WSI Goalie Jock: Another Jock Short for Goalies, is it as Bad as Itech?
Written: Jul 07 '04 (Updated Jul 09 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Awesome padded short, reasonable price
Cons: No flashy graphics or funny text . . . oh wait, who cares?
The Bottom Line: This is an outstanding product. I highly recommend it.
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| puckmugger's Full Review: WSI Goalie Hockey Joc |
My first though with the WSI goalie jock was that it was another mistake. You see Itech and WSI are the biggest makers of jock shorts for hockey forwards. The jock short is an awesome invention for forwards integrating the garter and the jock into one device. But Itech’s Goalie Jock is one of the most miserable inventions in all of hockey. I had low hopes for WSI as well
▪ The WSI
It turns out that WSI didn’t make the same foolhardy attempt to integrate their goalie jock into the shorts that Itech had. In fact the shorts in the WSI augment the protection that the goalie gets rather than inhibit it as the Itech did. WSI designed a goalie jock that is still a goalie jock, then added a very nice pair of strategically padded compression shorts to the mix.
The jock itself is not atypical to other goalie jocks on the market. A heavily padded nylon cover holds a banana cup. Yes, I know banana cups sound like something that they might use at the ice cream parlor, do try to focus here. We are talking about jocks, not banana splits! Now where was I?
The jock offers good frontal protection to the goalie’s important parts. This includes not only those parts that a jock would be expected to cover, but also the spleen, and whatever else is on the opposite side of your kidneys . . . uh, the liver and appendix maybe. Sorry, I took biology in college thinking that we might discuss anatomy. I don’t think the professor knew a thing about it though.
Essentially, the jock is good. It offers a similar level of protection to my highly recommended Brian’s Pro Goaler Jock, although without the flash graphics. The WSI comes in basic black.
▪ What makes it different?
The big edge that WSI has over all of its competition is in the shorts. Now I said with the Itech goalie jock that shorts for a goalie were a dumb idea through and through. Goalies don’t need to wear hockey socks. They don’t need garters. What’s the point of having Velcro shorts!? Truth be told, I still don’t know. But the fact that WSI felt the need to throw Velcro on the front of these is the only thing that doesn’t make sense to me.
The WSI shorts, unlike Itech’s, are a nice compression short. I use a pant under my Brian’s jock to give the type of support that this pair of shorts gives. If anything, WSI’s short gives a little bit better compression than my Under Armour pants. WSI’s wicking material is perhaps slightly superior to Under Armour as well. In all honesty, WSI has a better product, Under Armour has better marketing and more variety.
But I am swerving dangerously close to getting off my subject. Compression shorts are great for a sports position that is accompanied by huge numbers of groin pulls. I’m not a doctor (hence my inability to accurately describe the organs in front of the kidneys), but I definitely feel like a compression short offers a little bit of help in that area by keeping the muscles warm and providing some level of support for them.
This, however, is only one of the reasons that I think the shorts are so great. The bigger, more important reason is the extra padding. The WSI Goalie Jock has strategic pads on the inside of the groin where no other jock can protect. In fact if you scroll up and look at the picture you can see the big white pad on the leg. Having played for a while, I know that there is no place unpadded that the puck will not eventually find. More padding is a good thing.
▪ Final Thoughts
This is a top of the line jock. I know one goalie who has been using this for well over a year. Except for an incident with a pair of red socks turning all the white parts of his jock pink in the wash, it has held up commendably. Oh yeah, that brings up another nice feature. The padded shorts can be machine washed. My current jock recommends dry clean only (yeah right).
When it comes time to replace my Brian’s Goaler, I will likely pick up a WSI. The WSI is a little cheaper and every bit as protective. The shorts that come with it are a bonus that you cannot get in any other jock on the market. Essentially, the WSI is the opposite of Itech’s total failure. This is a great product.
Also see my review on Fitting Goalie Gear
Recommended:
Yes
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puckmugger
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