There is some weird science behind Jofa's Shoulder Pads.
Written: May 04 '04
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Pros: Ultimate shoulder protection, comfort
Cons: Crazy European sizing system makes no sense, not "Mom approved"
The Bottom Line: Easton, Bauer and Nike make shoulder pads too, but try on the Jofas and have someone hit your shoulders before you decide. These are amazing!
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Jofa Senior Shoulder Pads |
The main thing to remember about shoulder pads for hockey is that they are designed to protect the shoulders. I know that sounds like a no-brainer, but shoulder pads have changed over the years offering more and more torso coverage. This has created a tendency for many people to overlook the very reason for the existence of shoulder pads instead focusing on the other features of a pad.
This doesn’t imply that Jofa doesn’t offer shoulder pads that protect the torso and the back. Instead it is simply a preface to introduce the shoulder pads that currently do the best job of protecting the shoulders. Jofa’s shoulder pad line, top to bottom offers more shoulder protection for your dollar than any other brand currently sold.
▪ The Science Behind the Padding
If you read my Jofa shin guard review already, some of this will be review for you. The principles behind Jofa’s shin guards are the same ones utilized in all of their under-protective gear. Some of it is more relevant to their shoulder pads than it was to shin guards. Once again I will review the acronyms and break them down into something resembling English for you.
▪ What the heck is JDP?
JDP is an acronym that Jofa loves to slather on all of their under-protective gear. It might just seem like a clever combination of letters to some people (hey, I tried for hours and only came up with a few three letter combinations that I liked better). Still, believe it or not there is a deeper meaning behind JDP.
JDP stands for Joint Displacement Principle. I know what you’re thinking, you liked the acronym better, it was easier to say and made about as much sense. Fear not, I will explain . . . the theory behind Jofa’s protective is that muscle mass is better suited to take the force of a blow than a joint is. With this in mind, Jofa’s gear is designed to redirect impacts away from the joint.
Sounds like a bunch of marketing tripe, doesn’t it? Well, here is a little experiment you can try. Put on a pair of Jofa shoulder pads, attach the straps and make sure you have a comfortable fit. Now have someone hit you on the shoulders. You will feel the force of the blow in your chest and the muscles of your back, not on your shoulders. It is pretty weird science but it really works.
▪ What about ASD?
ASD is the American Society of Dermatology, but that has nothing to do with what we are discussing here. In Jofa’s terminology, ASD is Anatomic System Design. While ASD doesn’t mean much in the shin pad department it does have some small relevance to Jofa Shoulder pads.
The theory behind ASD is to create a piece of equipment that not only fits, but that fits comfortably. Our Jofa representative liked to say that it was designed to flow with the skater. Still it’s rather difficult to put a value on this portion of Jofa’s science. Personally I found their shoulder pads to be comfortable and fit well. But not everyone has the same frame as I do so it’s hard to say how effective this portion of Jofa’s science really is.
I will grant Jofa props on this. The shape of their shoulder cups is less restrictive than most brands. Many players shy away from Jofa because their shoulder cups appear substantially larger than most competitors. But closer inspection reveals that the shape is what offers more freedom of mobility.
The other part of their design that is something of a double edge sword is the large armpit cut outs on the chest portion of their shoulder pads. Again, these offer minimal interference with the arms granting increased freedom of movement over other designs. Mothers buying gear for their children look at this and are upset by the voids in protection.
▪ Center Ice
The Center Ice logo is one of the nicer things that Jofa does. Because their gear has such a high percentage of acceptance in the NHL, they indicate exactly which items are the preferred choice of pro hockey players. The Center Ice Authentic logo indicates gear that is used by NHL players. If guys who have their livelihood riding on protection from injury approve, I think that it just might be good enough for me.
▪ Basic Information on specific Jofa Models
The following information is for 2004 model year Jofa shoulder pads. All of the models come with a four strap Velcro system. Two straps on the arms and two straps take care of the body. The width between the shoulders is not adjustable as you would find on a few brands. However the large size of the shoulder pads helps to assure that at least one size will cover most players shoulders more than adequately.
▪ The 9000 Series
All of Jofa’s 9000 series shoulder pads are Center Ice Authentic pads. This includes the 9800, 9700, 9500 and 9400 shoulder pads.
The 9800 and 9700 pads both feature a breathable shell. Essentially the chest padding is perforated with evenly spaced ¼” holes to allow for improved airflow. They also both have a hard sternum protector and an exterior plastic spinal guard. The shoulder cups on the 9800 are large and covered, while the 9700 has slightly smaller, uncovered cups. The 9700 offers slightly shorter torso protection than the 9800 as well.
The 9400 and 9500 are both a polyester mesh lined shoulder pad that does not feature the breathable padding. These pads both feature similar sternum plates to the 9800 and 9700, however the spinal protection is integrated in the padding rather than external. The 9500 is similar in cut to the 9800, offering more complete protection than the 9400.
▪ The Rest
The 7500, 6500 and 5500 are not Center Ice Authentic shoulder pads. They still offer better shoulder protection than similarly priced pads from other companies would. The 7500 offers many of the features of the 9000 series but in a lighter level of coverage. It features the air flow perforation of the 9800 and 9700 a lighter sternum protector and integrated spinal protection. This level of shoulder pad will certainly suffice for most recreational players.
The 6500 and 5500 pads are lower end recreational shoulder pads. These still feature Jofa’s Joint Discharge Principle features, however, they will work at a slightly lower level in my experience. They are polyester lined and do not feature the air flow foam of the higher level models. Sternum and back protection is rather minimal in both of these models and comfort is somewhat lower than in the higher priced rigs.
▪ Jofa’s Weird Sizing
Jofa, being originally a European Company, still feels the need to offer their shoulder and elbow pads in nonsensical sizes. Rather than a small, medium, large format; Jofa numbers their sizes 1 through 6. Here is the approximate breakdown of what that translates to in English:
Size 1 – Youth
Size 2 – Junior Small
Size 3 – Junior Large
Size 4 – Adult Small/Medium
Size 5 – Adult Medium/Large
Size 6 – Adult Large/Extra Large
The different models do tend to fit differently, so fear not if you are an extra large worried that a size 6 will not fit you. Some models might not, but others probably will. In fact we had a very large player (about a XXXL guy) looking for shoulder pads and put him in an older model Jofa size 6 which fit him perfectly.
▪ Final Thoughts
Jofa under-protective dominates the NHL. They have all but two players in the entire league in their shin pads. Jofa shoulders cover over half of the league. With all the choices that there are in products, CCM, Nike, Easton, Bauer, Louisville just to name a few, it is amazing to have a single company dominating the most prestigious of markets so completely. The endorsement of NHL players speaks much more highly to the quality of Jofa’s under-protective than anything I could write.
I find Jofa’s shoulder pads to be among the most comfortable on the market. ASD might be nothing more than a simple catchy acronym, it was stuck in my head for hours and I couldn’t stop singing it yesterday, but Jofa shoulder pads don’t hamper mobility like some other brands do. As far as protection, I’ve had a broken shoulder twice and prefer not to do it again. I have no doubt that Jofa offers the best protection in that realm.
The bottom line is that Jofa will do a more than adequate job of protecting hockey players at any level. If Jofa shoulder pads are comfortable on you and you need a pair, there really isn’t any good reason not to buy them, even if your mother thinks they don’t offer enough torso protection.
Here are a few of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Fitting and Selecting Hockey Protective Gear
Jofa 9040 Shin Pads
Bauer Flak Shoulder Pads
Recommended:
Yes
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