Puckstopper

Agreed. In the last 6 years I've used an older Battram glove, a Brian's SubZero and Gnetik II, Vaughn VE8, Warrior R/GT2 and CCM 590. Each of these have had different breaks and I certainly have favorites among them, but at the end of the day none of them made or broke my ability to play the puck effectively. If you want to be an effective puck handler I'd say the factors that affect it are (from most to least important) Practice/technique --> Properly fitting C/A to allow for mobility in hands -->Stick height--> Stick pattern-->Stick knob-->Glove break-->blocker.

Bingo. CCM's pro line is top notch in terms of durability. The second and especially third tier stuff isnt' quite as good, but that's to be expected from any MFG. To be honest I've only had one pair of second tier pads and my Brian's Gnetik 5.0's held up beautifully given what I paid for them. The SubZero3's I replaced them with lasted noticeably longer and were still in great shape when I sold them. There was a noticeable difference though between the two sets at the end of a couple years in them. TBH it seems to me like Brians and Warrior make the best quality senior level/second tier gear historically. I'll be interested to see how Bauer does extending custom colors down to the second tier, and I also have to give Vaughn some love as they've carried the Primo sliding surface down to the non-pro SLR2's.

There's no harm in dreaming though right? Besides, with Kirk hanging out on the board occasionally there is a chance his feedback gets back to the Warrior design team.

I would say there is room in Warrior's portfolio for a more flexible stick like the EF4 or the 2X. Whether we see them do that any time in the near future (or even distant future) is something only the team at Warrior knows at the moment. TBH, I'd like to try a Warrior stick with a more flexy paddle, but the V1+s I'm using are great sticks so I'm not sure this is something Warrior NEEDS. One thing I would like to see them do is cut the number of price points down to 3 and/or work on a better naming scheme. Certain customers get lost when trying to keep track of the benefits of the Pro+ vs the SR+ vs the Pro. The old system of CR1, CR2 and CR3 was way easier for customers to keep track of. Warrior certainly isn't alone in this trend but it is making things harder/more confusing at the retail level for people who aren't total gearheads.

This is the biggest gamble CCM is taking, but I'm sure that they've done the needed market research and feel like now is the time to move on. My other major concern is that the new line will have durability problems ala the 1S series. CCM has always made some of the most durable pads in the business and there will be tons of pissed off people if that changes. Comparing my Eflex4's and my R G/T2 set it's very clear that the CCM pads are going to hold up better over the long run. It's not that the Warrior pads are bad in any way. Each piece of gear is noticeably lighter than it's CCM counterpart and it's clear that they're built for pure performance. Unfortunately that comes at a bit of a cost and it seems likely that the Eflexs will stay in the sweet spot between broken in and broken down for a bit longer than the Warriors. I just hope CCM finds a way to keep durability high, as I doubt the price on these will be dropping to be in line with what Warrior is offering.

I'll be very interested to see how this plays out. Premier was CCM's longest standing line (dating back to Reebok days) and was incredibly successful over the years. Personally I thought there were still a couple of evolutionary tweaks that would have allowed the line to run for at least one more iteration, but given all the hotness I've seen from CCM in the last 18 months I'm more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this release.

I did the same and have been really happy with the change. I'll probably keep it through October then re-evaluate.

I've worn a pro cat eye for over 20 years now with absolutely no issues. If I were forced to go back I'd pick straight bar over one of those certified cat eye abominations. There was almost 0 downward visibility in the one I tried. Like you, I'm sure I could have adapted but I just peeled the cage off my old mask and slapped it on the new one.

I just scored a brand new (tags still attached) Cooper GM6 blocker and GM3000 catch glove on an auction site out of Flint. The GM3000 is a glove I wanted badly back in the day, so I"m super stoked to be able to call a brand new one my own. Now to figure out where to display them. PIcs when they show up.

I never played, but baited a lot of dumb freshmen into playing while I was in college. We lived right across the street from a convenience store/bar and would inevitably get hit up by kitds from the dorms nearby to buy beer for them. My standard response was "I'll pay for 2 40's for you, but you've got to play Edward 40-hands". The smart ones asked what I meant, but you'd be stunned at how many dumbshits agreed without ever asking (and went through with it). Ahhhh, good times....

Can't wait to hear feedback on these!

A couple of great looking sets there gotc and Coop! I'm absolutely loving mine so far. So far the Warrior pads are getting all the important game action and the set of Eflex's I ordered has been relegated to scrimmages and low level games when I sub. Hopefully when the ice gets less mushy I like SpeedSkin better, but for now I just trust the Warrior's more. Of course it helps that there was almost no break-in time with the GT2's and that they're the lightest damn things I''ve ever worn!

That's very much subject to change. My sticks came in weeks ahead of my pads. Either way, both were delivered on time and that's what matters most.

Like Coop said, they seem to post 1 set a day. I wasn't sure, so I was constantly refreshing their Instagram right up until the day my pads showed up. The wait for custom orders is BRUTAL, but the end result is worth it! Edit: My comment about wait times was not a shot at Warrior for their turnaround time (which is actually pretty good), just an acknowledgement that the anticipation of new toys is both enjoyable and agonizing. Lets be honest, the wait could be 2 weeks and many of us would still be impatient.

Solid review. Between a trip, taking delivery of my own set of EF4's and a sprained knee I've still only got 4 games in my set of Warriors. Like you I'm super happy overall and the couple minor issues I have are more adjustments than problems and are certainly not with the fit, finish or design of the pad. Once I hit the 10 to 15 game mark I'll follow up with a review of my own, but the short version is that it's the best glove they've ever made and the rest of the set plays exactly like you'd expect a set of Warrior pads to play.

I can't answer that question in polite company...

As I play with the customizer I'm able to come up with some really good looking designs. Yes, the stock graphic CAN be made into a truly ugly pad if you're not careful. On the other hand, with a bit of work some people are going to come up with absolutely gorgeous pads with this one.

I used it in the palm of my catch glove. I really dig the color and think it would look great in a full set.

I'll give it a whirl. Messing around in the locker room it didn't feel like the pads were rotating back properly without the heel strap. I've got some practice ice available next week when I can play with strapping a little bit and see how they behave on the ice. We all know dialing in new pads is an adventure, and this is even more of one since I'd used Brian's for back to back sets prior.

Ok, so as promised, a quick set of first impressions after 1 session on the ice with my new gear: Pads: I came from a set of 34+1 SubZero 3's to these 35+2 R/GT2's. The Brian's pads were a buying mistake as they were far too short in the thigh rise and I was looking forward to the easier 5-hole coverage from a taller set of pads. This came into play early on in the game when I got a pad tip on a shot that probably would have slid through the 5-hole on me previously. Big win here! There will be a bit of an adjustment with the taller rises, but my previous set of Brian's were 35+1.5", so I don't expect major issues. The ice I played on was total trash due to a varsity H.S. hockey scrimmage right before our time and a really crappy ice cut. Because of how trashed the crease was I really can't comment on how the pads slide. Warming up in the corner they seemed great, but I had absolutely NO slide in the crease which was really annoying. Again, I am sure this was an ice issue so I'm looking to my next ice time to see how they do. One thing I'm going to have to play with is the elastic strapping. I ditched the skate laces for the elastic toe strap and that worked out really well. I ran the heel strap through the loop behind my skate and that felt a little tight. I'll have to do some playing around there, but it's nothing I can't work with. The pads sad differently than my SZ3's (360 Active Drop is NOT just marketing hype, there is a marked difference in where these sat on my legs) but I was fine by the end of the first period. I'm not totally fluid in these yet, but wouldn't expect to be after only an hour. Overall these are a major improvement over my last set, and once I dial them in and break them in they'll be even better. Blocker: I set the blocker to the Low position for a little extra coverage. I'm going to leave it there for a few games, but may end up back in the Mid position for easier paddle down and stick recovery. The blocker was comfortable, secure but easy to get off to grab a drink. I didn't take any good shots to comment on the "pop" off the face, but it did it's job and I'm 100% happy here. Catch Glove: My glove is a 75 degree break, double T and a skate lace pocket. First off, even before taking this glove on the ice I felt like it was far and away the best glove Warrior had ever made. @Kirk3190's comments about the thumb position being more natural are totally spot on. One thing I've done to make it even more comfortable is to forego using the thumb loop. Bypassing this allows my thumb to drop into an even more natural position and makes it easier to close the glove. Speaking of closure, this baby was super easy to close right out of the box. I received it Monday, and was comfortable enough to play with it in a game tonight. I took my old Vaughn glove to the bench with me in case I had any issues in warm-ups with the new glove, but it only took a few shots to know I wasn't going to switch back to the old one. Prior to my VE8 with the stock Y trap my previous 2 Brian's gloves have had double T's. The SubZero had a skate lace pocket and the Gnetik 2 had nylon lacing. The R/GT2 is by far the softest catching glove I've used in 10 years. If you want a good snap when you catch the puck I'd strongly recommend going single T, nylon lacing, or both. While you may not get as much feedback with the double T/skate lace combo, pucks do hit it and die. I didn't have any popouts tonight and had a couple that I had to double check and make sure I caught. One other point I noticed was that this glove is easier to shoot underhanded with than the couple I've used previously. I could flip the puck a underhand a little with my Vaughn, but was completely limited to Turco style with my Brian's gloves. Turco style is fine for clearing the puck or long range bullet passes, but I've missed being able to go for high flips or softer touch passes which were easier for me when stickhandling underhanded. I'm looking forward to being able to add that back into my repertoire of tricks. Honestly, I think the biggest endorsement I can give the glove is that I was willing to wear it into a game situation 3 days after unboxing it. I'm super picky about my catch gloves and while overall I would still say the VE8 is the best glove I've used since my old T3500 the R/GT2 could rival it or possibly even surpass it. Time will tell on this one, but I've been a long time skeptic regarding Warrior catch gloves and this baby won me over as soon as I figured out that I didn't need the thumb loop. Overall my first impression with the R/GT2s was really positive. We won our game, and the pads/gloves were not a factor in the two goals I game up. As much as I've loved my Brian's gear over the years I really feel like I made a major trade up with this set and I look forward to seeing how well these do in a couple months once they've broken in and I've figured out how to really wring every bit of performance out of them.

So these showed up yesterday: 35+2, 75 degree on the catcher and I'm going to start the blocker off in low position and see how it goes. I'll post some first impressions after my game Thursday.

Did you get those from NeverMadeItProStock on Sideline swap? He's had a bunch of Miami stuff lately, but I hadn't made it over to check it out yet.

The risk of premature wear was one of the reasons I was worried about selecting weave for the sliding surface of my GT2's, but in the end I decided to accept the risk and opt for the better performing material. @ZeroGravitas, please keep updating the thread if the wear gets worse or if it's just cosmetic. If it's cosmetic only I'll probably touch it up with Sharpie and call it a day. If it continues to get worse I may cover over that spot with a little patch of Pad Wrap to protect it. I wonder if how thin the top of the thigh rise is, combined with the lack of binding is what causes that to wear more quickly?

I'll just leave these here...

For a minute I thought you had some black in there. The new screen shot shows it more clearly. Regardless, it's a good looking set! What were you quoted on lead time?