The Itech GKP Pro Goalie Knee Protector and a bruise the size of a Winnebago
Written: Jun 06 '04
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Comfort: |
|
|
|
Pros: It helps a little and there isn't anything that works better yet
Cons: Shots still can sting, sometimes they come loose
The Bottom Line: They aren't great, but there isn't a better option. I would still recommend them until something better comes out.
|
|
|
| puckmugger's Full Review: Itech GKP Pro Goalie Knee Protector |
▪ I’m covered head to toe, I don’t need Knee pads!
You don’t know Rob, but that’s because he never shot on you. Rob holds the distinction of being the only shooter to ever make me bleed. Rob likes the slapshot more than anyone I’ve ever known. He will take a slapper from three feet in front of a goalie, a place where anyone else would use a quick wrist shot and put it home for certain. Don’t get me wrong, Rob has an outstanding slapshot as far as velocity goes, but he almost always hits the goalie with it. I think he enjoys making us wince more than he does scoring.
From my side of the mask, getting hit by a shot is normally a good thing. But when it’s a guy who shoots so hard he can make you bleed, I have mixed emotions. On one occasion I took a hard shot to the head from Rob. After I figured out where I was, I switched ends with the other goalie. It was a pick-up game and I didn’t want Rob to knock the stuffing out of my head again, besides it was close enough to the middle of the game and I needed a moment to see if I could remember my name.
Where was I? . . . I get all disoriented thinking about how hard Rob has hit me in the head . . . Oh yeah, so we switch ends, Rob skates away after apologizing for making me even stupider than I already was, and shoots. He hits the other goalie in the head nearly knocking him out. The game stops and everyone is yelling evil things at Rob, which I didn’t actually hear because of the ringing that I still had in my ears. But goalies are like ladies at a bar - it isn’t fun to go if there aren’t any. Someone picking on the goalies certainly would have gotten an earful . . . I think.
Anyway, that is just to give you an idea of how hard Rob shoots and why I felt the need to augment my protection. Let me meander a little closer to the point that I am slowly heading toward. Rob managed to find my leg just above the knee with one of his infamous heat-seekers a couple months ago. He added a second distinction to his first badge of being the only shooter to make me bleed. He is now the only person who hurt me bad enough that a referee had to stop a game for me.
Fortunately the injury was nothing more than a bruise the size of a Winnebago. I uploaded a picture of it to my profile page so you can see. Man it was awesome! Anyway, I finished the game after a short 30 second break to makes sure that I could still stand up. I think we won, but I cannot remember – that previous blow to the head, you know.
▪ Knee Protection in general
First, let’s talk about what is normally protecting a goalie’s knee and thigh. Obviously there are the rather large leg pads that make us look like we have Gumby’s legs. If a puck hits these, all is well. You never feel those. However if a goalie kneels (similar to the common butterfly stance) there is a gap between the top of the leg pads and the pants. This exposes the knee and lower thigh.
The first solution to this is a pair of thigh guards. These strap into the leg pad and hinge to cover the front of the gap. They are essentially a hard piece with no padding that disperses the blow. If the puck hits them, you are fine. Here is the problem: thigh guards are flat. This means that the sides of the knee and thigh can be exposed and sneaky pucks will hit nothing but goalie. When that happens you can get a bruise the size of a Winnebago (you really should look at the picture if you haven’t yet. I am so proud).
▪ Itech GKP Pro Goalie Knee Protector
Rob persuaded me in his own unique manner of salesmanship that I needed a pair of these. I got online, shopped for a while, decided that I didn’t want to wait until I got nailed again and purchased an overpriced pair from my least favorite local hockey retailer.
The GKP Knee Pads are about ¼” thick with stiff padding inside of them. The shell is a heavy nylon, I would guess 420 nylon although it seems a little sturdier than my 420 nylon pants. They are fairly articulate with a gap at the knee. The pads fasten with two Velcro and elastic straps.
I wear a knee brace when I play, and it takes a little work to get the left Knee Pad over the brace. This is the only thing that I have ever had trouble fitting over my brace. The outside knee flap sits up a little higher than it should, but it still offers good protection.
The right pad, without the bulk of the knee brace will slide out of place if I don’t get it adjusted just so. It isn’t annoying as far as a comfort issue. I usually don’t realize it has shifted until I am changing after the game. However, if it slips out of place and I get tagged, it won’t be worth much so I almost wish it was uncomfortable so I know it has moved.
As far as effectiveness, they GKP Knee Protectors certainly have helped. However, the design isn’t thick enough to offer complete protection. I suspect that if Rob had hit me while I was wearing these I still would have had a bruise. The difference? I wouldn’t have had one worth taking a picture of.
In order to offer complete protection, the GKP would have to have a much stiffer design. Only a hard plastic piece will disperse the force of a puck effectively. Unfortunately, such a piece of plastic would make this product impossibly uncomfortable. I cannot really fault Itech on their design here. I don’t see any way to make it better.
▪ Final Thoughts
A few weeks after I bought the GKP pads I noticed fellow goalie and friend, Al, getting dressed for a drop-in skate. He was putting on a pair of GKP kneepads as well. I nodded in his direction and asked, “Rob?”
“Huh?” he asked, uncertain of what I was asking. I held up one of my kneepads and a grimace came to Al’s face as realized what I was talking about, “Oh, yeah, he get you too?”
I haven’t found the GKP pads to be quite as protective as I would have liked. In fact I got popped on the very spot that Rob made his mark a couple of times while it was still tender. The GKP pads certainly made the result less painful. But the fact that it still hurt left a lot to be desired.
Even though they are less effective in protecting my knee and thigh than I had hoped, I will continue to use these. There isn’t a better solution on the market to covering this area of which I am aware. Some small amount of protection is certainly an improvement over my bruise the size of a Winnebago.
You really should go look at that bruise now. It’s at the bottom of my profile page.
Really, go look, that’s all I wrote here.
A few of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Fitting Goalie Gear
So you think you want to be a goalie, eh?
First Day Between the Pipes
Itech Goalie Jock
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
puckmugger
|
 - Top 50 |
|
Location: wandering the fringes of the goal crease
Reviews written: 488
Trusted by: 246 members
About Me:
My book is now available in major bookstores or by order from my profile page.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.