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Puckstopper

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Posts posted by Puckstopper

  1. 22 minutes ago, maxtm30 said:

    Sadly don’t have that luxury anymore… but I’m using my degree now and I’m paid more than 1.50$ above minimum wage 😂.

     

    LOL, do both.  Most retail operations right now are so desperate that they'll let you put in a couple days or evenings a month.  That's what I do to maintain the discount and the ability to sharpen my own skates.

    • Like 2
  2. Two very basic question comes to mind here:

    What level of shooter are you facing?   My recommendation for a mask or C/A will be different for guys who are facing former college/pro shooters vs a kid playing at the US High School level vs an adult in a learn to play type environment.    I'm guessing that like most of us, you're not at either of the extreme ends of the spectrum, but rather somewhere in the middle.

    What budget are you comfortable with?  You don't have to give me exact dollars, but usually people fall into a few different catagories such as:

    A.  Price is no object, performance and protection are the only priority (my dream shopper).

    B.  Price is a factor, but you're not willing to compromise much on performance/protection to save money

    C.  Price is a significant factor.  Please get me the best protection you can, but I can't spend more than X.

    D.  Price is more important than anything else.  I usually steer these folks to the used market so they can get a little more bang for their buck.  There's nothing wrong with being on a budget, and I'd rather they/their kids were protected enough to enjoy the game.

     

    So, assuming you fall in the upper middle tier of both categories (good to very good shooters, willing to spend if you're getting something for your money) here are my recommendations:

    Mask:  Buy the mask that fits you best in the $500 US range and up.  Below that you're getting into some questionable materials/compromises in terms of masks, but you only need to go all the way to something like a 960 if you're really facing bombs or have a reason to be more concerned than normal about your head. Prioritize FIT over price at this level.  A poorly fit $1000 mask won't protect you nearly as well as a well fitting upper-mid range mask like a Bauer 950 will.  I went from a pro level mask custom built for someone else to a Bauer NME8 and was much safer in the NME as it fit me almost perfectly.  I've since added a 960 to my arsenal, and don't notice much difference between it and the NME for the level of shots I face.   If you're seeing more former ACHA/NCAA type shots than I do, this will not be great advice and you'll want to spend more.  

    C/A:  Seriously consider the Bauer 2X if you can still find one in your size.  They're more protective than any retail Vaughn unit, and once they break in the mobility is absolutely top notch.   I'll be replacing my current 2X with a 3X in the near future, but having tried one out already I'm worried that it's a step back in terms of mobility.  If your C/A must be Vaughn, go with the Pro Carbon.  The feedback I get on the way the "Pro" units break down is nothing short of embarrassing for Vaughn.

    • Like 4
  3. 11 hours ago, Windmill save said:

     I say it is worth the wait for the gear you are getting. I would rather pay for true gear than get free vaughn gear. That is how good it is. 

    That is insane.  I've used pretty much all of the big brands over the last decade, and I can tell you that I'd cheerfully make due with the pro level offering from any of them if I were offered it for free.  Sure, I have preferences, but at the end of the day, there isn't enough difference that I'd be willing to shell out $3k of my own hard earned money to indulge them.  

    On a related note, True would be dead last of the major brands I'd choose for anything except skates.   

    • Like 1
  4. 7 hours ago, maxtm30 said:

    To further add to @TheGoalNet
    The process to build their pads is really different from other brands.

    The skin is thermoformed (pulled against a pad core shaped matrix), this means every size has it’s "mold".

    Introducing a thigh rise option would make it a nightmare at the production level.

    Simply adding the option for an additional +1 would only result in 5 new molds for the adult line.  

  5. 8 hours ago, ser33 said:

    it seems to me that Bauer is moving along the path 1-2-1-2 so to speak. 1-revolution, 2-evolution. 1S was a revolution with a new skin and incredible rebounds. 2S became an evolution of a new concept, correction of errors. Ultrasonic was next. revolution again - new integrated knee block

    Agreed.  Add in two lines, and there will be another 2-3 years before something "revolutionary" shows up in the legpads.  It seems to be a cycle of innovate, tweak innovation for other pad, evolve for original pad, evolve for other line, innovate.   This year's big innovation is in skates, next year it may be masks, C/A's, etc...   

    You've got to remember, Bauer innovates to make progress, but they also do it to drive sales.  Very few of us buy head to toe new gear every year, so it does them no good to have all their innovations at once.   But if they can get you to buy new skates one year, new pants and C/A in year two, new pads and gloves year 3 and a new mask year 4, then start the cycle over it's better for them. 

    • Like 3
  6. 2 hours ago, A.YOUNGoalie13 said:

    Retail 580 would be sick though. CCM should bring it back to replace that awful 600

    I'll fight you!  580 is an abomination.  

    Jokes aside, I'm all in favor of multiple breaks available through custom, but 590ish is pretty much the big seller at retail, so hopefully Warrior makes it an option, but not the only one.  Going all 580 all the time would be a disaster overall.  

    • Like 1
    • Sad 1
  7. 16 minutes ago, A.YOUNGoalie13 said:

    Trav4oilers leaked that it will have a retail 580 after touring the Sweden factory. But I don’t totally trust him.

    Nor should you...

    • Like 2
  8. 3 hours ago, Chenner29 said:

    Does Sling blackout your local games?

    I signed up for ESPN+ this weekend and was pretty upset when I found local games (LA, ANA) are blacked out.

    The real unfortunate thing is that ESPN is smarter than the NHL app from years gone by.   I could use a VPN to trick that app into thinking I was in a market with games I didn't care about  so I could watch Wings games when I was up visiting the family in Michigan.

    Of course, things got simpler when I found someone with a Bally Sports Detroit login they were willing to share.   No more blackouts when visiting the fam!   I'd ask around Chenner, you'd be stunned how many people have no idea that the ability log into apps like Bally Sports or even basic ESPN (not +) and stream them is included in their cable package.   Not only that, many companies let you create a secondary login that can reap the benefits without being able to see billing info, etc for their security.  There's a pretty good barter economy in online logins if you know who to ask.  My former co-worker in Detroit gets a free Pandora Premium login on my family plan, I get a BS Detroit login on his cable package (and all the other channels that I'd lost now that I left my old job), everyone is happy.

  9. 2 hours ago, loki1416 said:

    Got it figured out. Sling "blue" package with the sports add on. So $46 a month for the ONE channel that I want. I'm sure I can find some other crap on there to watch to make it worth it. Really wish that with stream services I could pick the channels I want and be charged for that channel(s) instead of having to have 300 that I don't want.

    I can't help but laugh.  I spent almost 15 years working for a middle/large sized cable company and we went through a period where everyone wanted to threaten us with jumping ship to streaming services  if we didn't bow to their every demand.   Since we didn't own TV stations like Comcast or Charter do we offered to help them cut the cord so we could make more money off of them than we did when they were bundled.   Almost everyone has the same experience you do Loki, whether it's with cable, or streaming.  It's just the person taking your money who's changed.  It takes a dedicated, disciplined person to not end up paying as much or more for streaming video than they did for cable, especially if you like to watch sports or kids programming.

    Now I work for a fiber company and video isn't even an option with us.   I'm MUCH happier not having to deal with all the headaches that came with it.

  10. On 10/25/2021 at 10:47 AM, MTH said:

    Don't take it personally, but I can't see announcers aspiring to be the forever Blue Jackets guy. Columbus is that stepping stone market for many people. I'm sure many people are pumped to work there, but as they get some NHL miles, they start looking for more elsewhere.

    LMAO, take it personally...  Stop, you're killing me.

      Martin Lawrence Lol GIF by Martin 

     

     Columbus is a nice enough town but I can't WAIT to sell my house and GTFO next month!  I wish I were moving out of Ohio, but at least I'll get out of Woketown USA!

    • Haha 1
  11. On 10/22/2021 at 1:56 PM, big_tommy68 said:

    I love that we're both for regional broadcasters that 90% or more of the rest of the readers will probably never hear. It's a very internet-y kind of conversation to have!

    When I was a kid growing up in Montreal, I used to put a radio on top of the tv so that I could watch the local French channel televising mid-week games while listening in English. By the time I knew enough french to not do it that way, Pierre Houde had started doing play-by-play. So I listened to him through my formative years, as it were.  And Marc is his best colour commentary guy yet in my opinion -- possibly the best former player doing the job that I've heard, at least in Canada. Both are well spoken and clearly smart (unlike some of the cement heads on the air - ahem, Kyprios)

    Now I'm a middle aged Torontonian who pays for an NHL app subscription so that I can get my out-of-market Habs games in french because these two are so much better than the fourth tier guys sportnet usually assigns Habs games in English! 

     

    Whereas, living in Columbus, I just put the radio on to avoid listening to Jeff Rimer.    HE  IS  THE  WORST!!!   Count on him to mangle the pronunciation of at least 3 names per game.  It's one thing if it's the opposing team's rookie, but when you F' up ONE OF YOUR OWN PLAYERS NAMES FOR 2+ SEASONS YOU SUCK!   Sorry of the caps, but even thinking about that goofy little elf makes my blood boil.   

  12. 25 minutes ago, big_tommy68 said:

    Pierre and Marc all the way. Best in the biz by far, assuming you can appreciate hockey in French.

    Tonight we reconnect with casting legends Pierre Houde and Marc Denis for  the first time in 10 months!! Ma parole!: Habs

    Sorry but no.  Dave Strader (RIP) and Mickey Redmond were the best duo I ever heard stateside.   Growing up on the Ohio/Michigan border we also got CBC in our cable package, so I heard some high quality commentary on Hockey Night in Canada as well.  Agree that many of today's announcers miss the mark.  To me the cardinal sin is the guy who hoots and hollers about an empty netter for his own team, but says something like "Marner scores" in a complete monotone after a tick tack toe passing sequence and a bar down one timer.  

  13. On 10/14/2021 at 4:46 PM, ZeroGravitas said:

     

    I could have sworn they said the current Pro/Elite/GSX were going be around for three years.

    That's what I read.  I'm guessing this is to complement the Pro, which totally defeats the cost saving realized by ditching US and Vapor... 🙄  Yay for new woke Bauer.  

  14. On 9/30/2021 at 11:46 PM, ZeroGravitas said:

    8 weeks in.... hopefully soon.

    Skated in some Trues yesterday day. Hated it. Sliding was worse, rotation was poor and I got victimized several times on rebounds that Ultrasonics would have put out of harm's way - or at least give me a extra couple seconds to reset. Ultrasonics honestly feel like goalie cheat codes in regards to rotation and sliding.

    No hockey shops in the new town?

    Not really.  Dayton is a small city between Columbus and Cincy, but the wife and I are looking to either buy a house on some acreage or buy a lot and build, so between that and building a new market from the ground up my time for a fun job to pay for gear-whoring is close to zero.  :(  Oh well, it's a good problem to have...

  15. On 9/25/2021 at 8:06 AM, katsirakeron said:

    Quick question as its pertains to pro+. my son was gifted an M1 pro+ 23.5 paddle is good however the shaft is quite long, would you suggest taking 2-3 inches off the shaft?. its quite the expensive stick to just cut lol. thanks in advance.

    Yep, I've done it on many sticks.  You'll change the balance a little bit, but improve puckhandling.   I use a couple wraps of tape to try to make sure the composite doesn't splinter and weaken the shaft.   I use my miter saw with a fine blade at home, but for liability reasons the shop I work at makes us use a hacksaw.  Both get the job done, but the miter saw is both faster and neater.  

  16. 17 hours ago, ZeroGravitas said:

    Hyperlite on the way...eventually! I'm sitting at about 7 weeks right now.

    I suspect I will like US2 more simply because of the 600 break glove. I went stock with the Hyperlite, so it'll be a 590.

    The other day, I warned my wife that I am intending to get US2 and Axis 2 in 2022. She DGAF, thankfully.

    I'm interested in how Hyperlite's Rebound Boost Core will perform. I ordered stock stiffness on Hyperlite so it should be a bit softer than US.

    Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the two.   I went with the stiffness between US and HL for my set.  It seemed to be working out well until my knee self destructed.  Now I've got to wait until at least November to get back on the ice and then have to find a team in a new city once I can...   

    The other downside to moving is losing my hook-up on gear, unless I'm willing to make a 90 minute drive for weekend shifts. Haven't decided on that yet, but I may try to gut it out through Axis 2 release time, 'cause those look SICK!

  17. Last time I ordered custom from them it was 6ish weeks, but that was M1 Pro+, so right before COVID shut everything down and supply lines got completely snarled up.   The wait is the worst part!

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