Teezle

9 hours ago, RichMan said:

this exactly, give or take the person's personal request. Cody said he had 1/3" foam added in high impact areas which should be quite similar to what's said above. To say the least, the most normal and flimsiest part of the c/a is the split flaps at the very bottom. They're almost useless if you ask me. @Teezle, did you keep that part on? I noticed some Vapor 1X units online where the user had removed them.

As my first update, off-ice, I was wrong about the collar, it's the same foam. I was too quick to judge. The back elastics are kinda soft, almost cheap feeling. I will need to replace them for sure. The spine guard, on mine, is very thick. Maybe there's a lot of slashing goalies in the back in Liga? Not sure if I mentioned it initially but the padding that sits under the armpit is quite substantial, again on mine. Will this prevent rib injuries? Not one bit. Maybe it's a form of cheater I'm not aware of? Looking at the lace-in part of the arm that attaches to the shoulder part (it runs through, all shoulder parts and arms) of the Pro Series, compared to the same lace-in part of the 2S, the Pro Series is very thick. It almost feels like too much. Were they thinking that it would add more cushion for blows? Who knows. I've kinda messed with the lacing to give me a little bit more freedom. I might have some extra holes punched in for the extra 1/2"-1" in the near future.  

The blocks definitely thin out towards the bottom. I think the split part is for mobility? I wear it untucked and any area that would be exposed by the split parts moving away from each other is covered by my pants anyway. Also keep in mind that mine is a size Small, so the last rows of blocks will be very compressed compared to one made for a larger person. You can see, for example, how much less of the forearm is covered by the elbow piece on yours vs mine. 
 

The back protector on mine is thick, as well. I haven’t felt any interference from the rib protection (not digging into my armpit). I ordered it with 1/2” removed from the wrist length to make sure it didn’t interfere with my gloves, so going longer in the arms was never a thought for me

Utah Yetis is the only correct vote.

7 hours ago, mik said:

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. 

The shoulder floaters are 1" thick. The padding over the biceps, forearms, and sides of the arms is about 3/4" thick. The breast plate (in white on mine) is about 1.25" thick and from the front side of the breast plate through to where it touches your chest is about 4" of padding. In the first photo, you can also see the hard cup shaped shoulder cap, with additional foam behind it. It's a tank.

I’m in a Bauer Pro Series C/A with reinforced everything, and it’s the best chest protector I’ve used. The only improvement I would like is a strap at the back to attach it to my pants. Any suggestions on the best way to add one?

I’m going to be in Salt Lake City, Utah in early May for a work conference. Are there any stores around there that have a good selection of goalie gear?

19 hours ago, Toobs said:

Have you checked out the new options on the hzrdus customizer? You can spec out a soft boot and the same thigh as a px3. The boot channels on both are really, really similar, just a very small difference.

 

Yeah the slightly thicker boot and shin are a difference, but pretty minimal. The lines between these two sets have become very blurred.

I have and I've tried flat boot channels in the past, but I just don't like the way it sits on my skate. Plus, I dialed in my sizing based on the combination of the boot channel/flex/thickness on the PX3; changing all of those means the Hzrdus line may not fit me as well.

1 hour ago, Toobs said:

Unlikely. True doesn’t really do that. Why not just order a hzrdus pad in a softer build?

The boot channel, softer boot, thicker boot and shin, and thigh rise construction on the PX3 are my preferred specs. I'll likely stick with the Catalyst line going forward, but if it was possible to combine features of both then it would be perfect.

On 3/22/2024 at 5:36 PM, keeperton said:

Hmm, interesting. I tried on a few different browsers and such, not there for me.

These were actually helpful videos. Made me glad I went with the options I went with. I'm glad the videos totally showed what's different with the 12.x vs. 20.x lines in the leg channels and such too.

Most interesting thing I noticed is that the HZRDUS pads, if you put just the nylon option, has no elastic strap coming out of the knee.

I saw that, too. I like the way I have it on my PX3 setup:

where the elastic strap to the calf limits how much the knee block can move, and the leather strap provides an outer limit for how far my knee can go backward so I never risk falling off the block.

I have a separate question, which is will True mix-and-match features from both lines for a regular customer (not just pros)? If I wanted a PX3 pad, but with the Hzrdus outer roll, calf sliding surface shape, and shorter FRS assembly would they do it?

By the FRS assembly part, I mean where there is a piece that extends down to the boot and overlaps with the inside calf wrap on the PX3, but is absent in the Hzrdus line. PX3 on the left, Hzrdus on the right:

The fellow behind Hockey Reviews CA got a set from True to do some comparisons between the Hzrdus and Catalyst PX3 lines. I appreciate that he goes through each piece side by side, and there are some notable differences on the new 615 blocker that are not obvious from the catalog picture(s). Looks like a solid improvement overall.

On 12/2/2023 at 6:15 PM, Fullright said:

If you keep getting matched up with the worst team in the league, it probably is because you're the best goalie in the league. So you can either live with the tacit recognition of your skill and enjoy the action or speak up and perhaps end up on a team where you dont have much to do. Willy's suggestion works too.

That is a weird deal about this draft thing. I would not like being assigned to a team in a beer league. Almost seems as if the "commissioner" has a little too much authority. But beer leagues are generally weird any way. Hope it works out the way you want it.

The league commissioner definitely has too much authority, but he and another fellow run like 50% of the leagues in the city (and have put a lot of time, effort, and money into growing the hockey community here, so it's not all bad). There are some weird rules about the draft for each season (usually teams can only draft 2 "top rated" players, there's a separate draft category for players 60+, sometimes people get paired up - e.g. a high-rated player and a lower-rated player are drafted as a package deal, etc). In theory, the average age and skill level for each team is roughly equal, but if Team A's top-rated player is 45 years old, he's not going to be as effective as Team B's top-rated player who is 28. Nor does it account for the most important aspect - showing up and trying hard. 

New season, different team in the same league, but the same nonsense. This Monday's game the shots were 17-4 against after the first period  - we only ended up losing by 1, so I consider that a win. One day I won't be the only person on my team actually putting effort into the game, but not this season apparently.

I always liked mostly white pads because I like to see the puck marks, and because I don't think that the dark background pads look good 

21 hours ago, Chenner29 said:

Most pros are in a CCM unit are using the CCM AB18.

There's been some pictures floating around of the CCM AB21, it's similar in a lot of ways.  They'll be releasing the AB21 in summer 2024 to retail

What are the differences between them? Or are they just designating AB18 as "pro only" and AB21 as "retail only" but they're the same unit.

57 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Think about this from the other end.

Do you want to show up to the rink to see the other goalie play while you get ~20 shots and feel like your time is wasted?

My high level team sometimes runs over teams like this and I get bored. My lower level team, I'm relied on to essentially steal them games and I enjoy the challenge that brings, as well as the appreciation from the guys when things to work out. 

Just tossing in my 2 cents. 

Which is why I said I just want it to be balanced. If it's a good back and forth game, I'm happy with whatever outcome results because it's fun (though winning is obviously more fun). But it's not fun for either of us when one person sees tons of odd man rushes and backdoor plays they have no chance on, and the other sees wrist shots from the boards all game. My issue is that the "re-draft to ensure relative parity" mechanism has been broken for several seasons now, and if someone has to get the short end of the stick, it would be nice for it to be passed around to all of us, not just me.

*PRICE DROP*

$1000 USD + shipping for the full CCM set.

For the past 5-6 years, one of the leagues I play in does a semi re-draft at the start of each season. The teams keep a captain and 2-3 other players constant, and the rest of the players get drafted to each team based on whatever obscure rules the league commissioner comes up with. Goalies get assigned to teams after the draft is completed; we don't get a say in which team we play for. The group of guys is great, there's beer and food after the game, and most people never being on the same team for too long means that there's not much animosity between people on the ice. Usually, the draft also means that parity is pretty good, but it's definitely fallen off the last few seasons - and I always seem to get the short end of the stick.

This is from our league stats page (cleaned up a bit for clarity). As you can see, I have more saves than the next highest goalie has shots against, and the spread between me and the goalie on the team that gives up the fewest shots per game is >100 shots over 7 games. Some highlights(?) of this season include games where the shots were 49-14 (we lost) and 52-21 (we won! because 5 of the 6 shots we took in the first period went in somehow...a completely sustainable shooting percentage. After the first period, the shots were 19-6). I've had 1 game all season where I've seen fewer than 40 shots (37); by contrast, our team averages ~31 shots per game (-102 shot differential).

I'm getting pretty frustrated, because as we all know from beer league, if one team is getting 2x or more the shots of the other, they're probably getting 4-5x more "good" shots: breakaways, 2-on-1s, 3-on-1s, wide open guys backdoor and in the slot, etc. So either I stand on my head and we eke out a win, or I play alright and we get blown out. Any advice for how to bring up to the people that run the league that next season: either we need to make sure the league is balanced, or assign me to a team that's actually trying.

Any information that can be shared about the upcoming True goalie skate? I am looking to refresh my skates next year and am trying to decide between the new 1-piece skate or waiting for the new model. 

Chest Protector is sold.

4 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

So what's your current go-to set? 

Hyperlite 2 pads, Vapor 90 glove, Mach blocker 

Full CCM Axis 2 Total Custom Pro Set

Colors: White/Washington Blue/Red

Pads: 32"+2

Single Internal/No External break, Shallow Soft Boot, Under Heel Boot Strap, Weave on the sliding surface.

Replaced the CCM bungee toe ties with ProLaces. Removable outer knee wing included.

Minor wear on the top of the thigh rise (shown in picture) and on boot strap attachment

Glove: 591 break, Pro palm. Broken in to close similar to fingers-to-palm closure.

Blocker: Straight finger protection, Half-piece cuff

Used 8 months 2x/week. Regularly aired out after games.

$1000 USD + shipping for the whole set. Ships from Houston, TX

Bauer Hyperlite C/A - SOLD

17 hours ago, IpaddyTECH said:

Oh dang, well please let us know how you like that 90 when you get it. Bummer about Bauer messing it up. I can't imagine the let down after waiting weeks, just to have to send it back again. 

Fortunately the retailer caught it before it was sent to me (Bauer only made the glove, and not the glove that was ordered...so I suspect there was some submission error on the retailer side as well), but I should get it in early October and they threw in some free sticks for the screw-up. I'll definitely report back on the Vapor90 when I have it to use. 

On 7/28/2023 at 10:27 AM, IpaddyTECH said:

Thank you so much for saying that! That has been my theory for a long time now but no one has really confirmed it until now. What glove do you use? Have you tried the Vapor 90?

I have been reading that the newer Warrior gloves are very easy to shut and still protective. The G 6.1 is now on top of my list of another glove to try, since it apparently is leaning in the direction of a 90 degree glove. Haha no not a lefebvre junkie. Had a fair amount of Reebok gear back in the day, even wore some P2's 33+2, but moved on from all of it. I'm mostly warrier and vaughn, with a little crush developing on Bauer lately. 

I'm currently using a Axis2 591 break, which I've broken in to close with the fingers-to-palm closure. It doesn't have the full overlap T closure of a 580, but it works for me. I do have a Vapor90 on order; I'd have gotten it already, but Bauer messed up my set order and has to make the whole thing again

As someone else who's hand size is on the borderline between senior and intermediate for gloves (7" wrist to middle finger tip), I prefer the 90 degree break. I think it closes easier because you don't need to get your thumb involved in trying to close the glove; instead of squeezing your thumb and fingers together (which you don't have the hand length/grip to make work), the base of your thumb is braced against the internals of the glove and you just curl your fingers to your palm to close it. Similar to me how the playing the puck with the overhand "Turco" grip gets you more leverage than trying to stick underhanded.

On 7/11/2023 at 5:42 PM, RedX said:

I may be weird but to me I believe the 591 feels closer to a 580. The 581 feeling closer to the 590.

I was skeptical on the 591 in store, but since my set was won in a giveaway, I decided to go with it just to try something new. However they make the "total custom pro" CCM gear is definitely different from what gets made for stock in-store stuff, because I really enjoy my 591 glove. It doesn't have the traditional 580 overlap in the T (but the closure is not edges lining up with each other like a regular 590); I don't miss the finger stalls and I can close it with the fingers-to-palm () closure you expect from a 580 glove.

Brown is definitely super protective, but it is considerably heavier and hotter than similar gear from the big manufacturers. They do not have much in the way of "modern" materials which can protect while still being light.

I went the custom Bauer route for my C/A, and I couldn't be happier with it. Hyperlite body with Pro Series arms, extra reinforced shoulders/biceps/forearms, -10mm on the arm length. I'm 5'7" and went with small body and small arms, and it fits me perfectly. It's as bomb-proof as any chest protector I've worn, including a Brown 2400 (with beef ups).

I really like the 2-piece blocker, but I wish they had made the sidewall stiffer for it. Everything else about it is great, in my opinion.