Puckstopper

My drying/sanitization routine is a little over the top, but my choices were make sure my wife couldn't smell the gear if I wanted to keep it in the basement, or buy a shed and keep it outside (our bedroom was over the garage in the old house, so that wasn't happening).   My routine is:

• Dry everything on a wire rack, with fans blowing from one side and down from above. 
• The gloves go on a Peet boot dryer.  Be careful with this, I damaged a blocker palm by leaving all the weight of the glove pulling against the attachement, but have had no other problems in over a decade. 
• I use a fresh sweatband in my helmet every game and just rinse the inside of it out with water postgame
• Everything (including the inside of my bag) gets hit with Scenturion spray every 2-4 skates. 
• All clothing is brought in and washed same/next day.   

I have a tiny amount of funk in my oldest catch glove, but everything else is remarkably stink free.  The one thing I noticed was that funk seems to migrate from old gear to new.    Makes sense right?  Bacteria or fungus transfers and takes hold on the new stuff due to proximity.   So the biggest thing to do would be to get any older gear you're keeping as clean as you can, and then keep up on maintenance from there.  

5 minutes ago, ThatCarGuy said:

As long as they don’t touch the glove all will be well!

LOL, Brian's gloves were the one reason I went away from them.   I love their quality, I love the customization they're willing to do, but I tried both Sub-Zero and Gnetik gloves and was never quite happy, although the Gnetik IV glove felt much better than the older one I had.  Maybe I'll try again someday...

20 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

M5 will be the softest of the three (M5, US, Mach). But it's practically the same as the Ultrasonic. 

 

If it's similar to my Hyperlites (custom flex stiffer than HL stock and softer than US stock flexes) it's a really nice sweet spot.  It's stiff enough that I don't worry about squeakers but flexible enough to move well in.  I honestly was not sure about Bauer pads when I ordered them, and have been pleasantly surprised.   The only issue I have is that the landing block is really firm.  My knee is still sore after games (seeing the ortho to find out WTF is up with that given that surgery was 18 months ago) so I usually end up wearing my other set that has a softer landing area.   My point is make sure you've got good, comfortable kneepads.  You'll want them! 

17 hours ago, Yzueblin said:

My source is my friend. he is a sale director in a big hockey shop in montreal area. 

He tell the pads gonna be the same no big change. Only a new name. Probably for a marketing perspective 

I guess after 5 iterations and 10 years it may be time for a change.   It's always interesting when/how companies decide it's time to kill off a sub-brand that they've spent time and effort building.    Regardless, I've not nothing but faith that the new line will be top notch, Brian's stuff always is. 

2 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Is this a general sentiment or specifically for Bauer due to their quality?

For me it's across the board.   I've never bought a non-pro catch glove and can't imagine a world where I would buy Sr.   For me, the catch glove is the hardest piece to dial in, and I don't want to wonder if I'm having issues because I cheaped out.  

17 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Thanks, this is helpful .  Can you list out what the precise difference are between Mach and M5?  I've seen conflicting information.

Because of protection, right?  Stingers? 

I do get one every couple of months on my V9 PC, mostly in the very bottom of the palm when I don't cleanly snag a puck.  I suppose that is bound to happen regardless of what glove is being used.

I agree that it's usually worth it to buy pro catch gloves.  Even if all materials were identical, you'd very likely be able to feel the difference, as the best craftsmen make the pro line.  Therefore they're more consistent from glove to glove.  I've felt poorly built pro gloves and well built Sr gloves when I worked at Peranis, but they were both extreme outliers.  Usually the pro stuff closed better and was more consistent.  Protectionwise you're giving up Curv protection and XRD foam, so the layer that distributes impact is less rigid allowing the impact to concentrate in a smaller area, and then the layer below it isn't as absorbent.   If you're feeling stingers with a pro level glove, it's a pretty safe bet you will not be a happy camper with Sr. level stuff.    

For the pads, it looks like CorTech is on the calf only, but using paint protection film has improved the sliding on my CCM EF6's, so it should be able to give you an improvement here as well, if needed. 

It may not be a step UP, or even quite a lateral step, but I doubt you'll feel like you took a huge step DOWN either.   M5Pro has most of the tech that makes Bauer great, and based on the Mach reviews, not having that sliding surface may be a win.   

I have always caught best with Vaughn gloves, and agree that my Ultrasonic is the closest I've felt to comfortable since I sold a VE8 a couple years back.  It's still not my magical T3500, but I'm realizing that nothing ever will be.  As the evil little voice in the back of my head likes to remind me, when that glove was new I was 20+ years younger, could do the splits, was 50lbs lighter, etc....   Regardless, no experience with Mach or M5, but I've been extremely happy with my Bauer gear and the US/Mach break glove in particular.  

I also hadn't heard they were killing off Gnetik.   Does anyone have a link/source for that?

Also, it's not like you can't customize Brian's stuff 75 ways from Sunday, so I'm sure you could even dial in an Optik the way you like if you absolutely had to.   

2 hours ago, jerd31 said:

Yup, I had the whole set.  No complaints, I preferred the Optik 9.0 glove over the Warrior (although I love the removable liner on the Warrior).  Blocker is a blocker lol.  

I did get stingers in the glove when I played in A/B level beer league, but overall was happy with the whole set.  

Catch glove is the one place I'll always pay the extra for pro level stuff.   Not only are they better padded, but the attention to detail (closure) is almost always better as well.  

Brian's used to be head and shoulders over a lot of the other MFGs in the overseas space.   But, as Coopa said, the mid point stuff is all pretty much on par these days.   If you want the lightest, go Warrior.   The most tech crammed into a Sr level pad?  Bauer.   Both Brian's and Vaughn added Quikslide on their mid-price stuff a generation or two back, so that's a major plus for them.   Most mid-priced gear is good enough for high school, college club or high level beer league.

11 hours ago, ThatCarGuy said:

Flare blades can only be sharpened on a hand sharpener last I checked. No sparx no prosharp.
 

This is correct for Sparx at least, because they don't offer rings shallow enough to do Flare steel.  I'd only done one person's set of Flare blades by the time I left my job at a hockey store and they were tricky to make sure I had the edges level.  They always took extra time, both to redo the hollow on the wheel and then to dial in the edges, especially with our beat to hell square.  We had a manager who never liked to redo the wheel and slapped a 5/8" hollow on the Flares and totally ruined that customer's day.  It took forever to get the blades back to the 1 1/4" that the customer preferred and took more steel than either he or I would have preferred.  On the bright side, the guy who used them was really knowledgeable and in tune with his gear, and spoke very highly of the performance he got from them.  

tldr: I wouldn't spend the money on Flare blades unless you really trust your sharpener.  

1 hour ago, Novasteel31 said:

I am in the same dilemma as you right now as my steel on my skates and the cowling are starting to go and I am debating whether I should just replace my cowling or just bite the bullet and buy a new pair and make the adjustment.

Do it now.  It's easier to adjust while you're young (er?).  Plus if you find you absolutely CAN'T make the switch, better to do it while you can stock up on serviceable replacement materials.  Waiting another 2-3 years will mean those parts are impossible to find instead of merely difficult.  

4 minutes ago, xmikex32 said:

I was looking into profiling before the new skates and this might push me into that direction. The new skates definitely feel more flat and putting me upright vs. my older skates which seems to let me lean forward slightly. I have step steel on my U+'s that was added not that long ago and are pretty tall, but you are probably right that they aren't the same radius. It felt like i was on skis or really long blade i couldn't turn on my toes, if that makes sense. I would try to pivot and it felt like my front toe was catching on the ice. I will look into profiling only downside is no one around me that I'm aware of does it so i would need to send them out every couples months to get them rechecked. 

your profile has more blade on the front vs the SAM correct 15 vs. 10? I tend to push more with my toes so would going with 15 net more blade contact? I know profiling is a topic in its own with tons of information out there. I feel like having more of a forward lean would net be a better outcome since i could pivot more on the balls of my feet. 

So profiling can fix both the skating and pitch issues for you.  Modern CCM skates do sit flatter than Bauer or True 2 piece skates, so work with your profiler to add pitch to whatever radius you settle on.  The triple does have more blade on the ice at the toe than the SAM and that's the biggest reason I like it better.   I'm a toe pusher as well and struggled with SAM.  

Kind of funny, I ended up going the opposite direction you did.  My Trues came with unprofiled 4mm steel after being on 3mm Bauer steel for years.   I played one game in them and hated them so much I had Vertexx holders and 3mm steel put right back on them.   Same issues though, tripping, unable to drop smoothly, etc...   Once I got back on a profiled blade, the new skates were magic!   I'm a huge believer in steel being one of the most important but least appreciated part of our gear. 

1.  So I'm sure you know, 3/8" is a pretty deep hollow.   I'm surprised you aren't actually tripping over yourself going that deep on a boot that's so much stiffer than your U+ boot, even with the drop to 3mm steel.   Regardless, I'd double check the sharpening before I did anything else.   Head to your sharpener, describe your issue and ask them to verify that the edges are level.   I wouldn't be surprised if you find out the inner edge is just a little higher toward the boot than the outer edge, causing you to have to reach for that edge. Then, if they are level give yourself a few hours on the ice.   If you still hate the feeling, it's time to invest money. 

2.  Issues like this are why I now run a 5/8" hollow and profile my blades.   More on profiling in your 3rd point, as it's the main solution to that issue, whereas it's an added benefit here.  

3.  You nailed part of the issue.   Getting used to the taller "modern" holders comes with an adjustment period.  As mentioned in point 1, several hours is reasonable to get used to them.  But profiling can really help as well.  Details below:

You're also fighting the fact that you likely have more steel touching the ice now than you did on your old skates.   Even the best skate sharpeners in the world will change the profile of a blade over time, generally rounding the blade by removing more steel from the heel and toe of the skate.   An average sharpener will make this process worse, and a hack can ruin a profile in just a few sharpenings.  CCM skates come out of the box with a single radius 30' profile.  Rather than me spelling it out, go here to learn more about profiling, but suffice it to say 30' is really flat.  Most forward skates are on a 9' profile, and your old skates are probably somewhere lower than 30' but not as rounded out as a forward skate.   I would be willing to bet that the extra steel under your toe is what was causing the unnatural movements.   Again, you could just adapt, but having the profile changed is also an option.   Personally I use the 15/20/28 Goalie option from NoIcingSports (the site I linked earlier).   That means the toe of my skate is a 15' radius for easy pivots while moving and smooth drops to my butterfly, while the middle is 20' and the rear is a conventional (for Bauer anyway) 28' radius to allow for powerful pushes from my heels.   Another popular option is Goalie SAM which is a 10/27' dual radius with a 50mm flat spot between the two.   I didn't like it, but lots do.   Any place with a Blademaster machine and the right jig can do Goalie SAM, where I have to mail my blades to NoIcing. 

I agree, no reason these won't fit a jig.   Bauer does a pretty good job of thinking things through, I'm sure the goalie version will trade off a little of the weight savings for better structural strength and smaller holes. 

5 hours ago, Korppi32 said:

Those mini sized pucks are hard to find nowadays. Mini pucks are quite dangerous because those can go through the cat eye cage.

I don't think it's a mini-puck, that was an old 52" glove.  

Looks great!   Sorry you had to deal with this mess, but you did a nice job of the repair.   

17 hours ago, ZeroGravitas said:

Emboss. I have Axis 2 with emboss and they slide noticeably better than my EF4 with SS. Could try putting 3M tape on them.

Literally everything he said matches my experience.   Hoping to finally get on the ice tonight for the first time since adding 3M tape to the weave sliding surface of my EF5's, but they were already good sliding pads.   My EF4's were dogshit. 

19 hours ago, ThatCarGuy said:

Last I saw he was in the ccm ab18 (nhl premier unit)

Hyperlite 2 will not meet the shoulder floater width restriction plus there’s some other factors that  may void the rules and haven’t yet been seen on a hockey chest protector as far as I know

I believe the catalog has been posted so these are fair game for discussion.   Are you referring to the new chest plate or the removable arms?  I assume the former, as NHL models of retail C/A's have been modded with sewn in arms for years now. 

Pros and cons to Krazy Glue:

Pros:  Quick bond, not nearly as much cure time needed

           Good overall bond strength

Cons:  Quick bond, not nearly as much working time available

            MAY leave marks on certain materials.   

Superglues work by melting a thin layer of the materials they're bonding and I've seen a guy who jacked up a pair of pads using it.   Granted, he glopped an entire tube into his backing material and had it ooze through the cut when he applied pressure, so hopefully it's a bit of a one off.  But he did have an odd discolored area (pink splotch on red pads) around the repair.   If you apply sparingly and carefully it's a good option.  

That sucks, however as far as cuts go,you're lucky.  That'll be a relatively easy repair to make as it's between seams.   

Get some sort of backing material.  If you can source Jenpro, that would be great!   If not, another synthetic leather or marine vinyl would work fine.  Depending on your relationship with your local hockey store, they may have some old Jenpro samples around that they don't need.  I know the Perani's I worked at had several Brian's color swatch packs and we never took the old colors that they didn't offer out of them.   

Regardless of where you source your backer, cut it to size, leaving roughly half an inch on all sides of the cut.  

Tuck the backer inside the cut and spread it flat.

Peel back the edges of the cut gently and spread the adhesive of your choice on the backer.  Get it well beyond the dimensions of the tear, but again, work GENTLY to not worsen the tear.  Adhesives:  ShoeGoo is OK.   Permatex 81786 is better and available on Amazon.  I've also used a vinyl repair glue I got at JoAnn in a pinch.   Don't remember the name, it was just something I had lying around after fixing a rip in the wife's car seat.

Press down firmly for at least 60 seconds.   Clean any adhesive that's worked out of the original rip.  Add some weight to the area around the tear to help the adhesive cure, but make sure you check back a couple of times to ensure that the weights don't get stuck to the front of the pad and cause more damage when you remove them. 

Let it cure at least 24 hours.  It'll be tempting to check on the progress, but don't once your sure your weight isn't sticking to the pad.  Letting the adhesive cure is the biggest key to a successful repair.  

It seems like a lot, but with a little prep time and care they'll look good as new soon. 

Pics would help.   Working some JenPro under the cut and glueing the edges down to that is the best way, but also the hardest.  Padskinz is probably the easiest.  

2 hours ago, Cass said:

What chest protector is this the thing looks Garth Snow big. 

LOL, Garth Snow's was over his eyebrows!  

19 hours ago, bildeer said:

I think the one I have is from a different manufacturer. I got 5 yards from the Zoro website for about $16 USD back in 2019. Not sure how much it costs these days. Got mixed up with the 3m dual lock fastener that I use to secure foam in the mask. @Puckstopper

I've got to give my wife a lot of credit.   Usually if I want to drop $50 or $100 modifying some bit of gear to be safer/more effective she doesn't bat an eye.    She came in as I was grabbing that screenshot and asked what I was looking at.   I explained, fully expecting to get told to get bent.    Without batting an eye she looked at me and said "you are getting old, maybe it's time to hang 'em up"!     

That stuff is.... not cheap: