Sher-wood Cerberus 10 Blocker and the mostly irrelevant tale of Bizzarini the Idiot Clown
Written: May 31 '05 (Updated Dec 13 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Light, protective, excellent glove feel on the stick
Cons: Durability of the sheepskin palm is a question mark.
The Bottom Line: Not a good choice for circus acts, it is however, an excellent one for hockey
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| puckmugger's Full Review: Sher-wood Cerberus 10 Pro Blocker |
Insert witty intro here
In 1921 Bizzarini, the famous goalie clown, attempted to catch a musket ball with a goalie trapper during his act with the Clyde Brothers Circus. The result was quite unfortunate as you might imagine. Four years later after much physical therapy, failed reconstructive surgery and a long stay at a mental hospital, he decided it was time to give it another go. Renamed as Stumpy the Clown, he attempted to deflect a 6-pound cannonball with only a goalie blocker.
This event was only slightly more successful. The cannonball, fired from a low yield cannon defected into the upper reaches of the big top. Catastrophically it severed one of the main poles sending the Flying Quintana Family trapeze artists to the ground where they sustained severe injuries. In the panic that ensued as the huge tent collapsed the entire tiny car full of clowns was trampled with 18 clowns still inside. One elephant was never seen again and two of the tigers were so frightened that they never performed after that fated day.
What’s that got to do with love?
Nothing, and if you’re going to try to quote Tina Turner lyrics, get them right. It’s “What’s love got to do with it?”
Sorry, what does that intro have to do with this review?
Again, nothing really. I guess it does point out that no blocker will work well in the hands of a clown. However, if we look further along the line of Stumpy’s ill-fated career, he did adopt an act where he dressed up in a suit that made it appear he had three heads. Many said that he did this to make up for the lack of hands and the fact that his juggling act after the accident was pitiful. To me it is unclear why he did this. However, the three-headed goalie is the logo for the Cerberus line. But this isn’t any clown suit. This is good stuff.
In lieu of an actually witty comment, the review begins . . . finally
Of all the new gear that I’ve looked at, I think that RBK and Sher-wood impressed me the most. Sher-wood has always been a solid brand, but until now, they were never all that exciting. Sher-wood was more or less the old-school, gear-your-dad-would-be-proud-of, retro brand in my opinion. If you wanted tried and tested, Sher-wood was the go to brand.
This in mind I was blown away when I looked at Sher-wood’s new goalie line. They had the flashiest helmet, the only unique stick on the market and some really nice pads. Oh yeah, their blocker was pretty darn nice too.
While I am uncertain if the Cerberus can stop cannonballs (even from low yield cannons) and I am unwilling to participate in the testing program to determine this, I am very confident in its puck-stopping capability. In fact I have personally tested this and found it very capable of stopping in excess of 60 pucks per hour. (This of course will vary greatly depending on goalie skill level, number of shots to the blocker side and atmospheric density).
The Design
The Cerberus is a new style thin line blocker. This means that the blocker itself is less than one-inch in thickness. The advantages of a thin profile blocker are tremendous. This style of glove is easier to play paddle-down. It is much lighter than a traditional blocker. Lastly, there is no cushioning which makes for better rebound control.
Playing paddle-down is when the goalie places his or her stick flat on the ice to maximize the blocking area. With any blocker there is some amount of interference playing paddle-down. The front of the blocker on some models is so far out that the stick needs to be tilted or it won’t be on the ice. With the thin design of the Cerberus, this is not a problem. The interference is minimal.
The Cerberus is also very light. This blocker is on par with the Vapor 2 and CCM’s Blockade for weight. The Blockade might have a slight edge here, but it is too close to be a real issue. Anyone playing with a traditional blocker will find the Cerberus to be feather-lite (that’s a little Sher-wood tagline from their sticks).
The hard surface of the Cerberus is excellent for making certain that pucks go where the goalie places them. Some gear attempts to cushion blows and make the puck drop close in. That’s fine if you like to play that style. I personally prefer to move my rebounds away from the front of my net with authority. The Cerberus fits the way I play much better than the shot dampening Vapor 2 blocker.
Materials and Design
One thing that is a little different on the Cerberus is the sheepskin palm. I’ve played with a number of calfskin-palmed gloves and likely as many manmade palms. The Cerberus is the first sheepskin palm that I’ve used though. Initial comfort is excellent on this material. I will have to do some research to find out how it holds up to wear. My expectation is that it will be as good as calfskin. Further helping this situation is the fact that the palm is reinforced with Nash. Nash is an excellent manmade material which has a proven record of long lasting performance. Regardless of durability, the calfskin has a nice feel on the stick. Certainly it is better for feel than a pure synthetic glove.
The blocker face is synthetic leather, JenPro and Roboweave. The graphics are rather understated, but nice looking. A three color blocker, the Cerberus sports the three headed goalie logo on the face along with a splash of color and a couple of accent slashes on the front. The thumb protector echoes the main glove color.
The three-piece cuff is wide and comfortable. It provides ample movement.
A nylon wrist strap ensures that the glove will not fly off unexpectedly. This is a good thing unless you are using too much powder in the cannon. Having the glove come off when the cannonball hits it would be a good thing. For stopping pucks it is better to just keep the glove on your hand. The padding on the wrist strap in the Cerberus is a nice feature. Some gloves leave you wanting a little more there. This one is very comfy.
Protection
The finger end protection is pretty good on this glove. It might be the weak point on this glove as I felt like the pads could be a little thicker, but it isn’t a big enough issue to keep me from considering this as a serious contender for my next blocker. The finger protection is two-piece with the standard index finger split. The index finger has full ice side wrap around protection. This is a very nice feature that will keep the puck from taking large bites out of goalies fingers.
Side of the hand protection is very good. The Cerberus boasts a full finger and thumb protection. This protection extends seamlessly from the front of the blocker face and looks very sharp. The padding here is plenty beefy and will easily keep bloodthirsty pucks at bay. At the same time the design allows comfortable and unhindered stick handling.
One worry that I had in early experiences with low profile blockers was the impact of pucks. It seems that there wasn’t enough room for adequate padding to deaden the blow of a high-speed shot. However, thus far I’ve been impressed. The Cerberus is no exception. The padding between the blocker and the glove is more than enough to keep that ringing sensation I get when taking a shot in my head from moving to my hand.
Final Thoughts
The curve on the Cerberus is a little more traditional than that of the new RBK blocker. It simply tapers off at the rear. This will be a little more comfortable for old hands who are looking for a new toy. The continuous curve of the RBK might frighten some more traditionally minded goalies. I however am afraid of nothing . . . well nothing short of finding a large nest of black widow spiders in my underwear.
This is an excellent product that will work well for all levels of recreational hockey on up to competitive play, even professional. The price tag isn’t going to be conducive to most novice players (it runs about $250). However, if price isn’t an object, this is one that will work for anyone. As I mentioned, it is on my short list for upgrades.
A few of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Fitting Goalie Gear
Sherwood Cerberus 10 Pro Goal Pads
Sher-wood Cerberus 10 Pelican Trapper
RBK Premier Pro Blocker
Bauer Vapor 2 Blocker
CCM Blockade Blocker
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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puckmugger
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