Rayzilla

This thread will be a review of the Brown 2400CA with Russian Spec chest arm protector that I just ordered from John Brown Custom Sporting Equipment Limited. And if you are interested in hearing about what hockey life is like in another part of the world, Hong Kong then you can pop back every once in a while to see what's up. Details on the 2400CA order and if John has to time to send me some work in process photos, I'll post them here to share with you all. I've signed up for two different leagues for this coming season. The opening night for the CIHL is Saturday 25 September while the opening night for the SCIHL Division 1 is Thursday 30 September. I'll post some more about these leagues in the next few days when I get some free time. Thanks for visiting.

Ok. I got it all sorted with John. My wife's trip to Toronto has been cancelled so I'll be getting the 2400CA shipped directly to me here in Hong Kong. John will be sending me the invoice some time today. The new season here starts at the end of this month. I'm signed up for two nights each week. Maybe I'll start up a new thread now so that I will make it a 2400CA to Hong Kong and I'll include some photos of the new rink that I will be playing on.

The link doesn't open for me. I get a "403 Forbidden" message. Does the link work for anyone else?

Could I have some feedback on whether my email that I will be sending to John makes sense? Here it is: "1) Russian Spec. You stated this "segmented shoulders with heavier plastic and the Extra Bicep protection that is the Russian Spec." In your original reply to me, you stated that Extra Bicep Protection is standard on the 2400CA, so does this mean that Russian spec is just Segmented Shoulder with Heavier Plastic, or is the Extra Bicep Protection different on the Russian Spec than the Bicep Protection on the stock 2400CA. 2) Extra Rib Protection. This does not appear to be part of Russian Spec and I would like to have it so I would like to include this in my order. 3) And a customer of yours suggested this: "I would add in a request to have the back plate dip down at the top so it doesn't poke out of the back of your jersey and touch the back of your mask when you're down. Used to happen to me all the time on my older Brown. I asked for that on my current custom unit and I have never had it happen again." Can you do this modification?" Thanks in advance guys!

John must be busy because hasn't replied to my email from a few days ago. One question I asked about is that I did not see an option to choose Russian Spec. Is there such a thing or is it a couple of individual options?

Ooooo. That's a good one that I never thought of. I've had that happen to me before. It can look pretty clumsy when you have that bump sticking up at the back of your neck. Thanks!

Sure. Anything that would help to get some traction on my order. Late night reply from John would be perfect because I am 12 hours ahead over here so I would receive his reply some time around noon, so I can reply back immediately. My revised order now looks like this: 1) Extra Rib Protection; 2) Segmented (Multiple Breaks) with Heavy Plastic; 3) Asking if it is "possible to have the shoulder lifts made so that it can be easily removed? Like using velcro and/or laces?" 4) Asking for a shipping cost if delivered to Hong Kong. If it is too much, I'll ask my wife to bring it back for me, and; 5) Extra Bicep Protection (no extra charge because it is standard on the 2400CA). I think this is about it. I thought I was going to go all out and get everything but it appears that might be overkill and a risk on losing too much mobility.

I replied to his confirmation of receiving my original request 3 days ago and he has not replied still. Maybe he thinks I am not serious because I am all the way in Hong Kong? Hope he will reply soon.

That sounds basically like what I asked for but I sent him a few questions and I'm waiting for his reply. I guess they do not work on the weekend?

Looks nice! Did you request any mods to your order?

Thanks for the reminder. I need to change it to segmented too. The comment on the Brown website is that the "Solid with Raised Edges" is "(Not Legal)". Which part of it is not legal, the fact that it is Solid or the Raised Edges? Or is it that it is wider in general in that it extends out to cover the side of the ribs and under the arm? I do not mine the "not legal" part since I only play in beer leagues here.

That's a good point, that it is one of the bigger ones out there already. So adding more to that is different than adding more to a smaller or normal sized one. Thanks.

I want mobility. Bulk is acceptable if it is places that do not affect mobility too much. So if the shoulder wings will affect mobility then standard is the way I will go. Thanks.

I'll check with him on that. Quick question before I write back to him. Regarding the Width of the Shoulder Wings, how many of you went with "Standard", "+0.75" or "+1.50". I am deciding between "Standard" and "0.75". Will the ).75" be noticeable enough to be worth the extra (the +1.50 is $39.95 so I think the +0.75 will cost the same)? Thanks.

I removed the raised shoulder padding from my options selected. I agree that that could get in the way of side ways head movement with the chin of the mask and dangler. I suppose I will be able to mod something like that on my own but make it removable with velcro to attach it. Has anyone tried that? Thanks for the tip.

I like your idea about the dry flexing. I'm going to do that for sure. I finally completed the order process last night. I had to wait until last night because I store my equipment in a locker at the rink and I had to measure my current chest protector and take a photo with me wearing it. There was never an option to choose "Russian Spec". Just separate individual options to select extra bicep protection, extra rib protection, and heavy plastic on the shoulder wings. Thanks for your information.

Some quick questions about some options. I am thinking about adding: 1) Extra Bicep protection; 2) Raised Shoulder Lifts (but worried about mobility with the chin of mask and dangler); 3) Extra Rib Protection; 4) Shoulder Wing Extension (maximum 1.5"); 5) Solid Raised Edges (Not Legal) and Heavy Plastic; 6) I currently tuck out with my current but I have also tucked in the past. Not sure what I want to do going forward but likely not tuck. Comments?

I hope they are not doing the August shut down anymore but I worry that they might be with the possible slow down in orders due to Covid-19. I had written a response earlier today but I guess I forgot to submit it and so I'm rewriting this again. When I played my first game here in Hong Kong, I wore my Maltese collar but after that game, I stopped wearing it because of the heat. As I mentioned, the rinks here in Hong Kong are all in shopping malls so they are not as cold as the arenas in Toronto where I grew up. I may have to take it out again if I need the neck/throat protection. I wear a dangler too. I was on the Brown site now filling in the options and measurements but I haven't come across the option for Russian Spec yet. I will need to complete the form tomorrow when I go to the rink to measure my current chest protector.

Cool. Thanks for the link. I'm kind of new on here but I'll give that a look tomorrow. I've got to shut down here to get to sleep and back to work tomorrow. Still need to send off that email to Brown.

No worries. I did not feel at all like you were attacking me. It was a decision that we made 12 years ago and we have no regrets. We've made some good financial decisions, my wife is having more success here than she could ever achieve in Canada, and I've made a career change that I am loving. And we've never really gone into any real lockdown here and we've been at zero cases for the last couple of months now I think. I can't wait to travel to countries like Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and hopefully a few new ones to play in hockey tournaments again. It's so much fun traveling with my friends to play hockey.

Thanks bildeer. I am almost sure that I will get the Russian Spec if I can get the Brown made on time. And I'll do that hot shower trick but what do you mean by move everything around? If I pay this kind of money for the chesty, I will battle through the heat to make it work. It will be quite a change in weight though because I am coming from a Warrior RG2 Pro, which is probably one of the lightest on the market. And like I said, the rinks here are all in shopping malls so they are no where near as cold as the cement hockey arenas that I used to play in in Toronto. Maybe if I start a thread, I'll post up some pics of some of the rinks I've played in here in Hong Kong.

You may not realise it but they can probably see the flinch when they wind up so they actually may pepper a few with everything they have to get you off of your game. Get the Brown and be done with flinching.

Sure. I will either just continue posting on this thread or if I do start a new one, I'll add a notification/link post on this thread. Which one do you have and how is it modified?

This is exactly my same thoughts. I think differently from those guys that think bags with wheels are for gentle people and that if you don't want to put up with big bruises for the sake of 'feeling' the puck. To me, those are just their opinions and I am entitled to my own that is dependent on how I personally feel. Just wait until they reach my age and have bad backs and broken collar bones, etc. Ok, sorry for the rant. I've been so busy today, I still haven't had a chance to write to Brown yet. Let me try now to get the puck sliding. Anyone else with more comments or experiences with the 2400 or dealing with Brown, please feel free to continue posting. TIA.

I have no problem with the question. I was born, educated, married, and started my family in Toronto. Then my wife got an offer with her employer to do a 3-5 year relocation to her firm's office in Hong Kong. Up until that time, I had lived all of my life in Toronto and I thought to myself, "never in a million years would I ever want to move away from Toronto!" But I found out that there was hockey in Hong Kong and I thought it would be a great opportunity for our kids to experience life there so we opened our mind to trying it without much risk since she can always choose to go back. Well, about twelve years later and a change in my career, I have no urgency to move back and the opportunities for my wife will not be the same if we were to go back now. Life is very comfortable and convenient here and there are a lot of opportunities to accumulate a nice retirement fund here so that is probably what we will do. Then when our kids grow up and decide where they want to live, it may sway us to do whatever knowing that we have a retirement fund to fall back on. There's much more but I have a Zoom meeting to get to now and then I need to start getting in touch with Brown.