Puckstopper

This has been my take for close to a decade now. Not sure why people with no ability in graphic design (and I include myself in that group) want to whine and bitch so hard about something with 3 easy solutions: 1. Get a full custom graphic. CCM, Bauer and Brians will all do this. Vaughn will skin in a graphic from yesteryear. 2. If you don't want to drop the coin on that, buy another brand. There is enough commonality these days that an average Joe goalie could play in their second choice of pads and not suffer a major performance drop off. Gloves can be trickier, but still.... 3. Get over it. If you really believe you'll play best in whatever brand, get over aesthetics and chase performance. If the aesthetics get to you that badly, join the solid pads crew.

Let's be honest, feel is the most important thing. The only set of Bauer I've ever owned was a Hyperlite build, but I had to go to the Ultrasonic glove because the HL just felt WRONG. I can see how some would love it, but not my bag at all. It seems counterintuitive that a glove that presents flat would funnel well, but looking at the pic earlier in the thread, the V90 has a pretty steep thumb angle.

That's debatable. Maybe the Vapor 90 does, but the older Vaughn "Kipper style" pancake gloves were horrible spit-out machines. My experiences there would make it hard for me to want to go backwards to that.

Back when I worked retail, Pulse Ti was the new hotness. I never got to try it on ice (the goalie stuff hadn't hit retail by the time I moved), but you can tell good steel from bad by how it feels on the wheel. Pulse felt nicer than the LS5 steel and Pulse Ti was noticeably better than that. I'd put it right up there with the high end Step or RamonEdge steel for how it took an edge.

I disagree. Give me a well thought out, cogent and concise typed review over a video any day of the week. The handful of decent video creators out there are buried under an avalanche of guys who do nonsense one-take, unrehearsed stream of consciousness rambles that jump around and make no sense. As an example, TGN's videos are well lit, scripted, and properly edited. Compare that to most of what's out there an you'd have to be desperate for info to tolerate it. I love the guys on here who take the time to write a review and keep it up to date. I'm not buying a couple sets of gear a year anymore, but it's been really nice to keep up with the updates in the thought process behind the gear.

This is a beef for me as well. I've never been able to find anything other than anecdotal stories that Smith, Jarry and a couple of other guys have sticks that are noticeably whippy when compared to a stock or even a more typical pro return twig. I'd love to be able to custom order something that's got even more give than my EF4 sticks. ' Edit: It's not the shops/sites, it's the manufacturers. They don't seem to want to open the can of worms that offering goalie sticks to the masses in multiple flexes, so we're stuck with a "one size fits a couple" approach.

Buy 3 different Fanatics sweaters all in the same size and you'll get 3 different fits. Buy on Amazon so you can return the 2 that don't work. Wish I were joking...

Damn man, I'm sorry to hear you're banged up. I hear you on MRI's getting spendy! Hopefully your recovery is quick and complete.

That or an older Vaughn graphic.

Psst... You bought the glove for the wrong hand...

I had EF4's years ago. They were the softest pads of the 8 sets I've owned over the last decade, and the worst possible candidate for this idea. The blocker on the other hand would be easier, as I believe it still has the zipper up top for easy access. Just follow the thread ZG linked and you'll see a big difference.

I may be a little biased here, but I've always been stunned that Ozzie doesn't at least get some discussion. Multiple Cups on the resume, top 15 in wins, heck, the dude's even got the career Gordie Howe hat trick with the goal he scored and beating the tar out of Patrick Roy! Prior to Vernon and Barrasso getting in, I didn't get too bent about Ozzie not getting looked at. Given that those 2 guys are very much on Osgood's level (and personally, I think Cujo is better than all of them) I've got to think that Ozzie will get to start signing his autograph as "#30 HHoF" in the next few years.

Quoted for truth!

Knee pads are a must. Here's a link to my favorite pair: https://www.goaliemonkey.com/accessories/knee-thigh-guards/brians-goalie-accessories-pro-ii-knee-pads-sr.html These stay up without tape, garter belt, etc and provide decent protection and cushioning. I recommend wearing them under hockey socks to avoid velcro rubbing on your pads and creating wear points. I've also used the previous version of the Bauer Elite and several versions of the Warrior knee pads that came with their leg pads. The Bauers required a garter belt to stay up, didn't provide much padding when dropping to the butterfly and were very bulky. I was able to solve the bulk issue by reshaping the knee caps with a heat gun, but my knees still hurt after playing in them. The Warriors would only stay up if I taped them, so I either held on to them to sell when I moved the pads they came with, or sold them separately.

This. I know it's a pain, but if you're buying new, you're spending too much to guess. If you're going to guess, you're better off doing it off the fit charts than how the pad sits against your leg in shoes.

162k miles isn't much on that Murano, but like the Outback it has a finicky CVT transmission. I'd pay a mechanic to look any vehicle that old over in depth. I'm always as suspicious of brand new fluids as I am about old burnt fluids in those inspections. With a vehicle of that age it should have had transmission fluid changed at least once, brake fluid and coolant done a couple times, etc... If it looks like they JUST did those things instead of keeping up on normal maintenance, walk away.

Still staying with it. I'm not opposed to experimenting if anything interesting comes along, but I love the mobility of the 15/20/28. I suspect I'd love it even more if I went from True to Konnekt, as I'd have an easier time engaging the heel.

An interim option that may be worth looking into as well would be redoing the padding in your Hackva if the shell is in good condition. Even if you do go for a new mask, it's always nice to have a fallback option that you trust.

I'm glad for you. EF4's were the worst set of gear I've owned in the last 20 years!

I think it's pretty cool. I spend FOREVER trying to get these right, so I'm looking forward to trying this out.

It'd be nice for nostalgia, but Winnipeg's struggles argue against it. I suspect you're more likely to see a second team in Toronto than a team in Quebec City.

Never seemed to bother Belfour's coaches. Or Tim Thomas'. I'd guess Campbell's long history of being streaky, a bit of a loveable headcase and his terrible start to the season had more to do with them not giving him a chance than him trying some new gear.

Oh look, he's graduated to 50 shades of grey...

Be careful about overheating. The skate oven only heats to about 175 F, so even the low setting on a heat gun would be easy to overdo it. Granted, these skates sit in that oven for quite a while, so I'm guessing they can take a little more than the average pair, but I'd still go low and slow.

I'd agree that if you cut the paddle you end up holding it lower. My last project was a 26" Bauer that feels closer to a 25" now.