|
|
Choosing Goalie GearDec 19 '01 (Updated Sep 12 '02) Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Sport and Outdoor
The Bottom Line Protection, durability and comfort are the keys to buying good goalie equipment.
Like buying anything that will protect you in hockey, you want 3 things. You want of course lots of padding (obviously), you want durability, the longer it lasts, the better and comfort! Don't buy equipment too big or too small, it's a disaster waiting to happen. The first point that I will touch on is padding. You want lots of this for 2 main reasons for goalies, the first once again is obvious, it hurts less, the second is, if you are big in the net and you play your angles right, it will be HARD to sneak a puck by you. Now, when shopping for any equipment, the first thing I look for is padding, I play Junior hockey and it is important to have a peice of equipment that can withstand 80-100 mph shots. Of course, all my stuff is expensive and on top of that I get it custom made so that I can add padding, cheaters, etc.. to suit my game. But while looking for something that has a lot of protection, you also want to suit your game. I play Junior hockey, I want top of the line gear, if you or your son/daughter plays house league hockey, it isn't worth it to go buy a $500, top of the line piece of equipment when you could go for the $300, less protective one, but the less protection doesn't make a difference because the shots aren't too hard. It also saves you money! The 3 areas where I would NOT be cheap on is my helmet, my leg pads and my chest protector. I have stories from all three that aren't fun ones. Helmet, make sure you buy him/her/yourself a good quality one, I once had one of my players let about a 95 mph shot go about 30 feet in front of me and he hit me square between the eyes. I did have a grade 1 concussion off of it but it could have been MUCH worst if I didn't have a top of the line helmet, esp. after I looked at my helmet and saw that the cage was bent back about 1 inch. Same with leg pads. When I fist played competitive hockey at a high level I had pretty shabby pads. I took a really hard shot and bruised my knee THROUGH my pad, granted it did go off the inside of my pad, but after that I bought pads with good protection and I took another shot in the same place, didn't effect me. Moral there is that leg pads cover one of your most important assets, your legs and it hurts A LOT when they get bruised, go for quality pads when buying them. Much the same story and message with my chest protector but I badly bruised my shoulder. My second point was durability. If your going to buy a set of equipment, buy ones that will last! It's not worth your money to repair it every year. Good companies that make the best, durable and best overall equipment are probably Brian's, Vaughn, and Heaton. The are probably the three best goalie equipment in the world (I personally use Brian's). If you buy from these companies, you might have to make some minor repairs on it down the road due to wear and tear but they will last you a life time! Lastly, choose comfortable equipment. Use common sense here. Don't buy equipment you will "grow into" because it is cheaper over the long run. Hockey isn't a cheap sport and if you buy you son/daughter equipment 2 sizes too big(I teach hockey, I have seen worst than that!), how are they going to move on the ice and play to their full potential and have fun? Conversely, if you buy them cheap equipment that isn't padded enough or leaves open spots on the body and every shot the kid takes hurts, how will he play up to his potential and have fun? Please, I have SO many horror stories under this category, don't make your kid become one of those, buy him comfortable equipment because after all, this is a sport to have fun!  |
| Read all comments (2)|Write your own comment |
|
Ads by Google
|
