with beefed up arms. Great mobility, incredible protection. I barely feel anything.

You spec the beefed up arms in your order? What you do to add that? 

Starting to get stingers in my V8 that a lot of folks talked about. Got one on the bicep last week and took one off the shoulder last night that a guy punched off my shoulder and in.

Granted on that one I wasn't really square so not sure if it's a me problem or not. Mobility on the V8 is great but not sure if I should look at more like the SLR line or go to a different brand.

Ok so what I thought was an EBUG situation was more like a private pickup game that went for a full 1.5 hours, no breaks. Unreal and inwas WRECKED.

On ice impressions: ok the quickslide I don't know what to make of it. My V9s have quickslide and I don't know if it's a different setup (the SLR4s supposedly have plastic built in to improve sliding even more?) But the finish feels a bit different; the V9s feel slick while the SLR4s feel slightly more textured? When I got the V9s I struggled to slide, and after some tweaking with my skate hollow and practicing technique I could move ok. I put vinyl film on them and I was flying. I swear the SLR4s make even the film feel like sandpaper. I think I could launch into low earth orbit, even on roughed up ice I was still flying. Incredible.

Knee block and calf wing feel really good, I like the stability. Seal was great. My technique was sloppy as all hell after about 10 min but I was able to get a bunch of kick-out saves and the seal was awesome.

Rebounds: these things have great pop. I've never worn bauers or brians and my V9s aren't pro carbon, so obviously they were pretty soft. I had a bunch of low shots that popped rebounds out past the dot without me moving my leg. One low angle shot hit my right pad and careened off to the far boards and out past the dot. Overall im impressed but not sure how they stack up (pun intended) against other, hotter brands. 

Got my first EBUG call tonight, stoked to get them on the ice, especially since I have to miss stick time next week.

11 hours ago, ZeroGravitas said:

My God, that+1 looks like a +4

The overall height is only about an inch higher on the first pic but not sure I had them squared up equally. I was hoping the total height would be the same but looks like the SLR4s are a skosh higher. I don't find that impedes movement at all but I haven't put them on with pants or on the ice yet so I'll wait to give feedback.

Dropping into my butterfly the seal seems good and the thigh rises square up pretty much perfectly against each other. Won't be able to tell how the integrated block helps with dropping, rotation and closure until I get them on the ice. On carpet at least they seem more stable so I hope it helps my movement. Being on the knee block I think will help immensely

I was at a stick n puck yesterday morning before they got here and practicing slides back and forth. The V9s tend to under rotate and I was falling off the top if the block do I was all over the place.

Overall I thought the knee block would be higher. When I tried them on with skates I was worried they still weren't tall enough

I think I dialed it in with strapping but I'll need to play around more.

5 minutes ago, Toobs said:

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.

My V9s don't even have the ankle strap, just a professor, knee strap, and calf wrap. I'll try it as is on the ice first but I may just remove it.

Theyre heeeeeeeeeeeere....

First impressions out of the box: theyre gorgeous. I'll post more pics later but the knee block looks to be perfect for my sasquatch legs. 

The RRC straps came mounted inside the calf wrap, and I tried them on and found them uncomfortable (mostly the ankle being awkward).

I moved them to outside the calf wrap and it seems much better. Unfortunately I won't be able to get them on the ice for a bit since I have work obligations next week. I love the feel of them and the 5 hole closure is great. Knee block feels quite a bit better also compared to my V9s.

Thanks! If yours are that stiff with a break I bet mine feel like surfboards.

Edit: hows the integrated kneed and calf block? Pretty stiff? Too stiff?

Find out Thursday

On 4/12/2024 at 8:03 PM, Toobs said:

Haha I’ll let you know which I like better 

Did you order the same config as the SLR4s? You had one knee break in those right? How they compare in stiffness?

I bought a t2000 in like 96. Loved that thing. Be illegal now

On 4/10/2024 at 9:13 PM, Toobs said:

Just got word that my Iconik/Eclipse combo is in. Ordered my SLR4s and this set like almost 3 months apart and they came in within 2 weeks of each other.

I went to place my order pretty convinced I was going with iconiks and ended up in slr4. I find this post ironic

43 minutes ago, Fullright said:

Congrats on having the guts to share your thoughts and feelings. Our culture in particular, at least during my time, was "shut up, eat it and move on". An unenlightened approach. Very glad you shown trust here on a delicate issue with your peers here; at one time or another, we've all felt the weight of what your're describing at one time or another. 

At the level you're playing, coaches are going to say things to you which they think are to motivate you. In college, I shut out a U of Minn team and after the game, coach said in front of the team that I stunk the joint out. He didnt say it quite so politely; the language he used was much more humiliating and hurt me to my soul. I did my best to just let it go and carry on. I did think to myself, what does this guy want and why am I putting up with it? The point is to reassure you that you are not alone.

Try not to make a final decision at this point. Let your frustration/anger cool down some first. You do not want to look back down the road and play the "what if" thing with yourself. Try to think things through in a logical manner and go from there. I expect that being away from home in a foreign country is adding to or compounding your emotional well being. But do take advantage of your support system and confide in he/she/them and consider what they have to say.  You are obviously a very good goalie. If you were otherwise, you would have been cut or traded. Try to remember also that you're playing at a seriously high level so the expectations and culture is going to be different than a mens league culture. Dont rush yourself and try to find something that gives you peace while you assess your goals and the way in which you want to obtain them. 

We all got your back so dont stop yourself from venting here. No one here will think anything less of you.

Dude...maybe I'm more spiteful than most but I don't care if I was playing against a pee-wee team...if I put up a goose egg and the coach tried to humiliate my performance id straight laugh in his fucking face.

You literally played perfect. Doesn't matter the competition (although in this case it sounds like you were lights out), any coach spouting that bullshit just undermines their own credibility.

Thanks! Think I see what you mean. You can get those straps as spares right?

2 hours ago, Toobs said:

37+1?! How tall are you?! Lol.

Sidebar, my set is Dudo approved lol.

Dude I just now realized yours is the other set in that spread

Sorry. I'm colorblind and obviously not the sharpest meatball in the drawer.

Also can you explain the V9 upper strap you were talking about? I can't see a difference from stock.

3 minutes ago, Toobs said:

37+1?! How tall are you?! Lol.

Sidebar, my set is Dudo approved lol.

I'm 6'7 with an FTK of 24.25".

I saw that in the feed and I'm like "what other fucking yeti out there is ordering 37+1? Black nylon back with black quickslide top? Those HAVE to be mine"

Sure as shit Dennis emailed me a tracking number this morning, they're on they're way to pure hockey warehouse in MA before they get sent to me.

I'm fangirling over here

So I emailed Dennis yesterday to see if they had shipped and he said they would be out the door tomorrow or Thursday. I'm stoked.

Two things: Dennis is a fucking rock star, he's more responsive than my rep (not a knock on my rep, he's been responding to emails pretty much within a day). I can't believe they respond like that to some beer league schmoe. The fact they give me the time of day is mind-blowing.

Second: 99.9% they just posted my pads to their IG feed and HOLY SHIT IM GEEKING OUT RIGHT NOW

Edit to link:

https://www.instagram.com/stories/vaughncustomsports/3342493206543720634?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==

2 hours ago, Toobs said:

Here’s my slr4 set. 33+2. Added a knee break and also went with the V9 style upper strap. Stock blocker with exception of V10 palm. 70 degree glove. Colors are Kelly green, yellow, and a mix of white quickslide, weave, and standard jenpro.

First impressions are they are chunkier than anticipated. I thought they had slimmed out the thigh and boot more, but compared to my PX3s they are quite chunky. The boot channel is flatter though. I hated the V10 strapping which they copied on the slr4s, which is why I went with the V9 style upper strap and I like it much more. 
 

I love the blocker. It’s a big departure from the SLR3 one piece sidewall, but it feels like a true blocker but slightly improved on. The board is super stiff and I expect solid rebounds off it. The index finger setup is great with 3-sided palm material.
 

The glove is the same as my previous V9 XP70. It’s a solid glove. I’m a 580 truther, so I like the closure and out of the box it closes very well. The cuff is nice and thin and overall the glove feels nice and lightweight.

Picture of strapping with V9 upper strap.

Can see how thick the thigh is.

Flat boot

Not as thinned out as I expected.

Nice closure out of the box.

New sidewall

Love this feature of the blocker with the 3-sided palm material on the index finger.

My biggest nitpick is the colors… the Kelly green jenpro is significantly darker than the Kelly green nylon. I was hoping for it all to be the nylon shade, but the jenpro is just kinda dark.

Chesty is nice, it’s got bulked up arms. Coming from a hyperlite it is significantly beefier and somewhat heavier, but noticeably higher quality as well.

 

Ive had the pants for a few weeks, I love them. Very protective but also very mobile. No complaints at all.

A note on sizing… these are the SLR4s which are 33+2 lined up next to my PX3s which are 34+2. The SLRs definitely seem like they might fit a bit bigger.

Love it! Wonder if they thicken up the thigh on the knee break version, althohgh that looks a ton slimmer than the velocity line already.

I ordered stiff (no break) with a single outer roll break. We'll see if theres a difference.