Kirk3190

Hey JF, I replied to your DM!

18 hours ago, insertnamehere said:

I've been shopping around online for a new chest protector and notice there is a G5 Senior and also a G5 Senior+ chest protector, would anybody be able to shed some light on what the differences are?

The primary difference between SR+ and SR is the protection level.  Like some have mentioned above, the SR+ has the doubled elbow floaters like you see on G5 Pro and GT2 Pro.  The G5 SR model does not.  The G5 SR also does not have the length extensions whereas the G5 SR+ does.  The easiest way I can explain it (although not super detailed) is that the SR+ truly is just a step down from the G5 Pro model.  The G5 SR is a conventional unit with lesser build of protection and additional features.

On 4/10/2020 at 9:41 AM, Quadzilla32 said:

Kirk,

thank you for the clarification! Would you say that the average beer league goalie who’s on the ice 1/2 times a week would be just fine with the stock stiffness or would it be better in the long run to get extra stiff the ensure the pad doesn’t break down and get softer?

I think you'll be just fine with Medium!

Medium Stiffness: This is our stock stiffness.  Hypercomp reinforcements throughout the thigh rise section of the core.  

X-Stiff:  This is a stiffness option we've offered to our European pros for a number of years.  Yes, it makes the thigh rise stiffer than stock but in my personal opinion it's really more of a longevity stiffness.  EU pros skate 6-7 days a week and put their gear through very demanding conditions.  They require a core built to last for a long season and heavy use.  We're simply bringing this option to retail custom now because there is an increasing interest from elite level goalies in North America who want a stiffer pad that will maintain that stiffness for longer periods of time. (This also has HyperComp in the same areas as Medium).  The main difference is the layup of HD foams.

39 minutes ago, Quadzilla32 said:

Wow that’s pretty awesome for a company to do that. It’s things like that which keep lifelong customers. 

That's the goal!  If you want the pads to work well, they need to fit well.  Unlike any other piece of gear really leg pads are a big investment.  We wan't you to feel happy with your purchase and play well in the crease!

On 4/2/2020 at 5:32 PM, Quadzilla32 said:

What is your guys fit guarantee? Tried a quick google search and didn’t find anything. 

Im still trying to narrow down my sizing, not being able to go and try on some is driving me crazy. 

Fit Guarantee is for any Custom leg pad order.  Simply put, if you order a set of pads and they show up and you wish you'd ordered a different size we'll take the pads back from you and build a new set in the desired size.  Ultimately, we want you to be happy with your gear and feel your best in it.  Full details can be found at the link here..

https://www.warrior.com/Custom-Hockey-Goalie-Fit-Guarantee.html

Sorry, the images didn't post.  Here they are.

On 4/1/2020 at 1:36 AM, cwarnar said:

Yup.  I was a 19.5" on the nose.  I was told the newer Warrior series (GT2/G5) may play taller with the hypercomp.  A few guys I talked with went 1" shorter on the GT2 from the GT1.  There is also a chart that shows the where the size difference is on Warrior pads.  I know the knee stack only moves 1/2" from the 33 to the 34.  @Kirk3190 can speak to this as well.  

I was in a 33+1.5 but was going to move to a 32+2 is I decided to order a new set.

We have not seen any changes to our leg pad sizing.  What some goalies might be experiencing is how versatile our sizing is because we use 0.5" whereas not all brands do on certain sizes (They go full 1" increments sometimes).  So, changing your size slightly on a Warrior pad won't be a huge leap.. more of a dial it in kind of difference.  We used to have a blog site with an article on sizing.  The blog site is no longer up so I'll copy and paste the article here.  (Sorry it's kinda lengthy!)  You can right click on the diagrams to see the visual representations.

Leg pad sizing can be confusing. Adding to this confusion is the fact that each company has their own way of achieving a range of sizes. In this blog, we will explain how our sizing works and the differences between each size so you have a complete understanding when purchasing your next set of Ritual G3 or R/GT leg pads.

Many goalies prefer the advantages and convenience of going with stock gear as opposed to custom. With this in mind, we have created a leg pad sizing system that allows for a great fit in stock sizes. In truth, our stock sizing offers more variables than some competitor’s custom offering. Here is an explanation of how our sizing system works.

The size of a senior leg pad changes in two main areas by half-inch increments:

1.     Shin Section

2.     Thigh Section

By adjusting our sizing in half-inch increments, instead of full inch increments (some competitors only offer full inch increments; even on custom), goaltenders have more variety in choosing their size and ensuring a proper fit at the knee landing. As an example, a 35+1.5” sized leg pad is taller than a 34+1.5” leg pad by a half-inch in the shin section and a half-inch in the thigh rise section. The end result is the 35+1.5” sized leg pad is one inch taller in the overall pad height. By offering shin sections that vary in only half-inch increments, a goalie can really dial in a perfect fit in the knee landing. This is crucial for performance.

It is important to note that there is custom sizing available to goalies as well. In most cases, this is simply for fine-tuning the thigh section measurement since all of our shin lengths are present in our stock offering (exceptions being 37” & 38” shin lengths). As an example, if a 34+1.5” fits a goalie perfectly in the knee but they require an extra half inch in the thigh section, they would order a 34+2”. A more complicated example would be if the total length of a 34+1.5” is perfect but the knee landing area is too low and needs to be raised by a half inch, the goalie would want to custom order a 35+.5”. This ultimately means the shin section gets longer by a half inch and the thigh section shortens by a half inch, leaving the total length of the pad the same but raising the knee landing.

We approach sizing carefully at Warrior because we know it directly relates to how well a goalie performs in their pads. We are the only brand in the goalie industry to offer a Fit Guarantee Promise on every set of custom leg pads built. We offer a wide variety of stock sizes, utilizing small size increments, providing you the best chance to dial in an exact fit, thus maximizing the performance of your Ritual pads. Elevate YOUR Game.

46 minutes ago, Puckstopper said:

FACT:  RGT2s were a full 11" wide. 

FACT:  Both blockers are the same length and width.

FACT:  The catch gloves LOOK different but it's at least partially an optical illusion caused by 3 factors.  1, the GT2 glove fell backwards slightly as I took my shot.  2, the GT2 has broken in more and 3 the double pocket makes the GT2 look different.   Overall they're very similarly sized. 

Lets be a little careful throwing around misinformed statements when 99% of the goaltending world hasn't had a chance to go hands on with the product and make up minds for themselves yet. 

Thanks for this!  Hockey is a game of inches and the position of goaltending (from a coverage perspective) is 3 dimensional!  A tape measurer does not tell you  the full story of how much net you're covering.

16 hours ago, Kayen said:

Did they keep the velcro orientation the same on the liners, so that in theory the liners could be backwards compatible with G3 gloves? (I know you can do G4 to G3, but not to G2 since velcro was reversed on the G3). 

Yes we did.  You could use a G5 liner in G3, G4 or GT2 (blocker) if you'd like.

10 hours ago, BMW11190 said:

@Kirk3190

will G5 senior and pro senior comes as retro tan with the retro graphic and knee rolls like the G4 had for store retail versions?

Hockey Monkey is the only retailer who booked Classic Tan in the G5 Classic graphic for stock SR model this year.  If you're looking for PRO it would be a custom order.

3 hours ago, RichMan said:

I'm guessing you mean not this year's specs but the last one for the past 5 years, correct?

We do not make an NHL spec c/a unit at the moment.  Our new 2020 units are streamlined but still not downsized enough to be classified as NHL spec.

39 minutes ago, benner33 said:

Including the C/A and X2 pants? Just wondering cause I thought that was the exception. 

Those are not NHL spec, correct. 

1 hour ago, Puckstopper said:

I wonder if the bigger issue isn't getting them made exactly the way they need to be to garner Kay Whitmore's approval.  I'm sure an NHL player could custom order a set and get them pretty close, but they might not max out every single fraction of an inch the way a truly bespoke set from one of the other manufacturers would. 

All of our gear is NHL spec.  I show it to Kay myself every year at PHATs (A national convention for equipment managers and athletic trainers).

2 hours ago, RichMan said:

Even if they dished out of their own pockets?

The goalies don't pay out of their own pocket for the gear.  The teams pay for it.

1 hour ago, RichMan said:

I'm surprised no one in the show pulled a Tim Thomas and wear a blank set. 

Goalies in the NHL and AHL have reached out to us but we've respectfully declined.  If and when we're going to get back into the NHL we're going to do it the right way.  Not slide in passively with unbranded gear.

10 hours ago, Chenner29 said:

Haven’t seen the G5 in person yet, but based on the gifs I’d guess it’s more like the Lefevre/Reebok/CCM one piece gloves. The cuff is thinner at the heel and gets thicker as it moves towards the thumb side 

The cuff box has not changed from G4 to G5.  It's achieved through the internal thumb/palm area that the aerial coverage is gained.

11 hours ago, ThatCarGuy said:

Is it just me or is this coveredge glove thing starting to sound like the cuff of the V4 glove

It's not far off.  The end goal of both would be to get more aerial coverage in the net.  On our G5 trapper this is achieved through the interior of the glove (palm/thumb).  The example you shared is done on the cuff box itself.  It would depend whether or not that glove's ridges protrude forward or if the rest of the glove is recessed.  Like I've said before in other posts,  thinking critically about your gear in 3-Dimensional ways is not a "new" concept or innovation.  Simply something we focused on heavily for G5 to give goalies every advantage possible in gaining coverage.

12 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Madd THICC

Any piece of gear is eligible to be used the I'm the NHL as long as it meets sizing requirements. 

It's the branding, per piece of gear, that needs to be paid for. Warrior only pays the licencing fees for their sticks as there's enough of them out in the show to warrant the $10k price tag. 

While it is inevitable we'll someday return to the NHL.  It's not in our current plans.  As stated, it's extremely expensive.  It's more than licensing fees too.  You have to hire a rep, pay him a salary, give him a travel budget, give him a sample budget.  Then, you have to pay the athletes as well.  To do it properly, the costs could easily get to $500,000+ in just one year.  Right now our focus is to use our resources on R&D and innovation that goes into our products that hit stores for all goalies to use.  

Sticks are a separate category and the licensing fee is shared between player & goalie.  Therefore, it does not cost Warrior extra fees to have branding on goalie sticks.

There are a few comments above that pose some great questions so I'll do my best to "reply all" in a simple fashion.

The basic premise is goalies are always looking for ways to maximize their coverage.  30 years ago it was taught to "Get out of the blue paint! Challenge!" - Today that same philosophy is taught but it's commonly referred to as "Box Control".  The end goal is to fill as much net as possible.  Goalies also believe that if something is "NHL legal" with a tape measurer then it must be the maximum allowed coverage.  However, the same logic that applies to being forward in the crease also applies to how forward your gear is to the puck.  

Depth in the crease + Forward facing gear + static NHL measurements = Maximized coverage

You have to think of your gear from the pucks perspective, the same way you think about your position in the net from the pucks perspective.  It's pretty simple, if you have a reduced outer roll height you're giving up coverage.  If you have a super thin blocker board you're potentially missing a few pucks that just go by the edge of your blocker.  If your glove is slightly tilted forward it makes it square to the puck and fills more aerial coverage of the net.  Use the same thought process of 3-Dimensional depth in the crease towards thinking of your gear in 3-Dimensional ways.

I can assure you.  Weight is no issue for the R/G5.  Pete is a genius.  There's more info coming.  The GIFs we created were simply to inform goalies of what is coming and to begin discussions like these about the concept of CoverEDGE+.  "Filling more net" is not a new innovation.  Goalies have been trying to do it for decades.  We just thought logically about how your gear affects your coverage in the net.

Introducing CoverEDGE+

21 hours ago, Puckstopper said:

Can the wrap still be worn around the calf wrap for the traditional looser fit if that's preferred?

Yes

On 2/2/2020 at 2:21 PM, Pezon36 said:

Warrior just posted this picture. It looks like the calf strap Is going through the inner calf wrap. I wonder if this gives it a tighter feel?

You are correct!

2 minutes ago, Dero said:

also its kinda odd they decided to come back with the huge outer roll as most companies are doing the opposite now going smaller and smaller. like that thing is huge

You are correct.  We reduced the outer roll height on G4 and have gone the opposite direction on G5.  Pretty much every pad in 2020 other than GT2 and G5 has some form of a reduced outer roll height.  We're going to prove why that's not a good idea!

18 hours ago, Puckstopper said:

I never really thought it all the way through, but when I do there are only 3 teams you couldn't duplicate with just a single color of padwrap from those templates.  Colorado, Winnipeg and Vegas (and you could get close enough to Vegas to survive if you had to).  Pretty cool!

I would think it would be difficult to find an objective test to quantify how much better one material is than another, especially given the constantly changing ice conditions goalies face.  Still, I do feel like offering SOME option beyond weave would be beneficial as Warrior is currently the only major company not offering a dedicated material for the sliding surface. When discussing G4's and now G5's with customers I can point to AirSlide (and I'm looking forward to experiencing how that works) but the GT2's definitely lost sales to Gnetik IV and and Eflex 4 based on perception about the materials used on the inner surface.   Weave is great at custom, but so many people buy off the rack so that option is lost to them. 

Having said all of that, I will say that subjectively speaking, with no data to back it up whatsoever, my GT2 set with weave slides better than my EF4 set with SpeedSkin, especially when the ice gets choppy so I do applaud Warrior not just rolling out any old option as a sliding surface without comprehensive review.  I feel like CCM may have tested SpeedSkin primarily on good ice (it's stellar there!) and overlooked goalies who don't get fresh ice every 20 minutes.

A similar conversation took place on GGSU the other day.  Here's a snippet from part of it in relation to this conversation.

 Several factors come into play when evaluating slide. To name a few others: bindingless boot, knee block stability, product weight etc. We recognized early on that others were in a race to slide faster, slide faster, slide faster.. essentially based on the premise of a material. The truth is pretty much every pad on the market slides exceptionally well now on clean ice. This set us on the direction of trying to not only achieve a fast sliding pad, but one that slid consistently fast over the course of a game as the ice starts to deteriorate. A lot of goalies grade "slide-ability" on a fresh sheet of ice right after the Zam gets off. But, the most important time of a game for a goalie is typically in the final minutes when the ice is in really bad shape. This lead us in the direction of AIRslide. A physical design that maintained the great slide-ability you have in warm-ups, at the end of the game as well.