Well i've recently went and "revamped" most of my gear so i've decided to man up and do a review on it. The shortest time for some of it is 2 weeks, but they've been a busy 2 weeks,
Pads, Glove, Blocker:
Pads: Koho 580's with 590 graphics 34+1.5
New calf wedge
Well coming from a set of well broken in 34" 580's, it's been a bit of a change for me. The pads felt pretty big the first time i strapped them on, the thing i liked the most is that i strapped them the same ways as i did my previous set with no problems. Rebounds come off pretty big on these, i'm hoping once they break in the rebounds may settle down a bit. I really do enjoy the calf wedge, i did notice better support in my butterfly. The 2 breaks in the 580's are wonderful, these pads acctually have a pretty good "s" curve to them already. All in all, i'm very happy with these pads, with all the RBK hype (i've been in on it as well) it was nice to realize that these pads suit me just fine and i'm sure i will keep them for awhile. One thing i might do is a mod i saw from Davieboy which is to make a new hole for the toe tie to run through to "offset" my skate more, i did that on my last set and liked it
Glove: Koho 580 with 590 graphic
I fell in love with the break of this glove the minute i tried my old one on. I have no complaints about it at all. Break in is actually better than i thought. Not to many popouts but i'm sure it will get better with time, i know there have been a few reviews on this so i'll leave it short
Blocker: RBK Premier with 590 graphics
To my surprise instead of just putting the new sidewall on my blocker, Koho just sent me a RBK blocker with the 590 graphics. I love this thing. It took a bit to get used to it, needed some break in time, at least for me. The sideboard is great, it's helped me out a few times, the finger protection is wonderful as well. I know blockers are pretty much the same but this one takes the cake for me.
Pants: CCM 620 Pro XL
Boy do i love these things. Truthfully they are a tad to big but not enough to make a big movement issue. I'm coming from Large Vaughn Legacy's. The flat thigh took some getting used to and i had to make some movement adjustments, but i'm learning all the time so it was just another step. The flat thigh works great at deflecting rebounds in front instead of to my sides like my vaughn's did. I don't get tripped up in the inner thigh blocks as some people said happens. These things are tanks, I plan on using them for a long time, i would say give flat thighs a chance, like everything they just take some getting used to.
C/A Heaton Helite 5 Pro Retail
Well, I had my concerns about this coming from a pro return brown, but i took my chances, and in my opinion it worked out well. I believe this to be the illegal unit but i'm not sure, the arms are huge! I am never worried about feeling anything in the arms as they have a layer of plastic in them. The shoulder floaters look big but a bit weak, but i haven't gotten any stingers yet. The chest area is pretty good protection wise but i do have rebounds popping out more. It has taken some getting used to, my brown was very mobile, this unit is a bit bulkier so i've had to adjust to it, but all in all i feel just as safe as i did in my brown.
Mask: Protechsport/Koho 100% Kevlar Custom fit mask
This is one of my most prized pieces. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this mask. I play at a pretty high level and have had no problems once i added a touch more padding to get the fit perfect. The sightlines on this thing are wonderful, it is so comfortable once i got used to the chin sling. I do have the sling, i still haven't reached a verdict on it yet, on one hand it is very very comfortable, but i could see the mask coming off if i was run into as there is nothing securing it under my chin. I have some deciding to do. I would like to say that Michel was a wonderful person to deal with i would recomend his mask to anyone at any level.
Well that about it for my essay on my gear. It was definately tough getting back on the ice with all new gear after about 4 months off but i'm slowly getting it back,
I'll try to respond to any questions as best i can.