Your favorite brands by equipement?

[Joey Moss]

Which are your favorite brands for the following equipement:

Skates -
Sticks -
Helmets -
Gloves -

Best all around -

Opinions? Try to back it up please.

Click to read more...

 

[Pajicz]

Skates - Bauer, quite easily.
Sticks - Toss-up between Bauer and Easton, maybe Easton has slight edge.
Helmets - No idea...
Gloves - I like Reebok gloves, but every brand has quite good ones.

Best all around - Bauer

Sorry, but cannot really explain why...

 

[ponder]

Best is extremely, extremely subjective. For skates, helmets, gloves, etc. you basically have fit trumping all, so very specific to the user. For sticks, it's about things like feel and flex, which again is a personal preference issue. I will give my personal preferences, but that doesn't mean they'll work for anyone else.

Skates - Bauer Vapor skates fit me well
Sticks - no strong brand preference, I like Bauer and Warrior more than Easton and Rbk I guess
Helmets - CCM helmets seem to fit me well
Gloves - Vapor X:60 pros are the nicest gloves I've tried on, personally, in terms of what I like fit-wise

Almost all the major brands produce high quality gear though, no one brad clearly blows away another, so it comes down to personal preference.

 

[SenzZen]

Skates - Graf
Sticks - Easton
Helmets - CCM
Gloves - CCM


Never been a Bauer guy...

 

[Bryan23]

Skates: CCM - I've only tried CCM Skates for ice. I did have Bauer Skates for roller, but I switched to CCM. IMO the CCM skates were more comfortable.
Sticks: CCM/Sherwood. IMO Sticks are highly subjective. It depends more on what curve you like. I did have an Easton Stick that I absolutly hated, but it was a cheapy.
Helmet: CCM - It fits me well.
Gloves: CCM

I'm biased toward CCM, as that is what I have always used. I don't think you could go wrong with any equipment from the major brands.

 

[Jarick]

TOTALLY personal preference, but for me:

Skates: Bauer, as they have been pushing the envelope with both the Vapor and Supreme series, and also offer the Flexlites.
HM: Graf, for their ability to fit nearly every foot.

Sticks: Bauer, the One95 was a huge step forward for sticks and the X60 is also very good.
HM: Warrior, keeping what works and changing what doesn't.

Helmet: Tie between Bauer, Easton, and Cascade...all have pretty good tech, depending on what fits you.

Gloves: Bauer, because they offer three different fits and you can get a good quality glove for ~$100.
HM: Warrior for top end gloves (Eagle has better quality but only one style of glove which I don't fit).

Protective: Reebok...old Jofa tech with some upgrades (or in cases downgrades like discontinuing the pro elbows), still some of the best.
HM: Warrior is making some pretty big strides in the pro game, could gain market share at retail.

Overall: Bauer if I had to choose only one brand to get outfitted in:

9900 helmet
Supreme protective
TotalOne gloves
TotalOne skates
TotalOne stick

 

[Joey Moss]

Hmm, I would have thought Reebok would be mentioned more than once.

Skates - Definitely Bauer. I've never purchased a pair of skates that aren't Bauer so I can't really explain, haha. Part of the reason I made this thread was for opinions on this since I'll be needing new skates.

Sticks - For me I love Reebok sticks, the 8.0.8 and 11K were great sticks. Bauer has been a bit inconsistent for me, I wasn't a fan of the One 95 but I loved the Vapour XXXX. Same for Easton, I really didn't like the S19 but I loved the S17.

Helmets - Reebok, personsal preference. I like the way they look and feel.

Gloves - I have no idea, I've never really cared about gloves too much but I have Bauer XXXX's right now and they are really nice.

Overall - Reebok

 

[RangersAM99]

Skates - graf
Sticks - bauer
Helmets - bauer
Gloves - graf

Best all around - bauer

 

[CRSeven]

Skates - Bauer
Sticks - Bauer
Helmets - Easton
Gloves - Bauer

Best all around - Bauer

 

[AIREAYE]

This is a pretty useless thread. Get what fits and what you like.

 

[Jarick]

That's why Bauer and Graf get so many points, multiple fits

 

[Guffaw]

That's why Bauer and Graf get so many points, multiple fits

Yeah you're gonna end up with a thread where everyone lists what equipment they have. I'll try and raise a few objective points.

GRAF skates- not the lightest or flashiest colors, but I don't know of another company that offers 1/2 the fit variations Graf does. Heel width, instep depth, forefoot width, and then all those in narrow, medium, or wide.

Bauer- I've just gotten back into playing, but I like what I see from them so far. Tall sizes in some pant models, good helmet/cage combos, gloves. I also noticed they're equipment seems to run lighter than their competition when comparing models with similar protection.

Like was said already though. Find what fits you and has the features you need/want.

 

[Joey Moss]

This is a pretty useless thread. Get what fits and what you like.

Simmer down Francis. It was for everyone to post their opinion on.

 

[AIREAYE]

Simmer down? I'm pretty chill thanks. Just looking out for the people who don't know better about equipement , they'll come looking through your thread, see 4 votes for Bauer skates and go buy a pair online; finding out that it doesn't fit after a few skates.

It's very simple. So yeah I stand by what I said...this thread is useless. For opinions though? Sure go ahead, but everyone's opinion is biased

 

[Jarick]

Well it's not exactly what everyone already has...but then again we vote with our $$$. I took into consideration a variety of fit and price/performance.

 

[Joey Moss]

Simmer down? I'm pretty chill thanks. Just looking out for the people who don't know better about equipement , they'll come looking through your thread, see 4 votes for Bauer skates and go buy a pair online; finding out that it doesn't fit after a few skates.

It's very simple. So yeah I stand by what I said...this thread is useless. For opinions though? Sure go ahead, but everyone's opinion is biased

Yes but if people have a unanimous opinion that Bauer skates are better for them than Reebok skates don't you think they'd consider looking at the Bauer's before Reebok? There's a few other things to look at in a skate than just how they fit. Weight, looks, padding/protection, price.. If people are backing their points up then people look at that and say "Hey, that's how I feel about skates also, maybe that's the skate for me," this thread isn't so useless. That's the point.

 

[ponder]

Yes but if people have a unanimous opinion that Bauer skates are better for them than Reebok skates don't you think they'd consider looking at the Bauer's before Reebok? There's a few other things to look at in a skate than just how they fit. Weight, looks, padding/protection, price.. If people are backing their points up then people look at that and say "Hey, that's how I feel about skates also, maybe that's the skate for me," this thread isn't so useless. That's the point.

Except all the major manufacturers are producing skates pretty similar in terms of weight/protection/build quality at all the various price points (not identical, but similar). And regardless, if you have a top of the line skate from any manufacturer that is simply a poor fit for your foot, it will perform poorly for you (AND be extremely uncomfortable). It will literally perform worse than a low end skate that's a great fit. Hence why I started my post with:

Best is extremely, extremely subjective. For skates, helmets, gloves, etc. you basically have fit trumping all, so very specific to the user. For sticks, it's about things like feel and flex, which again is a personal preference issue. I will give my personal preferences, but that doesn't mean they'll work for anyone else.

I think to some extent you could talk about "best" shoulder pads and shin guards, but even still some people like a slim fit while some like a bulky fit, some favour weight over durability or vice versa, etc.

I think you can single out products that people should avoid (like those old CCM U+ Pros with all the durability/delaminating issues), but in terms of differentiating between high end gear it really comes down to the preferences/body of the individual user. Especially with skates, but even to a certain extent with all other gear. It's not like any of the major manufacturers are making trash while others are making seriously superior products, they're all reasonably similar to the point where fit and preference trumps all.

If you had simply asked "what equiptment do you like best," that'd be a fine question, but you asked:

Which brands provide the best for the following equipement:

Skates -
Sticks -
Helmets -
Gloves -

Best all around -

Opinions? Try to back it up please.

Which is a bit of a ridiculous question from the outset, because you're implying that there are universal "bests." It's like asking "which vegetable is best, try to back it up please."

 

[Joey Moss]

Alright, I changed the title.

 

[eXplosivecamel]

Skates - Bauer. I bought the X40 skates this past season and they just fit so well. They are very light while also a really hard skate too.
Sticks - Bauer. I just bought the Easton S11 like 2 weeks ago but I haven't used so I'll go with my Bauer X20 that I've used for a while.
Helmets - Reebok. I tried pretty much every helmet on in my local store, and Reebok was the only thing that fit.
Gloves - Bauer. Not really too much to explain why here.

Best all around - Bauer. Fits really well and not too expensive either.

 

[MNWild9]

Skates - RBK
Sticks - Bauer and SBK
Helmets - RBK
Gloves - SBK

Best all around - I would have to say I can't pick out of RBK and SBK cause I like them both so much.

 

[The Spicy Shrimp]

Helmet- CCM
Shoulders/elbows/gloves/shins/pants- Some mix of RBK/CCM. Just got Winnwell elbows on clearance, they feel good so far.
Stick-Warrior
Skates-still forming an opinion. Reebok were nice for the pump and lock, Eastons fit better in the forefoot and are snugger on my foot.

 

[AIREAYE]

I like this thread, great post ponder.

Helmet : Bauer
- great quality throughout all of their price points. For less than $100, the 4500, 5100 and 5500 are excellent products. The 2100 is perhaps the most impressive of all, and at $40-$50 with dual density VN and the 5100 look.

Skates : nothing stands out, impressed with the stiffness of Bauer skates throughout their line. Get what fits best

Sticks : personal preference

Gloves : personal preference, impressed with Bauers 3 fits

Protective: older RBK series (not KFS) and Jofa, CCM Tacks line, older Easton Synergy line (800, 500, 300 etc.)

 

[Guffaw]

Helmet : Bauer
- great quality throughout all of their price points. For less than $100, the 4500, 5100 and 5500 are excellent products.

Agreed. 5100 helmet with 9900 cage and couldn't be happier. Very comfortable and better vision than my old Jofa cage from the early 90's.

 

[jwitz04]

Simmer down? I'm pretty chill thanks. Just looking out for the people who don't know better about equipement , they'll come looking through your thread, see 4 votes for Bauer skates and go buy a pair online; finding out that it doesn't fit after a few skates.

It's very simple. So yeah I stand by what I said...this thread is useless. For opinions though? Sure go ahead, but everyone's opinion is biased

lolumad? easyyy now.

anyway as for equipment:

skates (roller): Mission
skates (ice): Bauer
gloves: Bauer
stick: x:60
helmet: doesn't really matter I guess but I have Bauer

overall I'm gonna have to say bauer. (but mission for roller)

 

[greyraven8]

Skates: CCM (the wider 'E' width fits my foot better). Bauer EE isn't as wide.

Sticks: no strong preference - if you had asked a couple decade ago I would have said Titan. Usually try to find a cheaper composite in a regular flex that has a small curve and isn't all at weird angles in the toe or heel which can be harder than you would think at times.

Helmet: Jofa (don't think anyone - except I think Reebok in their European 3K model - has used same kind of foam they had. It doesn't go hard or crusty)

Gloves: like the Eagle all goatskin gloves (H34). Good feel and bother pairs I have had held up well.