Why I should not be allowed to combine DIY with Hockey Equipment
Jul 29 '04
The Bottom Line Give me recommendations, sports guys and seamstresses.
So, as a fledgling roller goalie with aspirations to take it to the ice, I reviewed the protection in my equipment. I determined that certain pieces of my equipment would be completely and perfectly suitable on the ice, provided I modify them a wee bit. This started a several hour long process of design, trial and error. I'll lay out the parts I have done, am going to do, and will be thinking about doing:
1) Tour Lexur 400 Blocker- Half Done
The blocker itself is fine, the glove is hide but I like it anyway, but the things this blocker lacks would make it painful to play ice hockey. First, it lacks proper protection of the knucle, as only a quarter inch pad protects those easily bruisable and breakable digits from a hard puck. What I did was cut, round, fit, and superglue a 3/16" piece of clear lexan to the front of that pad. In theory, this should spread any impact out to the whole pad, reducing the total impact to any particular knuckle. I also experimented with putting a little extra dampening between the blocker surface and the glove itself, using a dry sponge as my test piece. It works beautifully and also provides an extra level of comfort in the glove. This will be replaced by high density foam rubber piece that will be affixed either by double sided tape or superglue.
2) Bauer Reactor Court Catch Glove- Still experimenting.
I bought this roller glove after discovering that the actual catch part of the glove is the same as the Reactor 1 my friend uses. The difference lies in the padding on the back of the glove, where a puck or stick is likely to hit in a skirmish in front of the net. The padding there needs bolstering; it could also probably stand to take a little bit of plastic hardness. Again using the dry sponge mockup theory, I fit the sponge into strategic positions. This cut down on any impacts (my other hand slapping it) dramatically; it also improved comfort. These pieces have been saved, and will be replaced by foam rubber. An added idea will be to plate one side of the foam rubber with the lexan above. It should add a level of protection that is superior to many gloves, period.
The wrist protection on this glove needs a little help as well. In this case, I don't think plastic is needed, I just think another half inch of padding would make the glove unbeatable. What I aim to do is make a few small slits in the underside, stuff it with shredded foam rubber, and stitch it back up. Should work perfectly, provided I put the stitches in an area that gets no wear, like the inside of my wrist.
Other things to do might be to waterproof some of the exposed Cordura. That's impossible, but I figure some sort of chemical can make it resistant. Also, I'm thinking about dying the blocker face black using vinyl leather dye.
3)Tour Lexur 400 Leg Pads- Designing.
This pad is pretty decent for such a cheapie. With the simple addition of some decent knee lifts (which I can probably fashion myself from spare fabric and above foam rubber), the pad becomes as good as many more expensive models. Right now, my ideas include the knee lifts, a velcro strap across the cradle to truly lock the knee in place, and waterproof the Cordura. I already dyed the toe bridge black to eliminate signs of wear, which worked out extremely well.
4) Ferland 7000 chest protector - Allllmost perfect.
This was an ice-ready protector in the first place, but i found that a slight bit more padding in the throat area (I don't trust my dangler that much) would be nice. Foam will go there. I might also remake one of the shoulder cup paddings that doesn't sit quite right due to wear.
5) Olie 9900 helmet - Done... but should it be?
I just bought this helmet, which is a heavy nylon design, akin to the ITECH 1400 series. It's a solid colour, which means that I need to paint it. I have two options here: Use a vinyl dye, which I know works great on nylon materials... or do something so stupid I'm already figuring out where to buy the stuff for it.
See, my friends work in a car and boat repair shop. They have tons and tons of spare fiberglass. Fiberglass is much stronger than nylon. A couple layers of fiberglass and the protection on this mask should be somewhere in the ITECH 4000 range by worst case stress calculations.
Hmm, says I. A couple layers of fiberglass, prime it, then airbrush it with standard model paint that I have laying around. What a great idea! It's not like the mask is certified anyway, what with the cateye mask.
This should be a fun project. Some of this won't get completed until the winter, however. Damn school!
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