Jarick

Thanks for the responses! And JR, glad to see the website is still doing great! I've definitely shifted away from the higher end stuff the last several years. Most of the time I try and find either discounted clearance stuff or just use the price point gear. My son's been playing for a few years now and I'm sinking a fair amount into his leagues! The STX stuff looks very interesting, especially for the price. It looks like, before discounts, the high end pants are at $100 which is about the third tier for most other brands. Is it comparable to at least the second tier (around $140) price point for the others? If there's free shipping, I may take a flier. Is the quality up to snuff though? I bought a pair of clearance Stallion 300 gloves this past season and blew out one of the palms in about six months, which is crazy fast. Usually I get a full year or more out of them. They were good while they lasted though. Also have a few of the Surgeon 500 sticks from a couple years ago, great weight and kick although the blades get chewed up quickly. I also would probably end up ordering gear one way or another...I'm kind of in a no man's land for good shops right now. It's about a 20-30 minute drive to get to one of the Pure Hockey locations where I live now.

Hey everyone, been forever since I posted and want some advice. For the last 5+ years, I've mostly been using entry level protective gear. I play 1-2 times per week, low to mid level rec leagues, no hitting, minimal contact. The protection has been fine but my gear has been falling apart and needs to be replaced frequently. I'm about to buy my third set of pants and fifth set of shin guards in that time. My pants rip in the material connecting the lace-up/waist portion, and my shin guards all crack on the knees. So I have two questions: 1. From a quality standpoint, is it worth spending twice as much to get the high end gear? Again, I'm not concerned about the protection as much as I am with plastics cracking and materials ripping apart. I don't want to spend $300 on new pants/shins/elbows if I have to replace it within 1-2 years again. 2. Are there any brands that are noticeably good or bad in terms of quality? I'm tried Reebok, CCM (same mfg I know), and Bauer with the same issues. Never tried Warrior. Any other thoughts or recommendations are welcome. Thanks!

I like the concept of a velcro removable tongue with different options available from the manufacturer.

TPS R8 Pro Gloves (full nylon) Size: 12" Background - I purchased another pair of TPS R8 gloves and have used them for the past year, so I thought I would make another review. After a season with Bauer One75's, I wanted a little more protection as I had a few numb and bruised fingers from slashes and pucks. The Bauers did not have any plastic inserts, so I shopped for gloves that would have plenty of protection. Because my 13" TPS R8 gloves broke in so much, I decided to try a pair of 12" gloves. Fit - at first the gloves were fairly tight, but after a couple hours of skating, they loosened up and are now fairly comfortable, although I do like my gloves tight. The fingers are about 1/2" too short, which is my only complaint with the fit, although I can still use them without issue. The tapered fingers are a nice tough as there is less slop once broken in. Another benefit of the 12" glove is a short cuff which allows plenty of movement. I use large Jofa elbow pads which are long on the forearm and knock into the cuff of most gloves, but these aren't an issue. 8/10 Weight & Mobility - the gloves feel fairly light, not as much as some of the lightest gloves without plastic, but lighter than most 4-Rolls. Still, glove weight isn't much of an issue overall. In terms of mobility, the cuffs have a nice split to them which allows for full wrist movement and of course being a 12" glove I get even more freedom. After a couple skates they felt broken in for the most part. 9/10 Protection - compared to my previous review, I haven't had any issues at all with these gloves. I believe because of the loose fit of the previous gloves, I was getting hit on the outside of my fingers, rather than the padding taking the shock, if that makes sense. The only injury I've had with these gloves is trying to glove down pucks, and obviously it's not a goalie glove so it's of my own stupidity. I can whack the outside of the gloves with a stick and it absorbs and disperses almost all of the hit, and outside of the Warrior gloves with the bone system, that's about as good as it gets for a glove. 9/10 Durability - on nearly every pair of gloves I've used, the stitching seems to come out of the thumb, especially on the bottom hand. It happened with the previous TPS gloves, with my Bauer Supremes, and TWICE with these gloves. Otherwise the stitching has held up a lot better than the previous TPS gloves. I have used sticks with Tacki-Mac grips, Oggie textures, and both cloth and currently Powerflex tape. The palm has worn through the first layer on the top hand but oddly enough the wear slowed down quite a bit. The palms seem to be fairly thick though they are soft, so that may have helped with their lifespan. The nylon on the gloves is worn in spots although there are no outright rips or holes. I believe I will get another 1-2 seasons out of these gloves with a repalming before needing replacement. 9/10 Intangibles - I still think the TPS are some of the nicest looking gloves, especially in the red and black colors that match my team's New Jersey scheme. The palm was incredibly soft and comfortable for several months until they became crusty. Conclusions - it's a shame these aren't made any more because they were a nice alternative to the other 4-Roll gloves on the market. But they are still all over the place on clearance. I have tried PPFi's, Eagle Talons, and some Warriors but keep coming back to these gloves. Overall 9/10

Tackla 9000 Air Pants 5'8 180 C-league Background - I purchased these pants a year ago because my old Vapors had a lot of gaps in protection and moving to defense and taking pucks to the legs just plain hurt. I was torn between the Tackla 9000 and the Reebok 9k, which I still think is an excellent pant. I decided to go with the Tacklas based on their reputation. Since then, I've had probably 40 league games and 25+ drop ins, clinics, and other skates. Fit - these are generally tighter in the waist and looser in the legs than most pants. They are comfortable and never get in the way while playing. Even though they are "heavy" and "bulky" they are still very "mobile" as you have full movement while playing. I believe the segmented leg pads play a part of this but they are cut very well too. Mine don't have zippers on the legs but I never used them on other pants. They have a tie and a belt and I've never had issues with them sliding around or moving. They do run a bit big so if you are between sizes go smaller. 10/10 Protection - they have a great reputation for being tanks on the ice and I've barely felt a thing while wearing them. My previous Vapor pants had all kinds of gaps in the padding but the Tacklas have padding all around the legs, plenty of hip padding, tailbone padding, etc. Lots of plastic inserts too. My only complaint or wish would be a floating tailpiece like newer Reebok pants, where it hugs the spine. I haven't had any issues in game but it would be nice. 9/10 Weight - they may be a little heavy but honestly there's no way you can feel it on the ice; they have so little relative weight and are right on your core that it's not an issue. Maybe the plastic thigh inserts bounce a little bit while skating, but I've never felt like I need lighter pants. 10/10 Durability - the only problem I have ever seen with a pair of Tackla pants, and there are hundreds of used pants here in Minnesota, is a fading of the outer nylon, especially in the thigh area. That's all I've seen on my pants which otherwise look new. Not a stitch out of place, which is better than a lot of new gear I've purchased. 10/10 Intangibles - these make me look bottom heavy on the ice. Also, they dry out incredibly quickly and develop no smell. Conclusion - Tacklas in my opinion are the cream of the crop for pants. I bought mine based on reputation and highly recommend them. They are a little pricey but will last a really long time. Overall 10/10

What do you mean shorter/longer? I ask because I'm between 12" and 13" gloves. I have a pair of 12" TPS gloves which fit great except are 1/2" too short in the fingers. If all Eagle does for their custom finger lengths is just sew a little bigger palm on them or a little longer gusset, it'd be cheaper for me to have my gloves repalmed with those alterations...

When you get Eagles with custom finger lengths, do they just give you more or less material in the gussets/palms or do they actually make a slightly longer or shorter finger?

Which shaft texture would be closest to nipple grip? Diamond?

Bauer Vapor X60 Stick'um Flex: 75 flex (intermediate) Curve: P92 Time used: four months (30-40 skates) Reviewer: 5'8 185 C-leaguer Aesthetics: Good looking stick. I prefer the white color with the 12k wrap visible on the blade. Red accents means it matches my team's color scheme too. Weight and Balance: Very light weight and great balance due to the monocomp construction. At full length, it didn't feel blade heavy, which is rare. Cut down and with an Oggie grip installed, it felt nicely balanced. Replacing that with a 4" wood plug, the stick feels light as a feather. 10/10 Blade: Feel is more lively and ceramic than a Bauer Supreme or wood, but it feels a lot more solid than most one piece sticks, possibly because of the monocomp construction. Blade is incredibly stiff, just like new. It also features an expanded throat which is supposed to reduce twisting. 8/10 Shaft and Flex: Slimmer shaft due to intermediate dimensions with rounded corners means it does feel a touch small in the hand. Designed with flex points near the blade and the butt end for quick release on shots. Feels and performs like a low kickpoint stick to me, which is exactly what I wanted. Flex is true to rating and the perfect compromise for someone between intermediate and senior whip flexes. 10/10 Stick Handling and Passing: The light weight and blade light balance allows for quicker hand movement and less fatigue in stick handling. The lively feel can make the puck feel a bit jumpy though. Receiving crisp passes requires a bit of cradling, although the blade does seem to tame them a bit (and better than the previous year's Vapor sticks). 9/10 Shooting: Great power and quick release for all shots. With slappers, the stick loads nicely and they feel fairly powerful coming off the blade. Snappers load and unload very quickly. Wrist shots are very quick and hard and easy to shoot with the light weight of the blade. Accuracy is never a problem as everything goes where you expect. 10/10 Durability: There are a couple small chips in the blade and shaft but the stick plays and feels just like new, including the stiffness of the blade. Graphics are still in great shape. It feels like a tank. 10/10 Conclusion: Having used 67 flex intermediate and 77 flex senior Vapor XXV's from the previous year, this stick was a huge improvement. The flex was perfectly in the middle, suffering neither from the 67's lag and weak slapshots nor from the 77's difficulty to load and stiff feel. Blade feel is the only concern for players who would prefer a softer blade, but everything else is fantastic. It still performs as new and has held up wonderfully. Overall: 9.5/10

Okay it works on my Firefox Mac. And lucky for me my preferred stick is a 70 flex Widow Draper that's already available at retail...although that Zetterberg Pro looks really fun. Lots of fun playing with colors though.

Perron won't start the season with the Blues, via Yahoo. Really hope he starts to turn a corner soon. I know for the Wild Pierre-March Bouchard went through the same thing and missed 18 months of hockey and came back this year better than ever. It'd be great for Pierre-Marc to reach out to David and let him know what he went through and some reassurance, kind of like how Patrice Bergeron spoke with Pierre-Marc when he was recovering.

Oh dammit you're going to take my money too.

Wow that is a nice looking stick.

I liked the 67's but got the Mariposas for more clarity in the quack positions. Of course they're pretty noisy so I'm going to rip my guitar apart and reshield the whole thing and hope for the best. The Lil 59 didn't sound good at all, very muffled, so I'm going to put the VV Solo back in, which sounds fat enough for rock and roll but has good clarity clean and is noiseless. Great pickup. And a shame that the Blackstar HT-5 got sold while I was waiting for my paycheck, so I picked up a used Digitech RP355 to mess around with in the meantime. So far the effects sound beautiful but the amps are just okay. Stupid tiny apartment necessitating a quiet rig.

In the preamp it's got one tube, a lot like other little tube amps...the Mesa Dual Rec has 5 and the Marshall 900 has 4. Lots of high gain amps have several preamp tubes for additional gain stages, but that Blackstar manages to get a lot of gain out of one tube. Maybe because their background is pedals rather than amps so they came at it from a different design. Either way, that amp plus a mild overdrive to boost it would be an absolute KILLER setup. I'm trying to score one on Craigslist but need to find another $200 :P