Minimal price, minimal pants
Written: Sep 14 '06 (Updated Sep 14 '06)
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Pros: Cheap, light, easy to break in
Cons: Minimal padding, not very durable
The Bottom Line: Sometimes you get what you pay for. With the low price of the ITECH Hockey Pants HP1000, you aren't getting a lot.
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| thekingsingh's Full Review: Itech HP1000 Hockey Pants |
There's a bit of a catch-22 when buying hockey gear for the first time. Hockey equipment can get expensive, and if you aren't sure that you'll like the sport, you think twice about spending lots of money on higher (or even middle) level equipment.
When I first started playing hockey a little over two years ago, I purchased a hockey equipment package from our rink's pro shop that was entirely made up of ITECH products. Part of this package included the ITECH TechLite Senior Elbow Pads EP150S and the ITECH TechLite Senior Shoulder Pad SP155S (click on the links for my reviews). Both the elbow pads and the shoulder pad were not the most sophisticated of hockey equipment - being more of low cost than of highest feature set.
Also bundled in my introductory hockey package was the ITECH Hockey Pant HP1000.
The Specs
The HP1000 hockey pant is listed on the ITECH website (http://www.itech.com) with the following features:
- Increased protection and slash pad protection
- 200 Denier lightweight Nylon
- Covered belt and lace system enables optimal fit
- Extendible mesh crotch gussets for flexibility
- Reinforced Polyethylene foam at hip, kidney and tailbone
- Molded Polyethylene thigh protector covered with foam
- Color: Black
- Sizes: Senior: S,M,L,XL,XXL
The pants are washable, though I only handwashed them. They may be machine washable, but I wasn't sure if that was indeed possible (or wise), given the size and construction of the pants.
My pant size is a 36" waist, and as such I purchased the XL size, which fit me well. I also attached hockey suspenders to hold the pants up, as well as make me look more academic on the ice.
What I liked
First of all, the HP1000 is an introductory hockey pant. As such, it's designed so that the price is low, and indeed, it's one of the cheapest hockey pants you can find.
Presumably, the price is kept low because of the use of thinner nylon (200 Denier, most hockey pants have much stronger nylon), and thinner padding. In addition to making the pants low-cost, it also makes them light and easy to break in.
The lightness of the materials also makes the pants comfortable. I didn't have any problems skating in them either.
The pants are quick to tie, with a belt/buckle and lace to secure the pants around the waist.
What I didn't like
The padding in the ITECH Hockey Pants HP1000 are barely protective. While kidney protection is adequate at best (for rec league hockey), much of the rest of the pants simply isn't protective. There is no lower back pad, nor is there much padding for the stomach or on the back of the thighs. Tailbone padding, which I became concerned about after falling on the ice with these pads, is rather minimal (almost non-existent) as well. To protect your buttocks, you'll have to rely on your natural tushion cushion.
However, the front and the sides of the thighs have a one piece pad for each leg that does protect that part of the leg.
Second, these pants are not durable. The quality of nylon is not as strong as other pants, and within a few months the pants began to show significant signs of wear. The buttons on the pants that attach to the suspenders tore out of the nylon after some time.
The durability issue extended to the belt buckle, which broke in short order. I was forced to tie the belt instead of using the buckle. In addition, two eyelets in the lacing system popped out sooner than expected.
Some people like to tie their skates first, and then slide their hockey pants on (skates are easier to tie this way). This isn't possible with these pants, since they lack the zipper openings at the bottom of the legs that allows a skate to pass through (higher quality pants have these).
Conclusion
Trying to make a cheap product can sometimes make the product cheap. And vice versa.
This is certainly the case with the ITECH Hockey Pants HP1000. While cheap and light, padding and durability is minimal. This might be a good intro pant if you really don't think you'll continue to play hockey. But, if you're serious about the game (or serious about not getting injured), it'll be worth getting better pants.
Your butt will thank you for it.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
thekingsingh
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Location: Sacramento, California
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
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