Mission Motion 300 Goalie Pads: Are you kidding me?
Written: May 31 '04 (Updated Dec 13 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good knee lifts and cradle, premium materials appearance and protection
Cons: Unproven durability
The Bottom Line: These pads are simply the best bang for the buck on the market. Top notch gear at novice prices is hard to beat.
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Mission Motion 300 Goal Pads |
The guys at Mission are making goalie pads that might just be the best bang for the buck on the entire market. This is a company that never made goalie gear before. Suddenly, they own the lower priced segment of the goalie market.
▪ How’d they learn this stuff?
How Mission, in a mere nine years of hockey manufacturing, is suddenly in the goalie business and quite good at it, is a mystery to me. But Mission has obviously been a student of the goalie pad for some time. They’ve put some of the best features on the market into their own pad. Still, the Motion 300 is a unique creation, a one of a kind.
I had thought that this product might have Itech quaking in their boots as it is simply the best low priced goalie pad available. Interestingly, on May 4th, 2004 Mission Hockey merged with Itech Hockey to form Mission-Itech. I guess the fear is gone.
▪ The Good
Weight
A good pair of leg pads is light. The Mission Motion pads are amazingly light. I picked up a pair of these in the store and thought they were hollow or fake or something for a moment . . . like the non-working cell phones they have in some stores. They weren’t hollow; they are just amazingly light. Mission gets top marks here for keeping the weight down on these pads. I award them the full 10 points here as I’ve never picked up a leg pad this light.
Protection
Of course it would be pretty easy to make a light pad if you were willing to sacrifice protection. The Tour GTL line isn’t all that light, but they will leave you bruised and annoyed. Mission accomplished the low weight on these pads by the use of a foam core. Most pads are stuffed with composite materials that are much heavier. The Motions don’t sacrifice padding, they just use another type. Another full 10 points for padding awarded.
The knee cradle is the second item that protects the goalie. This keeps them from slamming their knees on the hard ice in a butterfly save. Mission’s Motion pads have an outstanding knee cradle, similar to that of the outstanding Vaughn Velocity. The Motion 300 has an internal knee cradle with a pair of knee lifts. They aren’t as high as the Velocity lifts, but they are as nice as you will find in any pad on the short side of $700. 9 points for the knee lift.
Appearance and Materials
A great pad made from horrible materials isn’t much of a deal. The Motion 300 is faced with the outstanding looking techno-weave material that is found on all the premium pads these days. (Face it, you don’t want ugly pads on your legs anymore than I do - these look fantastic). The Mission Motion 300 also comes in four color combinations: black, white and silver; black and blue; black and red; and red, white and blue. Score 9 points for appearance.
The knee cradle is full Clarino. This is the best material on the market due to its quick drying, amazing comfort and long durability. Straps are also of Clarino. This is the first time that I’ve heard of Clarino straps on a leg pad. They should last longer than leather, as long as nylon straps even. Top marks for materials - 10 points.
Sizing
Geez, what would all this matter if Mission didn’t make them in your size. Rest assured, unless you are among the shortest or tallest goalies I have ever seen, there is a pair of Motions that will fit you. The Motion 300 comes in 28”, 30”, 32”, 34” and 36”. This covers all the sizes that you would find in any pad except for 38” and as much as you might like 38’s you know you don’t need them. I am 6-feet tall and perfectly capable with my 34” pads.
▪ The Bad Stuff
Mission markets their leg pads as Pro level inline pads. Despite this, they have become the premium entry level ice hockey pad. I wouldn’t be deterred from buying a pair of these by this designation.
Mission is still an unproven company in goalie equipment. Having looked these pads over, I see no defect in their construction, but there is not a history. With some other brands you know their record of quality and longevity. My bet is that these are as good as anything on the market in any price range. However, until they have been around for a while, actually durability is something of a question.
▪ Final Thoughts
I first heard about the Mission Motion line almost a year ago when they were announced by our Mission representative. The pictures that he brought didn’t do this pad justice. I figured, Ah, another low end pad. The fact that Mission didn’t want to sell these as ice pads made me a little nervous as well. I wondered if they might have plastic sliders to keep them from wearing out on abrasive surfaces or other odd things that didn’t belong on an ice hockey pad.
When seeing this pad for the first time, I was amazed that anyone could put a goalie pad together with this type of quality for this price. What is even more amazing is that a company that never made a goalie pad before was the one to do it. There is nothing about the Mission Motion 300 that makes it an inline pad besides the name “Mission” printed on them.
These are top quality leg pads with all of the features that experienced goalies will look for. The real kicker is that they are being sold at a price that a novice goalie will be looking for. Companies like Vaughn and Brian’s are probably more disturbed by Mission’s innovation in making an affordable, high quality pad than Itech might have ever been. These are on the list of pads I will consider when I get my next pair. I highly recommend them to goalies at any level of play. Final score on Price to Overall quality is 9.5 out of 10.
A few of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Fitting Goalie Gear
Itech 4.8 X Factor Pads
Louisville XLite GLL 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:
Yes
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