OT: Goalies of the Red Wings Board, I need your help!

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

I am rocking an assortment of second hand and quite old goalie equipment. I like my chesty, my skates, and my helmet. Those are reasonably new.

However, my leg pads are 33+1 like Vaughn somethings from the early 1990s. They're like the style that the old standup goalies would use. Not really all that useful for a guy who plays a more hybrid to butterfly style. I've just had them a long time. My gloves are a mismatch of a bad ass Brian's glove (Gnetik, maybe) and some non-descript Itech one. Pants are old University of Michigan ones I got from their garage sale about 7 years ago.

I am in the market to look for a new set. However, I play real middle of the road adult league hockey. I don't need anything crazy or brand spanking new. Do you have any recommendations for some brands/sets to keep an eye out for?

I did demo Dylan St. Cyr's Brian's Optiks and those worked out really well. They're also like 2 grand, and I'm not gonna spend that much for what amounts to a hobby.

E: Said Dante St. Cyr instead of Dylan. Dante St Cyr sounds like a badass though.

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[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

I guess more so brands and sub-brands to look out for good or bad.

Like I have no clue what the difference between Gnetik, Optik, Subzero, etc. are in the Brians line. Or Eflex vs Premier Pro in CCM. Or any Vaughn/Bauer.

I want to update my gear, but I'm not a hockey gear head. I want stuff that will protect me and allow me the motion to do goalie stuff, but I'm not ever gonna play past like mid-league hockey.

 

[Hockeyfan2390]

I guess more so brands and sub-brands to look out for good or bad.

Like I have no clue what the difference between Gnetik, Optik, Subzero, etc. are in the Brians line. Or Eflex vs Premier Pro in CCM. Or any Vaughn/Bauer.

I want to update my gear, but I'm not a hockey gear head. I want stuff that will protect me and allow me the motion to do goalie stuff, but I'm not ever gonna play past like mid-league hockey.

PM me

 

[Goalie guy]

I have a issue going on with my heart and can't play any more PM me.

 

[RedMenace]

Best thing I can tell you to do: Go to a pro shop -- ANY pro shop -- and try things on, even if you don't buy from there.

A long while ago I bought all of my gear brand new without trying any of it on, all going by size charts: The Louisville TPS chest/arms were too bulky (sold them); the DR pants are WAY too bulky; the Itech Profile 9.1 "Maracle" pads (33.5") are about 1-1.5 inches too short; the matching 9.1 blocker seems to have been made without "paddle-down" in mind, as the blocking surface won't allow me to put the stick flat along the ice because the glove is set too far back; The 9.1 catcher is, oddly enough, very nice. The Itech mask needed some more internal padding, but otherwise it did its job as an "intermediate" level mask.

Granted, this was right when everyone started going to the "pro-fly" style with pads providing a flatter stopping surface, and I couldn't/can't play that style. I haven't put my pads on in well over 15 years, and sadly probably never will again. The Itech Profile 9.1 was a nice, entry-level package deal, but just didn't work well for me because I didn't try to get anything fitted before-hand.

In all my rambling, the bottom line: Go try everything on first before you buy it.

p.s. - I'm also one of those weirdos who play full-right, so that may have had some impact.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Best thing I can tell you to do: Go to a pro shop -- ANY pro shop -- and try things on, even if you don't buy from there.

A long while ago I bought all of my gear brand new without trying any of it on, all going by size charts: The Louisville TPS chest/arms were too bulky (sold them); the DR pants are WAY too bulky; the Itech Profile 9.1 "Maracle" pads (33.5") are about 1-1.5 inches too short; the matching 9.1 blocker seems to have been made without "paddle-down" in mind, as the blocking surface won't allow me to put the stick flat along the ice because the glove is set too far back; The 9.1 catcher is, oddly enough, very nice. The Itech mask needed some more internal padding, but otherwise it did its job as an "intermediate" level mask.

Granted, this was right when everyone started going to the "pro-fly" style with pads providing a flatter stopping surface, and I couldn't/can't play that style. I haven't put my pads on in well over 15 years, and sadly probably never will again. The Itech Profile 9.1 was a nice, entry-level package deal, but just didn't work well for me because I didn't try to get anything fitted before-hand.

In all my rambling, the bottom line: Go try everything on first before you buy it.

p.s. - I'm also one of those weirdos who play full-right, so that may have had some impact.

Yeah, what the hell, werido!

But to all, I'm sorry for not updating. I managed to find a pro return of Ben Scrivens's Vaughn V6s for a reasonable price. Things are f***ing beauts. I have to learn to adjust my playstyle and get rid of my bad "1990s Vaughn assisted" habits of hopping instead of sliding.

I did a weird butterfly/standup hybrid when I didn't have a landing pad, so I'm not used to leveraging the butterfly for protective area yet.

 

[RedMenace]

Yeah, what the hell, werido!

But to all, I'm sorry for not updating. I managed to find a pro return of Ben Scrivens's Vaughn V6s for a reasonable price. Things are f***ing beauts. I have to learn to adjust my playstyle and get rid of my bad "1990s Vaughn assisted" habits of hopping instead of sliding.

I did a weird butterfly/standup hybrid when I didn't have a landing pad, so I'm not used to leveraging the butterfly for protective area yet.

Yeah, I did the same thing, playing a "hybrid" style; it made people quite curious for such a young person (mid-20s at the time) to be doing that. And to catch right. I was, and still am I imagine, a complete mess in the crease, but it's fun. Just remember to keep your stick blade down no matter what style you play; even if I was slow to drop, keeping that blade upright saved many a five-hole shot.

My dream as a kid was to play goal, but it was so expensive, and my coach was a dick, so I never got to try. If I ever get back into some semblance of shape, I'll probably try again... I'll have to figure out how to kick my leg out without pushing me back the opposite direction because my blades always caught.

Congrats on finding a set of pads! If you need some pants with massive amounts of cheating built into them, let me know...