Teezle

I went with TCG, as well - got to love the CAD --> USD exchanges rates. Should see the set around early- to mid-March. Went with 31+2.5" because their sizing runs a bit large, after seeing the 32" match up precisely with a Small Mach in Bauer. Excited to also be back in a 580 glove

Great looking set. A couple questions: How hard are the foams on the sliding surface, and do they feel different than on the 20.2 pads you had? The promotional material mentions a more securely attached knee block, and from your pictures it is still the traditional 3-layer sandwich. Does it wiggle much/a little/none less side to side? Could you post a picture of their newer FRS strapping in the leg channel?

That is good to know. This was just based on my initial trying on at the store, not having them on the ice. To me it felt like I could feel my palm through the break in the glove, which is why I thought it would not as protective compared to the other stock gloves.

I actually liked the True glove, but compared to the Canadian made version that I felt, the internals were not as plush. It is nice that they offer a stock 600 break, instead of just the usual 590 that you saw from them in the past. If I had to give my glove recommendations based only on this visit, I would rank them as: Bauer (Mach if 600, Hyperlite if 590) > Brian's GNetik V > True 600 > Vaughn SLR3 > Warrior G6 > CCM Axis 2 > Brian's Optik 3. That said, gloves are definitely one of the most personal pieces of gear, so your preferences may be different. The Axis 2 glove I tried had the new 591 break and no finger stalls. There was never a position I could orient my fingers in it that gave me a solid grip to close it; whatever material is in the finger area felt almost like a memory foam, and no matter how hard I squeezed my hand my fingers just sank into it instead of pulling the glove closed. Because there are no finger stalls to keep your hand in place, it also felt like if you were to use it in a game, your fingers would shift inside the glove all the time, taking it away from your preferred position to close it. I don't want to have to think about re-orienting my hand inside the glove every time I move it. The straps for securing your backhand and wrist were awkwardly placed and uncomfortable.

My unofficial first impressions of stock gear based on what I tried on at the store: most of it is terrible. Even the stuff where the custom gear is made offshore in the same place as stock, the stock gear felt much more poorly constructed. There were a few bright points. Brian's: Optik 3 blocker felt nose heavy; the balance is too far towards the fingertips. Optik 3 Glove was absolutely horrendous, possibly the worst glove I tried on off the shelf; felt like you were holding a large cylinder in your hand at the break area. GNetik glove was pretty good - easy to close off the shelf and didn't have anything weird sitting in the break. CCM: Axis 2 blocker was probably the best balanced blocker I tried on. Very comfortable and good finger protection. Axis 2 glove (591 angle with the no finger stalls) was awful - I see no reason why anyone would purchase it given the other options available. True: The offshore stock 12.2 glove (600 break) was alright. Game ready was easy to close off the shelf, but the materials felt cheaper than the Canadian made version. The offshore stock 12.2 blocker was fine, except that the thumb placement seemed to be made for people with weirdly proportioned hands whose thumbs are closer to their wrists? I was also not a fan of the suregrip on the blocker palm because it was very very stiff. The offshore 12.2 pads looked well constructed, but the knee block was very loosely attached. Vaughn: I have never liked Vaughn blockers or gloves, and did not get any surprises. What did surprise me was how soft the thigh rise on the SLR3 pads was - significantly softer than the offshore 12.2 even though it is supposed to be Vaughn's "stiff" pad. Bauer: I currently use a full Bauer setup and really like it (Mach pads + glove, Vapor 2-Piece [i.e. old 1X style] blocker). The Hyperlite blocker is great if you like the thin board style. The Mach blocker felt okay to me, but nothing special. Not sure that removing the cuff portion really makes it more open than say the half-piece cuff for CCM or True. Warrior: G6 blocker felt very clunky with its super flat board shape. G6 glove was easy to close off the shelf and has a large open pocket, but felt lacking in protection.

Is this the one in Edina, west of the MSP airport?

What hockey store in Minneapolis has the best goalie gear selection? I will be there this weekend visiting friends and since there are no big hockey stores near me, it seems like a good opportunity.

That's because the 60 degree glove break is the worst and the pros know what's up All I want for my birthday/Hanukkah is for Bauer to make their 580 clones available to non-pro customers.

Thanks for the head's up - I picked up a couple of the cut resistant base layers and used the rewards points I had in my account that I had forgotten about Nothing like "free" stuff!

Too scandalous

My design if I get a set. I really want to go back to a 580 glove.

It is definitely an improvement over the hyperlite strapping, for me. I do wish that the elastic on the side that attaches to the flap on the outside of your leg (the "pointy" side of the triangle) was maybe a 1/2" - 1" longer; I am not a large person and it feels tight around my calf when I strap them on (maybe my knee pads are larger than average?). That said, in game it feels perfect, so it could just be something with the angle of my leg sitting vs. standing.

That looks like the thinned out thigh rise on these Bobrovsky 12.2 pads (heavily customized/modded by True, and maybe the Panther's equipment manager) this fellow acquired. From this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlgxoTDlA8

I messaged a couple of the big retailers, but there is no (publicly shareable) information yet on where and how the PX3 pad differs from the 12.2. From what I can see based on the customizer options, it looks like the above-knee area may be stiffer and has flatter knee rolls, and you can get it with either of the standard flat/more open boot angles. They also have the 1" nylon knee strap (replacing the elastic strap across the knee) option, which means they maybe are bringing over the knee from the 20.2 pad that was more tightly attached to the pad. If anyone has seen what the updates this line brings compared to the 12.2, I'd love to see them. I assume the gloves have no updates and are the same across all the lines just with different graphics, which is fine because I like their glove/blocker a lot anyway.

Agreed. However, on the Mach chassis, the attachment points for the TuneFit Connect strap are located in the same place as the attachment points for the TuneFit+ strapping, so using both at the same time would make them get in the way of each other. The reason the TuneFit+ strapping can't easily be implemented on the Hyperlite chassis is because the calf strap on the Hyperlite attaches to the outside of the calf wrap: On the Mach, the TuneFit+ strap attaches to a small piece on the inside instead: Not sure why they laid it out that way for the picture; the triangular shaped piece is the one that is always attached to the pad, and the velcro tab I circled is what you take on and off.

I'm still on my first Hyperlite stick (custom ordered a 3-pack) since early this year, playing 2x per week and keeping it in my garage (insulated but not A/C controlled) in Texas between games. Some paint chips where there have been particularly hard shots to the paddle, but otherwise no difference from when I first got it. Not sure what would have to come out to get me to switch from them. Something about the exact angle between the shaft and the paddle that the new (let's say 2018 onwards) Warrior sticks have makes them uncomfortable for my hand.

Started the season 1-4, then we won the next 7 games in a row to make the playoffs and win the championship! Pretty sweet feeling

I've been using the Senior (medium) RXS knee pads for almost a year now at several games per week and they are by far the best pair of knee guards I have ever used. The sleeve portion is like an orthopedic knee brace crossed with protection, and the cap is rock solid. Even though they are "big", I have never had it interfere with the knee area on my pads. Pricey? Certainly. Worth it? For me, absolutely. I had a knee sprain in December 2020 that made me take about 6 weeks off; since then I have gone through many different models of knee guards looking for the one that pairs protection and comfort the best. This one is it.

I'd be more worried about a blade coming loose than breaking during a game. BUT! In my game last night, one of the other team's centers broke his skate blade somehow, and had to use rental skates for the rest of the game. It...uh...did not go well for him

What didn't you like about it? I'm using a custom hyperlite with pro series arms (reinforced shoulders, biceps, forearms) and really loving its protection and mobility. I haven't had any heat issues with it either, which is a pleasant surprise living in Texas.

SOLD. Please lock the thread.

There are a lot of adult leagues here these days; combination of Canadians moving down and general interest when we had the Aeros AHL team. The Passau is still available for sale!

I think they are talking about the stock version of the pad, which has the 125 degree boot (steeper). This will cause the pad to sit higher overall, so you may want to size down when going from Hyperlite -> Mach (i.e. if you're a Medium in Hyperlite, go Small in Mach). Both @ZeroGravitas and I ordered our Mach set with the 100 degree boot (same boot angle as the stock Hyperlite), so the boot break to knee height is basically the same between the two. They feel taller in the thigh rise because of the less curved shape and stiffer thigh portion (with the stock flex; you can custom order whatever flex you like). I have not yet had a problem with the thigh feeling "too tall".

Update: Everything except the Passau chest piece is now sold!

The customizer I used on the retailer's website only had options for the Mach palm (in regular, XL, or int sizes). If you choose the Vapor 2-Piece on the Bauer website's customizer, your only options are the Hyperlite palm (regular, XL, or int sizes). Interesting, but I don't think it matters much either way; the palm is just as comfortable as the Hyperlite one I had before this.