mik

15 hours ago, Mgoodnight10203 said:

Me: Hey try and get me making saves or doing something.

wife: best I can do is you standing around. 

Sometimes "standing around" it the best you´ve done all match :

Does it count if the strap is elastic now ? 

14 hours ago, RichMan said:

And voilà, my search is over...for the moment. Ironically, as I purchased this unit, a week after, a ton pop up for the taking all over Facebook

Posting my intention here and there on FB, someone reached out saying they had one they were selling. I didn't know the guy and as we went back and forth on the topic, for personal curiosity and to get a clear picture of whom I'll be dealing with,  I searched his profile and was noticed something "odd". I decided to Google him and to my pleasant surprise he turned out to be a Canadian boy playing pro in Europe...Liga to be precise. No it's not Trav . His name was mentioned in a post recently...

As I let you work it out, I will give my first impression of the unit, comparing it to my 2S model and eventually a post-action review.

I'm happy to finally get back into a unit my size. As some of you know, my 2S is an XL and is just too long on my torso despite my 6'2 frame. I'm all legs I guess

This is a custom senior Large pro-return. The custom part was additional thickness in some key areas as per his request, very much expected for his level of play. If I feel anything in this unit, it won't be more than a light slap from the girlfriend after a bad joke. Reason for him selling is that it's too small for him. He was initially in a CCM Pro and went back to one, the newer version in XL (and I have a juicy tidbit on that topic for later).

If I compare the weight between this Pro Series and my 2S, I'd say there's at least 1lbs or 2 different given the extra thickness. I don't have proper scale to back that up so do indulge me in my inaccuracy. 

The wings on this unit are much thicker, as is the heart guard. Even though, the type of foam used give me the impression that rebound won't come off like crazy as on the 2S. Personally I'm fine with that as it will give me better rebound control. Of course this theory might drastically change after my first or second ice time. We shall see.

The shoulder caps took me by surprise. You see, the caps on the 2S are a hard shell, similar to what you would find on a forward's shoulder pads. There's no extra foam flap behind it, the foam is integrated with the plastic in the nylon shell. As for the Pro Series, and never having seen one before, I wouldn't of known, but the caps are like a hollow shell, you can press into it, which is something I would of never expected, especially since they were designed to face pro level shots. I thought they would of been the same thing as the 2S but nope. As a safety measure I guess, Bauer added a thick foam flap behind the caps. Was this approach done to save weight? Was it an NHL rule thing? Is there a scientific purpose to it? I have no clue.

One thing I was looking forward to, as small as it may seem, was the wrist guard that usually comes with this unit. Mind you, the one attached here is damaged and will need replacing, I'm happy to give it a go. I'm hoping it won't interfere with my glove. I use a Warrior GT2 and the cuff is smaller than most gloves out there. Should I ever move into a G7, apparently they are even smaller, all the better for that extra padding there.

Lastly, a minute detail, the neck foam, cuff, call it what you may. The one on the 2S is a stiffer foam and given that the unit is too long on me and that I tuck, it sometimes pushed up into my Maltese guard and made for an uncomfortable moment. The one on the Pro Series is much softer and all should be perfect now  

That's all I can think of for now. If more comes up, I'll just add it as an additional update. Stay tuned for the post-game review.

If there's any questions or users feedback, go for it.

 

Can you please make photo of the reinforced parts? I had oportunity to try standard one in store (in this same black colour) and would like to compare. 

On 4/5/2024 at 5:20 PM, Wonder35 said:

And so it ends ……….. my final game.

Me and my Dummy.

Anyone here care to describe my RVH?  

Congratulations! I think that I wrote it before, but it is AMAZING how you was able to play for that long .

If it is small skate cut, I would just sew it up. 

To be continued? Are you kiddnig me ? Great thread and looking forvard to see finised refurb. 

I can´t help you in terms of "what should you do with your hoceky career", as I never played hockey on any high level. I started playing goalie late and never played organized hockey before. I am old in your point of view and play low level compared to yours, hoping just to play as long as I can. So absolutely not the level of goaltending you are.   

From my youth, my main sport was handball. I took it seriously, but quite early, in my 20s, it was obvious, I will never reach the level of play that is necessary to move to the elite rank, no matter how hard I pracitce. My team played usually second national legaue, but for the most of time, I was not the player who could carry team to the wins. Despite I was at captain position for some time. But I enjoyed the game and everything around, realy liked the sport. After years started toughts about retirement, some seasons vere quite good some realy bad (mostly when I was injured or healty scratrch due the performance). When I become one of the old players in team (this means you reached about 30), I had deal with coaches / team manager, that summer break is time to think about comming back for another season or not. When I was back, it was for full season. And inevitably, I get to the poin where  I didn´t want do continue. I was 34, played more than 15 seasons in mens team and still it was tough decision. Missed the game for first season off, but I knew it was right move to retire. I remember all  those years as great time, but never played that sport again, usually I don´t even watch it (maybe once I went to watch my former team live at stadium). I must admit that I enjoy my low level of hockey more than my last seasons in competitive sport. Should I have finished earlier? That´s what if...      

What I am trying to say, when you are down and feel like it doesn´t make sense to continue, better to take some time off, do other things and clear your mind. Then decide what to do. And then, decide what YOU want to do and be sure about it, not coaches, parents or teammates. You have the great advantage in making that decision, if wife, children and daily work are not involved to the decision...yet .

5 hours ago, Toobs said:

Just got word that my Iconik/Eclipse combo is in. Ordered my SLR4s and this set like almost 3 months apart and they came in within 2 weeks of each other.

Fantastic design, reminds me days in NikeBauer Supreme SE3: 

11 hours ago, ZeroGravitas said:

1 or 2?

2

13 hours ago, Kayen said:

It's been awhile since I've won anything. 

Is it June allready? 

1 hour ago, OldSchoolGoalie said:

On the drive home I regretted even bothering and haven't played hockey since my thread was made here on March 24. Probably wasn't a good idea to dip my pinky back into the pond with ball hockey first. All my ice slots are done until after the summer, but I probably should've just did stick and skate once a week to keep active and work on my edge work and do some drills.

It is good idea to do some on ice pracitce. I don´t have practices on regular base anymore for a long time, just goalie camp / cilnic here, some regular training with players there. But whenever I feel my game is off (physically or mentally) or I have more time, I try to go for pracitce. Maybe it is strange, but I usually like goalie lessons more than actulal play. Cliché, but I´m enjoying every minute of it and it makes me to look forward for the play. 

On 4/5/2024 at 8:17 PM, havlicekdom said:

Torso-wise I think both models would work for me, but the arms were weird, the HL2, arms Velcro all the way to the end, ended up covering the end of my palms, about 5cm over my wrist bone, while Mach ones with plenty of Velcro to spare were just at my wrist.

I also tried the Elite size Medium as it was the only medium sized C/A they had, and the arms length was okay, but when I had my hands loose on sides of my body, I felt the them pulling down the whole unit on my shoulders.

Maybe I have T-Rex arms or just don’t fit well into Bauer

Sorry, but I have to :

On 4/5/2024 at 4:27 PM, RichMan said:

Expensive for a used unit. I wish I had inside connections  

Looks like reseller, also has some well used Avs sets with high price. But honestly, at the end of the day, I don´t have problem with this presonaly - I´m overseas and this is the way to get this type of gear..with expensive shipping, taxes and other fees of course . You just must count twice if it even makes sense to buy. 

Another one in L size from Avs:

Lightly Used Colorado Avalanche CCM Pro Stock Goalie Chest Protector Large | SidelineSwap

12 hours ago, RichMan said:

Coming into the next discussion, whether you choose a blocking model c/a or a more streamlined mobile one, not all are created equal respectively. Speaking from my own experiences, having worn multiple brands over the decades, having tried on several different ones new and used in stores, other than choosing the right size and level of protection, I found that my body structure or geometry is best suited to only certain makes and models based on the design, the fit, the comfort and the type of game I play.

    

In my opinion, that is the main point. I tried lot of chest protectors in recent time, most of them looked good at store, but not suited for my body. For example - Warrior didn´t fit good al elbow area, Brians Optik was nice crafted product, but I can´t turn my head properly...Vaughns were good. For lot of years I was in Bauer only, but only Supreme line, Reactor or Vapor never fit me good. Strange thing to me is, that by measures I sould by definitely in L size, it fitted realy great in store, but I allways ended in XL size. It is litte over sized for me, but "feel" is better. But maybe it is just sometihng I´m used to.  

12 hours ago, RichMan said:

In conclusion, for myself, if I had to choose a c/a for the rest of my playing days, I would be torn between the Reebok P1 (aka CCM AB Pro) and the Bauer Pro Series (aka 1/2S, NXG) simply based on their simplicity in fit and adjustment. They sit well on me, they offer good coverage but nothing exaggerated, they are very mobile, very protective, have simple nylon straps to adjust the height of the neckline and have been well proven amongst the piers.

    

Absolutely same .

19 hours ago, pfeiffjay54 said:

That’s what made my v3, and v2 crack 

maybe a blok/paddle wedge could help that area?

I don´t thing it would be much of help, it is just small piece for finger protection, impact to the stick will still be there. But never tried .

7 hours ago, Chenner29 said:

Yeah, we're talking maybe 100mg difference in weight at this point between Shadow/Mach and X5?

It's like $1 per mg cost savings by going with the lower line, and the mid line Bauers are extremely solid

You can definitely feel they are lighter and shoots puck realy well, but on the other side, I take lot of shots to the stick in place under the blocker, just where sticks with "spine" usualy break. And I don´t like them visually, but that is my problem .

7 hours ago, Inferno said:

Was finally able to take my Brodeur replica for a spin this weekend. 

 

Find 5 differences :

I have good experience with Bauer M5Pro - durability/weight/performance. Bauer models with "spine" are not my cup of tea - tried it, was not that much impresed.   

On 4/1/2024 at 4:27 AM, FriarGoalie35 said:

After a mini-retirement after getting elbowed in the dome in late-2021, I ordered a new (to me) Bauer Elite Chesty, Warrior Ritual X3 pants (on major sale on GoalieMonkey), and a new cup and suspenders. Very much looking forward to getting on the ice again! Been 4 years since I got my Optik 2s.

You have great taste for colours .

If someone is still looking for, there is one used from NJ Devils at ebay/MeiGray:

CCM Used Pro Stock Hockey Goalie Chest Protector New Jersey Devils NHL | eBay

Did someone said fingers-up glove position ?

6 hours ago, WillyGrips13 said:

Tournament in Nashville at Centennial Sportsplex this past weekend. The tournament had a photographer for all the games. Here are some pictures. We won one and lost two. Good news is we didn’t have to wake up early to come back for the final Sunday morning. 
I have more if you like, but we’re old-ish, so might not be all that interesting. 

All black set is nice .

8 hours ago, keeperton said:

They're in HZRDUS pads. The tell is how the thigh thins out, the outer roll, and the profile of the pad. I do think it's interesting that there were a few guys that were 20.x guys that ended up in PX3 pads (main example I can point out is Varlamov, if you want others I can dig a bit). I do find it interesting that Dostal is still in his 20.2 sets and how Soderblom is in the SLR4 (after being in the 20.2 last year). At this point, the 12.2 and PX3 are essentially melded since anyone can order the PX3 with the "mid-thick" thigh, like how the HZRDUS can be ordered with the same option to make it more like the 20.2.

Obviously I can always be a little wrong, but True seems to be the least likely to totally care about skinning pads as something else just to do it. So much of the league is in the PX3 that if they were going to skin 'em as HZRDUS pads, I feel like they would have pushed that a bit harder.

I'm going to pop the catalogue back down here for ease of finding it for others.

 

That is basically what it is, like how the PX3 was the next step of the 12.2. I think their custom program is finally in a good place, only took a few revisions (which seems to be the cycle for every company, really). A lot of companies have dialed in their custom program in the last few years in ways that have come leaps-and-bounds from where it used to be.

Lukáš Dostál was allways in CCM Premier, looks like he continues to use what he is comfortable in, same specs again and again. Maybe it is somthing shared by Anaheim Ducks goalies ? Gibson is in same set for years (from his Vaughn - CCM/True transition), Hiller was using the same model for more than 10 years without change...      

On 3/14/2024 at 6:24 PM, Inferno said:

I love the old school look of a toe strap and then it hit me how to make a toe strap modern and more functional. 

I replaced leather strap for elastic one (mady by myself ), but your solution looks better. I should try combination of both - strap cut to half and together with piece of bungee cord. But not with the velcro, just trough the front of the skate like oldschool strap. Thank you for idea!   

How it looks now: