Koho 4460 Shin Guards are the preferred shinguard of Pirates everywhere
Written: Aug 13 '04 (Updated Aug 15 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Hyper extension protection. Good guards at a fair price.
Cons: Utilitarian in appearance. Still aren't Jofas
The Bottom Line: If you're looking in the $50 range, these are among the best shin guards.
|
|
|
| puckmugger's Full Review: Koho 4460 Shin Guards |
The other day I saw a guy with a hook and an eyepatch playing hockey. He was terrible and obviously quite drunk as he skated by me singing, Ko ho ho,and a bottle of rum. Bah, it's horrible I know. I have to stop drinking an entire case of beer before I start writing these or eventually people will stop reading.
Koho, Jofa, CCM . . . who can tell the difference these days? It’s a huge conglomerate of companies under the guise of “The Hockey Company” or “Maska” that makes all of this stuff anyway. Is it a conspiracy to make life more difficult for Nike who bought Bauer? Nope, it’s just the way that the hockey industry is going these days. I mean Bauer acquired Flak, Cooper and half a dozen other brands before being swallowed by Nike a few year back. Itech and Mission recently merged as did Coors and Molson (both very important to the hockey trade). It seems to be the direction of every company except Easton who as the “Starbucks” of the hockey industry apparently hopes to crush the competition single handedly.
What’s my point? If I can make an analogy here I think I can make it exceedingly clear. Have you noticed how the less expensive Jaguars have begun to look frighteningly like a Ford of late? Ford owns Jaguar. They bought the company a few years ago.
You have to wonder with all of the inbreeding in the hockey industry, where will the new ideas and the competition come from? Certainly not from Jofa driving Koho and CCM to do better. Just like the Fords and Jaguars, their gear is all starting to look alike.
▪ 4460 Shinpads
That’s a lot of shinpads!
Don’t be silly, that’s a model number. May I continue now? Good.
The 4460 is Koho’s top of the line shin guard for 2004. As far as brand tiers go within the Maska corporation Jofa is the top of the three protective brands, CCM is the middle tier and Koho is the lower end gear. This puts the 4460 in the middle of the pack as a good recreational level protective line.
Koho’s 4460 shin guards feature Hyperextension protection. Interestingly, this was something that Jofa pioneered and has featured on all of their shin pads. They call it Hyper X. Essentially this is a built in feature that will lower the chances of a player hyper extending their knee by locking the shin guard at zero degrees of extension. Is it a substitute for a knee brace? No way, but it does have the potential to help players thwart a few possible injuries.
The protection of the 4460 is above average for a mid priced shin guard. They feature a full leg wrap, not a removable rear pad, but instead a full padding that wraps around the back of the calf. One thing that the 4460 does have over the Jofa line is dual straps. For years I bemoaned the lack of straps on Jofa shin pads. I must admit that recently I cut all the straps off my shin guards. The Velcro was worn out and more nuisance than help. I have been converted to a sock tape guy. Nonetheless, those who prefer straps will find that these fit a little better without using tape that the comparable, low end Jofa shins.
The overall appearance of the 4460 is rather bland. I know that sounds odd, but shin guards are starting to come in flashy, eye-catching designs. Apparently you need to make a shin guard look cool to sell lots of them. My impression on looking at the 4460 is that it was a cheap discontinued model from a previous year.
Looks of course can be deceiving as the 4460 is pretty good deal. Despite its non-descript, utterly un-flashy exterior, the 4460 boasts some nice protection inside. The plastic shell is strong enough that I haven’t heard of any of them getting returned as defective. This was a definite problem with the cheapest shin guards in the Jofa line.
The knee doughnut is comfortable and has enough cushion to absorb a significant impact. The pads also stay in place nicely even without tape. Padding in the shin section is clearly more than enough for the average recreational player. Even the hardest shot is unlikely to cause any bruises or lacerations here.
The lower section has enough of a taper that it can be worn under the boot tongue, but it’s still wide enough that it would work over the tongue as well. This isn’t the case with some other brands. Some shin guards are clearly slanted towards one style of wear or the other. I personally recommend that shin guards be worn over the tongue as it does much less damage to your skates and actually slightly improves the protection you get from them.
▪ Final Thoughts
The 4460 is a little more costly than Jofa’s entry priced 5500, but seems to be a little better made. Issues with the 5500 make the 4460 a better choice as it will last longer and offers superior protection. Some of the Jofa technology is missing from the 4460 which doesn’t have the flat center spine to make getting up after falling easier, and the Jofa Joint Discharge Principal which moves the impact of a hit to the large muscles instead of the vulnerable joints. Still the hyper extention protection is possibly the biggest selling point in Jofa’s shin guards and is included in the less expensive 4460.
Jofa makes the best shin guards on the market. That's attested to by the all but two NHL pros wearing them. But the top of the line Koho is a little better than the bottom of the barrel Jofa when it comes to shin guards. Maybe they are quite to the point of Jaguars looking like a Taurus, but there are some obvious similarities. The 4460 is certainly one of the better affordable recreational shin guards on the market.
Some other reivews that you might find helpful:
Fitting and Selecting Hockey Protective Gear
Jofa 9040 Shin Pads
Nike V-10 Shin Pads
The other Koho 4460 reviews:
Koho 4460 Shoulder Pads
Koho 4460 Elbow Pads
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
puckmugger
|
 - Top 50 |
|
Location: wandering the fringes of the goal crease
Reviews written: 488
Trusted by: 247 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.