Nike V-14 Elbow Pads: Made by aliens? What is a Kukini?
Written: Dec 01 '05 (Updated Dec 01 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent fit, protection, durability and great looks
Cons: A little tight on the forearm
The Bottom Line: The V-12 is cheaper. Save your money unless you must have the "alien-look"
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Nike V-14 Elbow Pads |
What’s up with your stupid title?
You’re right—it sucks. I admit it. But let me ask you a question. You ever look at these things? They somehow remind me of a sci-fi film. They are silver and black with a touch of neon green. Maybe they glow in the dark . . . it’s possible. My theory is that aliens made them.
. . . on to the review
Nike might not be my favorite skate maker, but they are one of my favorite protective gear makers. Nike has been shaking up things in the hockey industry since they started making hockey gear. They’ve been a driving force for the revolutions that are taking place in hockey. For that alone we owe them a thank you.
“Thanks Nike.”
The V-14 line is the “upgraded” version of Nike’s V-12 gear. Don’t misunderstand me here, the V-12 line is outstanding. How do you make something that is really good even better? Well, if you are Nike you just change the color and give it a bigger number. That’s pretty much what they do with the stuff that’s really bad, right? Uh . . . read on.
What’s new with these?
The colors and the model number are new. The rest of the elbow pad is unchanged from the V12.
What’s the point?
Hockey is a gear driven industry. Essentially the manufacturers create demand by putting new gear out every year. If you don’t have the new hot thing, you simply aren’t keeping up with the Jones. (That is assuming the Jones play hockey).
Apparently Nike didn’t have any new eblow pads for 2005. Like I was asking, how do you make something that’s really good even better? Apparently this is a question that Nike is asking as well.
Is this important?
Well, that depends on whether you want to save some money or whether you prefer the alien appearance to the older silver and blue V-12 look. You see the V-12 which is the same piece of gear, is about half the price if you look around for it.
The details
Now that we have the basics out of the way Nikes V-14 (along with the V-12) are great elbow pads.
The V-14 is a fairly full coverage elbow pad. On me they come to mid wrist, leaving virtually no gap between the wrist and my gloves. This is consistent with most of the decent elbow pads that I’ve worn.
The wrist protection clasps with a unique rubberized silver closure consisting of four stylized bands. Nike calls this the “Kukini strap” apparently based on a shoe which shared the unique closure. The Kukini were the Hawaiian version of the pony express. (Since the Hawaiian’s didn’t have ponies the Kukini ran instead. I don’t care what Nike calls it. It’s actually a pretty nice strap.
The inside of the elbow joint strap is a more standard, heavy elastic style. It does fasten a little more securely than plain Velcro straps do since Nike employs a D link to feed the strap through. The bicep strap is a non-elastic strap with a single Velcro closure.
The nicer features are actually inside this sharp looking piece of gear. The lining of the V-14 is Nike’s excellent Dry Fit. If you’ve ever had a Dry Fit shirt, you know that this is very comfortable stuff. Frankly it rivals Under Armour and looks better. Inside the elbow pads, it is a very nice feature making them among the most comfortable on the market.
Nike also put memory foam in the V-14. This allows the V-14 to fit perfectly after a short break-in period. As with any safety equipment, fit is very important. Loose fitting gear simply doesn’t offer the same level of protection that a proper fit does. Nike’s memory foam makes these the best fitting elbow pads on the market. More importantly it actually works.
The other nice feature in the elbow cup is the Nike Air unit. This is a small air packet that takes the brunt of any impacts directly on the elbow. The air packet is more effective than EPP foam and lighter as well.
Fit and comfort
Nike did a great job putting these together. The V-14 is a very comfortable pad. I actually prefer the off the shelf fit of the cheaper V-10 (which is different than the V-12 and V-14). However, players who have used the V-12 for extended periods have reported that they become more comfortable with break-in. This makes sense, there’s memory foam in there, remember?
The only thing that I didn’t really like about the off the shelf fit of the V-14 is the Kukini strap felt a little tighter than I like. Over all the fit was excellent. Flexibility is better than most new elbow pads. The V-14 bends easily and comfortably. I have another pair of pads at home that I haven’t even tried on the ice because they are so stiff that I don’t want to break them in. This won’t be a problem with the V-14.
The most important part is that the V-14 fits tightly enough to not twist on my arms. While my guns are far bigger than yours are (that’s me kidding there) they should offer a tight enough fit to keep them from twisting on even the most chicken limbed players.
Parting Thoughts
The V-12 has proven itself as a well designed and made piece of gear. It has great durability and offers pro level protection. While I think that it is a little sketchy that Nike simply repackaged it as the V-14, it certainly isn’t as if they were trying to cover up some flaws. Perhaps Nike is a little money grubbing, but this is still a great product.
Of course if it were me, I would by the V-12. It’s the same pair of elbow pads on the inside. It also cheaper.
A few of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Fitting and Selecting Hockey Protective Gear
Bauer Vapor 4 Elbow Pads
Mission Sub 0 Elbow pads
Nike V-10 Elbow Pads
© 2005 Scott Noble – All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.
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