Why you shouldn't waste your money on CCM Blockade Goal Pads
Written: Apr 02 '04 (Updated Dec 13 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good Materials and quality construction
Cons: They simply don't work how they were intended to work
The Bottom Line: Don't waste money on expensive goalie pads that don't work. The Louisville Xlite is a much better flat face pad
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| puckmugger's Full Review: CCM Blockade Pro Goalie Pads |
The Blockades were the first goal pads introduced with no knee rolls. It makes sense. Knee Rolls are intended to help the goal pad flex when the goalie bends their knees. This is all good and fine for traditional stand up goalies, but besides Arturs Irbe, I cannot think of anyone who plays much stand up any more. For the butterfly goalie, a knee roll simply means the pad is bending and leaving the five-hole open. A stiff pad with no rolls seems obvious. Unfortunately, CCM took a great idea and messed it up. Bear with me as I explain.
The Calf Cradle?
The knee lifts in the Blockade are among the best and most comfortable I have ever tried. A one-piece, contoured knee lift holds the goalie’s knee very nicely. The term knee cradle gets new meaning in this pad as the lift really cradles the knee perfectly. In fact the knee cradle can be the very item that makes or breaks a good goal pad. For butterfly goalies it is the only thing between your knee and the ice. In a good goal pad it also raises the knees above the feet allowing increased extension with the leg pads across the bottom of the net.
I currently use a Vaughn Velocity style pad that gives my knees about six inches of lift above my feet. This pad is designed properly and works properly. The knee cradle in the CCM Blockade is actually superior to that of my Velocity style pads, but due to the rest of the pad design, it fails to be effective.
CCM’s error in making the Blockade was to put a calf cradle in as well. The theory they had was the a calf cradle would ensure the pads would stand up every time the goalie dropped as well as giving them superior protection on the five-hole (inside the legs). Unfortunately, they forgot about the geometry of the human body. What the calf cradle did was ruin the pads.
By raising the lower leg to the same height above the ice as the knees, CCM negated the advantage of knee height. This mistake puts the goaltender’s feet much closer together when they are in the butterfly. The sole purpose of the butterfly is to take away as much of the lower net as possible, yet CCM ended up shrinking this blocking area with their highly anticipated Blockades.
I spent about two hours in a pair of Blockades that our CCM rep left at our store for a while. My experience was miserable. I had a very difficult time getting the pads to stand up when I dropped in the butterfly. After about six strap adjustments, I finally got them to work about 80% of the time. (My Velocity pads stand up every time). By then I already had a number of bruises from stopping shots on my leg instead of the blocking surface.
Even after they were adjusted I was very unhappy with the coverage. The pair of pads I am using are 34” and they are a little shorter than the pair of 36” pads I will order next time I get a new pair. All the same, they work pretty darn well for me. I pride myself on taking away the five-hole from shooter after daring them to take the shot there. Most people who have played against me for a while know better than to shoot low. With the CCM’s the entire bottom of the net was fair game. The calf lifts brought my feet so close together that closing the five-hole was impossible. If these pads had been 40” (38” is the current legal NHL limit) they would have been too short. Also, my feet were almost straight back rather than stretching across the mouth of the goal.
The calf lifts simply ruined these pads that were otherwise a great idea.
Other Notes on the Blockade
The Blockade is a very odd looking pad. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it just looks different. The lack of knee rolls makes it more attractive to me, somehow a little more streamlined I guess. The other thing that is very notable is how thin the pad faces are. The blocking face is very wide, but the depth from face to leg is thin. They are probably half the thickness of a more traditional pad.
Despite being very thin, there was never a shot that felt like a violent impact through the pads (of the rare few I stopped). I have no doubt that these will offer substantial protection. The flat blocking face would be a very nice feature if the pads were actually capable of being put into position to block shots. No knee rolls will translate to easier redirection of rebounds.
The leg channel is as good as that in any pad that I have used. It is a good depth and lined with very comfortable clarino. The pads actually have a great feel until you actually attempt to stop a puck or two in them. They are the lightest pads that I have ever used, rivaled only by the latest knockoffs such as the Brian’s Demon (which I also tried with similar results to the Blockade) and Bauer’s new Vapor Goal pads.
The face of the pads and the graphics are quite attractive. (I think most goalies are a little more vain than skaters, so this is important). The new technoweave metallic fabrics look great and will last for many years.
I also like the fact that CCM used the newer style nylon straps and plastic buckles on these pads. They might seem less durable than leather and steel, but in the end the opposite has proven itself to me. I have – just last week – broken only one plastic buckle in three years of using them. This compared to dozens of leather straps which failed about every other month. The nylon straps are also nice since you only have to adjust them once and they stay put. The blockade comes with toe laces and cannot be refit with the old style leather straps.
To Sum it Up
If you are looking at the blockade as the ultimate butterfly goal pad, it isn’t. This is a great concept that needs some serious tweaking before it will work. If you were interested in the Blockade as a pure stand up goal pad, it will serve nicely.
The new RBK Premier Pro is the answer to the problems that the Blockade had. RBK removed the excessive internals and made a much more effective goal pad.
© Scott Noble – Unauthorized use prohibited
A few of my other links that you might find helpful:
Fitting Goalie Gear
CCM Blockade Blocker
CCM Blockade Trapper
Louisville XLite GLL Goal Pads
Brian’s Demon Goal Pads
Battram Custom Goalie Equipment
© 2005 Scott Noble – All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.
Thanks to openroad for adding this item so I could review it.
Recommended:
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